Roblox Abuse
The Bear Cave has published extensively on safety problems at Roblox and concluded that “Roblox is facilitating widespread child abuse across the United States including the mass production of child pornography, child kidnappings, and child physical abuse.” All our articles are below:
“Problems at Roblox (RBLX)” (February 3, 2022)
“More Problems at Roblox (RBLX)” (February 17, 2022)
“Even More Problems at Roblox (RBLX)” (August 17, 2023)
“Problems at Roblox (RBLX) #4” (October 3, 2024)
“Problems at Roblox (RBLX) #5” (October 17, 2024)
List of Abuse Cases
In 2019, 29-year-old convicted pedophile Owain Thomas “groomed 150 children to engage in sexual activity using Roblox.” 60 of those children were under the age of 13 and in many cases Thomas used Roblox’s in-game currency, Robux, to solicit children. In one case Thomas “paid a 10-year-old victim 400 Robux to perform a sexual act while he watched him on a webcam.” A lawyer called the volume of abuse “possibly unprecedented.”
In September 2020, 48-year-old registered sex offender Clinton McElroy was arrested after convincing an eight-year-old girl “into sending sexually explicit videos in exchange for Robux.” McElroy “was previously convicted in 2018 of commercial sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old child.”
In February 2021, Jose D. Melena kidnapped an 11-year-old child he was communicating with through Roblox.
In June 2021, 18-year-old Ron Machluf was indicted for using Roblox “to lure and commit sexual offenses against several girls between the ages of 7 and 12.” According to the charges, Machluf would contact girls on the game’s chat and offer Robux in exchange for partially nude photos.
In July 2021, 23-year-old Terrence Barto was arrested for “indecent solicitation of a child, violation of sex offender registry and grooming” after he “contacted a 12-year-old boy in Texas via Roblox.” At the time Barto joined Roblox he was already a convicted sex offender in Washington state.
In August 2021, 61-year-old John Mathew Piecuch was indicted after posing as a 13-year-old boy on Roblox. He “contacted a 12-year-old girl and requested sexually explicit photos of her and her 5-year-old sibling.”
In January 2022, Sarasota County police released a redacted probable cause affidavit against 45-year-old Shane Penczak “on seven felony charges involving crimes against children” including “lewd and lascivious battery on a child.” Penczak allegedly “impersonated a teenage girl” on Roblox to meet his victims and “sent electronic [Roblox] gift cards in exchange for nude photos.”
In February 2022, 33-year-old Howard Graham drove around 900 miles to meet a 13-year-old girl he had connected with two days earlier on Roblox. Graham drove the girl from her home in Topeka, Kansas back to his home in Clayton County, Georgia. The next month Graham, who had a prior criminal matter from 2007, was arrested on multiple charges including “rape, kidnapping, and sex trafficking.” Police found the 13-year-old girl outside a Dollar General.
In April 2022, 19-year-old Anthony Joshua Borgesa was arrested after “kidnapping a child under the age of 12” along with “allegations of sexual abuse.” Police said Borgesa met the girl “through the game Roblox.”
In July 2022, Roblox game developer Arnold Castillo was “arrested on charges of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and coercion and enticement of a minor.”
Also in July 2022, 19-year-old Ethan James Alfonso was arraigned “on ten counts of child molestation” after meeting a 10-year-old on Roblox.
In August 2022, 40-year-old registered sex offender Don Robison was arrested for “felony unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication device” after meeting a 14-year-old through Roblox.
In January 2023, a federal jury in Grand Island, Nebraska indicted 26-year-old Tadashi Kojima on charges he “willfully and unlawfully kidnapped a 13-year-old and took the minor across state lines with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.” The child’s father told police “his son had been communicating with someone while playing Roblox and then was invited to talk on a chatroom service.” Police found the 13-year-old boy along with Kojima sitting inside a white Toyota Avalon at a Git-N-Split convenience store.
In April 2023, 21-year-old Danil Baker met a 14-year-old girl through Roblox and “allegedly convinced the girl to share nude images.” Baker then “picked her up from school in Ohio and took her to a park [and] coerced her to perform sex acts on him.” At the time, Baker was out on bond for a separate pending criminal case also involving a minor. Ultimately, the 14-year-old girl was “found crying alone in the bathroom of a Kroger.”
In June 2023, 21-year-old Daniel Diaz was arrested “for contacting a minor for purposes of committing a felony offense” after meeting with a child he contacted through Roblox. Police added Diaz was “possibly in contact with other juvenile victims through Roblox.”
In January 2024, 27-year-old Darius Matylewich was indicted “for traveling to sexually abuse an 11-year-old victim” he communicated with via Roblox.
In February 2024, 18-year-old Brandon Roy Alvarez “was indicted for attempting to coerce a [10-year-old] girl to send images to him after befriending her over the gaming platform Roblox.”
On August 20, 2024, a 21-year-old Chilean man was arrested at LAX airport “on suspicion of contacting a minor for a sexual offense” after meeting a 13-year-old girl on Roblox and booking an Airbnb near her home.
On August 26, 2024, 44-year-old Maryland elementary school teacher Mark Cobb was “charged with sexual abuse of a minor, child pornography distribution and possession of child pornography” after soliciting “photos of a 9-year-old student.” The victim told police she chatted with Cobb “via phone and the game platform Roblox.” Police said they found “a black bag filled with children’s underwear in his office” and added, “we know that there are other victims out there.”
In October 2024, 36-year-old Tara Alexis Sykes was “charged with attempted murder while engaged in aggravated child abuse” after she instructed a 10-year-old child on Roblox to kill her 2-month-old sibling with instructions “to drown the infant in the bathtub, burn the infant with scalding water, and drop the infant on the floor to kill the infant." The infant was injured but survived.
Predator Poachers
Predator Poachers is an independent group that conducts sting operations to catch child predators. Those videos, available behind a $10 paywall, have also found Roblox enables child abuse and have led to several child abuse arrests, all of which received no media reporting.
In an August 2023 video, Predator Poachers confronted Christopher Charles Burton, a 61-year-old man who had previously been charged with child molestation. Burton had engaged with one of Rosen’s decoy minor accounts on Facebook and when confronted admitted to child abuse crimes and talking with an 8-year-old girl on Roblox.
In a separate November 2023 video, Predator Poachers confronted 52-year-old truck driver Lewis Sharon Hasty who had been talking to minors online. Mr. Rosen asked Hasty how he obtained child pornography. Hasty talked about child predator groups and how he used Roblox to solicit child pornography.
In a September 2024 video, Predator Poachers confronted 22-year-old Roblox game developer Amorie Hunt in a public park after he had been chatting inappropriately with a minor on Roblox. Hunt said relationships between adults and minors were “relatively common” on Roblox and added that “people have multiple accounts pretending to be underage.”
In an October 2024 video, Predator poachers and the YouTuber Schlep posed as a 15-year-old girl on Roblox and began talking to a 25-year-old man. The predator was confronted in a park on a YouTube livestream titled, “Catching a Roblox Predator IRL” after sending photos of the back of his car with blankets and a message, “19 hours left to chill with u irl”
Inappropriate Games
Below is one example of an inappropriate and dangerous game on Roblox:
Other Notable Investigations
“Roblox’s Pedophile Problem” August 2024 Bloomberg investigation by Olivia Carville and Cecilia D’Anastasio
“Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics For Wall Street And A Pedophile Hellscape For Kids” October 2024 Hindenburg Research investigation
The Bear Cave never bets against the companies we write about and has no financial position regarding Roblox. Contact: edwin@585research.com