Semi-professional CS:GO player Bloominator-, real name Reece Bloom, has seen his account suspended, and while this isn't unusual, the length of the ban is. When you go on his user page on the ESEA website, you can see that he has been banned for 1,000 years.
On the page there's a notification that "this user is currently banned until 6/5/3016 at 6:12pm for Malicious Activity (1st)," this being a series of inappropriate communications with a 15-year-old girl. Snippets of their conversations can be found via Imgur (warning, much of it is sexually explicit and may disturb some readers), and from the posts we can see why the messages resulted in this unprecedented ban.
Bloom has since issued an apology of sorts (the account that posted it is gone, but it can still be found here), saying:
"No excuses, obviously incredibly stupid of me to do what I did and I'd like to apologise foremost to Armor Esports for ruining a perfectly good situation they had with their CS:GO team this season. Also I will take this time to apologise to the few that have supported me throughout my time on CS. I have not been motivated to my full potential since about 2014 after Exertus. I am aware I'm hated by many for good reason, but please keep the hate on me. Don't give crap to to any of my friends or orgs I've associated with. I hope some people can forgive me, but I understand if not."
Perhaps Bloom should be apologising to the minor he was attempting to groom, instead of worrying about his former esports commitments.
The seriousness of this incident can't be ignored, though. There are all too many harrowing stories of young people being groomed by older individuals, some of whom use video games as a means of reaching out to their potential victims. Most recently there was the case of Adam Isaac, who targeted boys playing Minecraft.
"We know the internet is used as a gateway by abusers to commit hundreds of offences against children every year and, in our own joint research, 50% of school children surveyed admitted seeing sexual or violent material online," the head of NSPCC Cymru, Des Mannion, told the BBC with regards to the Adam Isaac case.
"The internet is a fantastic resource for children, they should enjoy all it has to offer, but they must also be taught how to use it safely so they don't find themselves at risk of serious harm."