Roblox Lawsuit Claims 7-Year-Old Groomed by Sex Predator

Lawsuit alleges Roblox failed to implement basic safeguards that could have prevented an adult sexual predator from grooming and exploiting a minor.

A New York mother has filed a lawsuit alleging Roblox exposed her young daughter to a sexual predator, who used the game’s chat and virtual currency features to gain the child’s trust before sending her sexually explicit material and attempting to arrange an in-person meeting.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by a mother identified only as Jane Doe A.D.7299, on behalf of her minor daughter, Jane Doe T.D.7299, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on September 29, naming Roblox Corporation as the sole defendant.

Jane Doe A.D.7299 claims her daughter is among numerous children who have suffered devastating harm as a result of Roblox’s alleged misrepresentations and defective platform design.

Roblox Child Safety Concerns

Roblox is one of the world’s most popular online gaming platforms, allowing users to create avatars, play games and communicate with others through a variety of social features.

Although Roblox has marketed the platform as appropriate for children, it has drawn increasing criticism from parents, child safety advocates and regulators over concerns that its communication systems, virtual currency and other features may allow sexual predators to identify, contact and groom young users.

Those concerns have led to a number of Roblox lawsuits, which allege the company prioritized expanding its user base and increasing engagement over protecting children. Critics also argue the platform failed to implement sufficient age verification, parental controls, content moderation and other safeguards that could limit predators’ access to minors.

Roblox Grooming Allegations

According to the complaint, Jane Doe T.D.7299 was about 7 years old when she was allegedly contacted by a predator through Roblox in 2017. Using the account name “Johnb360,” the individual allegedly approached her through the platform’s public chat feature and gave her Robux, Roblox’s virtual currency, in an effort to gain her trust.

The lawsuit claims the interactions continued for about a month, during which the predator allegedly made sexual comments, sent the child a sexually explicit photograph of himself, provided sexually explicit cartoon images and directed her to pornographic websites.

He also allegedly asked the girl to send photographs or videos of herself, threatened her and instructed her to keep their communications secret. The complaint indicates he invited the child to his home and attempted to arrange an in-person meeting, although the two never met. 

The girl did not tell her mother about the alleged grooming and sexual exploitation until about 2020, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint specifically claims Roblox failed to require meaningful age and identity verification, restrict communications between adults and children or prevent adult users from transferring Robux to minors. It also alleges the company failed to provide adequate warnings to children and their parents about the risk of sexual predators using the platform. 

Jane Doe A.D.7299 argues those shortcomings allowed the alleged predator to contact her daughter without her knowledge or supervision.

“The predator who targeted Minor Plaintiff is just one of many who regularly use Roblox to gain access to and prey on children. Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit against Defendant for the devastating damages caused by its tortious and punitive conduct in designing, managing, and promoting the app, which facilitated the grooming, and sexual exploitation of Minor Plaintiff (and countless other children).”

— Jane Doe A.D.7299 v. Roblox Corporation

The lawsuit raises allegations of design defect, failure to warn, unreasonable design, negligence, negligent undertaking, fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation. It seeks past, present and future general, economic and special damages.

Roblox Sexual Exploitation Lawsuits

Doe A.D.7299’s complaint joins at least 180 Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits pending before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California, where the federal claims have been centralized for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

As the litigation moves forward, Judge Seeborg is expected to establish a bellwether process involving a limited number of representative cases selected for early trial dates. Although those verdicts will not determine the outcome of other claims, they may help the parties evaluate how juries respond to evidence and arguments that are likely to arise repeatedly across the litigation.

The court also appointed a special master earlier this year to assist with preliminary settlement discussions. If those negotiations are successful, they could help establish a framework for resolving large numbers of claims without requiring every family to proceed through an individual trial.

However, if settlement discussions and the bellwether process do not lead to a broader resolution, remaining federal cases could ultimately be returned to their originating courts for separate trials.

Roblox sexual exploitation lawyers continue to evaluate potential claims on a contingency fee basis, meaning families pay no attorney fees or litigation costs unless compensation is recovered through a settlement or jury award. 

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