‘My daughter, 14, was groomed after meeting man on Roblox’
My daughter, 14, was groomed after meeting man on Roblox
A parent in Greater Manchester shared her distress after her 14-year-old daughter became a victim of online grooming through a man she met on Roblox. The teenager, who had been interacting with Carlo Tritta since September 2024, was manipulated into sharing intimate content with him. Tritta, now 19, was from Eastleigh, Hampshire, and faced sentencing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
How the grooming unfolded
Tritta, then 18, initially built a relationship with the girl on the gaming platform, convincing her of his affection. Over time, the conversations shifted to more personal topics, and he encouraged her to move their chats to private messaging apps. This allowed him to gain access to her social media accounts and monitor her activities closely.
“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’.”
The mother discovered the extent of the abuse when she found explicit messages on her daughter’s device. At that moment, she realized the situation was far more serious than she had imagined. “That’s where it all started to unravel,” she added. “There were a lot of sexual images, videos, really bad ones.”
Roblox’s response to the incident
A Roblox spokesperson expressed concern over the case, stating the platform was “saddened to hear of this troubling case” and committed to improving safety measures. They highlighted age verification systems and safeguards to prevent similar incidents. However, the mother argued these steps were insufficient, warning parents about the risks of letting children use the platform without supervision.
“It’s dangerous – it needs to be watched,” she said. “It’s a kids’ game and adults are getting on there to groom children.”
Tritta’s actions and consequences
Tritta admitted to creating indecent images, engaging in sexual communications with a child, and causing her to view explicit content. He also pleaded guilty to intimidating a witness and causing property damage. After being released on bail, he violated the conditions by traveling 200 miles from Hampshire to the victim’s home, damaging her doorbell camera and entering the house.
“He was just at my kitchen door talking about nightmares while me and my daughter were just sat in the living room writing Christmas cards and watching Christmas TV,” the mother recounted.
During the visit, Tritta attempted to sway the victim’s support for the prosecution and even reported her family to authorities. The victim’s mother described how the teenager was left emotionally shattered, struggling with sleep and suicidal thoughts due to the control Tritta exerted over her life.
Call for stronger online protections
With over 40 million user-generated games and 144 million daily active users, Roblox remains a popular hub for children. Yet the mother emphasized that platforms like Roblox must take more responsibility to shield young users from adult predators. “So they need to do something about it. It should just be for kids. Not for adults to go on to groom,” she insisted.
