Longmont man among 5 indicted for using Discord, Roblox to lure children into making sex assault materials

A Longmont man was arrested and indicted for his role in “Greggy’s Cult,” a group of five men that solicited children on popular gaming platforms like Discord and Roblox, and lured them into making sexual assault material between January 2020 and January 2021.

Camden Rodriguez, 22, was arrested and federally charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of distribution of child pornography, two counts of access with intent to view child pornography and one count of conspiracy to communicate interstate threats, according to a Tuesday press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The five men are accused of being part of a group called “Greggy’s Cult,” an online Discord group that officials say would join video calls before directing children to engage in sexual acts, according to a federal indictment out of Brooklyn, New York. The four other men are from New York, Hawaii, New Mexico and California.

Rodriguez and the other four are accused of taking screenshots or recording videos of their interactions with the children and sharing them amongst themselves or on other Discord servers.

“No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators,” United States Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in the release. “The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable – online or offline – with every tool we have.”

Officials also said the men used popular online games like Roblox or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to find potential victims, according to the release. According to the unsealed indictment, the men are accused of encouraging some of the victims to kill or harm themselves.

The group is also accused of telling some adult victims they would falsely expose them as pedophiles if the adults didn’t engage in “degrading acts” for the group, according to the indictment.