“Am I special now?” Child predator receives achievement badges for sharing child abuse

One child predator expressed gratitude to his “community” after receiving “badges” and elevated statuses for sharing hundreds of images of child pornography on the dark web.

A Foreign Law Enforcement Agency reached out to the FBI regarding a child predator who was later identified as Christopher Hoyt in June 2022.

Hoyt had been active across various Tor websites that were dedicated to sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

While the unsealed document didn’t say which websites Hoyt frequented, the document showed just how “close” the darkweb pedophile community seems to be.

Hoyt shared his contact information, particularly his username, with his instant messaging service, so that other child predators could contact him and potentially exchange illegal materials.

The law enforcement agency investigated Hoyt’s account and was able to confirm a possible IP address linked with the predator.

Following this breakthrough, an FBI undercover agent gained access to the Tor website on which Hoyt shared child porn.

The agent found the profile affiliated with Hoyt and found that his “age of attraction” was between 10 and 15 and that he’d earned an achievement for sharing 100 posts.

Hoyt continued to share over 50 images and videos during the time the undercover agent had access to the darkweb platform.

The court document shared by Court Watch said that nearly all of these images and videos depicted young adults and post-pubescent males in the nude.

However, Hoyt later created a thread featuring minor boys dressed in animal costumes. Some of the images were non-nude, while others depicted pre-pubescent boys naked.

The post was titled “Furry Boys,” and one comment from Hoyt said that he had discovered these photos randomly on his hard drive and wanted to share them with other pedophiles.

“Here is one I discovered on my hard drive just hanging out…he’s so cute!” Hoyt’s comment reads.

The thread included five separate images of children between the ages of two and ten, where the children were exposing their genitalia and engaging in sexual acts, the court document reads.

Some of the photos showed naked individual children wearing animal masks, while others depicted male and female children engaging in sexual activities like kissing and masturbation.

Child predators on the platform rewarded Hoyt for his pedophilic activities by providing him with badges and elevated statuses on the Tor website.

Hoyt expressed his gratitude towards his “community” by saying, “Thank you, I am so happy! I am now a “The True Loverboy” and “The Learner Uploader.”

“So does that mean I’m like…accepted by the community? Am I special now?”

Hoyt also said that he hadn’t previously been “recognized for (his) efforts” before now, and the child predator “really appreciates it.”

Following data collection by law enforcement from AT&T, Hoyt’s residence was identified and later searched, where officers discovered electronic devices that contained CSAM.

The child predator possessed thousands of images of child sexual abuse material on his devices.

Hoyt admitted to law enforcement officers that he was attracted to minors, that he was soliciting and distributing child pornography, and that he had once raped a minor in 2018.

The document found by Court Watch was unsealed as part of a plea agreement after Hoyt admitted to his crimes.

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