First conviction in Mendoza for grooming on Roblox gaming platform

A man from Mendoza Province has become the first person in the region to be convicted of grooming youngsters via the Roblox gaming platform, local media reports.

Benjamín Elías Marín Mendoza was found guilty after confessing during a shortened trial that he harassed a 13-year-old girl online.

The verdict was reached Judge Marco Martinelli, a member of the Collegiate Criminal Court No. 1 of Tunuyán, ratified an agreement between Marín Mendoza and Flavio D’amore, a specialised prosecutor for crimes against sexual integrity that the accused be sentenced to three years in prison for harassing a teenage girl on Roblox.

According to a report by the Mendoza-based media outlet MDZ, Marín Mendoza was sentenced for the crime of distributing images of child sexual exploitation or abuse.

Marín Mendoza was previously accused of child sex offences back in 2021, when he was accused of distributing indecent photographs of children.

According to prosecutors, the accused logged onto Roblox, a popular gaming platform, to communicate with minors and began to establish a dialogue with the victim. After gaining her their trust and access to the victim’s WhatsApp account, Marín Mendoza asked for intimate photos.

The accused went on to receive content from the minor for an extended period, the court heard. Ties were cut when the victim’s mother accessed the conversations and filed a report.

An agreement with the court was reached after the accused confessed that he had contacted the minor through the platform and, after deceiving her, had obtained her mobile number and used it to request the photos.

This is the first known conviction of its kind in Mendoza, a province that now joins others which have already sentenced various individuals for grooming on gaming platforms.

During the investigation, it emerged that Marín Mendoza faced accusations in 2021 of distributing photos of minors via a Google-linked platform. The information was provided by US-based NGO the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Roblox currently has more than 350 million users worldwide and, according to the latest statistics, 40 percent of its users are aged under 12.

In recent months, concerns have grown that online predators may be taking advantage of the vulnerability of children and adolescents by posing as peers, initiating conversations and then demanding intimate content.

In Buenos Aires City and several other provinces, schools have already taken steps to block access to the Roblox platform so that pupils cannot use the system in classrooms.

– TIMES/NA