A former member of the community, not extremely active on GBAtemp but known for contributions to several projects on the 3DS hacking scene, Thomas Edvalson aka 'Cruel', has recently received a 20 year jail sentence for supposedly hosting a child porn site (although he firmly denied it).

Thomas Scot Edvalson, 28, appeared to be providing a website where other users could download images of child porn, according to a press release form the District Attorney’s Office. The site came complete with an online guide detailing how to use the dark web to set up a website for trading pictures of child sexual abuse.

Source: Gwinnett Daily Post
A thread was started on GBAtemp to discuss the issue a couple of months ago, before the final judgement was rendered. At the time our decision was to lock the thread up as it began to heavily derail. Some members and visitors took this as a 'cover up' and wondered why we didn't ban this guy's user account on GBAtemp.

We had long discussions in the staff forum and decided to wait for the final verdict (the appeal that is) before doing anything, thereby letting justice do its work. We banned this person from our forums immediately after we heard the final judgement and by the looks of it he won't be around again for a while. Since then, there hasn't been any new threads about the story but if there had been one, we would have allowed it for sure.

At this point we are wondering why anyone would think we are 'covering' this up? Why would we even need to? It's not like people don't know what happened already. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in this thread.

Furthermore, there is an ongoing story concerning another person, it's been posted on a Reddit thread (edit: now removed, but you can see screenshots here) and, again, we certainly won't prevent you from discussing it wherever you want just as long as you stay civil.

We at GBAtemp value freedom of speech above all, but within the boundaries of the law. If you think someone is guilty of a crime it is your duty to report it to the relevant authorities (not the GBAtemp admins, I mean the police). But otherwise let justice do its job. We do not believe that witch hunts have their place on GBAtemp.


The staff

 

[John256145]

Dang, this is seriously messed up...

 

[Costello]

I am now adding a poll to this thread to ask the community whether they think this thread should be locked.
If we single handedly decide to lock it, this may once again be interpreted as something stupid like a cover up or what have you.
Since GBAtemp is a community powered site, let the community decide.

edit: done. Vote ends in 24 hours.

 

[Dionicio3]

I am now adding a poll to this thread to ask the community whether they think this thread should be locked.
If we single handedly decide to lock it, this may once again be interpreted as something stupid like a cover up or what have you.

edit: done. Vote ends in 24 hours.

Well, at least you're just locking it, and not straight up deleting it.

 

[NightScript]

Um, I voted when it used to say "yes" and "no", but now, I'm entered in "Lock it and make it dissapear from front page". WTF?

@Costello, Um, I think the poll is broken....

 

[Dionicio3]

Um, I voted when it used to say "yes" and "no", but now, I'm entered in "Lock it and make it dissapear from front page". WTF?

@Costello, Um, I think the poll is broken....

He edited it

 

[NightScript]

He edited it

Oh well, and since I have no way of editing it, I'm doomed...

@Costello Can you change my vote to be the first one?

 

[Foxi4]

while that is true, its recognized in both for the same reason homosexuality was recognized in previous manuals, because it is a non-socially accepted sexual attraction. and just as with homosexuality, i never quite understood why it had any reason to be in the icd at all, as the classification as a disease implies it could be cured or at least treated, when in a situation where either is not allowed to be acted upon, they can at best be 'managed'.

i can understand why they have it in the dsm to a point (one of them being its just easier to not have an additional manual just for sexual attractions, another being that the WHO is very aware of the outrage shitstorm it would lead to, as it did back when homosexuality first discussed to be removed.)
however, sexual attractions seem inherently different from what is implied by the 'mental disorder' terminology. not to mention the general definition of 'mental disorder' as "a behavioral or mental pattern that may cause suffering or a poor ability to function in life" in general is very situational too.
less than 150 years back, pedophilia wouldn't fit the bill as it really only causes suffering or poor ability to function in a world that has invented childhood as an integral part of a persons life and has a strong dedication to protect that part of a persons life (which at some points goes so far, it's creating new problems along the way, such as children being so protected from even the concept of death, that the first time they have contact with it [when someone close to them dies] its leading to severe and longterm trauma).
also regional differences in age of consent mean that a, for lack of a better word, a borderline pedophile who's attracted to 16 year olds might suffer in the us, but wouldn't have any problem in france, as there, he could freely pursue a relationship with his target age group.

but that's for the field of psychology to fight out among itself. personally, i don't believe pedophilia (or really any sexual attraction kind of deal, may it be to houses, plushtoys, or anime characters), will be in those manuals forever.

You're a bit misinformed and you're misleading everyone in the thread as a result. The reason why homosexuality has been removed from the list of disorders, as you mentioned, is very simple - a disorder must necessarily cause anguish or suffering either to the patient or to others. Homosexuality doesn't, paedophilia does. Moreover, it's not just a "sexual attraction", it's not just a particular taste or preference. Many studies confirm that there are legitimate differences between peadophiles and healthy individuals, this includes brain structure, and these differences are consistent across the board. For instance, paedophiles have a deficit of white matter, the connective tissue that allows different parts of the brain to communicate with each other. They lag behind healthy individuals by several IQ points and are predominantly left-handed. They have a tendency towards childish behaviour, almost as if their development stopped at some point. Most paedophiles upon being interviewed admit that they saw their victims to be within their age group, either by regressing to a child-like state themselves or by considering the child overly mature for their age. They rationalise assault by saying that the victim didn't say "no" which they interpreted as consent, or worse yet, that they're in love with the victim. They're genuinely disturbed, and many non-offending paedophiles say so themselves as they seek help. Uncontrollable urges paedophiles suffer from do cause anguish, and the fact that their victims suffer doesn't require much evidence either as it's pretty obvious. These factors and more differentiate paedophilia and homosexuality - children are simply unable to give consent, and it's not a matter of social taboo, but mental development. Just to be clear, we're talking about large age gaps here, not the outliers of an 18-year-old sleeping with a 16-year-old where the boundaries are blurry. We're talking about attraction towards children, which are pretty clean-cut cases.

 

[Costello]

Um, I voted when it used to say "yes" and "no", but now, I'm entered in "Lock it and make it dissapear from front page". WTF?

@Costello, Um, I think the poll is broken....

sorry about that, I updated the vote options 30 seconds after I posted the poll.
I am going to make it so you can change your vote. Reload the page in 30 seconds and see if you can change your vote.

(edit: done. You should be able to change your vote now)

 

[NightScript]

sorry about that, I updated the vote options 30 seconds after I posted the poll.
I am going to make it so you can change your vote. Reload the page in 30 seconds and see if you can change your vote.

(edit: done. You should be able to change your vote now)

Thanks...

 

[SG854]

On a serious note. If the guy is truly is innocent, then I wish the best for him.

I am now adding a poll to this thread to ask the community whether they think this thread should be locked.
If we single handedly decide to lock it, this may once again be interpreted as something stupid like a cover up or what have you.
Since GBAtemp is a community powered site, let the community decide.

edit: done. Vote ends in 24 hours.

I don't think the community will interpret it as a cover up, as long as you put on the front page that it was locked up by community vote. You said your peace and i'm sure as long as you don't delete this thread, so that people can see your thoughts, then you fine.

 

[Rob Blou]

What's Dazozo's story? The reddit page was locked/deleted

 

[NightScript]

What's Dazozo's story? The reddit page was locked/deleted

https://imgur.com/gallery/un69v

 

[gamemasteru03]

looks like the ppl covering stuff up is 3dshacks https://www.reddit.com/r/3dshacks/comments/67bzcg/in_light_of_recent_events_a_message_from_the/ not gbatemp...

 

[Rob Blou]

I'm not really comfortable debating the delicate situation of a member of this community publicly since it's honestly none of my busyness, but I've recently seen a disturbing statistic and I'd like to know you guys opinion on the subject (since we're talking about sexual deviance). I've read that almost 20% of the US population have had sexual experiences with animals ... I personally think this is disturbing and the article even had comments of people saying things like: "My wife told me she used to let her dog lick her and now I'm not attracted to her anymore" ... 20% is a crazy high number imho. I'm pretty sure this practice is illegal and those people defend themselves by saying that the animal actually likes it so nobody's hurt. What do you guys think about this?

 

[Captain_N]

the local solid waste authority (trash management) has a great place for this shit head: the incinerator.
Thats the only place these creeps can be. They cant be "fixed".

 

[DeadlyFoez]

I'm not really comfortable debating the delicate situation of a member of this community publicly since it's honestly none of my busyness, but I've recently seen a disturbing statistic and I'd like to know you guys opinion on the subject (since we're talking about sexual deviance). I've read that almost 20% of the US population have had sexual experiences with animals ... I personally think this is disturbing and the article even had comments of people saying things like: "My wife told me she used to let her dog lick her and now I'm not attracted to her anymore" ... 20% is a crazy high number imho. I'm pretty sure this practice is illegal and those people defend themselves by saying that the animal actually likes it so nobody's hurt. What do you guys think about this?

Having sex with animals in the US was extremely rare until terrorists started coming here. Now our land has far too many goat fuckers running around scream "allahu ackbar".

 

[JCCG1989]

Having sex with animals in the US was extremely rare until terrorists started coming here. Now our land has far too many goat fuckers running around scream "allahu ackbar".

Taking your idiot comment... so you imply 20% of US population are terrorist?

 

[Rob Blou]

Having sex with animals in the US was extremely rare until terrorists started coming here. Now our land has far too many goat fuckers running around scream "allahu ackbar".

Wow .. I didn't expect that kind of answer .... actually the rural states had the highest rates (surprisingly the bible belt) so it has nothing to do with immigration (Since the rural states also have the lowest immigration rates)

 

[DeadlyFoez]

Taking your idiot comment... so you imply 20% of US population are terrorist?

It, it was a joke.

Wow .. I didn't expect that kind of answer .... actually the rural states had the highest rates (surprisingly the bible belt) so it has nothing to do with immigration (Since the rural states also have the lowest immigration rates)

I highly doubt that the 20% statistic that you said is even remotely close to being accurate.

 

[Rob Blou]

It, it was a joke.

I highly doubt that the 20% statistic that you said is even remotely close to being accurate.

I really hope it's not honestly I'm trying to find the article back ... it's not something I've saved in my bookmarks