THE father of a 12-year-old Scottish girl who was groomed online by abusers trying to persuade her to undergo female genital mutilation has described how she "became a bit of a demon".
The man, who has not been named, told how his daughter's personality and behaviour changed as she became more aggressive and withdrawn.
He said: "She became very defensive if any questions were asked about what she was doing on her computer, and all of a sudden this beautiful young vibrant, sociable child became a bit of a demon."
In a radio interview on Heart FM, the father revealed how he eventually discovered that his daughter had been corresponding via a chat-room with strangers who had started off by admiring her artwork, before going on to send her "graphic images" of female genital mutilation.
In a series of conversations which had started out discussing piercings and body art, the abusers suggested to the girl that FGM was "just another form of body modification" and that it was "in some girls' best interest to have it done".
The practice - also known as female circumcision - has been illegal in the UK since the late 1980s, although no one has ever been prosecuted for carrying it out.
There are no statistics available to indicate how common it is in Scotland.
FGM is prevalent in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where it is done in the belief that it will reduce a female's libido and discourage sexual activity before marriage
Police and charities have described online grooming related to FGM as a "new form of cyber-abuse".
The online correspondence between the schoolgirl and the abusers culminated in suggestions that they should meet in person.
At this point the father had discovered the exchanges and wrote back warning them never to contact her again. He also reported the incident to the police.
However, the culprits have never been traced.
Elaine Galbraith of Police Scotland's child protection unit said the case was "very alarming".
She added: "It's child abuse and along with our partners we would look to investigate, detect and bring those individuals to justice."
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