Paedo flew from Germany to UK to sexually abuse girl, 13, after grooming her on popular children’s game Roblox
A VILE paedo flew from Germany to the UK to sexually abuse a 13-year-old girl after grooming her on Roblox.
Michael Shablinger, 36, targeted the victim on the popular children’s video game when she aged just 12.
They exchanged indecent images and messages before the predator arranged flying over from his home in Germany to meet her.
The girl’s mum discovered her daughter in a park in Norwich with Shablinger on June 16 last year.
She later found a “secret” mobile the paedo had given the schoolgirl that contained a picture of them kissing and plans to meet again.
Shablinger has now been jailed for eight-and-a half-years after he pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming and sexual activity with a child.
The fiend also admitted possessing more than 800 indecent images of children – including three offences relating to the girl that fell under the most serious Category A.
Another three related to unidentified children and included 346 also branded Category A.
Norwich Crown Court heard Shablinger began messaging the girl on Roblox in May 2023 and claimed he was 21.
He flew from his home in Germany in June last year and spent five hours with the victim before they were caught.
The Austrian native claimed he had “only just met her” when challenged by the girl’s mum before fleeing on a bus.
As well as the indecent images, the secret phone contained messages Shablinger sent asking for “further meetings”.
He also text her asking: “Do you regret Sunday?” to which the girl replied: “No”.
Police seized the phone and also discovered conversations about Shablinger getting the victim a passport so she could “leave the country to be with him”.
The paedo was arrested by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport as he tried to board a plane back home to Munich on June 23.
His mobile contained indecent images of the girl and other unidentified children, as well as videos.
The court was told the pair had been chatting for “some time” and had exchanged “many” sexualised images and messages.
As well as a jail term, Shablinger was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders’ register.
He was also banned from contacting, or attempting to contact, the victim directly or indirectly.
What is Roblox?
ROBLOX is a virtual space you can play and chat with others.
Described as “the Imagination Platform” by its creators, Roblox allows users to develop their own games, play other people’ games, and explore user-created content.
It’s billed as somewhere gamers can hang out with friends, explore virtual spaces, and play a huge array of games and content.
Players can also try their hand at making your own content or collaborating with others to bring their vision to life.
Roblox is not an age-rated game; it’s an online social space.
Sentencing, Recorder Paul Garlick described the case as “very serious” and said Shablinger’s intentions were “clear and sexual”.
Last year, campaigners called for action after a report branded Roblox an “X-rated paedophile hellscape”.
The game reported 13,316 instances of child exploitation in 2023, compared to 2,973 the year before.
It uses AI to censor certain words from in-game chat but predators have used different words or emojis to get around these rules.
Roblox has no age restrictions with more than half of its users reporting to be aged under 16.