Tag: child abuse

Child Safety Groups Urge FTC To Investigate Roblox

Two child safety groups filed a complaint against online interactive gaming platform Roblox with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on May 20, alleging that children face sexual and financial harm on the platform.

Filed by nonprofits National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Fairplay, the complaint claims that certain Roblox features are “developmentally inappropriate for the platform’s massive young user base and pose a substantial risk of harm.” Such features include engagement-maximizing design features, a complex virtual currency system that can result in more user spending, and chat and communication features that expose children to sexual exploitation.

These components “capitalize on young users’ developmental vulnerabilities, exploit their desire for authentic self-expression, monetize their lack of impulse control, and turn in-game purchasing power into a form of social status,” the complaint states.

“As a result, young users say they feel a constant pressure to keep up with their peers on the platform, and are thereby driven to buy and spend Robux in order to enjoy Roblox’s experiences.

“At the same time, the voice and text chat features that make the platform social repeatedly expose children to sexual content and harmful adults, resulting in sexual exploitation and abuse.”

According to the complaint, Roblox requires users to be at least 5 years old to open an account.

Last month, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said at a press conference that Roblox, which has roughly 151.5 million daily active users, is used by almost half of all American children under 16. Around 42 percent of the platform’s users are children under the age of 13.

The nonprofits asked the FTC to investigate Roblox for violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and check whether the company is in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Meanwhile, Roblox’s share price has crashed. On July 31, 2025, the company’s share price hit its year-high of $150.59. On May 21, 2026, prices closed at $46.14, a decline of nearly 70 percent. Since Sept. 29, Roblox’s market capitalization has tumbled from $98.7 billion to $32.8 billion as of May 21, a loss of almost $66 billion.

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Seattle Homeless Man Who Allegedly Kidnapped and Raped Girl Had 28 Prior Arrests

A Seattle homeless man who allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl already had 28 prior arrests and 46 warrants.

KVI reported on May 7 that Joshua V. Kowalczewski, 36, allegedly targeted the girl at a bus stop, forced her to join him in nearby woods, and raped her in the middle of the day.

He was charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping by King County prosecutors.

His bail was set at $1 million after prosecutors noted the risks he poses the public — and his two decades of refusing to cooperate with court orders.

Kowalczewski indeed had 28 arrests and 13 convictions, as well as 46 lifetime warrants and nine active warrants, per a report from KCPQ.

KVI noted that those convictions included offenses such as assault, drug possession, theft, DUI, violating protection orders, possessing burglary tools, and criminal trespassing.

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Former Medical Resident Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Porn After Bragging ‘Love Being a Pedo’

A former medical resident in Detroit has pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge following a series of disturbing messages to other abusers – in one of which he bragged, “Love being a pedo.”

Equally shocking, the plea follows an investigation that revealed a Detroit area pedophile ring that included two other professionals — a psychotherapist and an attorney.

Lincoln Erickson, 32, of the upscale Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, entered the guilty plea earlier this week to receiving child pornography after an investigation uncovered a string of disturbing messages. The investigation involved the arrest of three other men, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan.

Erickson, a former medical resident at what was only identified as a “public university” hospital was arrested in December.

According a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

According to court records, agents discovered on Erickson’s phone videos of minors engaged in sex acts and AI-generated pornography depicting nude children touching adult men. Erickson also attempted to convince another man to allow Erickson to bathe the other man’s children and admitted to making plans to travel to the man’s house for that purpose.

“This pervert was lurking among our trusted medical professionals. At the same time, he was feeding his disgusting appetites and plotting to abuse little children. Thankfully, the FBI caught him when they did,” U.S. Attorney Gorgon said.

The doctor was detained after the arrest in March 2025 of an Ohio resident named Brett Tooman which unveiled a network of child pornography. The investigation was engineered by an undercover officer posing as a pedophile parent, according to several news outlets.

Tooman was nabbed after he allegedly traveled to Toledo to sexually abuse a seven-year-old girl and a six-month-old infant he believed existed as part of a law enforcement sting, according to Channel 4’s Click on Detroit.

Two other men, Jeremy Brian Tacon, a Huntington Woods psychotherapist, and Detroit attorney Joshua Ronnebaum, were also arrested besides the doctor, their connections discovered during the course of the undercover investigation.

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Out of the Twilight Zone: Judge praises behavior of gang rapists, sentences them to ‘rehabilitation’

A judge handling the case of a teenage gang convicted of luring two young girls and then raping them gave them rehabilitation orders instead of jail.

And he praised them for their behavior.

“You have all done very well with the restrictions put in place throughout the trial,” claimed the judge, in the United Kingdom. “I think of you as very young and none of you have (sic) been in any big trouble before.”

It was in a report at Not the Bee that the details of the judge’s near-advocacy for crime appeared.

“Sane human beings know these little monsters deserve the most serve punishment available. This being in the UK, however, means they don’t even go to jail,” the report said. “The judge handed down ‘rehabilitation sentences’ for the three gypsy perpetrators while somehow excusing their despicable actions.”

The Daily Mail noted the gypsies, of the “traveller community,” were convicted of rape as well as taking indecent images of a child, because they recorded their own abuse of a 15-year-old girl.

The case was in Southampton Crown Court, where the judge said, “None of you need to go to prison.”

The boys targeted one victim on Snapchat, “before luring her to an underpass where they laughed and filmed themselves as they raped her,” the Mail reported.

First it was two 14-year-old boys. Then a few months later they were joined by a 13-year-old boy for a second attack, this time raping a young girl at knifepoint.

The Daily Mail said all three were convicted of rape during a five-week trial.

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Seven Afghan Migrants Charged in Major British Child Grooming Gang Probe

Seven Afghan migrants have been charged with rape, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking offenses as part of a major police investigation into alleged grooming gang activity in Norwich.

Norfolk Police said the men are accused of offenses committed between August 2023 and May 2025 against two alleged victims, both girls in their early to mid-teens at the time.

All seven suspects entered the UK illegally or attempted to do so.

According to the force, five arrived by small boat, one entered concealed in a lorry, and the seventh attempted clandestine entry through Portsmouth ferry port.

The men appeared before Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Friday and were remanded in custody ahead of a plea hearing at Norwich Crown Court on June 19.

Jamil Khalil, 20, is charged with seven counts of rape, one count of human trafficking, and conspiracy to commit child sexual abuse.

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Biden-Released Illegal Alien Gets 50 Years in Prison for Producing Child Porn of His Special Needs Niece, Nephew

An illegal alien, released into the United States by the Biden administration, was sentenced to 50 years in prison this week for the production of child sexual abuse material that involved his eight-year-old niece, who has special needs, and his eight-year-old nephew.

Angel Emilio Rodriguez-Marroquin, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was handed the sentence on May 18 after having been arrested in November 2025 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Rodriguez-Marroquin was initially charged with the production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Investigators found that Rodriguez-Marroquin had produced the abuse material using his eight-year-old niece, who has special needs, and his eight-year-old nephew.

“This depraved illegal alien from Guatemala pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography, which included footage of him assaulting his own nephew and niece with special needs,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said:

This monster would not have been in our country in the first place if it weren’t for the Biden Administration’s disastrous open borders that released him into our country. Thanks to our ICE law enforcement officers, this creep is behind bars, and after he serves his time, he will be removed from our country. [Emphasis added]

Rodriguez-Marroquin is the subject of a child sex crimes investigation, conducted by HSI, in Guatemala. The illegal alien first crossed the southern border in 2024 and was subsequently released into the U.S. interior by the Biden administration.

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Former ‘gay cure’ ministry leader set to face judge after arrest linked to underage sex sting

A former leader of an Orlando-based ministry that claimed for years it could cure homosexuality has been arrested in an underage sex sting, according to an Orange County arrest affidavit.

Alan Manning Chambers, 54, was arrested Tuesday in Winter Park and booked into the Orange County Jail without bond.

He’s expected to appear in front of a judge for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.

Chambers is charged with solicitation of a minor via computer, transmitting harmful material to a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, according to the affidavit.

Undercover Snapchat investigation began in February

Investigators said an undercover detective operating a Snapchat account began communicating with a user in February.

According to the affidavit, the detective identified himself as a 14-year-old boy living in Orlando.

The user identified himself as a 50-year-old man named “John David,” and told the undercover detective he lived in Orlando and later moved the conversation to text messages and Telegram, investigators said.

Deputies said the conversations continued for several months.

According to the affidavit, the user repeatedly discussed meeting and engaging in sexual activity with the person he believed was a teenager.

Investigators said the user also repeatedly expressed concern about the age difference and the possibility of getting in trouble.

The affidavit said the user deleted some communications and told the undercover detective he did not want anyone to find out.

Investigators said the user discussed meeting multiple times, including in March, April and May.

According to the affidavit, the user told the undercover detective in April that he would meet him, but later said he had been pulled over on Interstate 4.

Investigators said the user then asked if the teen could take an Uber to meet near his office on Park Avenue in Winter Park.

The affidavit said the user also sent a photo of his office showing a brown table on a unique carpet.

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Colorado county Republican chair arrested in sting on allegations he tried to pay for sex with a child

Hunter Rivera, the 24-year-old chairman of the Weld County Republican Party, was one of two men arrested Thursday on suspicion of trying to buy sex from Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators who posed as minors as part of an operation targeting child predators.

After news of Rivera’s arrest broke late Friday, multiple prominent Republicans denounced Rivera and called for his immediate resignation from the party position.

The sheriff’s office said in a news release that “several dozen people” responded to investigators who posed as minors offering sexual acts for sale on local websites and online forums. Two men — one of whom was Rivera — showed up at an agreed-upon location to pay for sex but were arrested and later booked into the county jail, the office said.

Rivera, who lives in Windsor, faces four felony charges, the sheriff’s office said: soliciting a child prostitute, internet luring of a child, soliciting to arrange a minor prostitute in a cybercrime, and attempted sexual assault on a child.

Rivera was being held at the Larimer County jail on a $6,500 cash-only bond but was in the process of being released, according to county records. His next scheduled court appearance is May 21.

“Children are not property to be bought or sold,” Sheriff John Feyen said in a statement. “Human trafficking is modern day slavery, and we won’t tolerate it in Larimer County. I hope this operation sends a strong message. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you try to hurt kids in our community, you will be held accountable.”

The sheriff’s office release stressed that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Rivera has been a fixture in Republican circles in recent years, both at the state Capitol, where he worked for several years as a legislative aide until last year, and in broader party activity.

After serving on multiple local local boards and chairing the Northern Colorado Young Republicans, Rivera ran unsuccessfully for Windsor Town Board in 2022, the Fort Collins Coloradan reported.

He served as an appointed member of the state GOP’s executive committee until last month, when the state party’s interim chair, Eric Grossman, removed him from the panel following delegates to the Republicans’ state assembly censuring members who had voted against filing a motion to close Colorado’s primary election to unaffiliated voters.

“Mr. Rivera should immediately resign,” Grossman told Colorado Politics in a text message. “I dismissed him from the excomm weeks ago after being censured by over 2,000 delegates and how fortuitous that decision looks now.”

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Windsor Republican who supported Rivera’s bid for county chair last year, issued a blistering statement condemning the allegations and calling on Rivera to be “replaced immediately” as party chair.

“These allegations are vile and indefensible. I pray to God there are not real victims out there. I am angry and disgusted,” Boebert said in a text message.

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Convicted Pedophile on the Run for Nearly a Year After California Judge Released Him on Bail

A convicted child sex offender in California remains on the run after a judge released him on bond last summer while he was awaiting sentencing.

Authorities in El Dorado County near Lake Tahoe now are asking for the public’s help to locate Carl Cacconie, 51, who was convicted last year of six felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on an 11-year-old girl.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office described the fugitive as a “convicted and violent sexual predator” and is asking anyone who knows his whereabouts to contact law enforcement or the Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers.

On July 17, 2025, Carl Cacconie, 51, was convicted of the charges. El Dorado Judge Michael McLaughlin set his bail at $1 million, which the convicted pedophile posted.

Typically, with the help of a bail bondsman, suspects can put up just 10 percent, which in Cacconie’s case would have been $100,000. Cars, homes, and other valuables can be used as collateral.

Cacconie was instructed to return to court on August 25, 2025, for sentencing. He faces 18 years in prison.

He never showed up.

The El Dorado County Probation Department fit Cacconie with an ankle monitor in 2023, the Daily Mail reported.

That device was disconnected on August 17 on a street in San Francisco, according to a report obtained by KCRA3.

Eight days later, the day of his sentencing, his family reported him missing.

El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson and the victim’s family were critical of the judge’s decision to allow Cacconie to bond out of jail.

“To expect that a person on $1 million bond, who has now been convicted, that merely adding an ankle monitor, which can be easily cut off, adds any real assurance to bringing him back to court, it’s kind of folly,” Pierson told the TV news outlet.

He added, “This is a county that prides itself on holding people accountable. And, unfortunately, that’s so far not what has happened.”

Cacconie’s family has told authorities that he left a suicide note, but police and prosecutors believe that’s a ruse by the fugitive to evade capture.

Cacconie inflicted sexual abuse on the victim, now an adult, over a period of several months in 2014 and 2015, and his felonies were facilitated by his close relationship with her family, KCRA3 reported.

“He’s a monster, and he took away my innocence,” the victim reportedly said.

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Fairfax County Democrat Prosecutor Exposed for Dropping Charges Against Illegal Alien Accused of Kidnapping 4-Year-Old Girl

Fairfax County, Virginia, Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano (D) dropped charges against an illegal alien accused of kidnapping a four-year-old with the intent to sexually assault her after the prosecutor’s office attempted to offer him a sweetheart plea deal, Rep. Brian Knott (R-NC) revealed on Thursda

During a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing, Knott noted the case of Hyrum Baquedano Rodriguez, an illegal alien from Honduras, with multiple prior convictions for burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In June 2023, Rodriguez was arrested in Fairfax County after allegedly breaking into an apartment and attempting to kidnap a sleeping four-year-old girl.

According to police, Rodriguez broke into the girl’s room while she was asleep. When the toddler’s mother heard her crying, she entered the room and alleges her daughter told her a man grabbed her and then ran away.

After his arrest, police said the illegal alien’s fingerprints were found in the girl’s bedroom.

By May 2025, Descano’s office sought a plea deal with Rodriguez in which a criminal court judge would be barred from sentencing him to more than two years in prison. The judge overseeing the case rejected the deal, suggesting that the sentence was far too lenient.

When the judge rejected the plea deal, Descano’s office dropped the charges against Rodriguez. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were able to arrest the illegal alien before he reoffended.

“A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children — you dismissed the case,” Knott told Descano. “As the father of two young girls, one of whom is five, that is as shameful as anything I have seen. Quit defending the indefensible … it’s shameful. You’re a coward.”

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