Digital Vigilantisms and Trial by Court

A popular YouTuber was recently banned from Roblox for probably the company’s worst given reason: catching child predators. Let me explain.

Confronting and exposing child predators in videos to be posted online–a practice sometimes referred to as “pedophile hunting”–is a long-booming genre for social media content. Amongst the many people who do this is a twenty-two-year-old creator known as Schlep whose real name is Michael, though he does not share his last name for obvious reasons. Schlep states that he was groomed in his early teens by a Roblox developer he met in-game. This person, he says, exposed him to violent and explicit content and made him participate in inappropriate conversations. According to Schlep and his legal team, he eventually attempted to end his life as a result. However, when his mother contacted the company, they told her that they took no action against Schelp’s abuser who was banned years later following a complaint from another developer. The experience led Schlep to devote himself to outing groomers and child abusers.

With the help of a team, he poses as underage in virtual Roblox environments, responding to adults who contact him, letting them make incriminating statements unprompted, then arranges meetups in person where they are detained by law enforcement. He states that he has secured the arrest of six people over more than a year of pursuing what he calls “catches,” with only one arrest not leading to a prosecution. Two more cases are likely headed towards plea agreements, he says. Though, none of the predators have yet to be convicted.

After Schlep was banned from the platform and sent a cease and desist letter by the company itself, Roblox was forced to defend its decision after uproar from the game’s millions of fans. They claimed that it was “necessary to remove vigilantes from Roblox.” They state their actions are intentional, "the vigilantes we’ve banned have taken actions that are both unacceptable and create an unsafe environment for users.” 

According to Robloxs’ official website, “We realize that no platform is perfect, but we prioritize trust and safety because it’s core to what we do as a company.” The hundreds of other victims would beg to disagree with their statements, especially considering Roblox CEO David Baszucki suggested the idea of offering online dating services to attract more adult users, and an online petition to remove him from his position has already gained many signatures.

This sudden concern over harm to minors hasn’t been limited to the game’s community, however. Now a Congressman, state officials, and families are demanding accountability and legal action, saying that Roblox has allowed its platform to become an accumulating platform for child exploitation. Even Chris Hansen, best known for American reality TV series To Catch a Predator on Dateline NBC, is looking into stories of grooming and abuse on Roblox.

Schelp says he received no prior warning about violating any guidelines and that this is the only direct communication he’s ever received from the company. He has kept the services of a law firm that has also brought multiple private lawsuits against Roblox for alleged harm to minors.

Since the cease and desist, Schlep’s supporters have pushed a #FreeSchlep campaign with some staging virtual protests on his behalf within Roblox. A handful of users claimed to receive dictionary warning for displaying that slogan in the game. However, the company denies this with a spokesperson saying they “value open debate on the platform” and that any moderation “was likely linked to another policy violation. The hashtag was taken up by Louisiana State Representative Laurie Schlegel, who on Twitter asserted that Roblox “has a history of refusing to take action” against predators and makes far fewer reports to NCMEC–National Center for Missing & Exploited Children–than other apps. These attacks come as Louisiana attorney general, Liz Murrill, filed a lawsuit against Roblox, describing it as “overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety.”

But Schlep, who is still banned from the game, has questioned why these “basic fundamental features” took so long to be introduced and advised parents not to let their children play on the platform.

His lawyers are teaming up with Mike Mandell, a YouTuber with fifteen million subscribers known as “Law by Mike” to support abuse victims to make cases against Roblox. Other victims are being urged to come forward.

Schlep said he “wouldn’t change anything” about his predator hunting tactics. “I’ve never had so many eyes on me at once, but my parents have been very supportive and they’re very proud of me.”