Content warning: Some images below may depict graphic language with strong sexual elements, and are used with the consent of the whistleblower and the victim, who wishes to remain anonymous.
A shocking exposé
Yesterday, Malaysian streamer Jackson Lee, also known as 'Raijinshi', published a series of shocking tweets that called out another local streamer, 'V', for sexually preying on a 17-year-old girl, with screenshots indicating that she was not the sole victim of child grooming and solicitation of nudes.
Apparently, this was not the first time that V has made untoward comments of a sexual nature towards his victims. In December last year, Lee published a series of screenshots that depict V making lewd comments about his female housemate, who appeared clueless about V's intentions until the screenshots were leaked. V proceeded to kick her out of his home once he was discovered, citing 'sexual frustration'.
But that was just the first chapter.
New year, new prey
Since then, V has apparently moved on to a newer - and younger - target. The latest victim - let's call her 'Jane', was a moderator on the alleged perpetrator's Twitch stream when she received a message warning her to be careful of V, citing Lee's initial Twitter thread as evidence of V's past behaviour.
Jane then approached Lee with a shocking series of screenshots revealing her chat history with V, which depicted evidence of child grooming and overtly sexual overtones.
The victim is a 17-year-old student based overseas. She had apparently struck up a relationship with V online, and was groomed for 4 months before he gained her trust. He depicted himself as a kind and caring person, while simultaneously creating emotional dependence by threatening to withdraw affection as he pleased.
V was extremely aware of what he was doing to reel victims in emotionally, going so far as to brag about his emotional manipulation on Discord, a voice and text communication platform.
Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.
Evidence of crime
By normalising sexual talk and behaviour over a period of a few months, V successfully coerced Jane to send him nude pictures of herself. He even dictated the poses and outfits in which she should photograph herself in.
He gave extremely explicit instructions on what he would like to see. When she sent him a selfie, he displayed anger and dissatisfaction instead, criticising her 'shit' photo.
Before you get the idea that V thought he was speaking to a consensual adult, we have screenshots which prove that he was fully aware that she was a high schooler, and has hinted about sexual behaviour towards an underage girl (his self-proclaimed ex*) before.
(*this individual has since come forward with her side of the story; please read the update at the bottom of the article for the latest information.)
Section 11 prohibits any form of sexual communication with a child, or encouraging a child to have a sexual communication.
Seeking help
After being tipped off about Lee's former thread about V's treatment of his ex-housemate, Jane realised that her relationship with V was not as innocent as she initially thought. She then messaged Lee for help, sending him the screenshots above.
At the time of writing, Lee has filed an official report to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and intends to file a police report next.
The victim is still mustering up the courage to get legal help in her home country, but has yet to take action.
Protect your children
Many of us have the mindset of 'it won't happen to us', and by extension 'it won't happen to my children'. This has been proven false again and again.
Sexual abuse isn't just physical. Having sexual communications or encouraging a child to have sexual communications also constitutes sexual abuse. In this case, the perpetrator and victim were from different countries, so thankfully the situation had not escalated yet. However, plans to meet up were already being tossed around, and it would have only been a matter of time before solicitation of nudes turned into statutory rape.
Remember, children cannot consent to sex. It is our job as adults to keep them safe and savvy about sexual predators who are hoping to take advantage of a naive mindset. With the advent of the internet, it has become even easier for predators to prey on unsuspecting children under the radar.
So, please educate your children, teach them how to identify the signs of grooming, foster open conversations, and keep them safe - both in real life on the internet.
If you are a victim or know someone who needs help, you can either make a police report or contact the following NGOs for further advice and assistance:
Protect and Save the Children: +603 7957 4344 / 7956 4355
Women's Aid Organisation (WAO): +603 7956 3488
All Women's Action Society (AWAM): +603 7877 4221
Even if we don't know any victims personally, we can play our part by never sugarcoating child grooming and sexual predation.
Call it what it is - paedophilia.
Updated 16 April, 4.52PM: The alleged perpetrator has deactivated his Facebook and Twitter accounts, and has yet to express his side of the story.
Updated 16 April, 5.15PM: It has been brought to the author's attention that the age of sexual consent in Malaysia is 16 years old, while the age of majority (the age until which a person is still considered a minor) is 18 years old. In the victim's home country, age of sexual consent is 16 years old, with the caveat that unmarried women under 18 require their parent's or guardian's consent.
Updated 16 April, 9.19PM: According to Lee, the victim has made an official report, but is choosing not to disclose it for privacy reasons at the moment.
Updated 16 April, 9.23PM: The 'ex' referred to in one of the screenshots has come forward with her side of the story, which we are sharing with her consent under the condition of anonymity.
There are a few things to unpack here. She claims that:
They were acquainted but never dated; he confessed to her before but was rejected
She did perform voice acting for him as a paid job, and was not 'helped' in any way (referring to his comment about groping her to make her sound a certain way)
In fact, he never laid hands on her at all
She is not underage - she is 19 years old this year
While we cannot confirm the motive for him to twist his words, this testimony shows that he is willing to lie to get what he wants. It is possible that he lied about having prior sexual contact with an underage girl to make his new target more accommodating to his advances. However, until he comes forward with his side of the story, we do not know that for a fact, so take it as you will.
