Police investigate possible grooming ring in case of North American YouTuber suspected of child sexual exploitation in Rio

• American: Youtuber arrested on suspicion of sex crimes against minors in Rio possessed a watch with a hidden camera and several stuffed animals
• Find out who you are YouTuber arrested on suspicion of sexual exploitation of minors in Rio and had a history of confrontations with US police

Wallace was arrested on Monday in São Paulo while trying to flee the country. He is accused of sexual crimes against minors. With him, the police seized mobile phones, a notebook, memory cards, USB sticks, a watch with a hidden camera and several stuffed animals.

The investigations began after receiving a technical report sent by the Ministry of Justice, warning of “the possible practice of sexual exploitation of minors by a North American citizen in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.” The document had as its starting point a report from Uber Investigações Globales, prepared following a complaint from an application driver who had suspicions about the suspect.

According to the report, on December 8, the user identified as “Terry William” requested a pickup ride to Rua Lino Teixeira, in Jacaré, a community in the northern zone of Rio. Upon arriving at the scene, the driver noticed that the passengers were two minors. During the trip, while chatting with them, the driver became suspicious of the situation when he learned that the minors would be taken to meet an older man, “dark-skinned”, who “did not speak Portuguese”.

According to the Civil Police, initial reports indicate that the first contact with the minors took place at Complexo do Jacaré, in the North Zone, which raised suspicions about the existence of intermediaries or an informal grooming structure – a hypothesis still under investigation.

— This line of investigation exists. We simply do not yet have information confirming the existence of a criminal organization along these lines. But this is not excluded — said delegate Cristiano Maia, responsible for the file.

According to him, the investigation is recent, but has already made significant progress.

— This investigation is less than a week old and we have already made a lot of progress. Investigations are ongoing – he said.

Sex tourism under investigation

Police are also investigating whether Wallace profited from practices related to sex tourism, a well-known but rarely documented phenomenon, especially when it involves minors. The veiled nature of this type of crime, according to investigators, makes it difficult to identify networks and produce evidence.

So far there is no confirmation that the YouTuber had a formal criminal organization to facilitate access to victims, but investigators are working with the hypothesis of local support, direct or indirect, to overcome barriers such as language and unfamiliarity with the territory.

Civil police continue to collect statements, analyze seized materials and cross-reference information to understand the dynamics of the encounters, the path taken to reach the victims and whether other people participated in the scheme.