Daniel Morcombe’s parents reveal how the 6-year-old grandson was attacked by a sex offender

The parents of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe have revealed how their six-year-old grandson was recently attacked online by a pedophile in a horror incident that has reopened old wounds.

Winston was playing Roblox on his iPad in the back seat of her car when he mentioned a man had texted him.

The couple, who now dedicate their lives to child safety, were immediately suspicious.

‘Winston said Nana, Pa, that person knows my name. We just looked at each other and were like, oh okay,” Denise Morcombe told 7News.

“That doesn’t sound good,” added Bruce Morcombe. “This smacks of a pedophile trying to groom Winston online and we were pretty scared.”

Daniel Morcombe (pictured) was kidnapped and murdered on December 7, 2003 while he was on his way to buy Christmas presents for his family

When they checked the message history, they found that the man had offered to help Daniel’s nephew improve his gaming skills.

While it may seem innocent on the surface, the Morcombes say it’s often a typical grooming tactic used by sex offenders to gain trust.

The couple recorded the chat history, blocked the user and informed the police.

They also sent the man a message: “stop contacting kids you online jokes”.

But despite the horrific ordeal of the game, played by millions of Australian children, Mr Morcombe warns parents against banning their children from playing online.

“Don’t take the iPad away from them, it’s not their fault.”

He says parents should instead try disabling chat features in games and take a few other precautions, including keeping devices in common areas, maintaining privacy settings, and who your kids talk to online.

Denise and Bruce Morcombe (pictured) have revealed how their six-year-old grandson was recently attacked online by a pedophile in a horror incident that has reopened old wounds

Winston was playing Roblox (pictured) on his iPad in the back seat of her car when he mentioned a man had texted him

The incident was a harrowing reminder of the parents’ nightmare ordeal two decades ago when Daniel, 13, disappeared after leaving his Sunshine Coast home on December 7, 2003 to buy his family Christmas Gifts at the local mall.

Denise and Bruce worked tirelessly for years to keep the missing person investigation going until his killer was finally arrested in 2011.

Since their son’s disappearance, they have dedicated their lives to providing safety education to children through a foundation they set up in their son’s name.

Daniel was waiting at the bus stop when he was kidnapped by then 34-year-old serial pedophile Brett Peter Cowan and taken to an abandoned house where he was molested and then strangled.

His disappearance sparked one of the largest missing persons investigations in Australian history, culminating in Cowan’s arrest eight years later.

The child killer then led police to where he dumped Daniel’s remains, and the teenager was recovered from bushland in the Glass House Mountains in August 2011.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years without parole at Wolston Correctional Center in Brisbane in 2014.

Daniel was waiting at the bus stop when he was kidnapped by then 34-year-old serial pedophile Brett Peter Cowan (pictured) and taken to an abandoned house where he was molested and then strangled.

Cowan, now 53, remains an unpopular inmate due to his horrific crimes – which include an extensive criminal record for child sex offenses prior to Daniel’s murder.

The convicted pedophile was the target of several brutal attacks by fellow inmates, including being doused with boiling water in 2016, leaving him with lasting scars.

In May 2018, he was stabbed in the ear and neck with an “improvised device” and suffered superficial injuries.

Cowan may apply for parole in 2034.