Mother files lawsuit against Roblox, claiming her son was targeted by predators

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - An Ohio mother filed a lawsuit against the popular app Roblox, alleging the game created a breeding ground for predators and failed to provide safeguards for children like her son.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the mother and her now 13-year-old son by Dolman Law Group in the Northern District of California, where the app giant is headquartered.

The lawsuit posits Roblox is accountable for enabling the sexual exploitation of the minor, identified as John Doe, and prioritizes financial gain over children’s welfare.

In 2024, when Doe was 11, the lawsuit alleges he unknowingly encountered a dangerous predator pretending to be a peer, who began grooming him. The predator sent the boy graphic messages and sexually explicit images of himself while trying to manipulate Doe into taking similar pictures of himself, according to a release from Dolman.

“When Doe refused, the predator threatened to harm Doe’s family if his demands were not met; out of fear for his family’s safety, Doe ultimately succumbed by sending sexually explicit images of himself to the predator,” the release stated.

Doe was an avid Roblox user up until his sexual exploitation, and his mother believed there were proper safeguards in place, trusting Roblox’s representations of child safety, according to the release.

The lawsuit states that through pervasive misrepresentation about safety, the app instills a sense of safety in parents when, in reality, the platform makes children accessible to pedophiles.

Dolman said it uncovered Roblox “experiences” that referenced pop culture with games titled “Diddy Party,” “Survive Diddy,” “JeffEpsteinSupporter” and “Escape to Epstein Island.”

The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages from Roblox for the suffering of profound life-altering psychological and emotional injuries, including enduring humiliation, shame and constant fear, as well as a profound loss of trust, safety and innocence, according to the release.

“This case against Roblox is a terrifying reminder of the world we live in where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity. There have never been sufficient safety measures and protocols in place, putting our youngest and most vulnerable communities into unimaginable harm’s way every second of the day. Without forcing systemic change, Roblox will continue to operate anarchically,” said Matthew Dolman, principal of Dolman Law Group.

The law group is currently representing individuals in cases against Roblox throughout the United States.

Below is a statement provided by a Roblox spokesperson:

We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users. While we cannot comment on claims raised in litigation, protecting children is a top priority, which is why our policies are purposely stricter than those found on many other platforms. We recently announced our plans to require facial age checks for all users accessing chat features, making us the first online gaming or communication platform to do so. This innovation enables age-based chat and limits communication between minors and adults. We also limit chat for younger users, don’t allow the sharing of external images, and have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information.

We dedicate substantial resources—including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation—to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off-platform where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours. We understand that no system is perfect, which is why we are constantly working to improve our safety tools and platform restrictions. We have launched 145 new safety initiatives this year alone and recognize this is an industry-wide issue requiring collaborative standards and solutions.

We encourage anyone to report content or behavior that may violate our Community Standards using our Report Abuse feature. We also partner with law enforcement and leading child safety and mental health organizations worldwide to combat the sexual exploitation of children such as the Tech Coalition’s Lantern project and Robust Open Online Safety Tools or ROOST.