Feds Track Video Game System To Rescue VA Teen Taken Cross-Country By Online Predator

Federal authorities were able to use a video game system to track a Virginia teen that was solicited and targeted by an Arizona man who took a bus across the country to pick her up.

Investigators tracked the teen's Nintendo Switch account to locate her in Arizona.
Photo Credit: *Pixabay/joatseu*

Zak Failla

01/19/2023 5:35 p.m.

Ethan Roberts, 28, of Tolleson, Arizona, pleaded guilty to the production of child sexual abuse material in Virginia following a lengthy investigation into his dealings with a girl who was 14 years old at the time of his discretions.

According to prosecutors, Roberts met the Norfolk teen online in January 2022 and engaged in sexually explicit conversations with her for at least seven months, repeatedly badgering her to create and send sexually explicit images of herself to him.

In August last year, Roberts traveled by bus from Arizona to Virginia to pick up the minor, and the two traveled back to Roberts’ apartment, though the FBI was able to track and rescue the teen by tracking her Nintendo Switch, according to reports.

Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced in April when he will face a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum term of 30 years in prison.

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