A Twitch user named Elvinelol was one of 21 men arrested for allegedly meeting an underage girl to have sex, as part of a sting during Super Bowl weekend in Atlanta.
According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation release, the five-day undercover operation was named “Operation Intercept,” and it caught people who allegedly had “the intent to meet a child for sex.”
Elvinelol, whose real name is Thomas Cheung, is described in the arrest as a 32-year-old male who works as a gaming studio employee. On his Twitter account, which has more than 20,000 followers, he lists himself as a Twitch partner—which allows streamers to earn more money through subscription payouts and ad revenue.
In part, Twitch says a partner should be someone “who can act as role models to the community.” According to Variety, Cheung had been a Twitch partner since 2012.
“The goal of ‘Operation Interception’ was to arrest persons who communicate with children online, have sexually explicit conversations, and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex,” the GBI said. “Additionally, the operation targeted those who are willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor. Online child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content, and ultimately arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex.”
On Cheung’s Twitter account, people have been condemning him for his alleged predatory behavior. On one tweet in which Cheung was commenting on the cold weather, one Twitter user wrote, “Don’t worry when you enter hell it’ll be nice and warm for you.”
Twitch hasn’t commented on Cheung, but his employer, video game developer Hi-Rez Studios, said in a tweet that he no longer worked there.
A brief statement on @Elvinelol pic.twitter.com/2BJOjTaI0c
— Stewart Chisam (@schisam) February 5, 2019