Groomed at 12: What Every Parent and Child Should Know
Harrison Haynes was just 12 years old when he was groomed by an online predator posing as a teenager. What started as a friendship while gaming quickly escalated into manipulation, exposure to explicit content, and psychological abuse.
Now 20, Haynes is speaking out to warn families that predators aren’t lurking in white vans; they’re in our pockets, on our screens, and inside the apps we use every day. For over a year, Haynes suffered in silence as his abuser bombarded him with disturbing content and threats. The turning point came when the predator threatened self-harm, sending Haynes into a panic that finally alerted his parents.
Rather than reacting with anger or blame, his parents helped him recognize that he was being manipulated, something he hadn’t even realized at the time. Now, Haynes is fighting for change. As part of the Heat Initiative, he’s urging Apple to strengthen protections for children, improve reporting features, and crack down on the storage and spread of child abuse material.
