Roblox sued by Chicago-area father after son groomed by online predator: court docs

Roblox faces growing lawsuits over child safety concerns | ChicagoNOW

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Roblox, alleging the company failed to adequately protect minors on its platform. An attorney joins us to explain the claims, whether Roblox could be held liable and how the cases could impact the future of online games for children. 

CHICAGO - A Cook County father filed a federal lawsuit against Roblox Corp, alleging the popular online gaming platform enabled the grooming and sexual exploitation of his 9-year-old son.

What we know:

The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claimed the company created an unsafe environment that allowed a man to groom and sexually exploit the boy, identified in court records as John Doe. The complaint was filed by the Dolman Law Group.

According to the lawsuit, the boy was an avid Roblox user in 2025 and his father allowed him to use the platform believing the company's assurances that safeguards were in place to protect children. The lawsuit alleged that the child encountered a predator posing as a peer who gradually gained his trust and persuaded him to send sexually explicit images.

The complaint accused Roblox of prioritizing profits over child safety and making misrepresentations about the security of its platform and creating a "hunting ground" for sexual predators.

What they're saying:

The law firm said it uncovered Roblox "experiences" and games with titles referencing alleged criminal figures, such as "Diddy Party" and "Escape to Epstein Island," which reflects failures in content moderation.

"This case against Roblox is a terrifying reminder of the world we live in where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity," said Matthew Dolman, principal of Dolman Law Group, in a statement. He alleged the company has never implemented sufficient safety protocols to protect children.

Lawsuit claims Roblox is failing to protect kids from online predators

A new lawsuit filed by a Chicago law firm alleges that Roblox has become a hunting ground for predators?attorneys Mike Grieco and Steve VanderPorten explain how a 13-year-old was targeted.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for psychological and emotional harm, including severe mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, and ongoing fear. It also states the child has suffered a profound loss of trust, safety and innocence.

Dolman Law Group said it represents multiple individuals nationwide in lawsuits against Roblox.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for psychological and emotional harm including severe mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation and ongoing fear.

The other side:

Roblox issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

"We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user. Roblox aims to build a platform that sets the bar for safety online, and we prioritize the safety of our community. This is why our policies are purposely stricter than those found on many other platforms. We limit chat for younger users, don’t allow user-to-user image sharing, and have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information. We also understand that no system is perfect and that is why we are constantly working to further improve our safety tools and platform restrictions to ensure parents can trust us to help keep their children safe online."

"We also understand this is an industry-wide issue and we are working to develop industry-wide standards and solutions. For instance, Roblox is implementing an industry-leading policy to help prevent older users from communicating with children by requiring a sophisticated facial age estimation process for all Roblox users who access our communications features. We partner with law enforcement and leading child safety and mental health organizations worldwide to combat the sexual exploitation of children and are a founding member of the Tech Coalition’s Lantern project and the nonprofit Robust Open Online Safety Tools (ROOST)."

To read the full complaint, tap here.