‘My daughter, 14, was groomed after meeting man on Roblox’
My daughter, 14, was groomed after meeting man on Roblox
The Grooming Process
A parent in Greater Manchester described how her 14-year-old child was manipulated into sharing explicit content with a man she met on Roblox. Carlo Tritta, 19, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, began interacting with the girl on the platform in September 2024 when he was 18. The mother said she was “shocked, bewildered and really angry” after uncovering the extent of Tritta’s influence over her daughter.
“I said ‘Oh, who’s that?’ and she was crying and saying ‘Please don’t look at my phone, please don’t look at my phone’.”
Tritta’s Sentence
Tritta, 19, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, was sentenced to two years and four months at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. He admitted to creating indecent images of a child, engaging in sexual conversations with a minor, and exposing her to explicit content. The court also found him guilty of intimidating a witness and causing property damage.
Discovery of the Abuse
The abuse came to light when the mother noticed a message on her daughter’s phone that triggered her suspicion. “That’s where it all started to unravel,” she explained. “There were a lot of sexual images, videos, really bad ones.” She revealed her daughter had been targeted through Roblox, where the relationship began as casual chats before turning sinister.
“She’d started talking to this person on Roblox for so long, nothing sinister, chit chat,” the mother said. “It’s a kids’ game and adults are getting on there to groom children.”
Roblox’s Response
Roblox, which hosts over 40 million user-generated games, issued a statement expressing concern. “We are committed to building safeguards designed to prevent that from happening,” said a spokesperson. “With more than 144 million daily active users, cases of harm are rare, but we know any incident is one too many.” The platform requires age verification for communication and has systems to limit interactions to users of similar ages.
“Roblox requires all users to go through age checks in order to communicate on our platform, with the system designed to limit communications to people of similar ages and those they already know.”
Control and Isolation
The mother detailed how Tritta controlled her daughter’s online life. “He knew who she got the bus home with, he knew who her friends were,” she said. “He knew what activities she did outside of school. So he controlled everything she was doing and who was speaking to her online.” This control left the girl feeling trapped and emotionally distressed.
Incident at the Home
Tritta breached his bail conditions by traveling 200 miles from Hampshire to the victim’s house. He disabled the doorbell camera and entered the home while the mother and daughter were crafting Christmas cards. “He was just at my kitchen door talking about nightmares,” the mother recounted. “He also sent the victim two cards, asking her not to support the prosecution and reporting her family to authorities.”
“I don’t think your brain can take in what you’re seeing and obviously that’s your child.”
Warning to Parents
The mother urged other parents to remain vigilant about their children’s use of the platform. “It’s dangerous – it needs to be watched,” she said. “So they need to do something about it. It should just be for kids. Not for adults to go on to groom.” She emphasized that social media platforms must take greater responsibility to shield young users from exploitation.