
NJ middle school teacher accused of sexually assaulting boy he met playing Roblox
A New Jersey middle school teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy he met playing the popular kids' video game, Roblox, authorities said.
Juan Sanchez Moya, a teacher at West New York Middle School, was nabbed on a slew of sex crimes charges at his home in Union City on Tuesday, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office.
The 26-year-old teacher allegedly started exchanging explicit photos with the teen after they met via the online gaming platform before he went on to assault the boy in his garage in April, a criminal complaint obtained by NJ.com charged.
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Juan Sanchez Moya, a teacher at West New York Middle School, was nabbed on a slew of sex crimes charges on Tuesday.
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Moya also allegedly 'sexualized' the boy in an Aldi supermarket bathroom in North Bergen late last month, authorities said.
Text messages show that Moya also tried to arrange to meet the teen again near a Crunch Fitness, according to the complaint.
Cops started investigating after the teen's mom alerted them in late May.
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'The crimes did not occur at the West New York Middle School and the victim is not a student in the district,' prosecutors stressed.
Moya has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and distributing obscene material to a minor.
He is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court hearing.
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West New York Middle School did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.

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Business Wire
6 hours ago
- Business Wire
A Case for Women Warns Parents About Danger of Sexual Exploitation on Roblox
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A Case for Women LLC, a women-owned organization dedicated to educating women about how to access contingency fee civil legal services, is warning parents that Roblox, a popular online gaming platform marketed to children as young as five years old, may be putting children at risk of sexual exploitation. According to recent lawsuits, Roblox has been accused of lackluster safety protocols when it comes to protecting users, often children. 'I've been completely shocked at the number of parents who have reached out to us about their children being targeted by predators on Roblox,' said Susan Jones Knape, president of A Case for Women. 'These aren't 'absent' parents – these are parents who have tried to do everything right and assumed that a company marketing its products to kids would also do the right thing. Yet, they're finding the in-game safety features are not effective – and that predators can easily coach a child through creating additional accounts, downloading and using other chat apps like Discord, or keeping communication hidden. Bottom line: Roblox is not doing enough to keep children safe on their platform and they need to be held accountable. These parents are devastated.' According to a July 2024 article by Bloomberg, Roblox has over 78 million users, many of whom are under the age of 13. Yet, Roblox only has about 3,000 moderators, which is significantly fewer than TikTok, which has over 2 billion users and is not marketed to minors. Mounting lawsuits have accused Roblox of leaving an 'unlocked door' that predators have exploited, claiming that Roblox has not done enough to protect children on the platform. Here are some red flags to look if you think your child may be hiding something from you on Roblox: Sudden secrecy in regard to screentime Gaming late into the night Mystery 'friends' they won't give more information about Mood swings or anxiety with no discernible trigger Multiple or hidden accounts Roblox isn't the only online platform named in these lawsuits. Discord, a chat app that allows for instant communication via text, video calls, voice calls, and other media, has also been accused of offering a space where predators can exploit children online without proper moderation or protection, sometimes resulting in serious harm to a child, such as facilitating in-person meetings that result in sexual abuse or even trafficking. Advocates at A Case for Women urge parents to contact them right away if they suspect their child has been the target of online predators. Even if law enforcement, the FBI and/or Homeland Security has already been involved, it is important to consider joining civil litigation that will pursue the root cause of the problem. We hope to hear from you soon. About A Case for Women A Case for Women, founded in 2015, is the nation's leader in advocating for women who have been sexually assaulted or otherwise harmed due to corporate misconduct. It is our mission to educate women and their families about opportunities to take civil legal action that not only provides compensation but also creates systemic change. We educate, advocate, and ultimately connect women with experienced law firms that represent survivors on a contingency fee basis. Since our inception, we have spoken with hundreds of thousands of people who have been harmed by the negligence of institutions and companies that chose profits over people. This work has resulted in significant societal changes, such as the dramatic shift in gymnastics coaching after the Larry Nassar MSU lawsuit, the implementation of rideshare safety protocols, the removal of Essure birth control from the U.S. market, changes in the Catholic Church, removal of asbestos-laced talcum powder from the market, and many more.


New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
NJ middle school teacher accused of sexually assaulting boy he met playing Roblox
A New Jersey middle school teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy he met playing the popular kids' video game, Roblox, authorities said. Juan Sanchez Moya, a teacher at West New York Middle School, was nabbed on a slew of sex crimes charges at his home in Union City on Tuesday, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. The 26-year-old teacher allegedly started exchanging explicit photos with the teen after they met via the online gaming platform before he went on to assault the boy in his garage in April, a criminal complaint obtained by charged. Advertisement Juan Sanchez Moya, a teacher at West New York Middle School, was nabbed on a slew of sex crimes charges on Tuesday. Google Maps Moya also allegedly 'sexualized' the boy in an Aldi supermarket bathroom in North Bergen late last month, authorities said. Text messages show that Moya also tried to arrange to meet the teen again near a Crunch Fitness, according to the complaint. Cops started investigating after the teen's mom alerted them in late May. Advertisement 'The crimes did not occur at the West New York Middle School and the victim is not a student in the district,' prosecutors stressed. Moya has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and distributing obscene material to a minor. He is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court hearing. Advertisement West New York Middle School did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.

Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Weare man gets 135 years in prison for sex trafficking boy, 10
A Weare man has been sentenced to 135 years in prison for sexually abusing a 10-year-old Louisiana boy, swapping expensive gifts like a cellphone, gaming system and money for sex. On May 20, Louisiana Judge William H. Burris sentenced 28-year-old Benjamin Hart of Weare to 80 years in prison on a charge of sexual battery of a juvenile under the age of 13, 35 years in prison on a charge of trafficking of children for sexual purposes, and 20 years in prison on a charge of computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile under the age of 13. Burris ordered the three sentences to run consecutive to each other, meaning Hart will be serving a 135-year prison term. Burris also sentenced Hart to six months in jail for an outburst in the courtroom during which Hart threatened a prosecutor and swore at the judge, District Attorney Collin Sims in Louisiana's Washington Parish said in a statement. Hart was convicted on the same charges in April, following a four-day trial. The jury returned its verdict after just 20 minutes of deliberation. Sims urged parents, educators, and community members to be aware of how predators target children through online gaming platforms including Xbox Live, Minecraft, Roblox, Grand Theft Auto and others. 'This case is a devastating reminder that human trafficking can start in the most seemingly innocent places — like a child's video game system,' Sims said in a statement. 'When a young child starts missing school or their grades suddenly drop, it should never be ignored. These may be red flags that something much more serious is happening behind the scenes.' Hart is also facing 14 pending similar but unrelated charges for six different victims in New Hampshire's Carroll County, including indecent exposure and prohibited computer service use. Officials in New Hampshire have been waiting for the case against Hart in Louisiana to play out before moving ahead with the local charges. According to Sims, Hart began communicating with a then-10-year-old boy over Xbox online back in 2020, before the conversations eventually moved to Snapchat, where Hart sent the boy an explicit image of himself. Officials say Hart eventually convinced the victim to meet in person, then began making regular trips from New Hampshire to Washington Parish, where he repeatedly sexually abused the victim, with much of the abuse occurring inside Hart's 18-wheeler truck. Prosecutors said between 2020 and 2022, Hart gave gifts such as a cellphone, a gaming system and money to the boy, using them to coerce further sexual acts from the child. Hart was captured in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 2024. He fought extradition, but was found competent by a New Mexico medical examiner and judge following a hearing in January 2024, and transported to a jail in Louisiana. pfeely@