How Predators Move Children From Gaming Platforms to Private Conversations
An eight year old child was sexually exploited after contact began on Roblox and continued through mobile phone messaging. A US federal conviction announced on 26 October 2026 exposes a safeguarding problem that extends far beyond one gaming platform.
Millions of children enjoy online gaming every day. For many, gaming offers entertainment, creativity, teamwork and opportunities to develop friendships. However, parents must recognise an important distinction between the suitability of a game and the safety of the people their children may encounter while playing it.
A game may contain no sexually explicit material, graphic violence or other content that would ordinarily concern a parent. Nevertheless, if that game allows communication with unknown players, it can create opportunities for adults or other individuals who intend to manipulate, exploit or harm children.
In my work educating children, parents and teachers about online safety, I regularly emphasise that understanding the behaviour of people online is just as important as understanding the technology itself. Parents may carefully examine a game’s age rating while overlooking its social features, particularly when children can communicate with strangers through text, voice chat or gaming communities.
A federal conviction announced by the United States Department of Justice on 26 October 2026 illustrates exactly why that distinction matters.
8 year old child exploited contact began on Roblox
On 26 October 2026, the US Department of Justice announced that 46 year old Robert Bowen, from Canton, New York, had been convicted of sexually exploiting a child and receiving child sexual abuse material following a federal bench trial.
According to the evidence established during the trial, Bowen communicated with an eight year old girl through Roblox in June 2025. Subsequently, their communications continued through mobile phone messaging, where he sent the child pornographic material and requested sexually explicit images and videos. The court established that he received such material from the child and requested additional images.
The child’s family reported the offending behaviour to police. Consequently, investigators identified the offender, and the case resulted in his conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for 11 February 2027.
This conviction concerns the offender’s criminal conduct. It was not a legal finding that Roblox itself committed an offence. However, it demonstrates how an interaction originating on a gaming platform can develop into serious sexual exploitation after communications move elsewhere.
The crucial safeguarding issue is that parents may believe their child is playing a familiar game while an offender is progressively establishing a relationship that continues beyond the gaming environment.
Multiplayer games introduce risks parents may overlook
Many popular games depend upon interaction with other players. Some encourage cooperation, while others involve competition, building virtual environments or exploring shared online worlds. Furthermore, matchmaking systems can place children alongside players they have never met, sometimes without either player knowing the other’s actual age or identity.
Popular Multi-Player Games
| Game or platform | How children may encounter unknown players |
|---|---|
| Roblox | Shared experiences, multiplayer activities and communication features |
| Minecraft | Public multiplayer servers and community activities |
| Fortnite | Squad matchmaking, creative experiences and voice communication |
| Rocket League | Online matches with teammates and opponents |
| Among Us | Multiplayer social deduction games involving communication |
| EA Sports FC | Online competitive matches and associated social features |
| Brawl Stars | Multiplayer teams, clubs and online competition |
| Call of Duty | Multiplayer lobbies and voice communication, primarily intended for older audiences |
| VRChat | Shared virtual spaces with social and voice interaction |
| Gorilla Tag | Multiplayer virtual reality environments with player interaction |
| GTA Online | Shared online worlds and player communication, intended for mature audiences |
| Pokémon GO | Social features, friendships and community activities |
These examples are not evidence that every game presents the same level of danger. Available communication features, parental controls, age restrictions and moderation vary considerably. In addition, some games are clearly unsuitable for younger children because of their content, regardless of their communication systems.
Parents can review individual games through the CODA Popular Games Safety Settings Guides, including specific advice about communication settings and parental supervision.
How an ordinary gaming friendship can become grooming
Online grooming is not necessarily an immediate request for photographs, sexual activity or personal information. Instead, an offender may begin by appearing helpful, friendly or interested in a child’s gaming achievements.
For example, an adult pretending to be another young player might join the same game repeatedly, help the child complete challenges or offer in game gifts. Over time, the child may begin to view that person as a trusted friend. Therefore, a subsequent invitation to continue communicating through another service may not seem unusual or threatening.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) identifies tactics such as building relationships through shared interests, pretending to be younger, offering incentives and introducing sexual conversations or imagery. These behaviours can occur on gaming platforms, social media and messaging services.
Importantly, not everyone who asks another player to join a different communication service has harmful intentions. Friends often use external voice chat to coordinate games. However, when an unknown person begins seeking private access to a child, especially while requesting secrecy or personal information, that change warrants attention.
The dangerous transition from gaming to private messaging
The transition to private messaging is a warning sign to examine, not proof that abuse has occurred. The movement from a gaming platform to a separate messaging service can be a significant turning point in an exploitative relationship. Although a gaming company may have systems to detect inappropriate language, suspicious accounts or harmful content, those protections do not necessarily follow a child onto a different service.
An individual might suggest continuing a conversation through Snapchat, WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, Instagram or direct mobile messaging. The explanation may sound innocent, such as improving communication during gaming or making it easier to arrange future sessions. However, an offender can use that transition to establish more personal, persistent or secretive contact.
Once communication moves, a parent reviewing the gaming account may no longer see where the concerning interaction continues. Equally, enforcement action by the original platform may not stop the individual from contacting the child through a phone number or another account.
NCMEC specifically identifies intentional movement between online services as a tactic used in some sexual extortion cases. Moreover, US Department of Homeland Security guidance advises young people against leaving a game to communicate on another platform with someone they do not know.
Children may not recognise that they are being manipulated
Children often interpret online relationships through the same emotional processes that shape offline friendships. Someone who helps them win a game, remembers their interests or regularly spends time with them may gradually become familiar. Consequently, familiarity can be mistaken for trustworthiness, even when the child’s understanding of the other person’s identity is inaccurate.
Offenders may exploit reciprocity by offering gifts, attention or support before requesting something in return. Others create emotional dependency by presenting themselves as the only person who understands the child. Additionally, secrecy can be introduced gradually, particularly when the child fears losing access to a valued friendship or gaming community.
This is why simply instructing children not to communicate with strangers is insufficient. A person may have been a stranger when the interaction began but may no longer feel like one after weeks of gaming together. Therefore, online safety education must explain how trust develops and how it can be deliberately manipulated.
Parents should also recognise that children who have experienced grooming may feel loyalty, affection, fear, embarrassment or confusion towards the offender. These reactions do not make them responsible for the abuse. Instead, they demonstrate why the child’s emotional relationship with the offender can become a barrier to disclosure.
What can happen when the conversation becomes private?
Once an offender has developed trust and secured private communication, the risks can escalate substantially. These outcomes are not inevitable, but they are recognised patterns of online exploitation.
- Exposure to pornography: An offender may introduce sexually explicit material to normalise sexual conversations and gradually undermine a child’s boundaries.
- Requests for intimate images: Manipulation, pressure or deception may be used to obtain sexual images or videos from the child.
- Sexual extortion: Once images are obtained, an offender may threaten to share them unless the child provides further images, money or other compliance.
- Emotional manipulation: The child may be encouraged to keep secrets, withdraw from trusted adults or believe that the offender is a genuine romantic partner.
- Personal information exposure: The offender may seek phone numbers, school details, addresses, schedules or other information that could identify or locate the child.
- Attempts to meet offline: In some cases, online grooming can develop into arrangements for physical contact, creating further safeguarding concerns.
The psychological consequences can also be profound. Children may experience anxiety, shame, sleep disruption, fear of exposure or withdrawal from family relationships. Furthermore, threats involving intimate images can produce intense distress, particularly when children believe that friends, classmates or family members might see them.
For these reasons, grooming must be recognised as a process of manipulation rather than simply an exchange of inappropriate messages.
The limitations of age ratings and parental controls
Parents may assume that choosing an age appropriate game automatically protects their children from inappropriate interaction. However, age ratings primarily help families assess the suitability of content. They do not establish the true identity, intentions or trustworthiness of other players.
Parental controls can restrict chat, friend requests, purchases and access to certain content. Nevertheless, their effectiveness depends on the game, device, account type and settings available. Some restrictions may also change as a child becomes older or gains access to additional services.
For example, the CODA Roblox Parental Controls Guide explains the importance of checking game chat and direct communication separately. Likewise, our Fortnite Safety Settings Guide covers communication, privacy and other controls relevant to online multiplayer environments.
Even well configured controls cannot guarantee safety when a child begins communicating through an unrelated application or device. Therefore, parents need to understand the complete online environment rather than treating each game as an isolated activity.
Warning signs parents should recognise
There is no single behaviour that proves a child is being groomed. Nevertheless, certain changes in communication, relationships and emotional wellbeing deserve attention.
Parents should look for combinations of the following behaviours:
- A gaming contact repeatedly asks a child to move conversations to Snapchat, WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram or another private communication service.
- Someone offers gaming currency, virtual items, account upgrades or gifts in exchange for personal information, photographs or favours.
- A child is encouraged to conceal a friendship, delete messages or avoid telling parents about a particular player.
- An online contact asks about the child’s age, school, home address, family routines or whether adults are nearby.
- The child becomes unusually anxious about missing messages from a particular online contact.
- An individual begins introducing sexual discussions, intimate images or requests for photographs.
- A gaming friendship becomes emotionally intense, with the other person expressing jealousy, demanding attention or threatening to end the relationship.
Some of these behaviours can occur in ordinary friendships or during adolescence. Therefore, parents should avoid making accusations based on one observation. Instead, they should explore the circumstances calmly, while treating requests for secrecy, sexual material or personal contact from unknown individuals as serious safeguarding concerns.
What parents can do to protect children
Technical controls remain important, but meaningful protection requires an understanding of how children actually communicate when playing online. Parents should review the gaming account, the device being used and any additional messaging applications connected to the child’s social activities.
I recommend the following practical approach.
1. Understand who your child plays with. Ask them to explain their favourite games, show you how multiplayer sessions work and identify people they regularly communicate with. Distinguish between school friends, online acquaintances and complete strangers.
2. Review text and voice communication. Check whether the game allows communication with unknown players, who can send friend requests and whether private messaging can be restricted. Where appropriate, limit communication to approved contacts or disable it entirely.
3. Discuss moving between platforms. Explain why someone requesting a phone number, private messaging account or secret conversation deserves caution. Make it clear that children should ask a trusted adult before moving a conversation with someone they have never met offline.
4. Review connected applications. Check messaging apps and gaming communities separately. A child might use a console for gaming but continue conversations through a smartphone, tablet or computer.
5. Agree rules about personal information. Children should avoid sharing school names, addresses, telephone numbers, daily routines, passwords and identifying photographs with unknown online contacts.
6. Create an environment where children can disclose problems. Avoid automatically threatening to confiscate devices when children report concerning behaviour. Fear of punishment can prevent children from asking for help, particularly when an offender has encouraged secrecy.
For more guidance, visit the CODA Gaming Safety Settings and Messaging Apps Safety Settings sections. These resources help parents review protective settings across different services.
What should parents do if they suspect grooming?
If your child discloses an inappropriate online relationship, remain calm and listen carefully. Reassure them that they have done the right thing by telling you and that responsibility rests with the person who manipulated or exploited them.
Avoid confronting the suspected offender yourself. Equally, do not immediately delete the accounts, apps or conversations involved, because they may contain important evidence. Record relevant usernames, profile links, communication platforms, dates and message details where it is safe and lawful to do so.
However, never download, copy or forward sexual images involving children to preserve evidence. Instead, leave potentially illegal material in place and seek guidance from An Garda Síochána on securing the device.
The Garda National Child Protection Unit advises parents to reassure children, preserve available evidence and report suspected abuse. It also recommends using the relevant platform’s reporting mechanisms.
Where to report online grooming in Ireland
| Organisation | How it can help |
|---|---|
| An Garda Síochána | Report suspected child grooming, sexual exploitation or threats to a child through your local Garda station. Call 112 or 999 in an emergency. |
| Irish Internet Hotline | Report suspected illegal online content and child grooming activities through its reporting service. |
| Childline Ireland | Free, confidential support for children and young people. Call 1800 66 66 66 or access online chat. |
| NCMEC | Provides guidance on grooming and sextortion and operates the US CyberTipline. |
Hotline.ie accepts reports concerning suspected illegal online content, including grooming activities. However, when a child is believed to be experiencing abuse or is in immediate danger, parents should contact Gardaí directly.
Why gaming platforms must share responsibility for safeguarding
Parents have an essential role in protecting children, but responsibility cannot rest entirely on families. Gaming companies also need effective systems to identify suspicious behaviour, investigate reports and prevent harmful contact wherever possible.
In August 2026, the US Senate Judiciary Committee published details of improvements to child exploitation reporting following its investigation of major technology companies.
According to information provided by NCMEC, Roblox submitted more than 65,000 CyberTipline reports involving suspected online child exploitation in 2025. Following congressional scrutiny, the company improved its reporting procedures to better identify victims in conversations involving multiple children. It also expanded staff training and provided additional investigative context in reports.
These figures should not be interpreted as 65,000 confirmed offences or 65,000 individual victims. A report can involve several accounts, multiple children or material that investigators have not yet established constitutes a criminal offence. Nevertheless, the scale of reporting demonstrates why effective detection, accurate identification and cooperation with law enforcement are essential.
Furthermore, a platform should consider how its communication features can enable an offender to request external contact details or gradually establish relationships with vulnerable users. Although companies cannot automatically monitor every conversation that moves elsewhere, they can assess suspicious requests within their own services and develop more effective intervention and reporting procedures.
Online safety must extend beyond the game
The conviction announced on 26 October 2026 should encourage a broader discussion about how we assess children’s online environments. We must move beyond asking whether a game contains inappropriate content and begin asking whether its communication features expose children to potentially dangerous relationships.
Importantly, the solution is not to portray everyone who plays online as a threat. Multiplayer gaming can provide genuinely positive experiences, and many children establish healthy friendships through their shared interests. However, we must acknowledge that the same environments can also be exploited by individuals who deliberately seek access to children.
After years of working in law enforcement and delivering online safety education, I believe one of the most important lessons we can teach children is that trust must be earned through behaviour, not familiarity. Someone who has played the same game with a child for months is not necessarily who they claim to be.
Parents should begin by asking one simple question:
“Has anyone you play games with ever asked you to move your conversation somewhere more private?“
The answer could reveal an innocent friendship, an uncomfortable interaction or a safeguarding concern that requires immediate attention. Most importantly, it creates an opportunity for children to speak openly about their online relationships.
Online safety cannot stop at the boundary of a gaming platform. It must follow the child across the digital environments where relationships develop, conversations continue and risks can escalate.
References and further reading
The following authoritative sources provide further evidence and practical guidance:
- US Department of Justice: Canton Man Found Guilty of Child Exploitation Offense and Receipt of Child Pornography (26 October 2026).
- US Senate Judiciary Committee: Grassley’s Big Tech Investigation Yields Child Safety Results (27 August 2026).
- NCMEC: Online Enticement.
- NCMEC: Gaming Safety and Online Interactions.
- US Department of Homeland Security: Online Enticement Guidance.
- An Garda Síochána: What Parents Should Do if Their Child Is Exploited Online.
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Children of the Digital Age provides online safety education and training for schools, parents and organisations. Our guides support practical conversations about online behaviour and the choices people make. However, education and app settings do not replace safeguarding or professional support.
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