Twitch Partner and Hi-Rez Employee Among 21 Arrested in Super Bowl Child Sex Sting
By Ryan General
Twitch streamer and Hi-Rez employee, Thomas Cheung, is among the 21 men who were arrested during a sex ring sting operation in Georgia last week.
The five-day operation, which culminated on Super Bowl Sunday, targeted men traveling to Brookhaven, Georgia to have sex with a child, reports Variety.
Some of those arrested engaged in sexually explicit conversations with whom they believed to be a child and most of them traveled to meet a minor for sex.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, there were those who communicated simultaneously with multiple investigators posing as minors.
The most notable among the arrested suspects was Cheung, who was charged with “using a computer service to seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act,“ Dekalb County Jail records revealed. There is also an indication that Cheung might face additional charges.
Cheung could face a fine up to $25,000 and 20 years in prison, according to Georgia law.
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Cheung joined Hi-Rez in April 2018 and became involved as a community specialist for “Paladins Strike” and “Smite.”
Known as “Elvine” among his 34,000 followers on Twitch, Cheung has been a Twitch Partner since 2012 and a regular at events and conferences.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Hi-Rez Studios CEO Erez Goren addressed the issue and fired Cheung effective immediately:
The GBI stated that the rest of the suspects were from a variety of fields, ranging in age from 20 to 55 years old. Some of them will also face charges related to illegal drugs.
The undercover investigation was a joint operation conducted by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, Brookhaven Police Department, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and United States Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Known as “Operation Interception,” the plan’s objective was “to arrest persons who communicate with children online, have sexually explicit conversations, and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex.”
Featured Image via Instagram / elvinelol
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