Roblox Sextortion Lawsuit Alleges Teen Committed Suicide After Being Groomed, Blackmailed

Teen lived in fear after sexual predator who blackmailed him stopped contacting him, not knowing the man had already been arrested.

A teenage boy died by suicide after being targeted and exploited by a predator on Roblox and Discord, which lack basic safety protections for children, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his mother.

Rebecca Dallas brought forth the complaint (PDF) in California Superior Court in San Francisco County last month, on behalf of herself and her late son, Ethan, who took his own life when he was only 15.

Roblox is a video game construction set marketed to children that allows users to build their own games, create customizable avatars, make in-game purchases and explore player-created worlds and games. It also allows players to contact each other and, in some cases, manipulate other players’ avatars, forcing them to take actions outside of their player’s control.

However, in recent years, hundreds of reports have surfaced involving children who were sexually exploited, coerced or even abducted by sexual predators often pretending to be other children on the app, which has become known as a frequent point of first contact between them and children. 

Parents, advocacy groups and law enforcement agencies have warned that the game’s open chat features and lack of effective moderation have created a dangerous environment for young users, which can easily lead to Roblox sextortion incidents.

As a result of the incidents, hundreds of Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits have been filed in recent months, each alleging the company has turned a blind eye to systemic safety failures while continuing to profit from the platform’s popularity with children.

According to the complaint, Ethan began playing Roblox in 2006, when he was only 7. As a result of the company’s claims of child safety, his mother believed the app was safe for him to use, and it became one of Ethan’s main sources of social interaction due to his autism.

Another Roblox user, a sexual predator claiming to be a child named Nate, began grooming Ethan at an early age. However, as he got older and the grooming became more intense, it switched over to Discord, where Ethan was blackmailed into sending “Nate” more and more explicit pictures and videos.

Then it stopped in 2021, when the man was arrested in Florida for possession of child pornography. However, Ethan did not know that and continued to live in terror after the man stopped communicating. Ethan confessed to his mother, yet fear and panic continued to gnaw at him until he committed suicide one night when he was 15.

It was only after his death that his mother was informed by law enforcement that the predator responsible for her child’s sextortion had been behind bars.

According to Dallas, both Roblox and Discord have spent considerable effort to convince parents that the game was safe for children.

“This created the public perception that Roblox had created a safe environment for kids. Unbeknownst to Plaintiff at the time, this was nothing more than a false façade of safety.”

— Rebecca Dallas v. Roblox Corporation et al

Ethan’s mother presents claims of fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, negligence – failure to warn, negligence – unreasonable design, negligent undertaking, strict liability – design defect, strict liability – failure to warn, and wrongful death.

In September, Roblox announced that new age verification technology will be implemented on the platform this year.

Roblox Child Sexual Exploitation Lawsuits

While the complaint is one of the first to involve claims of wrongful death and suicide, it is also one of a number of similar claims, each alleging that the platform was deliberately designed in a way that allows predators to target children. Many of the complaints claim that the company has ignored repeated warnings about grooming and sextortion to protect its profits, even as it continues to promote the game as safe and appropriate for kids.

Parents warn that predators often use private chats, friend requests and in-game tools to build trust with young users, sometimes offering Robux as payment for explicit images or resorting to threats to extort them. Families argue this not only puts children at risk of exploitation but also links Roblox’s revenue model to abusive behavior.

These Roblox lawsuits indicate that victims have suffered lasting psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts. Plaintiffs are seeking financial damages as well as major safety reforms to better protect minors from Roblox sextortion schemes that occur on the platform.

Roblox Lawsuits Could Be Consolidated

On September 18, a plaintiff filed a motion with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), calling for consolidation of all Roblox child sexual exploitation lawsuits in the Northern District of California as part of 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.

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. If there is no resolution or Roblox settlement agreement reached during the pretrial proceedings, the claims would be remanded back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.

Individuals who believe they or their children were harmed through Roblox can have their situation reviewed by a Roblox lawyer 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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