Mother of girl groomed by Roblox predator warns parents to monitor phone use

The mother of a teenage girl groomed by a sexual predator who she met on mobile gaming platform Roblox has warned parents to keep an eye on their children’s phone use.

Carlo Tritta, 19, of Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, Hampshire, has been locked up for 28 months after he pleaded guilty to various offences including making indecent images of a child and sexual communications with a child.

Tritta first made contact with the girl from the Manchester area through Roblox in September 2024 when she was 14 years old before he moved the conversation on to other messaging apps such as Snapchat, Discord and WhatsApp.

Tritta went on to engage in “highly sexualised” conversations with his victim and shared intimate images and videos.

Police were alerted last August when the complainant’s mother discovered the messages and images.

Tritta was arrested and interviewed but went on to breach his bail conditions as he travelled to the girl’s home in a bid to get her to drop the case.

On Thursday, prosecutor Rachel Yarwood told Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court that Tritta walked in through the back door of the property and confronted the complainant despite her asking him to leave.

She said: “He also sent her letters, attempted to contact her by phone and made attempts to frustrate the criminal investigation.”

Tritta later admitted to perverting the course of justice and was sentenced last December to a 12-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years.

However, just three days later he returned to the complainant’s home and sought to confront her as he entered the property and damaged a video camera.

Tritta was arrested again and later pleaded guilty to making indecent images, including 25 in the most serious classification of Category A, sexual communication with a child and causing a child to watch a sexual act, all committed between January and August 2025.

He also admitted witness intimidation and criminal damage.

In a victim impact statement, the girl said she “felt trapped and upset” and was “scared of going downstairs at night” because she thought the defendant would be there.

The victim’s mother told the court they were “constantly on edge” at their home that “no longer feels like a safe space” and had considered moving.

Edward Steele, defending, made what he termed a “mercy submission” to the court not to activate Tritta’s earlier suspended sentence.

He said Tritta was “essentially fixated” with his victim “partly as a function of his neurodiverse condition”.

The court heard the defendant has Asperger syndrome together with a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, which “may have compromised his understanding of what he was doing”.

Mr Steele said: “He is now coming to terms with the seriousness of the offences he committed which is borne out by a letter of apology and his remorse.”

However, Recorder Ciaran Rankin ruled that Tritta’s pattern of behaviour over a period of time must be reflected by an immediate custodial term.

He also noted the author of a pre-sentence report regarded Tritta as a high risk of causing harm to children and that the witness intimidation offences were committed just days after a court order had been imposed.

Following sentencing, Hampshire Police said Tritta led his victim to believe they were in a relationship by “love-bombing” her with constant messaging and sending her gifts and takeaways.

After his initial arrest, he texted the girl multiple times and even sent her two cards via Moonpig.com to encourage her to drop the case

His behaviour escalated, police added, when he reported the girl’s mother to social services.

The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Press Association she had discovered Tritta’s contact with her daughter after the child became depressed, stopped sleeping well and had suicidal thoughts.

The mother said: “I feel like my daughter has been in some kind of abusive, controlling, coercive relationship with somebody who’s a lot older.”

She added: “I don’t feel safe in my own house, I’ve got cameras up, I’ve got to think about safeguarding, I’ve had to change times of school pickup, when I drop off, I just get jumpy in my own house.”

Calling for tighter restrictions for the users of apps aimed at children, she also advised parents to take care of what their children are doing on their phones.

She said of Roblox: “To me, I just thought it’s a child’s game.

“I did not think for one minute that these older people, paedophiles, are essentially grooming on these games and contacting these children.

“I try to tell as many people as possible. Watch what your children are playing; they can be dangerous.

“I thought, my girl, she gets high grades in school, she can be a bit of a moody teenager but she doesn’t go out.

“I just thought how lucky am I that I’ve got my daughter at home with me and she’s safe, but I’m in my bedroom and she’s in the other and all this is happening to her.”

Detective Constable 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.

“Gaming platforms should be spaces where people, especially children, are safe. The anonymity of the internet allows dangerous individuals like Tritta to prey on others for their own twisted gain, and the lengths that Tritta went to in order to maintain his abuse of this young girl is shocking.

“I 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, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Not only is Tritta a sexual predator but he has also exhibited deeply troubling behaviour by attending the girl’s address in breach of his bail and a court order, damaging property and trying to interfere with witnesses.

“I hope today’s outcome sends a clear message that the Crown Prosecution Service is determined to bring those who exploit children to justice.”