A man who groomed a 14-year-old girl after meeting her on the online gaming platform Roblox has been jailed.
Carlo Tritta, now aged 19, sent persistent messages to the teenager, encouraging her to send sexually explicit images of herself.
Det Supt Rod Kenny, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, said the victim, from Greater Manchester, “thought she was in loving relationship but it was founded in coercion, control and abuse”.
Tritta was jailed for 28 months after pleading guilty to making indecent images of a child, sexual communications with a child and causing a child aged 13-15 to watch a sexual act. He also admitted two counts of intimidating a witness and criminal damage.
Passing sentence at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Kieran Rankin said: “It was clear to you very early on that she was under 16.
“Your behaviour has had a significant negative effect on [the girl] and her family.”
His abuse came to light after the girl’s mother noticed a message on her daughter’s phone.
Tritta and the girl first met on Roblox in September 2024.
Two months later, she told Tritta she was 15.
In December 2024, she admitted she was actually 14.
Det Supt Kenny said: “The young girl in this case thought she was in a loving relationship but it was founded in coercion, control and abuse and the offender’s main driver was to obtain indecent images of her as a child.
“He used a number of methods to do that – flattery, gifts, rewards.”