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

 

[SKGleba]

Wait......
So freeshop is gone or not?

 

[Dionicio3]

Wait......
So freeshop is gone or not?

no

 

[Ev1l0rd]

Oh yeah and he also admitted to his servers being taken once for CP. It's in a thread that no longer is accessible to the public.

Wait. He admitted on GBATemp about hosting/storing Child Pornography? I mean, good that the thread was hidden, but should he at least not have had a long long chat with the mods before being let back on (if at all)? I mean, I applaud the leniency of the rules here (bans are rarely if ever handed out unless you harass people), but this is one of those cases where I think that this might have been too lenient.

Wait......
So freeshop is gone or not?

New maintainer, and I really suggest that @Costello (or a mod with the ability to edit posts) links to the fork (https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-arc13s-freeshop-fork-open-source-eshop-alternative.468436/) in the OP, since you're not the first to ask this.

 

[SKGleba]

no

And all other projects are still active?

 

[Ev1l0rd]

And all other projects are still active?

His only other project of relevance was DSPDump, which has a working version linked in the thread (and that guy wants to make a new thread for it too).

 

[The Catboy]

Wait. He admitted on GBATemp about hosting/storing Child Pornography? I mean, good that the thread was hidden, but should he at least not have had a long long chat with the mods before being let back on (if at all)? I mean, I applaud the leniency of the rules here (bans are rarely if ever handed out unless you harass people), but this is one of those cases where I think that this might have been too lenient.

No, according to his claims, someone uploaded CP to his servers. From there his servers were taken and he was arrested for possession of CP. Then basically charged with negligence for not reporting/removing the images. That was according to his original claims.

 

[Ev1l0rd]

No, according to his claims, someone uploaded CP to his servers. From there his servers were taken and he was arrested for possession of CP. Then basically charged with negligence for not reporting/removing the images. That was according to his original claims.

Still, if he got arrested for it, at least the mods should have had a talk with him about it, given the matter of said content and the average age of the gbatemp userbase.

 

[The Catboy]

Still, if he got arrested for it, at least the mods should have had a talk with him about it, given the matter of said content and the average age of the gbatemp userbase.

We really don't know what the Staff did after they removed the thread. We do know they moved it to the Staff section in order to talk about it, that's something they did reveal.

 

[Alkéryn]

thats was in English you twat ... you know you speak our language ... im from London thats how we speak ,,

Yeah it was english and understandable
the thing is you could write in a more polite or at least more readable way than this garbage you just wrote

 

[sarkwalvein]

thats was in English you twat ... you know you speak our language ... im from London thats how we speak ,,

Sure ending a sentence with two commas is perfectly acceptable in RP. /s
Be honest with yourself, you may be writing in English, but your sentences are very badly written and a PITA to read.

 

[Sketchy1]

I don't want to be that guy... but doesn't smell fishy?

I mean, precisely him? After a C&D letter from N, and he continuing his work on freeshop?

I don't know... Feels odd.

People can be anything behind the screen, and I doubt Nintendo would go that far considering ciangel came first.

And besides, if they really wanted to get someone, it would be much more logical to go after the guy currently maintaining it

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No, according to his claims, someone uploaded CP to his servers. From there his servers were taken and he was arrested for possession of CP. Then basically charged with negligence for not reporting/removing the images. That was according to his original claims.

I guess that explains the "GBATemp cover-up theory"

 

[The Catboy]

People can be anything behind the screen, and I doubt Nintendo would go that far considering ciangel came first.

And besides, if they really wanted to get someone, it would be much more logical to go after the guy currently maintaining it

I guess that explains the "GBATemp cover-up theory"

I am just going to flat dismiss Nintendo having any involvement in this case. His case dates back to 2012, long before freeShop or even his involvement with the 3DS hacking/homebrew scene. Nintendo already won their battle by getting him to remove the 3DS bootsplash.
Second the cover up seems to be connected to the Staff pulling the thread from the public view. Now to be fair, this thread was giving out at the time, unconfirmed personal information. Which is against the rules

Do not post someone's personal information without the proper consent. This includes personal photos, names, addresses, phone numbers, E-mail, instant messenger handles, conversation logs, etc. If the person requests that you remove the subject matter you must comply or else the staff members will intervene.

So one hand, even though this was extremely important information for the community to know, it was still in violation of the rules. The staff also had to debate on how to handle this issue as they can't have someone like that part of the site. But they also couldn't confirm that the person mentioned was the same as TheCruel, so they had to wait it out.
This is where the conspiracy was born. The staff pulling the thread and appearing like they weren't doing anything even though a lot was being done in the background.

 

[SuperDan]

i have to say im fairly new to elements of hacking forum ect .. like i flashed my xbox , hacked my wii & wii U ,Nds and recently my Vita.. & this whole thread was shocking to read .. i was just wondering is this normal .. as in Dev"s becoming involved in peado rings ? .. or is this a one off situation ... .. or is this what becomes of people in the hacking scene .. & i know ive been hash in a few comments but thats how i am as a person very blunt im a Boxer and im trained to fight and my thoughts and words are aggressive and brutally blunt ...& i hate child rapist as a whole .. i've lived in thai land for 5 years .. where peado rings are just rape for money .. poor village kids with numbers on there T shirts .. waiting for some European or american to rape them for cash ... but has this happened before is what im getting at ... we all want free games on our systems .. but if this is what becomes of the people involved i'd rather spend my savings on games .. wasteful i know but i'd be happier not to have any sub par involvement in such nasty scumbag people.. then again this could be a one off ..? .. either way its sick .. and i cant stand areshole that try to show remorse to people that do this .. mental heath ect ... are you kidding me ??? maybe you live in a bubble .. but ive traveled most of the world in the army and seen its beauty's but also seen its accepted horrors ... money is king in 3rd world county's ... and children are being sold .. trafficked , kidnapped and raped as we speak right now...

 

[DeslotlCL]

i have to say im fairly new to elements of hacking forum ect .. like i flashed my xbox , hacked my wii & wii U ,Nds and recently my Vita.. & this whole thread was shocking to read .. i was just wondering is this normal .. as in Dev"s becoming involved in peado rings ? .. or is this a one off situation ... .. or is this what becomes of people in the hacking scene .. & i know ive been hash in a few comments but thats how i am as a person very blunt im a Boxer and im trained to fight and my thoughts and words are aggressive and brutally blunt ...& i hate child rapist as a whole .. i've lived in thai land for 5 years .. where peado rings are just rape for money .. poor village kids with numbers on there T shirts .. waiting for some European or american to rape them for cash ... but has this happened before is what im getting at ... we all want free games on our systems .. but if this is what becomes of the people involved i'd rather spend my savings on games .. wasteful i know but i'd be happier not to have any sub par involvement in such nasty scumbag people.. then again this could be a one off ..? .. either way its sick .. and i cant stand areshole that try to show remorse to people that do this .. mental heath ect ... are you kidding me ??? maybe you live in a bubble .. but ive traveled most of the world in the army and seen its beauty's but also seen its accepted horrors ... money is king in 3rd world county's ... and children are being sold .. trafficked , kidnapped and raped as we speak right now...

You are being paranoid dude. Not because one dev is pedo means the others are too.

 

[Seliph]

i have to say im fairly new to elements of hacking forum ect .. like i flashed my xbox , hacked my wii & wii U ,Nds and recently my Vita.. & this whole thread was shocking to read .. i was just wondering is this normal .. as in Dev"s becoming involved in peado rings ? .. or is this a one off situation ... .. or is this what becomes of people in the hacking scene .. & i know ive been hash in a few comments but thats how i am as a person very blunt im a Boxer and im trained to fight and my thoughts and words are aggressive and brutally blunt ...& i hate child rapist as a whole .. i've lived in thai land for 5 years .. where peado rings are just rape for money .. poor village kids with numbers on there T shirts .. waiting for some European or american to rape them for cash ... but has this happened before is what im getting at ... we all want free games on our systems .. but if this is what becomes of the people involved i'd rather spend my savings on games .. wasteful i know but i'd be happier not to have any sub par involvement in such nasty scumbag people.. then again this could be a one off ..? .. either way its sick .. and i cant stand areshole that try to show remorse to people that do this .. mental heath ect ... are you kidding me ??? maybe you live in a bubble .. but ive traveled most of the world in the army and seen its beauty's but also seen its accepted horrors ... money is king in 3rd world county's ... and children are being sold .. trafficked , kidnapped and raped as we speak right now...

No, hacking and homebrew development definitely won't make you into a pedophile, this is just a one off thing

 

[mikagami]

i have to say im fairly new to elements of hacking forum ect .. like i flashed my xbox , hacked my wii & wii U ,Nds and recently my Vita.. & this whole thread was shocking to read .. i was just wondering is this normal .. as in Dev"s becoming involved in peado rings ? .. or is this a one off situation ... .. or is this what becomes of people in the hacking scene .. & i know ive been hash in a few comments but thats how i am as a person very blunt im a Boxer and im trained to fight and my thoughts and words are aggressive and brutally blunt ...& i hate child rapist as a whole .. i've lived in thai land for 5 years .. where peado rings are just rape for money .. poor village kids with numbers on there T shirts .. waiting for some European or american to rape them for cash ... but has this happened before is what im getting at ... we all want free games on our systems .. but if this is what becomes of the people involved i'd rather spend my savings on games .. wasteful i know but i'd be happier not to have any sub par involvement in such nasty scumbag people.. then again this could be a one off ..? .. either way its sick .. and i cant stand areshole that try to show remorse to people that do this .. mental heath ect ... are you kidding me ??? maybe you live in a bubble .. but ive traveled most of the world in the army and seen its beauty's but also seen its accepted horrors ... money is king in 3rd world county's ... and children are being sold .. trafficked , kidnapped and raped as we speak right now...

Yes, it's a normal progression for devs to evolve into pedophiles. Just like it is a normal progression for stupid people to post stuff like this.

 

[Enovale]

Yes, it's a normal progression for devs to evolve into pedophiles. Just like it is a normal progression for stupid people to post stuff like this.

Wait that's normal? XD

Amazing avatar

 

[The Catboy]

i have to say im fairly new to elements of hacking forum ect .. like i flashed my xbox , hacked my wii & wii U ,Nds and recently my Vita.. & this whole thread was shocking to read .. i was just wondering is this normal .. as in Dev"s becoming involved in peado rings ? .. or is this a one off situation ... .. or is this what becomes of people in the hacking scene .. & i know ive been hash in a few comments but thats how i am as a person very blunt im a Boxer and im trained to fight and my thoughts and words are aggressive and brutally blunt ...& i hate child rapist as a whole .. i've lived in thai land for 5 years .. where peado rings are just rape for money .. poor village kids with numbers on there T shirts .. waiting for some European or american to rape them for cash ... but has this happened before is what im getting at ... we all want free games on our systems .. but if this is what becomes of the people involved i'd rather spend my savings on games .. wasteful i know but i'd be happier not to have any sub par involvement in such nasty scumbag people.. then again this could be a one off ..? .. either way its sick .. and i cant stand areshole that try to show remorse to people that do this .. mental heath ect ... are you kidding me ??? maybe you live in a bubble .. but ive traveled most of the world in the army and seen its beauty's but also seen its accepted horrors ... money is king in 3rd world county's ... and children are being sold .. trafficked , kidnapped and raped as we speak right now...

Consider the following.
We've been an active community since 2002 and in that time only 2 members have publicly stood in a court of law.
One for leaking NSMB Wii early and posting pretty much all the evidance against themselves: Here
And the second of course being this case
That's a pretty small number of convicted members and only one actually was found guilty of CP. You are just getting spooked, you are going to be just fine.

 

[The Catboy]

hey just asking .. LOL hahaha .. suckers

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yeah but how do you know? are you a kiddie fiddler and lying to me now?

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i know .. i was just being daft... to see responses

GBATemp does not hosts witch hunts. We believe a member is innocent until proven guilty.

 

[SuperDan]

GBATemp does not hosts witch hunts. We believe a member is innocent until proven guilty.

perhaps .... maybe its a cover up ?? where is the proof ?