Translated transcript
A young [Norwegian] man has been sentenced [to jail time] after playing this game.
A Japanese video game includes animations which the Norwegian Police describe as "sexual abuse material". Stavanger Aftenblad^[Stavanger Aftenblad (or just Aftenbladet, "The Evening Paper") is a Christian-conservative tabloid owned by Schibsted, who also own VG. Stavanger Aftenblad is a regional newspaper for Rogaland County in Norway's southwest. The administrative center and largest city of Rogaland County is Stavanger, which is the third biggest metropolitan area in Norway after Oslo and Bergen.] reports that the man has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, first and foremost for having shared extremely violent sexual abuse material, but also for having played this PC game.
The game's plot revolves around the player taking care of an orphaned child, and can be played in seven different modes. Modes 1 through 6 involve child sexual abuse, while "mode 0" omits any sexual abuse. The man claims he played "mode 0".
The game in question is legal in a number of countries, but the District Court for South Rogaland has asserted that the game constitutes sexual abuse material "without a doubt". The man's lawyer says that the verdict will be appealed.
You can always find the news on VG.^[VG (short for Verdens Gang, "The Course of the World") is the second-most read print newspaper in Norway and the number one most read online news publication in Norway. It is an Oslo-based liberal-but-party-unaffiliated tabloid owned by Schibsted, who also own Aftenposten, Norway's most-read newspaper.]
Extra information
Other information I can find about this story reveals that:
- The man was 24 years old at the time.
- The man was sentenced back in August, but news coverage of the case is only really starting now.
- The man was reported to the Norwegian Police by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a nonprofit headquartered in Northern Virginia and primarily funded by the United States Department of Justice.
- The man's IP address was reported by NCMEC for sharing CSAM, and not for downloading the game in question; the Norwegian Police only found the game while they were already investigating the man for sharing CSAM.
- The game is an example of a "doujin game", i.e. a self-published game created by hobbyists.
- The game's title includes the word "slave", which I think casts even more doubt on the man's claim that he was playing the supposed "abuse-free" version.
This story has naturally gone viral among "muh censorship" weeaboo nonces. Equinaturally, the story as told by "muh censorship" weeaboo nonces to themselves has ended up getting telephoned into an exaggerated version, because they'd rather wallow in an oppression narrative than do any actual research.
The version of this news story circulating among 4chan types differs from the actual story in a few key respects:
| Actual story | 4chan retelling | |
|
| | The man was sentenced to 3 months in jail | The man was sentenced to 3 years in prison | | The man was arrested first and foremost for sharing CSAM | The man was arrested only for playing the game | | NCMEC reported the man for uploading CSAM | NCMEC reported the man for downloading the game |
Further reading
I have previously shared a story of a 21-year-old Englishman being arrested in Ireland for playing a different Japanese CSA game.
I have also translated an NRK article from several years ago about the illegality of anime-style drawings of CSA in Norway.
I have also written about the Norwegian government's therapy chat service for pedophiles.
In conclusion
womp womp :anime-cool:
