02/10/2026
2 October 2026
For immediate release
Sexual predators are in our children's bedrooms, and they got in through the phone
MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, wants to warn parents that sexual predators are increasingly entering our children’s bedrooms through online sexual abuse that starts with innocents’ chats, not really knowing who you are talking to.
This crisis made headline with the arrest of Shadrack Sibiya, the suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner, who appeared in court on three counts of sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl, one count of human trafficking and one counts of r**e of an 18-year-old woman. He indicated in court that he intends to plead not guilty.
MISAtv spoke to Danie van Loggerenberg, Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Child Protection. According to Van Loggenberg, the case against Sibiya is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the true scale of the problem. Predators, pretending to be friends, build a trust relationship with children over long periods on apps like Snapchat, filling the gap left by absent parents.
Parents should always have access and be of who their children are chatting to. Warning signs include secrecy about phones like taking it when to the bathroom, isolation from the rest of the family and making “new friends” from outside the school circle. A parent must be very wary of sleepovers.
"We need to explain to our children that what they see and what reality is, is not always the same. When you are at home but always on your phone, your child thinks whatever is on your phone is more important than them. We must be there for them and create space for conversations,” says Van Loggerengberg.
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) analysed over 1.3 million items of content last year of which 9 250 contained child sexual abuse material.
"On the FPB hotline we are seeing a lot of complaints relating to the non-consensual sharing of explicit images and videos, which also ties with sextortion. Parents and schools should continue to educate children about the dangers of social media and the importance of monitoring the kids' online activities.,” says Manala Botolo, FPB Communications Assistant Manager.
Martlé Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations, says the Union’s more than 80 000 members work long hours and being present is hard. But that is not an excuse for not taking time to have meaningful talks with your child and to encourage them to talk to you when something is wrong. “The predators are counting on our silence. We cannot give it to them."
Contact the National Centre for Child Protection for help on the following numbers:
• Hotline / Reports: +27 76 900 7151
• Free Counselling: +27 76 037 6345
• Email: [email protected]
The link for the latest MISAtv episode is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVK2Hf0PKT4
Issued on behalf of MISA by Sonja Carstens, Manager of MISA's Media & Communication Department.
