Game on: Missouri AG wants answers from Microsoft over child predators on Xbox Live

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is demanding that Microsoft address allegations that sexual predators are using its Xbox Live gaming platform to target, groom and sexually exploit children, pointing to two disturbing criminal cases involving Missouri minors.

Hanaway calls for accountability and a plan to improve child safety, arguing that the company's protections are either nonexistent or insufficient to prevent predators from contacting vulnerable users.

"The millions of underage users on your Xbox Live platform are at risk," Hanaway wrote.

The attorney general raised concerns about inadequate age verification, ineffective parental controls, insufficient monitoring of voice and text communications, and reporting systems that may fail to respond quickly to threats against children.

The letter comes after two Missouri cases this summer in which investigators say adults used Xbox to establish contact with children before allegedly engaging in harassment, threats or sexual misconduct.

One of those cases involves 22-year-old Bryan Patrick Nevin, of Edinburgh, Scotland, who allegedly spent more than a year harassing a Chillicothe boy he met through Xbox.

According to court documents, Nevin threatened to release explicit images of the child unless the boy continued communicating and playing video games with him.

Investigators say the harassment escalated to threats against the child's family. Nevin then traveled from Scotland to Missouri in July, allegedly appearing outside the family's home despite warnings from law enforcement to stop contacting them.

Nevin pleaded not guilty Oct. 8 to first-degree harassment and stalking charges. He remains jailed without bond, with his next hearing scheduled for Nov. 5.

The second case involves 33-year-old Michael Moya, of Austin, Texas, who was charged in Boone County in August with multiple offenses involving a minor, including child enticement and misrepresenting his age while soliciting a child.

Investigators allege Moya posed as a 15-year-old on Xbox Live and exchanged more than 3,000 messages with a Missouri child between February and March. Court documents also describe more than 100 images and videos exchanged during that period, including sexually explicit material.

Hanaway argues the cases expose serious weaknesses in Microsoft's ability to prevent adults from misrepresenting their ages, communicating with children and engaging in potentially predatory behavior.

Microsoft, however, maintains that Xbox already offers protections designed to keep children safe.

They reported submitting 111,931 reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025. It also reported taking action against 22,651 consumer accounts associated with child sexual exploitation and abuse material, including grooming.

Those figures cover multiple Microsoft services, not Xbox alone.