Jacob Stapledon

When Online Safety Hits Home

August 16, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

When Online Safety Hits Home

Jacob Stapledon

August 16, 2025

If you are a parent or caregiver of a child who plays games online, you have probably heard the word Roblox at least a few times. And, if you pay attention to what is happening in online spaces you may have heard that word a few more times in recent weeks, with some concerning language attached to it. We don’t usually weigh in on online hotspots, but this issue hits close to home. It connects directly to work we’ve done in our community in recent months and highlights risks and concerns you should know about.

As a starting point, Roblox is an online platform and game creation system that allows users to create, share, and play millions of games. It’s a virtual universe where users, for the most part children and teens, can interact on platform with over 100 million monthly users. With the exception of in-game payments for various items, the game itself is free for users to play on any gaming system or smartphone, which increases access significantly and helps generate its younger user base. However, this free to play, open access, generative environment is what essentially opens it to being a virtual “wild west.”

Roblox has been facing significant backlash and legal challenges in recent months, primarily centered on child safety issues and the company’s moderation policies. A key theme in these controversies is the allegation that Roblox has prioritized user growth and profits over the safety of its young users. The most serious and pressing concern is the alleged failure of Roblox to protect children from predators. Multiple lawsuits have been filed, including one by the Attorney General of Louisiana and another by a Texas man, alleging the platform’s design and weak moderation have created an environment where child predators can “thrive, unite, hunt, and victimize kids.”

Some of these lawsuits are based on specific cases of exploitation as well as citing a general environment of allowing exploitation to take place. These include:

A lawsuit in Iowa claims a 13-year-old girl was introduced to a predator on the platform who later kidnapped and sexually assaulted her.
A Texas man is suing the company, alleging he was groomed and sexually abused as a child by a contracted Roblox developer he met on the platform. The lawsuit claims Roblox was unresponsive to his mother’s pleas for help.
The lawsuit filed by Louisiana’s Attorney General alleges that despite having a “zero-tolerance policy for the exploitation of minors,” Roblox’s lack of effective age verification and safety protocols puts children at risk.

These lawsuits have a common thread: the company has failed to put effective age checks in place to keep children safe. The court actions also show that Roblox’s content and user moderation is weak at best, allowing sexual and violent material to spread across the platform.

One video highlights the creation of a brand new Roblox account – where in less than 15 seconds the user was engaged with inappropriate content.”

Within the gaming and online community itself there has been a significant social media campaign against Roblox as the company has recently retaliated against users who have highlighted the issue or worked with law enforcement and other organizations to stop online predators on the platform.

One particular user and YouTuber known as “Schelp” with more than 800k subscribers has been one of the most vocal of the issue, posting a video in which he pretends to be a younger child to highlight the issue of predators on the platform. As a result of this action his account was banned, which has contributed to actions taken against the company.

Another user, known as “KreekCraft”, with more than 13 million subscribers on YouTube, generated two videos recently. One video highlights the creation of a brand new Roblox account – where in less than 15 seconds the user was engaged with inappropriate content. Another longform video highlights the recent issues involving the wider Roblox community.

So, what should you know about this, and where does this hit home? As we discussed in our April Newsletter, we had the pleasure of meeting with students from 3^rd to 8^th grade in Mashpee and Monomoy school districts to talk about online safety, digital mindfulness and gaming. . During the sessions with Richard Guerry from IROC2 , more than half of the 1,400 students we engaged with acknowledged that they played games online. Most of them identified Roblox as the game they played the most, and more than half revealed they communicated with people online.

The risks to children in our community being targeted by predators online is very real. We urge parents to get, and stay, involved in their children’s online lives to observe and understand the overall content on these platforms. The “built-in” safeguards for these games, and others, aren’t enough. Teach your children that communication in games should only be in the game, about the game. Often predators build trust with children on Roblox and then try to move the conversation to less-moderated platforms like Discord or Snapchat. Reinforce that they should never accept invitations to talk off the game platform.

Please, Take the Pledge and adopt an active role to prevent the sexual exploitation of children. Be smart and be safe online. It’s up to you to prevent online sexual exploitation of children.

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Sending Children Back to School Safely

August 16, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

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Sending Children Back to School Safely

Jacob Stapledon

August 16, 2025

Back to school shopping is underway, school and bus schedules are coming together, figuring out sports and after-school activities is an extra jigsaw puzzle thrown into the mix. The rush to squeeze out every last ounce of summer is here. However, somewhere in the middle of it all we hope you can take the time to look at what conversations about safety in the new school year could look like. We want to provide you with some suggestions for how you can engage your child, and their school, in these important conversations.

School Safety Guidelines

Do you know the child abuse prevention policies in your child’s school? How does the school focus on prevention? Do they incorporate safety into their hiring process? Are staff provided with training on prevention and recognizing signs of abuse and how to report it? Do they regularly evaluate if their building has a safe environment which minimizes opportunities where students are not able to be seen? If you don’t know the answer to one, or any of these questions, please inquire with your child’s school administration. Talk with your child about talking with you if they have any situation happens at school where they don’t feel safe.

Technology

Schools and technology now operate hand in hand, even at the elementary school level. While schools have installed online safeguards for children, there are many ways to navigate around such precautions. Children may find themselves in a situation they did not intend or fully understand. Talk with your child’s school about what safeguards are in place, and how online safety is discussed in school. Talk to your children about online safety, and the risks which exist, even on games and social apps.

Three Trusted Adults

Talk with your children about identifying three trusted adults who are in their lives, other than parents and caregivers. Explain that these three adults would be someone who they would go to if something happened if they felt unsafe, embarrassed, or unsure of what to do. This gives children the reassurance that they can ask for help outside of their immediate family. It also tells you, as a parent, who the important adults in their lives are..Get to know their names and take advantage of parent-teacher nights and socials to meet these individuals, and show you are an engaged and informed parent.

Consent

Talking with children about consent is something which should begin early and repeated often. Not only about sex, but about being hugged, touched, sharing toys or food, or sharing information. Remind your children that they are in charge of their bodies and choices, and no one should pressure them to do something they don’t want to do. This extends to relationships with peers, teachers, and other adults in their school. If we can communicate this with children earlier, later it will be an easier conversation about dating, online safety and sex.

Have Conversations Without Judgment

It is important for children and teens to know that if they make a mistake, they can have a calm non-judgmental conversation with their parents and ask for help. Children need to know their parents will always believe in them, advocate for them, and put their health and safety first. Ongoing and regular conversations about safety with kids and teens will help them feel supported, can provide reassurance, and increase their likelihood of asking for help.

These are just some of the ways you can talk with children and teens about safety as they return to school. If you would like to learn more, please email our Community Programs Coordinator Heidi Friedel at heidi.friedel@childrenscove.org. If you would like to learn more about online safety, please email our Child Exploitation Program Coordinator Anna Colby at anna.colby@childrenscove.org.

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Community Partner Spotlight: A Safe Place

June 17, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

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Community Partner Spotlight: A Safe Place Inc, Nantucket

Jacob Stapledon

June 16, 2025

For nearly 30 years, Children’s Cove has provided hope and healing for children across Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. This is accomplished through collaborative partnerships with local and regional investigative agencies, which allow for a coordinated, multidisciplinary response to cases involving children who have been victims of or witnesses to crime. Ensuring a trauma-informed and child-friendly investigative process is critical in the work we do in the region.

Just as critical is the care children and non-offending families receive following the initial investigation. Once a child makes a disclosure, there may be significant life disruptions for them and their family. Having quick and close resources at hand is critical, which can only be accomplished through community partnerships across the region. When we work with children and families on Nantucket, our most relied upon partner is A Safe Place, Inc.

Since 1987, A Safe Place has played a crucial role in the Nantucket community, offering free and confidential services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Dedicated to ending violence and empowering individuals, the organization provides direct support, preventive education, supervised family visitation, crisis intervention, counseling, and advocacy. Children’s Cove and A Safe Place have collaborated for over two decades, coordinating care for child victims and their non-offending family members on the island.

A Safe Place, Inc. stands as a vital pillar of support and advocacy, fully committed to eliminating domestic violence and sexual assault on Nantucket. As a free and confidential resource, it offers a lifeline to individuals from all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, immigration status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, ensuring critical support is accessible to everyone in need.

At its core, A Safe Place provides a comprehensive suite of services designed for immediate relief, ongoing healing, and empowerment. A central component is their 24-hour hotline (508-228-2111), offering immediate crisis intervention and emotional support to those impacted by violence. Beyond crisis response, they facilitate various support groups, creating safe spaces for survivors to connect and find solidarity. Individual trauma therapy is also a cornerstone, providing professional guidance through the healing process. Additionally, A Safe Place assists with the legal process, helping individuals navigate the justice system for protection and accountability. Integrated interpretive services highlight their commitment to accessibility, ensuring language is never a barrier to receiving help.

A Safe Place is also deeply invested in proactive community outreach and education. They regularly host events and conduct training programs to raise awareness, challenge harmful norms, and foster a culture of prevention. By engaging with schools, businesses, and community groups, they educate the public on the signs of domestic violence and sexual assault, promote healthy relationships, and equip individuals to intervene safely and effectively. This preventive approach is crucial for breaking cycles of violence and building a safer, more informed community for future generations.

The importance of A Safe Place to the Nantucket community cannot be overstated, especially given the unique challenges of island life. Nantucket’s geographical isolation can make it difficult to access specialized services from the mainland, making A Safe Place a critical, often sole, dedicated resource for these issues. The island’s tight-knit nature, while fostering strong bonds, can also make it harder for victims to come forward due to fear of judgment or lack of anonymity. A Safe Place’s unwavering commitment to confidentiality and non-judgmental support is paramount, providing a haven where survivors feel safe enough to seek help.

We are continually honored to call the team at A Safe Place our community partners in our vision to have a community free from abuse. We look forward to expanding the ways in which we serve the Nantucket community together.

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Welcome to the Team Sheena Miller

June 17, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

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Welcome to the Team: Sheena Miller

Jacob Stapledon

June 17, 2025

Our team is excited to introduce Sheena Miller, the Mental Health Coordinator for Children’s Cove! Sheena joined our team at the end of May, who upon her start brought our team to 10 members, and fully staffed our Center. Sheena’s addition to our team allows us to more readily address the growing need for specialized clinical services in the region. Over the last year Children’s Cove has strategically shifted to being able to provide on-site clinical services. In addition to coordinating referrals with partner agencies, Sheena’s addition will allow us to meet the increased demand driven by rising referrals.

Following investigations of crimes against children, Children’s Cove team members most often coordinate referrals for community-based support services local to the child and their non-offending family. However, the need for specialized clinical care has outpaced the availability of behavioral health services throughout the region. Children and families often face waiting lists for months—or longer—to access the clinical services they need after trauma. There are more referrals for Problematic Sexual Behavior in children which need specific treatment modalities and family work. Ensuring access to evidence-based trauma informed practices is essential for effective care, and as child advocacy center, we must ensure the most vulnerable members of our community receive support sooner.

Sheena Miller, Mental Health Coordinator, Children's Cove

Sheena Miller joins Children’s Cove to address a range of behavioral health needs. For children with specialized or immediate clinical needs who access Children’s Cove services, Sheena will provide trauma-informed clinical care to support both the child and their family. For families without an immediate need—or for whom traveling to Children’s Cove presents a challenge—Sheena will assist in finding and coordinating appropriate clinical care closer to home.

Sheena holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Georgia and has extensive experience in mental health and clinical social work roles in Florida. Her background includes working with children and families in outpatient, community-based, school-based, and intensive clinical settings. Having recently relocated to the region, Sheena sought to contribute to the community where the need is greatest.

We look forward to our community and behavioral health partners getting to know Sheena, and for the excellent work she will do with the children we serve. Welcome to the team!

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The Hidden Risks: Protecting Children in a Hyper-Connected World

April 21, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

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The Hidden Risks: Protecting Children in a Hyper-Connected World

Jacob Stapledon

April 21, 2025

On April 15th and 16^th, Children’s Cove partnered with The Monomoy Regional School District, and The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication (IROC2) to provide education and digital mindfulness information to students from 3rd grade to 7th grade. Through our dialogue and conversation with students, one of the biggest takeaways for us highlights a serious misunderstanding of how much children understand about technology, the risks they face, and the even greater risks they may yet face in the future.

Richard Guerry, Executive Director and Speaker of IROC2, conducts his presentations with infectious energy so as to best engage with students. Some of the findings shared by students are surprising and certainly pose concern. When 3rd and 4th graders were asked if they knew what AI was, more than 60% of students raised their hands, were able to verbalize what AI meant – and to a certain degree, what it does. In all grade levels, the majority of students identified that they were what they self-described as “gamers”, additionally admitting that regardless of whatever rules there are in their homes, the majority of students communicated with other people online. Even more disturbing, not only to our team but for staff, teachers and administrators within the schools, is the fact that half of students who report playing a particular online game, also reported they have been hacked online or knew someone who had been.

What started as a simple exercise to engage with students led to the realization that children who haven’t even entered high school, who interact regularly with other people online, are already finding themselves engaging with people who mean to do harm. As Richard states in his presentation, “With new technology comes even faster methods of communication and innovation; these children are ultimately those who face all of the risks.”

Unfortunately for us this isn’t a new issue, but a constantly evolving one. For many years, there has been an emphasis on educating teens about the risks of sexting and sharing nudes. This is still a critical issue, not only from the cases we have seen regionally, but direct disclosures from students in local schools and information gained from our Teen TASK Force members. While we need to continue to address these concerns of children sharing nude image and videos if we only act reactively, we are falling behind what’s next.

As a Children’s Advocacy Center, we must look at a broader scope of our work with all issues posing a risk to children. Nationally, we have seen the trends of sexual exploitation change significantly since the onset of Covid-19. With the rapid integration of the physical and online worlds, risk factors for sexual exploitation and human trafficking have shifted. Following a first of its kind study, there is evidence more children from different backgrounds are at a greater risk for sexual exploitation today as compared to before the pandemic.

A clear understanding of the definition of findings in this pre- vs. post-pandemic assessment is important as we adapt to an increasing electronic threat faced by our children. Researchers noted “CSE [child sexual exploitation] profiles of youth identified since the onset of the pandemic significantly diverged from profiles of young people identified prior to the pandemic …. A new profile emerged among youth referred for concerns of CSE since the pandemic which involved young people with mental health concerns (historically, and at the time of referral) who were identified as having exchanged sexually explicit media electronically.”

In summary, online facilitated crimes against children have skyrocketed on a national and local level with reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for online enticement of children increasing by more than 300% between 2021 and 2023.

With new technology comes even faster methods of communication and innovation; these children are ultimately those who face all of the risks.”

– Richard Guerry, IROC2

This trend is reflected regionally as well. The Children’s Cove 2024 Regional Report on Sexual Exploitation of Children shows in past years we have seen that more than 90% of local cases contain an online element of communication or exploitation. What’s more, last year alone more than 50% of all cases referred to our centers were online only, meaning that they are exclusively sextortion or online exploitation without an in-person component.

What we warned our community about just under 5 years ago has grown exponentially, and we need to reinforce the fact that where children go, those who mean to do them harm will follow.

During Child Abuse Prevention Month, the role parents play in the prevention of online facilitated crimes against children cannot be understated and must be effectively emphasized. We implore that every caregiver of children must understand the responsibilities they have for understanding technology and the integration of safety into children’s online lives.

In just this one group, Monomoy students are taught digital citizenship and safe technology use in school starting in Kindergarten, and they are not permitted to use cell phones or gaming devices at school — so this concerning activity largely happens in the home. It becomes critical, then, that parents, caregivers, and educators collaborate to help protect kids both in and out of school.

The times of simply taking away a child’s phone, computer, or internet privileges is long gone. The online world has become far too integrated into our daily lives to realistically enforce a blackout. Now is the time to change our concept of what “being online” entails, and recognize that all internet enabled devices are tools, and all tools carry an inherent risk or danger, most especially for children.

It is our responsibility as parents and caregivers to understand how these tools work, and to teach our children how to use these tools effectively and safely. We need to make certain children are understanding the importance of not sharing personal information online, and that ALL of their actions online are all Public and Permanent®.

Four years ago, Children’s Cove launched an initiative asking younger kids, teens, parents and caregivers to make a commitment to focus on the importance of their own online safety. Our It’s Up To You webpage shares numerous tools and technological safeguards you can review and use. With technology growing at the fastest rate ever witnessed, now more than ever is the time for our community to Take the Pledge and adopt an active role to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.

Be smart and be safe online. It’s up to you to prevent online sexual exploitation of children.

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You’re Not Alone on the Cape & Islands

April 1, 2025 by Jacob Stapledon

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You’re Not Alone on the Cape & Islands

Jacob Stapledon

April 1, 2025

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This month is a rallying cry across the state and nation to urge our community to come together to make a difference. To increase access to services for anyone who may need them, it is critical to raise the visibility of the services available to our community.

At Children’s Cove, we are among the hundreds of professionals serving the most vulnerable in our community. We partner often with Independence House, a Safe Place Nantucket and CONNECT to End Violence as the sexual and domestic violence agencies who support and serve Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. We know that sexual abuse, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation impacts people of all ages, genders, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

We believe we can create communities where everyone lives free from abuse, has a voice that is heard, and can enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. And we need your help to do it.”

If you are, or know of a victim of abuse and don’t know where to turn, there is community support available. You are not alone. No matter what has happened, no matter what someone has said, no matter your fears: you are not alone. You have not done anything wrong, and you are not in trouble. Ask for help. There is an entire community that will believe you.