19-Year-Old Jailed 28 Months for Grooming Girl on Roblox

A 19-year-old man from Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, in Hampshire has been sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to grooming a 14-year-old girl he met on the online gaming platform Roblox and engaging in a series of intimidating acts against her and her family.

Carlo Tritta began communicating with the girl from the Manchester area in September 2024 through Roblox, a platform popular for creating and playing 3D games. He quickly shifted their interactions to private messaging apps including Snapchat, Discord, and WhatsApp, where he engaged in sexualized conversations and shared intimate images and videos with her. Police later found 25 Category A indecent images on his device, the most serious classification. Tritta convinced the girl they were in a relationship, sending her gifts, food deliveries, and frequent messages in a pattern described in court as lovebombing.

The girl's mother discovered the communications in August 2024 after noticing her daughter's depression, sleep disturbances, and suicidal thoughts. She alerted authorities, leading to Tritta's arrest. He was released on bail with conditions prohibiting contact with the girl or her mother while police...