California Pervert Lands in Jail After Asking Minor for Nude Pictures on Roblox

Florida authorities have arrested a California man accused of using the online gaming platform Roblox to solicit a child for sexual activity, following a lengthy investigation that began more than two years ago.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) announced the arrest of 20-year-old Brandon Rodriguez-Silva of San Jose, California, on November 7.

He faces two felony charges: transmitting material harmful to minors by electronic device and soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer service or device.

According to investigators, Rodriguez-Silva allegedly initiated contact with a child from Florida through Roblox, a gaming platform popular among minors.

He reportedly encouraged the victim to move their communications to the messaging application Discord and later exchanged cellphone numbers.

“The suspect told the victim that he was 18 years old and lived in California, [and] began requesting nude photographs,” the FCSO press release stated.

“The messages between the suspect and the child contained numerous sexually explicit texts and photographs, but no nudity.”

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Authorities said the case came to light after the child’s parent discovered the online conversations and immediately alerted law enforcement.

“Fortunately, this parent acted as the sheriff in their home by reviewing their child’s messages and contacting law enforcement immediately after discovering a stranger was attempting to take advantage of their child,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement.

The investigation began in June 2023, when deputies were dispatched to a residence in Palm Coast following a report of a suspicious incident.

“Upon arrival, deputies spoke to the parent, who stated he had discovered an inappropriate and sexually explicit conversation on his child’s iPad between his child and an unknown male,” the sheriff’s office reported.

Detectives spent months tracing the communications and identifying Rodriguez-Silva as the suspect.

The FCSO said the investigation took more than two years to fully develop before culminating in his arrest in California.

Roblox, an online platform that allows users to create, share, and play games, is widely used by children and teenagers.

The platform has faced growing scrutiny over safety concerns involving potential contact between minors and adults.

Sheriff Staly said the case serves as a reminder for parents to stay alert to the risks of online interactions.

“This case demonstrates why it is incredibly important for parents to be aware of the dangers of the internet and monitor their children’s online activity,” Staly said.

“These online platforms provide predators an avenue to engage with unsuspecting children and groom them so exploitation can occur.”

Rodriguez-Silva is being held at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, California, and is awaiting extradition to Flagler County, Florida, where he will face prosecution.

In a statement to FOX Business, a Roblox spokesperson said the company was “deeply troubled” by the reported incident and outlined steps being taken to strengthen safety measures.

“Our policies are purposefully stricter than those found on many other platforms,” the spokesperson said.

“We prohibit the sharing of images and videos in chat, use filters designed to block the exchange of personal information, and our trained teams and automated tools continuously monitor communications to detect and remove harmful content.”

The company added that it has implemented more than 145 new safety measures in 2024 alone and plans to introduce an age verification feature for users who access chat functions.

“As a first for the industry, we recently announced that we will soon implement age estimation for all users accessing chat features, which will further strengthen safety protections on Roblox,” the spokesperson said.

Authorities in Flagler County credited the victim’s parent and cooperative tech companies for helping bring the case to resolution, emphasizing continued vigilance in protecting minors from online predators.

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