Dad claims daughter, 16, took life after meeting a predator on Roblox, | Latest Tech News
Penelope Sokolowski was just 16 years previous when she took her own life last February.
Her father, Jason, believes her suicide was the fruits of a grooming course of that started on Roblox, the sport platform beloved by children — with some 170,000 customers under the age of 13, according to company data from 2023.
“We kind of thought we were covering all the bases,” Jason told The Post, noting that his household had used a third-party app to monitor Penelope’s online exercise.
Jason alleges that his only little one was contacted by a predator on Roblox who coerced her into cutting his identify into her chest and sending videos of herself bloodied from self-harm — and who, finally, despatched Penelope down a spiral that culminated in her death.
Jason Sokolowski believes his daughter Penelope’s suicide last 12 months, at age 16, was the fruits of a grooming course of that started on Roblox. Courtesy of Jason Sokolowski
The lady was 7 or 8 years previous when she first signed up for Roblox, gamers rove around online worlds and can chat with other customers.
“I’d come in and sit in the room with her and see what she was doing, ask who those people were,” Jason said, recalling Penelope drawing an anime-style sketch for a pal she’d made on Roblox.
“As a dad I thought, oh, this is nice, she’s artistic, and she’s made artistic friends,” he added. “But I didn’t understand what Roblox was and its effect on her.”
The dad, who works in the movie industry in Vancouver, British Columbia, separated from Penelope’s mom and moved out of the household home when the lady was 13.
“They are grooming girls to do whatever it is they can get a girl to do, whether it’s nudes or cuts or gore or violence,” Jason said of predators just like the one who allegedly groomed his daughter, Penelope. Courtesy of Jason Sokolowski
He recollects how Penelope’s grades started to tumble and, when she was 14, he seen scars from self-inflicted cuts on her arms, which she had been overlaying with bracelets and his outsized hockey jerseys.
Penelope confided that she had been recruited into a self-harm group via Roblox, but assured her father she had moved on.
But not long after her sixteenth birthday, she took her own life.
Later, when Jason opened up his daughter’s cellphone, he discovered what he describes as a “crime scene.”
According to the dad, there have been messages spanning two years with a particular person who egged on her self-destruction. Jason believes Penelope met this particular person on Roblox and then started privately conversing with them over Discord — sometimes for hours.
Some 45% of Roblox’s customers — 170,000 of them — are under the age of 13, according to company data from 2023. wachiwit – stock.adobe.com
Dozens of lawsuits accusing the Roblox Corporation of neglecting to defend minors have been consolidated into one federal case. REUTERS
In one exchange, Penelope despatched a photograph of her chest, offering to cut herself there but worrying she couldn’t go “too deep.” Minutes later, she adopted up with an image of the predator’s Discord consumer identify written across her chest in bloodied letters.
In other pictures, she had carved the numbers “764” into her physique. Jason believes Penelope had been contacted by a member of 764, described by the FBI as a “violent online group” that targets minors and grooms them into committing egregious acts of self-harm and violence.
Members of 764 reportedly troll platforms like Roblox wanting for victims they will persuade — via grooming or sextortion — into hurting themselves.
“They are grooming girls to do whatever it is they can get a girl to do, whether it’s nudes or cuts or gore or violence,” Jason said. “[Penelope] was brainwashed all the way through.”
Jason believes Penelope met a predator from the “violent online group” 764 on Roblox and then started privately conversing with them over Discord — sometimes for hours. Courtesy of Jason Sokolowski
Twenty years after Roblox was launched, many households are claiming the platform makes it too simple for predators to contact kids.
Dozens of lawsuits accusing the Roblox Corporation of neglecting to defend minors have been consolidated into one federal case. The first listening to took place in the Northern District of California on January 31.
“Nowhere in this world is it normal for adults to speak to children unrelated to them, but that goes on [on Roblox],” Matt Dolman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Post.
He alleges, on behalf of plaintiffs, that the company designed merchandise in a manner that permits “adults to speak to children unabated on the platform without [necessary] safety features to prevent that from happening.”
After Penelope’s death in February 2025, her father says he discovered disturbing messages between her and a “friend” she met online. Penelope despatched a photograph of her chest, offering to cut herself there but worrying she couldn’t go “too deep.” Courtesy of Jason Sokolowski
According to Dolman, the everyday case begins with predators offering children Robux — a type of in-game currency that could be bought with real money.
Dolman’s firm is conscious of at least 119 lawsuits filed against Roblox since 2025. The circumstances, which span 34 states, embrace a surprising array of predatory habits.
Case summaries supplied by Dolman’s firm element how an autistic little one was allegedly coerced into sending express photographs. A woman despatched videos of herself doing cartwheels shirtless. Kids like Penelope have despatched predators videos of themselves cutting.
One predator is accused of disseminating express photographs of a little one in retribution for being blocked. Several allegedly threatened to kill the households of minors unless they despatched inappropriate pictures.
A plaintiff household claims that a predator recorded himself having intercourse with their underage daughter, while intercourse toys have allegedly arrived at the properties of kids. There are a number of accusations of minors being kidnapped, sometimes across state traces. One little one was allegedly raped by 5 males.
Twenty years after Roblox was launched, many households are claiming the platform makes it too simple for predators to contact kids. REUTERS
“There is no making these kids whole again,” Dolman said.
According to Dolman, though initial contact takes place on Roblox, often the predator will transfer the chat to a third-party app. At least 51 lawsuits point out Discord as a co-defendant, Snapchat cited 20 occasions and Meta 5.
Discord told The Post that the company is “deeply committed to safety” and “maintain[s] strong systems to prevent the spread of inappropriate exploitation and grooming.”
Snapchat and Meta and didn’t reply to requests for remark.
In late 2025, Roblox rolled out further security options to forestall kids from encountering predatory adults, including AI age-estimation software program for all customers who use communication options. Users are then segregated into age-based subgroups.
Matthew Dolman’s law firm represents a number of households who allege their kids have been groomed on Roblox. dolmanlaw.com
Roblox told The Post that the company limits chats for youthful customers, doesn’t enable user-to-user image sharing, and has filters designed to block the sharing of personal data.
“We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user,” the company said. “We also understand that no system is perfect and that is why we are constantly working to further improve our safety tools and platform restrictions to ensure parents can trust us to help keep their children safe online.”
Dolman stays skeptical of the enhancements. “Is it going to get better on the platform? Yes, assume it can’t get worse,” he said. “But is it a safe platform? Absolutely not.”
A 12 months after his daughter took her own life, Jason Sokolowski firmly factors his finger at Big Tech.
“Social media companies are protecting these predators because they’re almost one and the same,” he said. “They’re working with no conscience or moral compass just for power or money. The platforms are the ones that could mitigate this overnight.”
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