(New York Post) A new report says Pokemon Go is taking young children dangerously close to sex offenders.

The report dubbed “Protecting our Children: How Pokémon GO and Augmented Reality Games Expose Children to Sex Offenders” revealed that the cute cartoon creatures are popping up in front of the homes of registered sex offenders across the city.

“Unfortunately, Pokémon GO has opened up a door to sexual predators,” said state Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), whose office teamed with that of state Sen. Diane Savino (D-SI) to conduct a two-week investigation.

Investigators visited the homes of 100 Level 2 and 3 sex offenders who committed “heinous” crimes against children — or who were convicted of possessing child pornography — and found Pokémon characters popped up directly in front 57 percent of the time.

The sex offenders are either on parole or probation and are not permitted within 1,000 feet of a school.

The mobile game, which uses a cellphone’s camera and GPS functions to virtually populate real-world locations with the digital monsters, also placed “PokéStops” and “gyms” — where players can train their Pokémon — within a half-block radius of convicted pedophiles’ residences 59 percent of the time.

A Pokémon-related item appeared near residences of the sex offenders 73 percent of the time, according to the investigation.

Players of the game can also use a “lure” at a PokéStop to attract Pokémon characters to a specific location, which the senators fear may be used by sexual predators to bait children to a certain area.

“A sexual predator who downloads this game holds a guide in their hands — a virtual road map to hunt down their prey,” said Klein.

Klein and Savino are planning new legislation to protect children from encountering sex predators while playing the game that has swept the nation.

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