The Gamer Who Sold Status And Targeted Teens

Gorman Roddy, a 24-year-old from Franksville, Wisconsin now living near Chicago, IL, is facing mounting scrutiny after being caught in multiple conversations with underage high-school students online. According to sources familiar with the situation, he used popular platforms like Minecraft to approach teenagers, offering them rare usernames, server access, and digital gifts in exchange for private conversations.

Gorman Roddy who was born in May 2001, is the son of Edward Roddy and Kimberly Barengo and the brother of Declan Roddy. Declan Roddy has been aware of his brothers online behavior since early September. Attempts to reach his family for comment were unsuccessful.

According to accounts provided to reporters by a source who wants to remain anonymous, the subject cultivated a reputation on Minecraft servers and related communities as someone who “could get you a name.” In certain gaming subcultures, short or iconic usernames — “igns” (in-game names) like “Steve” — are treated like digital trophies. They’re scarce, prized, and sometimes change hands for cash or favors.

Sources say Gorman positioned himself as an intermediary: acquiring rare handles through trades, dormant account purchases, or legacy transfers, then reselling them to eager players. Teenagers with disposable allowance or the desire for social status were common buyers. Prices — one insider estimated — could reach into the low hundreds for a coveted short handle, higher for names with cultural cachet.

But buyers weren’t the only people he courted. Multiple anonymous sources describe a pattern: the subject used offers of free or discounted usernames as a way to initiate private communications with underage players, gradually building familiarity and trust.

According to the accounts reviewed, the grooming pattern began with apparent generosity: a free username, a rare skin, or an invite to a private server. Those gestures, survivors say, created a sense of obligation and intimacy — the perfect conditions for grooming to start.

After the initial transaction or gift, conversations reportedly moved to private channels: Discord DMs, private servers, messaging apps and even to SMS/iMessage convos where moderation was thin and chats could be deleted. Sources describe compliments, personal disclosures, and steadily increasing sexualized talk — often framed as mutual affection or “harmless” flirting.

One anonymous survivor quoted in these accounts said she accepted a username and then “felt like I owed him something” when he asked for more private time. “At first he just wanted voice calls, then photos, then more. He always said he’d stop if I asked him to — but he didn’t.”

Victims describe a consistent approach: the first contact came in a game lobby, followed by offers of usernames and perks, before shifting to private chats. One teenager from Wisconsin told investigators that he “didn’t care” she was still in high school, brushing off her age as irrelevant.

Multiple victims allege that he flaunted ownership of high-tier Minecraft usernames like IGN "Gorman" which is his own name and even claimed to control names such as “Steve,” and other "rare usernames" using them as leverage to build trust and groom these victims online.

Aside from the online space, Gorman drives a 2009 Infiniti G37 with the Wisconsin plate "P", which he flaunts and flexes online to these women he bought for $6,000. Online, he carefully crafted an image of success and exclusivity, positioning himself as someone with access to coveted digital goods. That mix of offline normalcy and online manipulation created the appearance of a “safe older friend,” which sources say made his approach more effective.

An anonymous source described his behavior: "he would buy/hack these minecraft accounts with like rare users and sell them to players, while cultivating private relationships with high-school girls. Dude was a complete weirdo"

Players in community marketplaces confirm that in some circles usernames and accounts are treated as commodities. Observers of online markets note a grey area: while trading accounts or usernames often violates platform terms of service, enforcement is spotty.