Rape victim’s chatroom warning

THE victim of a disturbing rape as a 12-year-old is urging youngsters not to visit online chat rooms.

Samantha Roberts (20) was raped by Shakil Chowdhury, 36 at the time, when she was 12. She met him on a chatroom for 13 to 19-year-olds called “Teen Chat”.

When Chowdhury met Samantha, he lured her into a car on Manchester Road in October, 2006, and took her back to his home in Chadderton where he subjected her to a sickening ordeal, raping her several times.

He then acted as a perverted ringleader, inviting three friends to also rape her during a night of torture.

Samantha said: “Why would you ever need to go on them? I used to say be careful, be safe but now everyone knows the risk of these sites. All I can say now is there is no need to go on them at all.

“Websites like this lull you into a false sense of security and obviously, as we have discovered today, anyone could be on there.”

Samantha also encouraged parents to be wary of how their children are using the internet.

She said: “Parents need to be aware of the risks online.”

Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant John Coleman said: “We strongly encourage people not to take the law into their own hands.

“There is always a danger that this type of vigilante-style activity could impact negatively on any future court proceedings.

“The best thing people can do, if they have evidence of child abuse or paedophile activity, is report it to the police.”