On Tuesday, Twitch streamer Robert Paz, AKA Prod1gyX, was arrested and charged with child molestation and rape. The Twitch streamer has amassed nearly 50,000 followers over the years and even holds a Guinness World Record in Rock Band 2 for the highest aggregate drum score, but many of his accomplishments have been stripped from him following his arrest.
Twitch historically has a major issue with sexual abusers on its platform. Although the Robert Paz’s alleged crimes seem to be totally disconnected from Twitch itself, there are plenty of others that have more direct histories of misbehavior on Amazon’s streaming service. Most recently, Twitch’s Ali “Gross Gore” Larsen finally got banned after an extensive history of allegations against him for years. The streamer largely got off without any consequences for quite some time, but was faced with a round-up of all of his claimed misdeeds online. It quickly turned south and highlighted just how problematic the streamer actually was.
Robert Paz is the latest streamer to be caught in a significant scandal following the likes of Ali Larsen and former Rooster Teeth employee and Twitch streamer Ryan Haywood. According to Insider, Paz was arrested after his wife called CPS when she heard allegations that Robert had raped and molested one of their children. Paz and his wife Bonny share a daughter, as well as four sons from her previous marriage. Paz is currently awaiting an April 12 arraignment and has a bond set at $200,000 in a correctional facility in Seattle, Washington.
Insider also notes that Paz had left his household in October after having an affair. The streamer’s wife only found out about the allegations against her husband on Valentine’s Day, months after he had been living away from his shared home. Paz’s Twitch channel has since been taken down. It’s not only disgusting, but also incredibly tragic that a family has been left broken and a community torn apart following Paz’s stated actions.
His case continues to highlight a larger issue among Twitch streamers who engage in repulsive behavior. It’s a difficult issue to solve, as – in private cases like Robert Paz’s – Twitch has no way to prevent these things from happening, but it can and should continue make an effort to quickly de-platform streamers like him as a strong deterrent for criminal behavior.
