GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) — A federal lawsuit claims that two popular gaming platforms failed to protect a child in Galveston from an alleged predator.
The victim’s mother said she uses parental controls on her children’s devices, but still, her 13-year-old daughter ended up sexually assaulted by a man she met on the children’s game Roblox and chatted on the app Discord.
The parents have filed a federal lawsuit, trying to make a change in how these gaming platforms operate.
The family’s attorney said the girl was systematically groomed and sexually exploited on both Roblox and Discord.
The lawsuit alleges that about three years ago, when the girl was 13, she was sexually assaulted after a man who allegedly groomed her online snuck into her home and recorded the abuse.
The victim’s mother said she even had certain chat features disabled, but that didn’t stop the inappropriate conversations and sexual exploitation from happening.
“Essentially, she was this vibrant student. She had artistic aspirations, and now she struggles constantly with fear, moments of dissociation, and she has basically lost her sense of safety and innocence,” Kristen Feden, the victim’s attorney, said.
Feden said the law firm is investigating hundreds of similar cases across the country.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.
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