Snapchat Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Alleges Predator Targeted 9-Year-Old Girl

Lawsuit alleges Roblox and Snapchat failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect children from online predators who use the platforms to groom and sexually exploit minors.

A Louisiana woman has filed a lawsuit alleging that a man posing as a child contacted a 9-year-old girl through Roblox and convinced her to move their conversations to Snapchat, where he allegedly subjected her to sexual exploitation.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by an adult identified as KG-GAL 0006 on behalf of a minor known only as KG-JD 0006 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on October 16. It names Roblox Corporation, Snap Inc. and other unidentified entities as defendants.

The lawsuit claims both companies failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect young users, allowing the alleged predator to establish contact with the child and continue the abuse across both platforms.

Roblox and Snapchat Sexual Abuse Risks

Roblox is a popular online gaming platform where users, including young children, can create and play games, explore virtual environments and communicate with others through messaging features.

A growing number of Roblox child sexual abuse lawsuits raise concerns about the platform’s ability to distinguish adult users from children and prevent predators from exploiting its communication features. The complaints allege that insufficient age verification and monitoring allow adults to misrepresent their identities and develop inappropriate relationships with minors.

Snapchat, meanwhile, allows users to exchange private messages, photos and videos, many of which automatically disappear after being viewed. Lawsuits involving the application allege that these disappearing messages, combined with inadequate parental controls and other safety deficiencies, can make it difficult to detect abusive communications, preserve evidence and prevent sexual exploitation.

Snapchat Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

According to the complaint, KG-JD 0006 was approached through a Roblox game by an adult man who falsely represented himself as a child her age. The man allegedly developed a relationship with the girl and gained her trust by pretending to be a peer. He then persuaded her to add him on Snapchat, moving the relationship from the gaming platform to a social media application.

KG-GAL 0006 claims the predator convinced the girl they were romantically involved, professed his love and threatened to end the relationship when she did not respond quickly enough. She goes on to allege that he manipulated KG-JD 0006 into sending sexually explicit photographs.

The girl’s mother allegedly noticed behavioral changes, including signs of depression. After arranging therapy, she examined her daughter’s phone and discovered the communications.

Filings indicate the mother reported the incident to local police, who retained the phone as part of an investigation. The complaint states that the investigation remains ongoing.

The lawsuit claims Roblox and Snapchat have become interconnected tools for child predators, with Roblox serving as an initial point of contact where adults can pose as children and gain their trust before moving conversations to Snapchat. Once there, the complaint alleges predators can exploit private messaging features and inadequate safety protections to manipulate children into sharing sexually explicit images or engaging in increasingly dangerous interactions.

“Leveraging the trust cultivated on Roblox, the predator manipulated Plaintiff into adding him on Snapchat. As discussed above, this cross-platform connection is a documented exploitation pathway that both Roblox and Snap profit from and refuse to disrupt.”

— KG-GAL 0006 et al. v. Roblox Corporation et al.

Snapchat’s disappearing-message features can allegedly make abusive communications more difficult for parents to discover. In addition, its Quick Add feature could make minors easier for adults to locate, although Snap did introduce restrictions for teenage accounts in January 2022.

However, the complaint criticizes Snap’s age verification practices and the absence of parental controls before late 2022. The lawsuit also references Snap’s internal research and reports of child sexual exploitation to argue that the company was aware of the risks.

The filing raises allegations of fraudulent concealment and misrepresentations, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, failure to warn, unreasonable design, negligent undertaking, design defect and failure to warn. It seeks past, present and future general, economic and special damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and medical treatment.

Roblox Sexual Exploitation Lawsuits

KG-JD 0006’s complaint is one of at least 180 Roblox sexual exploitation lawsuits currently pending before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California, where the federal cases have been consolidated for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

As the cases progress, Judge Seeborg is expected to develop a bellwether trial process, selecting a small group of representative lawsuits to go before juries first. While the outcomes will not be binding on other claims, they could provide insight into how juries may interpret evidence and testimony presented throughout the litigation.

Earlier this year, the court also appointed a special master to facilitate initial Roblox settlement negotiations. Successful discussions could provide a pathway for resolving numerous lawsuits without requiring each family to pursue a separate trial.

If the settlement negotiations and bellwether trials fail to produce a comprehensive resolution, unresolved federal lawsuits may eventually be sent back to the courts where they were originally filed for individual trials.

Roblox sexual exploitation lawyers are continuing to review potential cases for families whose children were harmed through the platform. Attorneys handle these claims on a contingency fee basis, with no legal fees or litigation expenses owed unless compensation is obtained through a settlement or jury verdict.

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