How 'sexual predator' groomed girl, 14, he met on Roblox

Nineteen-year-old Carlo Tritta was at work when police arrived to take him into custody for questioning.

Eleven months earlier, he had started talking to a 14-year-old girl from Greater Manchester on the online gaming platform Roblox.

"He was chatting about games and generally just chat about the game that they were playing," said Det Supt Rod Kenny, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police.

"What then happened is that he sought to move her off that gaming platform onto a private message platform and the relationship moved on from there.

"From that point onwards they then entered into what in her eyes was a loving relationship.

"What was clear though is that there was a real power balance in terms of his age but also his intentions for this child."

The messages were described in court as "highly sexualised" and Tritta repeatedly messaged the teenager, encouraging her to send him sexually explicit images of herself.

"What was clear though is that his messaging was really very persistent," said Det Supt Kenny.

"There was focused messaging on securing indecent images of her and he was incredibly persistent in relation to that."

He led his victim to believe they were in a relationship by "love-bombing" her with constant messaging and sending her gifts and takeaways.

"He was trying to exert some control over the victim and make her feel as if he was a safe person to be communicating with," added Det Supt Kenny.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the victim initially told Tritta she was 15 years old before admitting she was 14 in December 2024.

Tritta, who was 18 when they first met online, was arrested on 28 August 2025 while at work in Fair Oak in Hampshire.

Tritta, from Eastleigh, was jailed for two years and four months on Thursday after admitting making indecent images of a child, sexual communications with a child and causing a child aged 13-15 to watch a sexual act.

He also admitted two counts of intimidating a witness and criminal damage after he twice travelled hundreds of miles to the girl's home as he tried to get her to drop the case as well as sending two cards to her home.

• 'My daughter, 14, was groomed after meeting man on Roblox'

Det Con Jodi Bartlett, who investigated the case, said: "Tritta's behaviour lays bare the terrifying realities of how criminals use the online world to target and harm vulnerable people.

"Do you truly know who you, or your child, is speaking to online?

"The victim in this case was just 14 years old.

"She and her mother were subjected to a campaign of fear and abuse at the hands of obsessive and predatory Tritta."

She said she would encourage "parents to talk openly with their children about how they use the internet, and if you have any concerns, trust your instincts and report these to police".

Karina Lyon, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Tritta had preyed on the young teenager, describing him as "a sexual predator".

An NSPCC spokesperson said Tritta's "appalling offences highlighted the problems around online safety and the dangers young people face when they use popular platforms like Roblox".

"The onus of online safety should not be on parents and children," the spokesperson said.

"Tech companies must ensure the safety of young people is at the forefront of their platforms from day one of the design process."

A spokesperson for Roblox said it was "deeply saddened to hear of this troubling case".

They said the platform had implemented new age checks in January which were "designed to limit communications to people of similar ages and those they already know".

"Our policies firmly prohibit any kind of child exploitation and we have extensive safety systems in place to help prevent user-to-user image sharing and limit chat for younger users, with our teams working closely with law enforcement to support investigations," they added.

"While no system is perfect, we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day."

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