Shawn Ryan Show

#284 Schlep - EVERY Parent Needs to Watch This

March 2, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • Platforms like Discord, VRChat, Kik, and Snapchat are identified as highly unsafe online spaces for children, often serving as secondary locations for predators after initial contact on gaming platforms like Roblox. 
  • Predators operating within kid-centric environments like Roblox often hold positions of trust, such as being featured developers, and use systematic grooming techniques, including exposing minors to gore and normalizing degenerate behavior. 
  • Parents must proactively build trust with their children and educate them about predatory behavior, as removing institutional failures alone will not stop predators who simply move to new platforms or professions to gain access to victims. 
  • Lawsuits against Roblox allege that the platform's design, including unrestricted private chat features, directly enabled predators to groom and exploit minors, leading to severe real-world consequences like abduction and assault. 
  • Roblox executives, including the CEO and VP of Civility and Partnerships, have allegedly downplayed safety failures by suggesting negative press is outdated or by framing predator incidents as 'opportunities to improve moderation,' while simultaneously threatening legal action against whistleblowers like Schlep. 
  • Beyond grooming, the Roblox platform hosts user-created games that explicitly recreate real-life mass shootings (like Sandy Hook and Uvalde) and feature dating/chat roulette mechanics, demonstrating a systemic failure to moderate harmful content accessible to young users. 
  • Roblox hosts numerous inappropriate and dangerous experiences, including games simulating real-world mass shootings and social spaces functioning as dating apps for minors. 
  • Roblox has a documented history of silencing whistleblowers like Schlep, comparing them to predators, while continuing to allow known abusers to operate on the platform. 
  • Proposed legislation like the Safer Gaming Act may inadvertently strip survivors of their right to sue tech platforms, transferring that authority solely to the federal government. 
  • Proposed federal legislation, such as the Safer Gaming Act, is being criticized for potentially granting immunity to tech platforms like Roblox from survivor lawsuits related to digital exploitation. 
  • Schlep is continuing his advocacy and investigative work independently despite a cease-and-desist letter from Roblox, positioning him as a crucial whistleblower in the fight for platform accountability. 
  • The conversation highlights severe, graphic content, including real-world assault and suicide videos, being exposed to children on Roblox, underscoring the platform's failure to protect its young user base. 

Segments

Introduction and Guest Context
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(00:01:02)
  • Key Takeaway: The Shawn Ryan Show episode #284 features Schlep, a young content creator exposing Roblox predators, and the host warns listeners about the extremely heavy nature of the content.
  • Summary: The host introduces Schlep, noting he was referred by Ryan Montgomery, and warns that the episode is extremely heavy, requiring some parts to be removed for YouTube compliance. The primary goal shared by the host and Schlep is saving children from exploitation occurring on platforms like Roblox. The uncensored version containing the ‘real nasty stuff’ is available on the Vigilance League Patreon.
Gaming Preferences and Other Platforms
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(00:05:54)
  • Key Takeaway: VRChat is identified as having a higher per-user concentration of predators than Roblox, often featuring nude avatars and requiring users to manually disable inappropriate content settings.
  • Summary: Schlep reveals his favorite game was a Roller Coaster Tycoon-like game on Roblox, contrasting with the host’s background in Call of Duty. Schlep highlights VRChat as extremely dangerous due to its social nature and the fact that users must opt-in to filter inappropriate content, which often includes nudity. He notes that predators from Roblox were also found grooming children on VRChat, and the immersive nature of VR makes parental monitoring nearly impossible.
Unsafe Online Spaces Identified
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(00:15:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Discord is labeled one of the most unsafe platforms, with Schlep personally being groomed there, and Snapchat is strongly advised against for children due to its origins in exchanging explicit content.
  • Summary: Excluding Roblox, Schlep immediately warns parents to remove children from Discord, calling it the modern-day equivalent of Kik, an older messaging app notorious for child victimization. Snapchat is also flagged as a horrible platform with no reason for children to use it, given its history and private messaging nature that prevents parental oversight. These platforms, alongside VRChat, represent the current primary gaming and social spaces where children are most exposed to predators.
Predator Tactics and Parental Education
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(00:19:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Predators often seek occupations that grant access to children (teachers, coaches) because they are invisible until they have a criminal record, necessitating direct parental education for protection.
  • Summary: The conversation stresses that destroying institutions does not eliminate evil, as predators will simply flow into new roles like soccer coaches or teachers to exploit children undetected. Parents must build strong, non-punitive relationships with their children so that victims feel safe immediately reporting any inappropriate contact or mistakes online. Schlep emphasizes that predators use systematic, textbook methods, including ‘Early Introduction’ (EPI), to turn children into porn addicts.
Schlep’s Grooming Backstory
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(00:31:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Schlep was viciously groomed for three years by a prominent Roblox developer, who was featured in company advertisements and toys, starting when Schlep was 12.
  • Summary: Schlep began gaming young, becoming heavily involved in Roblox during a long hospital stay due to illness, where he met his abuser on a Discord server run by Roblox employees. The grooming progressed from inappropriate conversations about masturbation to being forced to watch graphic mass shooting footage, leading to Schlep’s suicide attempt at age 15. The abuser, a contractor paid by Roblox, even threatened to publish Schlep’s ID and later filed a lawsuit against him in Ireland.
Roblox’s Response and Victim Cases
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(00:50:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox allegedly dismissed Schlep’s mother’s report about his suicide attempt by only providing a suicide hotline number, despite knowing the perpetrator was one of their featured developers.
  • Summary: After Schlep’s suicide attempt, Roblox reportedly brushed off his mother’s concerns, offering only a hotline number, even though the abuser was a high-profile developer. This developer was eventually banned after another victim leaked NDA material, but he continued making new Roblox accounts as recently as 2023, forcing Schlep to continue monitoring him. Schlep shared tragic examples, including Ethan Dallas, a victim who died by suicide, whose parents filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against Roblox.
Roblox/Discord Exploitation Lawsuit Details
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(01:10:49)
  • Key Takeaway: A detailed lawsuit summary revealed a 10-year-old victim was groomed via Roblox chat, moved to Discord, and subsequently abducted and raped by a registered sex offender.
  • Summary: The lawsuit explicitly names both Roblox and Discord as defendants whose defective products enabled the predator to access and victimize the plaintiff. The predator, a 26-year-old man on probation, used Roblox’s chat to move the victim to Discord, where reporting systems failed to intervene before a real-world assault occurred. The victim was later abducted twice, resulting in pregnancy and requiring an abortion.
Roblox CEO Safety Claims
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(01:18:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox CEO David Baszucki claimed Roblox is the ‘safest platform for anyone on the internet,’ a statement contradicted by ongoing exploitation cases.
  • Summary: The CEO’s claim of being the safest platform is contrasted with a lawsuit detailing a 10-year-old being trafficked by five men after being groomed on the app. Roblox’s private messaging feature is criticized for allowing unrestricted communication between users regardless of age, which predators exploit by having victims unfriend them to delete evidence.
Schlep’s Predator Catching Successes
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(01:30:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Schlep and his team successfully orchestrated sting operations leading to six child predator arrests within the Roblox community, with two resulting in convictions.
  • Summary: Schlep transitioned from exposing drama to conducting sting operations, confronting predators in-game, and researching laws to ensure proper procedure. The team would pose as innocent young girls to catch predators arranging real-life meetups, leading to arrests cited in official lawsuits against Roblox.
Roblox’s Response to Arrests
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(01:37:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox failed to act on evidence of arrested predators provided directly by Schlep until after his exposé videos were released, culminating in a cease and desist letter against Schlep.
  • Summary: Schlep created a dedicated account to send law enforcement-level evidence packages to Roblox, but predators were not banned until his videos went public. Roblox’s legal team issued a cease and desist, banning both Schlep’s investigative and innocent gaming accounts, claiming his actions violated policy and exposed users to risk.
Roblox Executive Statements and Tactics
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(01:21:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox VP Tammy Bonick dismissed recent safety incidents by claiming negative press relates to events ‘five years ago,’ while the CEO framed predator incidents as an ‘opportunity to improve moderation.’
  • Summary: Bonick’s statement is factually incorrect, as many highlighted situations occurred within the last month, showing an attempt to manipulate parental trust. Furthermore, the CEO’s framing of severe abuse cases as mere ‘opportunities’ highlights a profit-driven, rather than child-centric, perspective on safety.
Roblox Platform Content Extremes
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(01:56:46)
  • Key Takeaway: The Roblox platform hosts hyper-realistic, user-created games that simulate mass school shootings, including Sandy Hook and Uvalde, accessible to users as young as nine years old.
  • Summary: Games like ‘A Sandy Experience’ allow users to play as the shooter, select weapons used in real tragedies, and even see the names of actual victims displayed as a leaderboard. The platform also features games replicating other horrific events, such as an ‘Epstein Island’ experience and a functional Tinder clone, indicating a severe lack of content moderation.
Roblox Dating Game Simulation
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(02:15:18)
  • Key Takeaway: A specific Roblox game functions identically to Tinder, allowing users to match and enter private chats.
  • Summary: The speakers demonstrate a Roblox game that operates as a dating platform, requiring users to create profiles for liking or disliking others. Upon matching, users gain access to a private chat function, functionally mirroring the dating app Tinder. This environment is immediately associated with inappropriate behavior, including discussions of raceplay.
Roblox Mass Shooting Simulations
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(02:19:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox hosts detailed, interactive recreations of real-world mass shootings, including the Christchurch attack.
  • Summary: Schlep reveals a Roblox game built identically to the Christchurch shooting site, incorporating the actual shooter’s audio and details like names of victims and writings on the gun. This game features leaderboards tracking kills, demonstrating how the platform allows for the simulation of extreme violence and radicalization events.
Scale of Inappropriate Content
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(02:23:42)
  • Key Takeaway: A classroom survey shows a vast majority of children have been exposed to inappropriate requests or offers on Roblox.
  • Summary: A video clip shows a classroom where nearly half the children raised their hands when asked if they were asked to be a boyfriend/girlfriend in Roblox. Even more hands went up when asked if they were offered free Robux to move to Snapchat or TikTok, illustrating the immense scale of grooming and inappropriate solicitation.
Roblox Developer Grooming Case
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(02:33:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox reinstated a developer, Arnold Castillo, after initially banning him for grooming, leading to further abduction and abuse.
  • Summary: Developer Arnold Castillo, known for a popular Sonic game, groomed children via a linked Discord server, culminating in the abduction of a girl across state lines. Roblox terminated his account after being alerted, but then reinstated him, only removing the game after Sega issued a DMCA takedown notice.
Roblox Executive Behavior and Priorities
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(03:01:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox executives publicly compared Schlep to predators and then privately invited him back to the community after banning him.
  • Summary: Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman publicly compared Schlep’s actions to those of child predators, yet later emailed him offering a way to return to the Roblox community without apologizing for the initial comparison. The CEO later stated Schlep broke terms of use but expressed love for his feedback, using the outreach attempt to imply proper communication.
Roblox’s Focus on Dating and Gambling
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(03:42:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox executives are prioritizing the development of dating features and exploring introducing gambling mechanics to minors.
  • Summary: The CEO pitched turning Roblox into a dating platform for 18-plus verified users, despite the platform’s young user base. Furthermore, the CEO indicated he viewed introducing gambling to children in an ’educative way’ as a ‘great idea,’ showing skewed corporate priorities.
Predator Account Sales and Vigilance
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(03:48:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Underage Roblox accounts with voice chat enabled are easily purchased on secondary markets like Carousel, requiring constant parental vigilance.
  • Summary: The speakers quickly located listings for Roblox accounts designated for specific age ranges (e.g., 13 to 15 years old) on platforms like Carousel, often with voice chat enabled. This demonstrates that even if Roblox removes content, predators immediately migrate to other marketplaces to acquire accounts for exploitation.
Arrested Predator Still Active on Roblox
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(03:09:38)
  • Key Takeaway: A predator named Keani Govia, previously arrested after being reported by Schlep, remains active on Roblox and is still grooming children.
  • Summary: Keani Govia (Roblox screen name: Kitty Cat Catty Butt), who was arrested for showing up to meet a 13-year-old, is still using Roblox despite the arrest, as the case was reportedly dropped by prosecutors. Schlep confirmed Govia is actively sending explicit material to 15-year-olds, highlighting Roblox’s failure to remove known offenders.
State Lawsuits Against Roblox
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(03:06:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Seven state Attorneys General have filed lawsuits or are investigating Roblox for failing to protect children from exploitation.
  • Summary: Seven states—Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee—have initiated legal action or investigations against Roblox since August 2025. The Florida investigation escalated from a subpoena to a criminal subpoena after findings indicated Roblox failed to act on predator reports.
Law Firm Defending Institutions
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(03:16:32)
  • Key Takeaway: The law firm representing survivors also defends institutions that shelter abusers, including those involved in clergy abuse cases.
  • Summary: Cool Greco and Hensley specializes in representing survivors of digital exploitation, but they noted the existence of firms that specialize in defending institutions against such claims. One firm that sent Schlep a cease and desist letter was found to have previously represented the Catholic Church in clergy abuse cases.
Safer Gaming Act Critique
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(03:18:26)
  • Key Takeaway: The Safer Gaming Act contains provisions that strip survivors of their right to sue tech platforms, transferring that right to the federal government.
  • Summary: The Safer Gaming Act is one of several pieces of legislation presented as improving online safety but is criticized for including a provision that grants immunity to tech platforms. This provision removes the right of exploitation survivors to bring lawsuits against companies like Roblox. The speakers view this as a concerted effort to shield companies from accountability for negligence regarding pedophiles on their platforms.
Identifying Bill Sponsors
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(03:20:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Specific members of Congress are named as sponsors of legislation that would grant immunity to tech companies from survivor lawsuits.
  • Summary: The speakers name several politicians supporting the legislation, including Tom Keene Jr., Chris Smith, Darren Soto, Tim Wahlberg, Laurel Lee, Gus Berelcas, and Kathy Castor. They argue that these politicians are either unaware of the preemption provisions or are aligning with big tech interests. The speakers vow to campaign in the sponsors’ districts to inform constituents about the impact on abuse survivors.
Schlep’s Continued Activism
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(03:27:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Schlep is lauded as a hero and whistleblower whose continued outspokenness forces Roblox to address safety failures, despite their attempts to silence him.
  • Summary: Schlep is continuing to speak out against Roblox, which views him as a problem because he is authentic and trusted by survivors. Roblox hoped the cease-and-desist letter would silence him, but he persisted, making this discussion about platform safety possible. The law firm represents Schlep and will defend him against any further intimidation tactics from the company.
Roblox’s Ineffective Moderation
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(03:28:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Roblox accuses Schlep of violating terms of service while simultaneously allowing known pedophiles to easily create new accounts after being disabled.
  • Summary: While Schlep is accused of violating terms of service, actual predators are not effectively banned; their accounts are often just disabled, allowing them to immediately create new ones. Roblox fails to track users effectively, making it easy for abusers to return to the platform. Schlep, conversely, possesses significant information exposing the company’s failures.
Call for Leadership Change at Roblox
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(03:46:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The speakers believe the CEO, David Baszucki, must resign due to prioritizing addictive features and profit over safety, evidenced by defunding moderation efforts.
  • Summary: The speakers demand a leadership change at Roblox, specifically calling for CEO David Baszucki’s resignation. They cite his erratic behavior in interviews when questioned about defunding moderation as proof that safety is not a priority over features like dating or gambling. A positive future for Roblox is seen only after executives who have ignored infiltration by pedophiles are removed.
Mental Health and Exposure to Evil
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(03:40:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Schlep is strongly urged to prioritize his mental health, as constant exposure to the darkest material on the internet will inevitably lead to burnout or a breakdown.
  • Summary: Schlep admits that catching predators and reviewing the material is what keeps him sane, but the host warns that this constant immersion in evil will catch up to him. The host stresses that Schlep cannot help others if he suffers a mental break, making self-care a necessary component of his mission. He is advised to find a professional therapist immediately, before a crisis occurs.
Graphic Content Exposure on Roblox
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(03:42:28)
  • Key Takeaway: A graphic video depicting a man committing suicide via shotgun was uploaded frame-by-frame onto Roblox and exposed to children, contradicting claims of no video sharing.
  • Summary: Schlep shows the host a video uploaded on Roblox depicting a man committing suicide, which was exposed to children, including in an LGBTQ-themed game. This incident directly refutes Roblox’s claims that they do not allow video or image sharing on the platform. The host emphasizes the extreme trauma this content inflicts on young users.