A Brazillian Fortnite streamer was arrested on July 27, accused of luring in fans with his social following and raping them. The two victims who have come forward are between the ages of 10-14.
Raulino de Oliveira Maciel, better known online as RaulZito, has hundreds of thousands of followers across Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram, with gaming content the sole focus of his channels.
Police say that he used his fame in the gaming world to lure children in, but ultimately targeted users on Instagram, with child actors coming forward as victims.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro’s Department for Child and Adolescent Victims (DCAV) detained RaulZito on Tuesday, July 27 in Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina.
Allegations against RaulZito
RaulZito has over 200k followers on Instagram, where he groomed his victims.According to the police report, the DCAV “arrested a video game YouTuber accused of vulnerable rape against two children.”
According to agents, the mother of a victim revealed that her son said he suffered from abuse at the hands of the YouTuber between February and May this year. Another child, under 12 years old, also reported being molested by RaulZito.
The cases took place in Niterói, the Metropolitan Region of Rio, and in the municipality of São Caetano do Sul, in São Paulo. The victims, aged between 10 and 14, are child theater, film and TV actors.
RaulZito’s YouTube bio says that the RaulZito HQ is “composed of several child talents.”According to the investigations, the accused gained contact with the children through Instagram and promised access to jobs in his area of expertise, even claiming to be hired by a major TV station.
In light of the victims’ reports, the DCAV team asked the court for search and seizure warrants and a temporary arrest warrant, after which he was located and arrested.
RaulZito’s team, SBT Games, released a statement following the arrest, saying that RaulZito is no longer a part of the company and that they “awaits the elucidation of the facts and result of the investigation.”
Segue Nota Oficial do SBT Games sobre os acontecimentos envolvendo o streamer Raulzito: pic.twitter.com/mwbAKBQAD4
— SBT Games (@SBT_Games) July 27, 2021
Police believe that there are more than just these two victims, too, finalizing their statement by saying that “Investigations continue to identify other victims of the perpetrator.”
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