Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC and Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC announced the filing of two lawsuits in California courts against Roblox Corporation and Discord Inc., alleging both companies knowingly failed to implement basic safety measures to protect children from online predators who use their platforms to groom, exploit, and sexually abuse minors.
The firms filed one lawsuit in Superior Court of the State of California – Los Angeles County against both Roblox and Discord, and a second lawsuit in Riverside County Superior Court against Roblox. The complaints represent children as young as 10 years-old who were targeted by adult predators posing as children on these platforms, resulting in devastating real-world sexual abuse.
These cases are part of a broader legal effort by the firms representing more than 3,000 child victims who were sexually exploited through Roblox and Discord.
Los Angeles County Case: Predator Network on Roblox and Discord Trafficks 12 Year-Old
In the Los Angeles County case, the complaint alleges in 2024, a 12 year-old girl was targeted through Roblox by a predator posing as a 15 year-old girl named "Precious." The predator persuaded the child and her friend to move their conversations to Discord, where the grooming intensified.
The predator manipulated the girls into emotional dependence by claiming she was abused at home and had no friends. Over time, the predator arranged an in-person meeting at a public beach. Because of the predator's petite frame, supervising parents were unable to recognize from a distance that "Precious" was older than she presented. During this meeting, the predator attempted to involve the girls with a group of young adult men, though the parents intervened and took the girls home.
Following the beach meeting, the predator intensified efforts to abuse the child, repeatedly trying to convince her to visit an apartment in Fullerton alone. "Precious" introduced the 12 year-old to a group of adult predators on Discord who coerced her into creating and sending child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These predators pressured her to assume specific poses, a pattern highly indicative she was a victim of a larger CSAM trafficking ring.
The child's mother has agreed to speak with the media about her daughter's experience.
"The facts of this case are deeply disturbing," said Martin D. Gould, founding partner of Gould Grieco & Hensley. " What this child endured is unconscionable, and families deserve stronger protections from predators operating online.”
Riverside County Case: 10 Year-Old Lured from Roblox to Real-World Sexual Assault
In the Riverside County Superior Court case, the complaint alleges that in 2023, a 10 year-old girl was introduced to an adult predator posing as a child in a chat room on Roblox. What began as a seemingly innocent online friendship evolved into a calculated pattern of grooming, where the predator manipulated the child into believing he was her "boyfriend."
Over time, the predator, who was in his 30s but pretended to be much younger, convinced the child to meet in person, even providing detailed instructions on how to sneak out of her grandmother's home and evade surveillance cameras. Believing she was meeting a peer who promised they would play Roblox and she could meet his dog, the 10 year-old got into the predator's car. She was quickly dragged into the backseat, where she was sexually assaulted and not released until early the next morning.
"These cases show just how easy it is for adults to purposely misrepresent themselves and gain access to children," said Steven L. Vanderporten, partner at Gould Grieco & Hensley. "Roblox has long known about risks like this, yet it's chosen not to implement the safeguards needed to protect vulnerable users."
Internal Warnings Ignored: Companies Chose Profits Over Child Safety
Internal accounts from former Roblox employees reveal the company knowingly deprioritized child safety in favor of user growth. One former staffer described the company's approach succinctly:
"You have to make a decision, right? You can keep your players safe, but then it would be less of them on the platform. Or you just let them do what they want to do. And then the numbers all look good, and investors will be happy."
Despite this, Roblox launched high-profile marketing campaigns assuring families "safety is in our DNA" and touting "zero-tolerance" policies for endangering children, which the complaint says covered up the threats children still faced on the platform.
The complaints allege that both Roblox and Discord have consistently failed to implement basic protections such as:
- Effective age verification systems to prevent adults from posing as children
- Restrictions on direct messaging between adult and child accounts
- Parental consent requirements for children under 13
- Adequate content moderation and reporting systems
- Prevention of users from easily moving conversations to less-monitored platforms
"Roblox and Discord have created the perfect hunting ground for predators. These platforms knowingly prioritize user growth and profits over child safety. When your own employees are telling you that you're choosing metrics over protecting kids, and you ignore them, that's not negligence. That's a deliberate choice to put children in harm's way," said Gould.
"If internal employees were sounding the alarm about child safety, these companies had an obligation to act, not to look the other way," said Gary Klinger, partner at Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman. "You can't tell families that safety is 'in your DNA' while ignoring the most basic protections for the children who rely on your platform. That's why we're demanding accountability."
Across the country, state attorneys general and federal agencies have warned that predators are increasingly using gaming and chat platforms to target children. The Louisiana Attorney General's Office has filed suit against Roblox, and the FBI has issued public advisories about the dangers of grooming and sexual extortion in child-focused digital spaces.
"Roblox and Discord have the power and responsibility to protect children, but they've chosen not to act," said Melissa Nafash, partner at Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman. "That's why accountability through the courts is not just justified — it's necessary. Otherwise, more children are at risk."
Legal Relief Sought
Both plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages through multiple counts, including fraudulent misrepresentation, negligence, and strict liability claims.
Both Plaintiffs are represented by Martin D. Gould, Michael R. Grieco, and Steven L. Vanderporten of Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC, and Gary Klinger, Melissa Nafash, Melinda Maxson, and Alexander Wolf of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC.
If you or a loved one was sexually exploited or abused through Roblox or Discord, please contact Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC.
About Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC
Gould Grieco & Hensley (GGH) is a boutique national personal injury firm dedicated to advocating for victims of abuse and catastrophic injuries in high-stakes litigation. We pride ourselves on being Innovators of Law and Providers of Justice. Our attorneys have litigated and won cases nationwide, representing thousands of individuals, including thousands of survivors of rape, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse in many of the highest profile abuse cases across the country. These cases include claims against private and public institutions such as University of Michigan (Dr. Robert Anderson), Michigan State University (Dr. Larry Nasser), Endeavor Health (Dr. Fabio Ortega), professional sports teams, private and public schools, elite private boarding schools, orphanages, foster care programs, hospitals, mental health facilities, Fortune 500 companies, wealthy individuals (Jeffrey Epstein), and numerous religious institutions and related entities. Recent successes include participating in global settlements valued at nearly $3 billion, with over $400 million recovered on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation in the past 18 months. In addition to securing record recoveries, GGH attorneys have also worked with clients to fought for and secure policy changes, helping protect future generations of children and adults from abuse and exploitation. For example, as part of a recent $21.3 million settlement in the hotel abuse case last year (one of the largest settlements in the country for an individual survivor), the firm also successfully secured policy and training changes for thousands of hotels improving hotel pre-employment screening and safety for hotel guests and employees nationwide. For more information, visit gghlaw.com.
About Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC
For over 50 years, Milberg and its affiliates have been fighting to protect victims' rights and have recovered over $50 billion for clients. A pioneer in class action litigation, Milberg is widely recognized as a leader in defending the rights of victims of corporate wrongdoing. Milberg is currently involved in some of the largest and most complex class action cases pending in the country and is particularly active in the field of Information Technology litigation. Over the past three years, Milberg has settled on a class-wide basis more than fifty (50) class actions involving privacy violations in state and federal courts across the country as lead or co-lead counsel; no other plaintiffs’ class action firm in the country has settled and won court approval of more data breach and data privacy class actions during this period. The firm has successfully brought forth cybersecurity-related claims against major corporations including Meta Platforms, Snap Inc. (Snapchat), Walmart, Bose, CVS, Facebook, Gannett Co., Advocate Aurora Health, Inc., Novant Health, Inc. and more – resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. Milberg is equally committed to helping survivors of sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation seek justice. Milberg attorneys handle complex sexual abuse cases involving schools, juvenile detention facilities, religious institutions, healthcare providers, employers, and other entities that allowed abuse to occur. Milberg is actively representing sexual abuse victims in cases against Expedia Group Inc. and Securitas Security Services USA Inc., real estate moguls Tal and Oren Alexander, and the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan. More information about Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC can be found on the firm’s website. For more information, visit milberg.com.
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