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On Friday, WLBT News Channel 3 reported that a Cinncinnati-area mother has filed a lawsuit against the online platform Roblox, alleging the site played a central role in exposing her 13 year old daughter to an extremist community that encouraged violence and, ultimately, her daughter's suicide. Jaimee Seitz says her daughter, Audree Heinee, appeared to be a typical, outgoing teenager who played sports, participated in pageants, played guitar and loved drawing. Seitz described her as someone who made everyone laugh and said they shared a close bond. She had no idea her daughter was hiding emotional turmoil or interacting with a dangerous online group. Seitz says she learned a week after Audree’s death in December of 2024 that detectives found her daughter had been involved in an extremist collective known as TCC, or True Crime Community, a group she was told glorifies school shooters and encourages participants to hurt themselves or others. According to Seitz, “It’s a group that glorifies school shooters, romanticizes them, obsessed with them, and they feed off of each other.” Matthew Kriner, executive director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, told investigators that children as young as eight are increasingly being pressured into communities that promote mass violence and self harm. He said the influence is pervasive and easily normalizes harmful behavior among young people. Seitz began researching the group extensively after learning of her daughter’s involvement. She later discovered that Audree had met members of the group on Roblox before following them to Discord and TikTok. Kriner said this progression is common, describing it as a path where children start on mainstream platforms that are intended to be safe, then are migrated to private channels where grooming and exploitation can occur. Seitz said the journal entries she later read did not resemble the daughter she knew, nor did they match the values she taught her. She emphasized that Audree would never harm anyone and took her own life only after being manipulated and told she had to. Seitz said she learned that a school shooter in Wisconsin had been wearing a shirt she made for Audree at the teen’s request, something she believes parents should be aware of as a possible sign of extremist involvement. Kriner said such emulation indicates a person may be further along in the process of harming themselves or others. He advised parents to familiarize themselves with mass shooting patterns and to have direct conversations with children about frightening online content. Seitz said that while many parents understand the risks posed by online predators, they are less aware of extremist groups like TCC. She believes major platforms, including Roblox, have not done enough to protect young users. Seitz says her lawsuit is not about money but about preventing more children from being harmed. “It makes me mad when people say that’s the issue, the phone, or the parenting at home,” she said. “It wasn’t my parenting. It was online platforms, social platforms, and the grooming of them.” She says she wants accountability and change so that no family repeats her pain. Kriner echoed that extremist influence is a growing issue, driven in part by bots, artificial intelligence and false amplification that makes harmful content appear more widespread than it is. .To honor her daughter’s memory, Seitz created Audree’s Scholarship, which provides tuition assistance for an art and mindfulness class at the Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, KY. The program encourages young people to explore emotions through creativity and aims to help children express difficult feelings in healthy ways.Roblox is now the focus of major legal scrutiny across the United States. Attorneys general in Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas have launched lawsuits or formal investigations accusing the company of failing to protect children from grooming, extremist communities, and sexual exploitation while marketing itself as a safe platform for minors. Alongside these government actions, multiple high profile family lawsuits have emerged, including a California case that remained public after a judge rejected Roblox’s push for private arbitration and a Texas lawsuit alleging that Roblox and Discord enabled a predator to groom and assault a teenage girl after first contacting her on the platform. Together, these cases point to a rapidly expanding wave of litigation claiming that Roblox has not done enough to safeguard its youngest users.Click here for more Roblox lawsuit coverage Has Your Child Been Harmed By Roblox? Survivors and families affected by harm on online platforms can learn more by visiting our Roblox Lawsuit Guide . If you are ready to explore possible legal action, you can request a free case review by filling out the confidential and secure form below.

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digital grooming cases

Mother Sues Roblox After Daughter’s Suicide Allegedly Linked to Online Extremist Group

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