Content warning: mentions of sexual abuse against children.
Last month, it was reported that Fortnite streamer RaulZito had been arrested on “rape of the vulnerable” charges. The Brazilian streamer, whose real name is Raulino de Oliveira Maciel, has hundreds of thousands of followers across social media platforms, such as Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram.
Despite news of the arrest going public on July 27 – including further details that he had allegedly used his platform to abuse the victims – Kotaku reports that his Twitch account was only suspended yesterday, weeks after the news broke.
Related: Twitch Will Now Tell Suspended Users What They Did Wrong
The news was first spotted by tracking website StreamerBans, which also revealed that this is RaulZito’s first ban.
According to a statement from Brazilian police, RaulZito was charged with rape of the vulnerable on July 27, following a complaint made by a parent. The alleged abuse is said to have taken place between February and May of this year, against two children between the ages of 10 and 14.
As per the statement, RaulZito is said to have, “promised [the victims] access to jobs in his area of expertise”, and “even claim[ed] to be hired by a major TV station.” The investigation is also looking into the possibility of further suspects.
While both his Twitch and YouTube channels have now been taken down, RaulZito’s Instagram page and Twitter account are still up. His last public activity on social media was July 12. The Instagram page, which was allegedly used to seek out the victims, sits at 205k followers.
This news comes amid growing frustrations in the streaming community concerning Twitch’s approach to bans. To tackle this, the service has promised to be more transparent on why streamers get banned in the future, rather than keep them in the dark. Furthermore, others are targeting the site for not doing enough to protect marginalised streamers. The #DoBetterTwitch hashtag was used to share stories of abuse experienced on the platform. Twitch responded agreeing that it “needs to do more”, and thanked the campaign for helping staff identify abusive accounts.
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