MDL Sought for Roblox Lawsuits Over Child Sexual Exploitation and Assault Epidemic

Nearly half of the Roblox sexual exploitation lawsuits include claims against Discord, which predators used to trade explicit pictures and videos with children using the gaming platform.

A survivor of a child sexual assault, who narrowly avoided being raped after being groomed by a man online, is asking for all federal Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits to be consolidated before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Identified only as Jane Doe, the plaintiff indicates that she was just 13 years old when a sexual predator on Roblox, pretending he was another child, eventually convinced her to meet him near her home, where he attempted to rape her until law enforcement rescued her.

Her claim is one of more than 30 such lawsuits against Roblox Corporation, which have been filed throughout the federal court system since the popular video game construction set was launched in 2006, allowing users to build their own games, customize their avatars, interact with other players, make in-game purchases and explore other players’ customized worlds and games.

The past year has seen a flood of reports of children being sexually exploited on the Roblox platform, including abductions and rapes, which is expected to result in hundreds of additional claims being filed in the coming months. Each of the claims raise similar allegations, indicating that the game’s open chat features and lack of effective moderation have created a dangerous environment for young users.

On September 18, representatives of Jane Doe, a minor, filed a motion for transfer (PDF) with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), calling for all Roblox lawsuits over child sexual exploitation and assaults to be consolidated before one federal judge in the Northern District of California as a multidistrict litigation (MDL). The motion argues that consolidation would prevent conflicting rulings by different judges, as well as duplicate discovery, and would serve the convenience of the Court, parties and witnesses.

The motion indicates there are currently 32 Roblox lawsuits filed in 12 district courts before 25 different judges. All of the plaintiffs are minors who were sexually abused or exploited by child sex predators on Roblox.

However, there are also other platforms named in some of the claims, with Discord being included in 13 of the lawsuits, four of which include Snap, Inc., which operates Snapchat, and one includes Meta, the operators of Instagram. Plaintiffs allege child predators on Roblox often coerced children to use these apps as alternate means of communicating with their victims surreptitiously.

“The plaintiffs in the Actions are all minors who were sexually abused or exploited by child sex predators, or adults who suffered the same trauma when they were minors. These predators all used Roblox to find, target, and groom plaintiffs before coercing them into exchanging sexually explicit images or meeting in person.”

– Jane Doe Memorandum in Support of Motion for Transfer of Actions

If the JPML agrees to consolidate the litigation, the cases will be transferred before one U.S. District Judge. However, the lawsuits will remain individual, separate claims, and if there is no resolution or Roblox settlement agreement is reached during the pretrial proceedings they would be remanded back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.

Individuals who believe they or their children were harmed through Roblox still can have their situation reviewed by a Roblox attorney to see if they qualify for a lawsuit or potential settlement. Case evaluations are confidential, and lawyers work on a contingency basis, meaning no fees or costs are charged unless compensation is secured.

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