Only Safety Advocate Easily Demonstrates The Danger To Minors In Popular Videogame
A disturbing demonstration on a popular podcast has reignited concerns about child safety on one of the world’s largest online gaming platforms.
During an episode of “The Shawn Ryan Show,” an online safety advocate known as Schlep showed how quickly alleged predators can contact potential victims on the gaming platform Roblox, which has more than 144 million users who either play games or create them.
Schlep, an activist who says he works to expose online predators, demonstrated the issue live during the interview by connecting to a Roblox game alongside podcast host Shawn Ryan. Within moments, direct messages from other users began appearing.
Someone Tried to Get Freaky With Our Decoy in Roblox. 🤯
Continue watching the FULL episode at 12:30PM CST.@RealSchlep pic.twitter.com/rjDP0Ksoqg
— Shawn Ryan Show (@ShawnRyanShow) March 2, 2026
One user with the handle “aviationlover403” quickly messaged the decoy account asking, “U frky?” — slang for asking if someone is sexually interested.
“Oh, you freaky, do you see that?” Schlep asked Ryan during the demonstration.
Ryan appeared stunned by the speed of the interaction.
“Are you serious, dude?” he responded as the messages appeared almost immediately.
Schlep encouraged the decoy to continue engaging the user to show what might happen next. Shortly afterward, another user — “Aimbot_errer3” — sent a similar message asking the same question within seconds of connecting.
“Holy shit,” Ryan said while watching the exchange unfold in real time.
The demonstration is part of a broader effort by online activists to expose child exploitation risks in digital spaces. In recent years, such activists have gained significant followings on social media and have even been featured in documentaries and television programs such as Investigation Discovery’s “Undercover Underage.”
Schlep said his advocacy is deeply personal. During the interview, he described being exploited online at age 12 while playing Roblox, an experience that he says led to severe psychological trauma and a suicide attempt at age 15.
“This is literally like Tinder, and when you match someone you get a private chat with them. That was like five seconds and someone was already trying to message and move the conversation off-platform. They’re probably going to try to get us on Snapchat or Discord. This is what… pic.twitter.com/TpSHNARjGI
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) March 2, 2026
According to his account, the abuser not only manipulated him through online conversations but also forced him to watch disturbing content. Schlep said the individual made him view graphic footage of the 2019 Christchurch mass shooting and demanded that he activate screen-sharing to prove he was watching it.
The podcast episode also highlighted another troubling issue: user-generated games that recreate real-world tragedies.
In one preview clip, Ryan appeared shocked when a game environment resembled Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the 2012 mass shooting that killed 26 people.
“Holy shit, this is Sandy Hook Elementary School,” Ryan said while watching the demonstration.
Ryan then questioned how young users could access the game, noting that children as young as nine reportedly play on the platform.
Roblox responded after clips from the podcast began circulating online.
“This is Sandy Hook Elementary, and you can see the names of the victims above their heads in the game. This game is you shoot through the window like the shooter did and move through the classrooms where innocent children were... They have the actual room recreated and the… pic.twitter.com/OliBGSICMg
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) March 2, 2026
In a statement posted by the company’s newsroom account on X, Roblox said the specific Sandy Hook-themed experience referenced in the interview had been uploaded on February 5 and removed within minutes of being reported.
“Our data shows that the few users who accessed the experience did not find it through organic discovery,” the company said. “We reported all parties involved in the creation and coordination of this experience to law enforcement.”
Roblox CEO David Baszucki also addressed the controversy, emphasizing the platform’s policies against recreating real-world tragedies.
“We have a strict zero-tolerance policy for reenacting any real-world tragic event on Roblox,” Baszucki wrote. “This includes acts of terror and school shootings.”
He added that while the company works to block such content before it appears, some users attempt to create and share it privately.
“Although we are not perfect, we work hard to moderate and remove them as quickly as possible,” Baszucki said.
Roblox is already facing legal scrutiny over child safety. Lawsuits filed by Texas and Louisiana accuse the company of failing to adequately protect children from online exploitation on the platform.