Federal lawsuit alleges ‘predator’ groomed metro-east boy through game apps
The mother of a 14-year-old boy in Madison County has filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that Roblox and Discord gaming and communication apps allowed a child predator to identify, groom and coerce him into sending sexually explicit images of himself.
Florida-based attorneys with Dolman Law Group filed a 110-page complaint last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the companies are located.
The plaintiff is listed anonymously as Jane Doe J.R., guardian of minor child John Doe C.R.
“Through their pervasive patterns of misrepresentations about safety, Defendants portray their apps as safe and appropriate places for children to play,” the complaint states.
“In reality, and as Defendants well know, the design of their apps makes children easy prey for pedophiles, and Defendants had no appropriate safeguards to ensure that children were in fact safe or that predators were screened.”
Dolman has filed similar lawsuits against Roblox Corp. and Discord Inc. on behalf of clients in other parts of the United States.
The Nov. 6 complaint lists eight causes of action, including fraudulent concealment and misrepresentations, negligent misrepresentation, negligence (general), negligence (failure to warn), negligence (unreasonable design), negligent undertaking, strict liability (design defect) and strict liability (failure to warn).
The Madison County family is asking for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and medical expenses.
“This action seeks to hold Roblox and Discord accountable for recklessly and deceptively operating businesses in a way that led to the sexual exploitation and repeated harassment of Plaintiff,” the complaint states.
Media representatives with Discord didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Roblox spokeswoman Stefanie Notaney emailed the following statement:
“We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users. Roblox’s vision is to be the safest platform on the internet, which is why our policies are purposely stricter than those found on many other platforms. We 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 are continually innovating and investing in safety. While no system is perfect, this year alone we have made over 145 safety enhancements to help protect our users and empower parents and caregivers with greater control and visibility.”
The statement added that Roblox is collaborating with law enforcement and mental-health organizations to end sexual exploitation of children, helping to develop industrywise standards and planning to begin requiring facial age estimation for users of some features.
Roblox and Discord are platforms that allow people to communicate, play digital games and chat with others while playing games.
According to the Nov. 6 complaint, the Madison County boy played games on Roblox for years, and his mother allowed it because she believed company claims that it was safe for children, but she recently discovered that her son had met an adult male “predator” posing as a peer.
The man allegedly:
- Groomed the boy, exploiting his age and vulnerability to build a false emotional connection.
- Employed well-documented grooming tactics and manipulated him to continue interacting on Discord.
- Sent the boy explicit messages and coerced him into sending sexually explicit images of himself.
- Threatened to harm the boy’s family if he didn’t send the images.
- Caused the boy to lose his self-confidence and become severely withdrawn.
“Plaintiff has continued to experience intrusive thoughts and anxiety about the exploitation (and) endure humiliation, shame, and a profound loss of safety and innocence which has resulted in lasting psychological effects,” the complaint states.
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 2:28 PM.
