A Cuyahoga County mother has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Roblox failed to protect her 11-year-old son from an adult predator who contacted him through the gaming platform. The complaint states that the adult posed as another child, communicated with the boy through in-game features, and gradually groomed him into sharing explicit images.
The mother discovered the exploitation after noticing abrupt changes in her son’s behavior and reviewing his online activity. Law enforcement was contacted immediately, and investigators later identified an adult suspect behind the account. The lawsuit alleges that Roblox did not have sufficient protections in place to prevent adults from contacting minors, and failed to detect or block the inappropriate interactions as they escalated.
Roblox is widely used by children across Northeast Ohio, including those in Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties. Local technology-safety counselors say cases involving gaming platforms have increased in recent years because predators often take advantage of private chat functions, friend requests and peer-to-peer messaging that appear harmless to parents.
The family is seeking damages for emotional harm as well as changes to the platform’s safety practices. The case remains active in federal court, and no hearing or trial date has been scheduled.