Virped director arrested for CP and contact offense

[Jim Burton]

Today on the Virped Forum, it was shared that the organization's director, Charlie was arrested in Norway for child porn and contact offences. An announcement was made by the organisation's ex-director - temporarily back in post, as part of Virped's transparency commitments.

While the unrelated incident involving the above mentioned ex director's behavior towards a younger person was clear-cut and did not result in prosecution, the details surrounding this arrest of the other director are far more murky, and it will likely take many months if not years to work it's way through the formal investigation phase and then possibly court.

Having read the thread, the first thing I'd do is urge caution. Members say he was having trouble in some respect to his real life contact with kids, and also note that in Norway, lolisho is illegal. So he may have been arrested off the back of a coercive parent's personal grievance and then they found cartoons.

Members have also said that it is uncharacteristic he might be engaging in contact offending, but of course the fact it is Virped might not be seen as particularly helpful with respect to confirmation bias.

[Officerkrupke]

I wonder if this is the breaking point for anti-c community. It feels like this will have a huge ripple effect on Virped, and subsequently other MAP forums.

[PorcelainLark]

Despite my negative experiences with people involved in Virped and anti-contact MAPs, I would prefer if this hadn't happened.

[Jim Burton]

In terms of public image, it's not exactly helpful this appears once again in reference to Virped.

But Virped as a community is probably quite immune to this type of thing because of it's extreme anti-contact stance. They can at least say that one of them erred from the noble path, but the fact that once again, it's a director, is somewhat undermining.

[Fragment]

Despite my negative experiences with people involved in Virped and anti-contact MAPs, I would prefer if this hadn't happened.

I agree. Not even in terms of the community and optics. I feel bad for anyone that has to deal with the criminal injustice system over what was likely consensual touching. I feel even worse for him if, like rumors suggest, it was only shota (illegal in Norway) and false accusations.

VirPed doubling down on their ideology every time a director is involved in a sexual scandal is really cult-like, though. So is the way that they wait until they've decided on the right PR spin before announcing anything. And now the former director who was involved in sexual harassment is temporarily back on top? If the ideology is so good then why aren't the leaders able to stick to it?

I also think it's so much worse when an anti-c offends, though. Both ethically and in terms of optics. As a pro-c, my crimes were basically committed in alignment with my own sense of values and right and wrong. But an anti-c committing those same crimes is violating their own deeply held code. My conscience is clean, theirs is not.

If it is just shota and false accusations, then he may have done something illegal, but in line with his own values. Just like I did. It still means that VirPed is a law-breaking organization rather than a pro-reform organization based around anti-c values. That's not how they present themselves.

It's funny how the "children can't consent" meme is so strong in VirPed culture that no-one is even talking about whether it might've been a willing or unwilling encounter. The focus is entirely on whether the charges are false, or if it was abuse. As if that binary is all that exists.

In my mind it's very likely that he's facing an injustice either way.

[RoosterDance]

This is very unfortunate.

[Pegasus]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't Virped a forum that preached anti-contact? That taught morals to those who showed themselves to be the opposite? And now a forum leader has been arrested for what he preached against? If that's really the case, it's very hypocritical.

[Jim Burton]

It's sad, but true. The forum members are unsure of this allegation, saying it is uncharacteristic. It sounds like he may have been going through some bullshit, and the laws around regulation of images in Norway are very tight, even for a Virtuous one.