The mother of a 15-year-old Texas boy who died by suicide is suing Roblox and Discord, alleging her son was groomed and exploited by a sexual predator on the popular gaming and communication apps.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, accused the platforms of “creating breeding grounds for predators and enabling the sexual exploitation” of her son. The lawsuit says the companies prioritized financial gain over the welfare of children.
This is the latest in a slew of similar lawsuits filed by families against the companies. In addition, Kentucky and Louisiana have sued Roblox, alleging the platforms are failing to protect children, and New Jersey has sued Discord for the same. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has previously announced he is investigating Discord.
Neither company responded Thursday to emails from The Dallas Morning News. Previously, Roblox said it disputed allegations that it failed to protect children.
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“The assertion that Roblox would intentionally put our users at risk of exploitation is categorically untrue,” the company said in a statement, adding that it added safeguards, including restrictions on sharing personal information, links and user-to-user images.
The latest lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, says the 15-year-old boy in Texas’ Bowie County encountered a male predator masquerading as a peer on Roblox in 2023. Bowie County is home to Texarkana, about three hours east of Dallas.
He began grooming the boy, identified as John Doe, on Roblox before moving their interactions to Discord, where he “intensified his grooming tactics with romantic advances,” the suit says. When the boy rebuffed his overtures, the predator threatened self-harm. Overwhelmed by the threat, the teenager took his own life in 2023, according to the suit.
The mother is seeking unspecified monetary damages for suffering profound emotional anguish, grief and trauma, the suit says.
“This case against Roblox and Discord is absolutely heinous and heartbreaking, a terrifying reminder of the world we live in where capitalist greed far outweighs humanity,” said Matthew Dolman, principal of Dolman Law Group in Houston. “There have never been sufficient safety measures and protocols in place and because of this, a mother experienced every parent’s worst nightmare: having to bury a child.”
According to the lawsuit, a search of Roblox turned up games with titles such as “Diddy Party,” “Survive Diddy,” “JeffEpsteinSupporter” and “Escape to Epstein Island.” The names refer to Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted this year of prostitution-related charges, and Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while waiting trial on charges of sexual abuse and trafficking minors.
Some 111 million people a day play Roblox, a platform that hosts millions of user-created gams and obstacle courses and allows users to chat with one another. The app is free to sign up but users can make in-app purchases.
Discord, which launched in 2015, is a communication platform commonly used by gamers who want to chat or video chat while playing video games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.