Roblox
A 13-year-old girl was found in Georgia after she was kidnapped, held against her will and raped by a 33-year-old man she met on Roblox. Police arrested Howard Graham after discovering he persuaded the girl to leave his home in Kansas - after two days of talking on the app - telling her he would pick her up from the house.Captain John Ivey of the Clayton County Police Department said in a press conference (to the Miami Herald) that Graham and the girl had met through Roblox on February 18. On February 20, she left her home in Topeka, Kansas, where Graham picked her up before taking her approximately 1,400 kilometers away, to Clayton County, Georgia.
Police said they believe the young girl was subsequently sexually assaulted "many times". As Captain Ivey recounted, the little girl sent a message to her mother through Roblox on February 24, sharing the address of a Dollar General store she was taken to.
Following the investigation, the police arrested Graham at his workplace on March 1st. The 33-year-old has been charged with sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape.
"We are truly fortunate to have found this young girl and that she was alive," said Captain Ivey. "I wish people would pay more attention to what their children are doing. Predators will continue to hunt small children."
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Young girl returned after kidnapping by man she met on Roblox
In this photo illustration Roblox logo seen displayed on a smartphone. Roblox is a multiplayer online game and video game creation system.
A 13-year-old girl has been safely returned home after she was allegedly kidnapped by a man she met through the children's gaming app Roblox.
Police said they arrested Howard Graham after discovering he had convinced the young girl to leave her home in Kansas - after just two days of speaking on the app.
The 33-year-old has been charged with sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape.
Roblox allows players to game with friends or strangers.
With around 150 million monthly users, it is one of the most popular children's games in the world.
Mr Graham and the young girl first met on the app on 18 February, Police Cpt John Ivey said at a news conference.
Two days later, investigators said the teenager snuck out of her house in the city of Topeka and was allegedly picked up by Mr Graham who drove her to his home in Clayton County, Georgia - some 900 miles away.
Over the next few days, police said they believed she was sexually assaulted 'many times'.
Police said eventually the girl sent a message to her mother through Roblox, giving the address of a general store where she had been taken.
Officers tracked down and arrested Mr Graham at his job on 1 March.
'We're truly lucky we found this young girl and she was alive,' Mr Ivey said.
Police said they were searching Mr Graham's belongings to determine if he had targeted other children.
Roblox's mission, according to its website, 'is to bring the world together through play'. But the company has faced criticism for the explicit content that sometimes appears on its app.
A BBC investigation published last month found users on Roblox created sexually explicit rooms called 'condo games' that allowed for inappropriate activity between children and adults.
Roblox spokesman James Kay said he was 'deeply saddened' to hear about the recent case and would co-operate with the investigation.
'We have stringent safety systems and a team of thousands of moderators who enforce a strict set of community standards on Roblox, including zero tolerance for sexual content of any kind,' Mr Kay said, noting parental controls and features that can limit children's contacts or turn off the chat function altogether.
'Safety on Roblox is at the core of everything we do,' he said.