08-05-2025
More on the volunteer group that led to local man's child enticement charges
FAIRPORT, N.Y. (WROC) — While this case allegedly started on the app Roblox, it came to a head earlier this year at the Fairport Public Library.
Fairport Police Chief Matthew Barnes says a group out of Texas convinced Tony Rodriguez, 40, of Fairport, that he was talking with an 11-year-old girl and asked him to meet up at the library.
Fairport man accused of using Roblox to contact minors for sex
Barnes says the group did the right thing and alerted local police to the situation allowing them and the FBI to conduct their own investigation, which led to the federal child enticement charges Rodriguez is now facing.
Some groups, Barnes says, get physical with the accused, which isn't just illegal, but can also muddy the legal process.
'So if people are trying to take action because sometimes law enforcement maybe, I'm not going to say handcuffed, but behind due to several issues, I can't say it's wrong, but as long as they would coordinate with police and try to work hand in hand with them especially when they come from out of state, in our case they came from out of state,' Barnes said.
As it happens, that Texas group came in first, then a few weeks later Barnes says another group – this one out of Pennsylvania – pointed the finger at the same man, Tony Rodriguez, and accused him of basically the same thing only this interaction, the said, was on Facebook.
Barnes says kids are targeted are all the time these days, so parents need to monitor their kid's online activity.
'Get involved in your kids' lives, have a relationship with your kids, this is nothing new, I shouldn't be preaching anything new about what to do with kids, and if this is new to you then shame on you as a parent,' Barnes said. 'You make room for other things in life, you brought a kid into this world, make time for them. It's sickening how widespread this is, it really is.'
To learn about parental controls in Roblox, click here.
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