Man from Monroe Co. accused of using Roblox and Snapchat to sexually exploit children

A Monroe County man is accused in a federal criminal complaint of using an online gaming platform to sexually exploit children, according to court documents.

Sean Antony Stark, 23, of Erie Township, according to a complaint FBI agents filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.

Agents allege Stark sexually exploited children, received child pornography, possessed child pornography and coerced and enticed a minor, according to the complaint.

Stark’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison for child sexual exploitation and up to 20 years for receiving child pornography. Coercion of a minor carries a penalty of up to twenty years.

According to the complaint, Detroit FBI agents received an anonymous tip in August that a person had coerced minors on Roblox, a youth-friendly online gaming platform, to send nude photos of themselves. The tipster provided the officers with a username and email address.

Roblox says more than half of its 77.7 million daily active users are between the ages of 11 and 26.

Investigators checked both with sexual exploitation tips given to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to court documents. They determined the Internet Protocol address for the user and discovered that the address was linked to accounts under other usernames on Roblox and the social media platforms Snapchat and Discord, the complaint said.

Officials said they believe the suspect engaged in sexually exploitative activities on the platforms between January 2023 and August 2024.

Officers said a person with the suspected usernames was having sexual conversations with minors online. In the conversations, the user often encouraged children to continue the discussions on Snapchat and Discord, researchers said.

After obtaining warrants, the authorities obtained from the online platform companies the subscriber details of the user names, linked to the internet address. Officials traced the address to a home in Erie Township.

According to court documents, they also received copies of chats the subscriber had with minors. In one case, a 10-year-old girl allegedly sent the user sexually explicit photos, authorities said. In another, the suspect allegedly sent a photo of his genitals to a girl.

On Wednesday, federal agents executed a search warrant at the Erie Township residence that they said was related to their investigation, the complaint said.

The file also states that the suspect was home when the warrant was executed. He voluntarily agreed to be interviewed and waived his Miranda rights, the report said. Stark later agreed to continue the interview at a federal building in Detroit, authorities said.

During the interview, Stark admitted to having sexual chats with more than 100 people online, but did not know if any of them were underage. He said under at least one account he was posing as a woman to get photos of naked men, officers said.

Last week, a Western Michigan man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually exploiting a girl as part of an online child pornography ring. Richard Anthony Reyna Densmore47, of Kaleva, pleaded guilty to the charge in July.

Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted a Kent County man accused of sexually exploiting four children. Scott Michael Elamfrom Caledonia, allegedly recorded himself having sex twice with one of the minors and instructed other victims to send him explicit photos and videos of themselves on Snapchat.

Last month, an Ecorse man was sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison for sexually exploiting young people online. Mark-Anthony Markiewicz pleaded guilty to three counts of coercion and enticement of a minor in June.

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@CharlesERamirez