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Over 200 alleged crimes involving computer games, including instances of sexual communication with a child, theft and harassment, were recorded by the PSNI in the past five years.

The youngest victim was a five-year-old boy. The eldest was a 90-year-old woman. The youngest suspect was a 12-year-old boy and the eldest, a women aged 52.

The PSNI confirmed there were 266 alleged crimes connected to six well-known online games over the past five years. They ranged from sandbox and role-playing, to fantasy, shooter, survival and football games.

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The PSNI confirmed there were 266 alleged crimes connected to six well-known online games over the past five years.

The alleged crimes included sexual communication with a child, theft, harassment and improper use of a public communication network for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to others.

There was an increase in such crimes over the past five years with 17 in 2018; 29 in 2019; 80 in 2020; 85 in 2021; and 48 in 2022. There have been seven crimes in 2023.

266 crimes involving video games included sexual communication with child, theft, harassment

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