Darius Matylewich preyed on an 11-year-old child after meeting on an online gaming platform, authorities said. (Mug shot: Wayne Police Department)
Police say a man used the online gaming platform Roblox to prey on an 11-year-old girl, abduct her, and take her across state lines. Darius Matylewich, 27, is charged with kidnapping in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child in the third degree.
The Wayne Police Department in Passaic County, New Jersey, says that the child was reported missing. They found her all the way down in Bear, Delaware. Law enforcement claims that Matylewich encountered her while playing an ongoing video game platform. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Fetterman of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office told Law&Crime that the defendant and the child communicated on several video game platforms.
“At approximately 6:45 a.m. on September 10, 2023, members of the Wayne Police Department responded to the area of U.S. Route 46 and Old Turnpike Road in Wayne, New Jersey on a report of a missing 11-year-old child,” cops wrote. “The Wayne Police Department located the victim soon after she was reported missing in Bear, Delaware. Based on the investigation, police determine that Darius Matylewich had met the victim while playing an online video game and transported her from Wayne, New Jersey, to Bear, Delaware, without the knowledge or consent of her parents.”
— Wayne Police Department (@WaynePoliceNJ) October 12, 2023
The city of Bear is about 12 miles southwest of the Delaware capital of Wilmington.
Cops first arrested Matylewich in New Castle County, Delaware, back on Sept. 10, and authorities have since extradited him to New Jersey.
Matylewich allegedly communicated with the girl on Roblox. The company told Law&Crime that based on their internal investigation, the suspect and victim did not meet on the platform.
“We have not been contacted by law enforcement but we take the safety of our users, particularly our youngest users, incredibly seriously,” a Roblox spokesperson wrote. “We have reached out to law enforcement and are offering our help. We work tirelessly to prevent grooming on our platform and have a team of thousands of moderators who enforce a strict set of community standards on Roblox, including zero tolerance for sexual content of any kind. We also have a number of dedicated features designed to keep kids safe including filtering text chat on the platform to block inappropriate content or personal information and offering parental controls and features to limit or turn off chat. Users can also mute or block players that they come across in games and report inappropriate content or behavior using our Report Abuse system.”
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office asks anyone with more information on the case or similar incidents involving Matylewich to call their tip line at 1-877-370-PCPO.
If convicted, the defendant faces 10 to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping charge, having to serve 85% of his term before eligible for parole, prosecutors pointed out. He faces three to five years in prison for the endangering charge.
Note: We added a statement from Roblox.
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