Activists have said the introduction of e-learning in schools has increased online child sexual exploitation in Kwale county.
Some school girls have fallen prey to sexual predators they met on the Internet. At least five cases of missing children are reported daily to human rights organisations in the region.
Kwale Child Rights Network paralegal officer Omariba Harun said sex pests have been luring unsuspecting teens online to meet and exploit them.
"The [online education] programme exposed children to internet dating sites on Facebook and group chats that have seen many girls abused by malicious people," he said.
Harun said due to poor parental supervision, some children used the opportunity to exploit the internet services instead of learning.
Harun said in the past week, they rescued two teens at Ukunda and Wasini. Some had been abused while others got stranded as their dates failed to show up.
The girls are alleged to have come from Nairobi, with some from rural areas within the county. Similar incidents were reported in Mombasa and Kilifi.
He said the girls are made to take buses and promised to be reimbursed their fare immediately they reach the meeting points. They are mostly aged between 13 and 17.
"Unfortunately the confused minors are also taken advantage of by individuals they approach for assistance," he said.
The paralegal officer said most girls found are unable to identify or recognise the friends they have just met.
He said the majority of the perpetrators use fake WhatsApp and Facebook accounts to lure and defile the teens.
Harun also said some of the girls were being entrapped because of poverty and unemployment.
He said many girls have been introduced to commercial sex work during the Covid-19 pandemic after many parents lost jobs.
"Most parents depended on the hotels and when they closed children sought alternative means of survival," he said.
The officer has urged different stakeholder to unite and tame the vice that is destroying the girl's future.
Last month non-government organisation, Human Development Agenda raised alarm over the increasing cases of teen pregnancies.
HUDA officer Kashi Jermaine said about 15 cases are reported each month in the region.
-Edited by SKanyara
