Roblox is once again facing questions over how it handles predators on its platform, after content creator Schlep and journalist Chris Hansen spoke at CrimeCon 2025 about the company’s alleged failures to protect children.
Schlep first rose to prominence by exposing predators on Roblox through sting-style videos that went viral online. His work has been tied to at least six felony arrests, but he claims Roblox only acted against bad actors after his videos went public. In 2023, he also revealed that the company sent him a cease-and-desist letter and later banned him from the platform entirely.
Chris Hansen, best known for To Catch a Predator, appeared alongside Schlep on the panel. Hansen criticized Roblox’s response to Schlep’s work, saying the company missed an opportunity to work with him on safety and instead treated him “as a villain.” He further highlighted ongoing litigation accusing Roblox of pushing abuse cases into confidential arbitration rather than addressing them publicly.
Roblox’s moderation under fire
During the panel, Schlep described how Roblox failed to act on detailed reports he provided until his investigations gained millions of views. He pointed to “Smash or Pass” games, where players vote on whether they would have relations with avatars, as evidence of lax moderation, noting that children as young as five could join lobbies with adults.
A detective on the panel warned parents that Roblox was “inarguably not safe for children,” explaining that predators use the platform to approach kids before moving them to Discord servers. There, hidden channels allow grooming and extortion to take place with fewer restrictions.
The panel coincided with Roblox’s own developer conference, where executives promoted the platform’s safety efforts. Schlep and Hansen said this was at odds with the reality players see in-game. “The average user knows what’s going on,” Schlep told attendees.
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