2 Bay Area-based online platforms sued after teenage girl’s sexual assault

(KRON) – Two Bay Area online platforms have been sued following the assault of a teenage girl. Popular online gaming system Roblox and online social platform Discord are being accused of negligence in a lawsuit filed this month. 

Plaintiff Jane Doe is a 14-year-old girl who has used both apps for years.  

The plaintiff believes she was targeted by a predator whom she met on Roblox. According to the complaint, the predator, pretending to be a teen, built a connection with the young girl. 

The two were also communicating on Discord. The man then sent graphic messages describing sexual acts he wanted to do with her and sent her sexually explicit images of himself.

After convincing the plaintiff to meet him, he traveled to Alabama from another state and met her at a fast food restaurant.  Per the lawsuit, the predator took the girl to a nearby location where he tried to rape her. 

Authorities were contacted in the assault, and arriving officers found the suspect and the plaintiff, who was shirtless and bruised. Police then arrested him. He is currently incarcerated. 

Per the lawsuit, the plaintiffs believe Roblox and Discord are “accountable for recklessly and deceptively operating businesses in a way that led to the sexual exploitation and attempted rape of Plaintiff.”

The complaint accuses the online apps of fraudulent concealment and misrepresentations, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, general negligence, failure to warn, negligence–unreasonable design, negligent undertaking, strict liability–design defect, strict liability, and failure to warn.

The plaintiff argued that the online platforms could make rigorous screening to protect children from pedophiles and that neither platform has “safeguards.”

Per the suit, 1 in 5 Roblox users are under the age of 9. Another 21% are from 9 to 12, and 16% are 13-16 years of age. Forty-one percent of users are above the age of 17.