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Santa Ana Condo Towers Sells for $240M
Santa Ana Condo Towers Sells for $240M

Los Angeles Times

time11-04-2025

  • Business
  • Los Angeles Times

Santa Ana Condo Towers Sells for $240M

Essex Property Trust Inc. sold Essex Skyline, which is comprised of two condo towers at 15 MacArthur Place in Santa Ana, for $239.6 million, or $685,000 per unit. The buyer was Crescent Heights, a Miami-based commercial real estate owner and developer. It was the second major sale in Southern California for San Mateo-based Essex, a real estate investment trust. The company also sold the Highridge apartment complex in Rancho Palos Verdes for $127 million in February to Bascom Group. The 25-story towers in Santa Ana were constructed in 2008 as condominiums and were converted into apartments two years later by Essex when it acquired a majority stake in the 350-unit development. It assumed full control in 2012. It simultaneously announced the acquisition of three apartment properties in Northern California for an aggregate value of $345 million. 'We are pleased to announce a productive first quarter of acquisitions and disposition,' said Angela Kleiman, chief executive of Essex Property Trust, in a statement. 'The newly acquired properties will seamlessly integrate into our existing property collections operating model.' Information for this article was sourced from Essex Property Trust.

Bay Area tech companies Roblox and Discord face lawsuit for allegedly facilitating child abuse
Bay Area tech companies Roblox and Discord face lawsuit for allegedly facilitating child abuse

CBS News

time22-02-2025

  • CBS News

Bay Area tech companies Roblox and Discord face lawsuit for allegedly facilitating child abuse

A pair of apps based in the Bay Area that are commonly used for gaming and messaging -- Roblox and Discord -- are being sued for allegedly facilitating the sexual exploitation of children online. San Mateo-based Roblox is a popular gaming platform and app marketed to young people that allows users to create their own games, while San Francisco-based Discord is a messaging app commonly primarily used by members of the gaming community. Roblox is valued at $27 billion, and Discord is valued at over $15 billion, the complaint said. In the lawsuit filed in State Superior Court in San Mateo County on February 12, the 13-year-old male plaintiff from Spokane, Washington, claimed he was targeted by a child predator on the platforms. Roblox exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the suit, by September 2020, the platform had roughly 30 million daily, with more than half of them under the age of 13. The company's annual report from 2023 said Roblox had an average of 68.5 million daily active users, with 21% under 9 years of age, 21% from 9-12 years of age and 16% from 13-16 years of age. The lawsuit alleges that lax safety standards and systematic failures on both Roblox and Discord allow sexual predators and pedophiles to prey on children, grooming them for abuse. The lawsuit alleges the man who allegedly targeted the plaintiff "was already facing criminal charges for sexually exploiting another child and [authorities] now believe that he exploited at least 26 other children." The suit alleges that the plaintiff was an avid user of Roblox and Discord and that his "father allowed Plaintiff to use these apps only because he trusted Defendants' representations that their apps were safe for children to use." Roblox released the following statement when asked for a response to the litigation:

Two online platforms sued by boy, 13, alleging abuse by predator
Two online platforms sued by boy, 13, alleging abuse by predator

Yahoo

time21-02-2025

  • Yahoo

Two online platforms sued by boy, 13, alleging abuse by predator

The Brief Roblox and Discord, online gaming and messaging platforms, named in lawsuit Boy, 13, says predator used both platforms to solicit explicit images in exchange for money Lawsuit seeks unspecified damages SAN MATEO, Calif. - Two online platforms popular with children are being sued on behalf of a 13-year-old boy who says he was taken advantage of by a man posing as a teenager. What they're saying The lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court says Roblox and Discord are liable for allowing a predator to pay the boy for explicit photos. "He was targeted by a predator who befriended him, thought he was dealing with another teenager," said attorney Anne Marie Murphy, an attorney for the boy. She says the man "paid our client Robux, which is a digital currency, in exchange for video and explicit naked photographs." According to the lawsuit, it didn't stop there. "The predator then tried to pay a larger sum of Robux to meet up and have sex. The predator found out the address of the child," Murphy said. She said the man threatened the boy after he failed to show up. The boy's parents later found texts between the two and contacted police. Murphy has filed a lawsuit against both San Mateo-based Roblox and Discord of San Francisco, alleging misrepresentation and negligence and saying both companies facilitated child exploitation and abuse. The other side In a statement, Roblox said, "We cannot comment on pending litigation. With that being said, Roblox takes the safety of its community very seriously. We are constantly innovating and launching new safety features, including more than 40 safety features and policies in 2024." Discord did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Murphy says the companies are paying lip service to safety. Her client's father had researched both companies and believed it was safe for his son to sign up. Now they're full of regret, and Murphy says the boy is emotionally scarred. "This was so devastating to this family that they uprooted themselves from their longtime home," Murphy said. Murphy says the man accused of preying on the boy, Sebastian Romero, was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison in a sextortion case involving another boy. Jill Murphy, chief content officer at Common Sense Media, said, "You hear about them, unfortunately, all too frequently when it comes to gaming platforms or social media platforms. We try and encourage parents at common sense media to make sure that they are really paying attention to what their kids are doing online." A father and daughter, out shopping in San Mateo, told KTVU they, too are worried about dangers online. "It's very concerning," said Pelayo Carranza. "Hopefully, we've done a good job as parents to prevent that from happening." His daughter Savannah Carranza, 15, agreed, saying, "It's definitely scary. I have a little sister and the thought of anything like that ever happening to her genuinely freaks me out." Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and The Source Interviews, lawsuit

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