Facebook sex predator ring could have up to 50 victims.(News)

Byline: Sam Greenhill

PARENTS of 16,000 pupils have been sent letters warning them that internet predators may be trying to groom their children for sex.

Police fear between 20 and 50 pupils - some as young as 12 - have been ensnared on Facebook and other social networking sites over the past three years.

They are thought to have been plied with drink and drugs before being abused or raped.

Yesterday, council staff took the extraordinary step of telling parents of children at 14 secondary schools it was no longer safe for the youngsters to go out alone - advice contradicted by the leader of the police operation.

In a bombshell letter, parents were told: 'The safety of your child is never more important than at this crucial time.' It revealed police were investigating the 'sexual exploitation of a number of young people' and officials wanted to 'raise awareness of the potential dangers'.

The mass mail-out was sent by schools in Torquay, Paignton and Teignmouth in Devon.

Jenny Faulkner, Torbay council's 'children's champion', stoked further anxiety by warning children: 'Don't go about alone - go in groups of twos or threes or fours. We are saying children need to be careful and be vigilant. If they are going home, they should go straight there.' She urged parents: 'Just watch your children.' Known victims attended three of the 14 schools and yesterday police arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of child exploitation. Another man is being hunted.

Detective Inspector Simon Snell, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the victims were predominantly girls but there were also boys. They were aged 12 to 15 and two were in care.

He said that, in all the cases so far, the offenders had got to know their victims for some time before attacking them over the internet or in other ways. But he emphasised that none of the children had been snatched off the street.

'There appears to have been all manner of grooming, which may have occurred on the internet. We are keeping an open mind with regards to Facebook, Bebo and other internet sites,' he said 'We have interviewed around 20 children so far with regard to offences connected with child exploitation.

'We may deploy officers to interview further children.' The inquiry started last week after children came forward to childcare agencies, which then alerted police.

Officers could not confirm the setting in which the abuse took place, but said they wanted to make clear it was not in any of the schools.

When asked about the extent of the sexual exploitation, Mr Snell said it was not prostitution but included 'indecent assault and rape' and could go back two or three years.

He apologised if the letter, which council officials ruled should be sent, had caused panic.

Contradicting the other advice, Mr Snell insisted: 'Parents need to know that their children are completely safe to walk the streets.

'It is simply not the case that a group of paedophiles is grabbing children off the street.'