Father’s social media warning for parents

FIRST ON 7: A father has issued a warning to all parents about the dangers of social media after his young daughter became the victim of a sex predator.

The 12-year-old girl was befriended on Facebook by someone she had never met.

The father, who cannot be identified, said his daughter left home on January 5 last year, and he reported her disappearance to police that night.

“Petrified my 12-year-old daughter was out there, I couldn’t find her, had no way of contacting her, no one knew where she was or who she was with,” he told 7News.

She showed up at a friend’s house three days later and was taken to a police station where she soon revealed she had been with 25-year-old Jarrod Turner.

He had befriended her on Facebook, and after some chatting, she decided to go away with him.

Turner picked up the girl from her home and took her to his family member’s farm, north of Adelaide.

They were alone and over the three days he had sex with her three times.

Turner has pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse.

His victim’s father wants him to go to jail, and he has this message for parents.

“Explain to your children, explain to them that there are people out there that you need to understand will take advantage of you,” he said.

“When it comes to Facebook, why not know the people you’re talking to?”

“Why accept people you don’t know? It’s not all about having the most people on your Facebook.”