Roblox, Discord sued after 15-year-old boy was allegedly groomed online before he died by suicide

The mother of a 15-year-old California boy who took his own life is now suing Roblox and Discord over his death, alleging her son was groomed and coerced to send explicit images on the apps

The mother of a 15-year-old California boy who took his own life is now suing Roblox and Discord over his death, alleging her son was groomed and coerced to send explicit images on the apps.

Rebecca Dallas filed the lawsuit Friday in San Francisco County Superior Court, accusing the companies of “recklessly and deceptively operating their business in a way that led to the sexual exploitation and suicide” of Ethan Dallas.

Ethan was a “bright, imaginative boy who loved gaming, streaming and interacting with friends online,” the lawsuit states. He started playing on the online gaming platform Roblox around the age of 9, with his parents’ approval and with parental controls in place. When he was 12, he was targeted by “an adult sex predator” who posed as a child on Roblox and befriended Ethan, attorneys for Rebecca Dallas said in a statement.

What started out as innocent conversation “gradually escalated to sexual topics and explicit exchanges,” the complaint says.

After a while, the man encouraged Ethan to turn off parental controls and move their conversations to Discord, the lawyers said.