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Cody Wilson, 3D-Printed Gun Pioneer, Arrested In Taiwan (reason.com) 476

Cody Wilson, maker of the first 3D-printed plastic gun, has been arrested in Taiwan. Long-time Slashdot reader SonicSpike quotes Reason: Earlier this week, Texas police issued a warrant for his arrest. Wilson, they claimed, found a woman on sugardaddymeet.com, a website that requires all users to assert they are 18 or over, then met her and paid for sex with her. Police say the woman was actually 16, which made that act a violation of Texas penal code 22.011 (A)(2)(a), regarding sex with a minor, which is legally considered sexual assault regardless of consent or payment.

While Taiwan has no formal extradition treaty with the U.S., and Wilson was not said to have been doing anything directly criminal in Taiwan, the press there reports that he was arrested without incident because the U.S. had revoked his passport, making his mere presence in Taiwan illegal. (The U.S. government has the power to revoke the passports of people facing felony arrest warrants.) Wilson was then, according to The New York Times, "delivered...to the National Immigration Agency" in Taiwan. It is expected to deport him to the U.S. to face those charges, which carry a potential 2 to 20 years in prison and $10,000 fine.

A reporter for Ars Technica visited Wilson's home weapons printing company, and was told that "A management restructuring is coming." But they also contacted Adam Bhala Lough, who directed and wrote a documentary film about Wilson. Prior to Wilson's arrest, Lough argued that "Without Cody, it can't last. It's like Tesla and Elon Musk, you can't separate the two.

"If he comes home and faces the music, there is a chance Defense Distributed will survive because it is a totally independent company without a board or any regulatory body. And the buyers of these products -- not to generalize, but at least the ones I met while doing the documentary -- they won't care about buying a product from an [accused] pedophile. In fact they may be even more emboldened by the idea that Cody was 'set-up' or that it is a 'deep-state conspiracy' against him, even if (or when) he admits to it."
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Cody Wilson, 3D-Printed Gun Pioneer, Arrested In Taiwan

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  • This absolutely doesn't smell right. And governments have been known for "setting examples" and taking out vendettas against those who would challenge them.

    • Yes (Score:3, Interesting)

      by DogDude ( 805747 )
      Yes, I believe the government in this case. This guy's a real prick, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit that he's a child fucker.
      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • What did he do to anger you so much?

        • Did you read the part where he tells her he's a "big deal"? That right there should require a little jail time.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • This absolutely doesn't smell right.

      Yep, it smells like the "rape" accusations against Julian Assange... Neither Wilson's "assault", which allegedly consisted of a consensual sex with a 16 y/o prostitute, nor Assange's "rape", which was alleged to have consisted of not using protection in an otherwise consensual encounter — were anything close to what's normally associated with the highly loaded terms used to describe the actions ("sexual assault", "rape").

      Both men have greatly inconvenienced the US government shortly before these allegations came to light, however...

      • Except for the part where both acts were illegal on the jurisdiction where they were committed. Maybe she shouldn't have pulled his cock out on Sweden and stuck to screwing sleeping American women instead. Maybe Wilson should have had sex with a 16 year old prostitute in Sweden instead.

        Just because something doesn't fit your definition doesn't make it legal.

      • If you're going to go around pissing off the government, maybe it's best to try to avoid putting yourself in what could be a compromising situation. Even if (and that's a big if) the government were in on this, they didn't force Wilson to solicit the services of a prostitute. Even that itself will get you scooped up if they want you badly enough.
      • by quantaman ( 517394 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @05:54PM (#57361498)

        Both men have greatly inconvenienced the US government shortly before these allegations came to light, however...

        And what?

        The US government got a 16 year old to join sugardaddy.com and manipulated Wilson into messaging and arranging an encounter with her?

        The US government got Assange to play fast and loose with a couple sexual liaisons, then convinced the women to file complaints?

        Here's another theory, people with huge egos who play loose with the law in one area tend to do the same in other areas as well.

        It's also true that making yourself notorious might cause people to walk by your closets to see if any skeletons are peaking out. We don't know the details of the case against Wilson to know if that was the situation here but it's certainly possible Wilson was only caught because he was already under scrutiny.

        • The US government got a 16 year old to join sugardaddy.com and manipulated Wilson into messaging and arranging an encounter with her?

          It's far more likely that she was caught for a minor offense, marijuana possession over some arbitrary limit being a very real possibility, and offered up her sugar daddy to get out of the charges. That would look bad if the DA had to disclose it, so the caring and compassionate police officers referred her to counseling in another jurisdiction. The counselor has mandatory r

        • The US government got Assange to play fast and loose with a couple sexual liaisons, then convinced the women to file complaints?

          For what it's worth, I think I remember hearing that it went something like this (not sure though, could be wrong):

          Assange pretended to put on a condom to get one woman to agree to sex with him, and after having protected sex with another woman (who presumably insisted on checking that he had put on a condom), initiated further unprotected sex while she was asleep. Neither woman i

    • ... plastic zip guns that are as dangerous to the wielder as anybody else. If this guy had a machine shop cranking out ARs, that would raise an eyebrow.

      But if it's fun to think that, carry on.

    • Very true. The warrant was issued by the Great State of Texas. Very well know be ruled by corrupt people who would use the state to pursue personal vendetta.
    • Not really. Uncle Sam doesn't like to lose a fight and will resort to dirty tactics. This isn't even a second amendment issue this is a freedom of speech issue. All he did was distribute a file containing 3d models of parts. And yes it is perfectly legal to manufacture a firearm for personal use as long as it follows guidelines like barrel length and ammo capacity.

  • by elrous0 ( 869638 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @02:42PM (#57360626)

    Any time a person in the government's crosshairs gets arrested on a sex crime or pedophilia charge, be VERY wary of believing it.

    Anyone remember what happened to the IMF Director who was stupid enough to challenge [theguardian.com] the supremacy of the U.S. dollar?

    • by DogDude ( 805747 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @03:13PM (#57360806)
      Any time a person in the government's crosshairs gets arrested on a sex crime or pedophilia charge, be VERY wary of believing it.

      Why? What evidence do you have?

      " In a TV interview in September, Strauss-Kahn admitted that his liaison with Diallo was a moral fault and described it as "inappropriate""

      "According to a report in L'Express Strauss-Kahn admitted to attempting to kiss Banon."

      Your example is a guy who admits that he cheats on his wife and admits that he at least tries to sexually assault women. I don't think you know how this whole "argument" thing is supposed to work.
    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      Well, that's the reason there is a presumption of innocence. They've got to bring this guy before a Texas jury and make a case beyond a reasonable doubt.

      That's a pretty high bar to hit.

      Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of prosecutorial abuse, but mostly it targets people who can't afford to defend themselves. Texas is one of the worst states in the country in terms of spending on and independence of public defenders. So if this guy can scrape together enough money to hire his own lawyer, the prosecutor

      • by elrous0 ( 869638 )

        They've got to bring this guy before a Texas jury and make a case beyond a reasonable doubt.

        No they don't. They only have charge him publicly and get it in all the newspapers. Then his reputation is destroyed, he's kicked out of any positions of authority or power he's currently in, and no one will associate with him or support him ever again. No one will give a shit when the charges are dropped months later or he's later found innocent.

        You think the IMF gave Strauss-Kahn his job back when the sex assault c

    • Don't most of them end up pleading guilty though? If the charges were bogus, why don't they plead not guilty?
  • While the person the interviewed for this article is right in saying that Cody Wilson is the 'face' of his group, he was far from the driving force behind it. In fact Defense Distributed wasn't really even the driving force behind his recent judicial win against the DOJ. He had major backing from multiple pro second amendment groups, most notifiable the Second Amendment Foundation. Which is the same advocacy group that provided a lot of the legal aid legal muscle behind both the Heller and McDonald SCOTU

    • by 140Mandak262Jamuna ( 970587 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @03:11PM (#57360782) Journal
      The arrest warrant was issued by Texas.

      Not really known to be totalitarian anti gun anti second amendment state.

      • Well I was referring to the 21 AGs that are trying to shut down his group with a new lawsuit specially. But that said the city of Austen has a reputation for being pretty 'blue', which is where this supposedly happened. So if you wanted to delve into conspiracy theory you could look it at that way.
      • The arrest warrant was issued by Texas.
        Not really known to be totalitarian anti gun anti second amendment state.

        As I suspect you actually understand, Texas isn't even close to a monoculture. The affidavit [documentcloud.org] leading to the arrest warrant was issued by the police department of the well-known liberal hotbed of Austin. The application for warrant was signed by magistrate judge Tamara Needles [ballotpedia.org], a Democrat.

        Other than all that, spot on.

  • by TomGreenhaw ( 929233 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @03:12PM (#57360796)
    I have a 3D printer. No way, no how is that the easiest way to produce a home made gun. Do people honestly think current 3D printer technology is like a Star Trek replicator?

    I'd be much better of using my drill press, saw, dremel, files, etc. if I really wanted to make a gun.

    Really well made guns are way cheaper and easier than a homebrew, and unfortunately getting them illegally is all too easy here in Chicago from what I can tell.

    What am I missing in this debate about 3D printed guns?
  • Not a pedophile (Score:5, Insightful)

    by shaksys ( 3777257 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @03:24PM (#57360856)
    Paying for sex with a woman who convincingly passes as an adult does not make a person a pedophile. A criminal, yes, but saying he is into prepubescent children because he bought sex from a person who could easily pass as a fully grown adult is just fraudulently incorrect.
  • by guruevi ( 827432 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @03:28PM (#57360862)

    a) How did Texas police KNOW that he went on any specific website (spying on his Internet traffic?)
    b) How did Texas police KNOW that he asked for a 16yo girl (spying on his computer?)
    c) How did Texas police KNOW that he visited anyone in Taiwan AND performed a potentially illegal act (spying on his person)
    d) How did Texas police revoke a FEDERAL passport
    e) How does Taiwan get to extradite him to the US if he currently has no formal documents that support his nationality

    This smells on all sides. If I were Taiwan/China I'd ask some serious questions: why is US local and/or federal law enforcement conducting surveillance against anyone in our country?

  • by Andy Smith ( 55346 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @04:38PM (#57361210)

    I got through 43 years without ever being in trouble with the police. Then I got on the wrong side of one police officer, and next time I encountered him he walked over to me and arrested me. Him and a colleague gave written statements that Iâ(TM)d assaulted them. Fortunately there was a recording of my arrest and the prosecution was dropped.

    Itâ(TM)s hard to go through an experience like that, and still take this story at face value. I just donâ(TM)t trust law enforcement anymore.

    • Well, I no longer fully trust LEOs either. However, most of them ARE decent ppl. Some are not. In particular, if you were in a college town, then you really have to be careful.
  • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @05:05PM (#57361324)

    It sounds like he is guilty of having sex with an under-age minor.

    However if he really thought she was 18, then he's not a pedophile.

    That's an important distinction in terms of others doing business with someone - many people would be horrified at having anything to do with a true pedophile, while being OK with someone that had questionable but legal sexual tastes otherwise. Just paying for sex is a whole different kind of deal morally speaking.

    Even if it was not a setup, he was pretty stupid to do anything even close to illegal when it was very probable everything he did was being tracked by the government (probably more than one).

    • He thought she was 17 (not 18) which is the legal age in Texas. He is 30. Why is he paying her $500 to fuck somebody that he thought is JUST BARELY legal?

      Sorry, but he is a pedophile.
  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday September 22, 2018 @07:08PM (#57361764)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • >Lie about age when signing up to prostitution website >Lie about age to man to get money and sex >Willingly have sex >Willingly take money for that sex >Admit to doing all of this, WILLINGLY >Claim this was "assault" >People actually take your side

      THE ABSOLUTE STATE

      I think that you misunderstand the charges. From a legal point of view, even when consensual, having sex with someone underage is considered statutory sexual assault.

  • I'm a complete CAD/CAM, or whatever is being used now-a-days, idiot and I am 100% confident I could design a plastic pistol to be made on a 3d printer.

    Mr design my not be pretty but there is zero reason I could not make one.

    And I believe a vast majority of any competent people capable of some design could do the same.

    So, what is the big deal? It certainly isn't a challenge...

  • by wardrich86 ( 4092007 ) on Sunday September 23, 2018 @12:26PM (#57364536)
    If this story is in fact legit, shouldn't the girl be the one going to jail? She lied about her age, signed up for a site where you hook up with people, then cried because somebody chose to hook up with her... and now the guy - who was using the service legally - is getting in shit?

    This entire story stinks of victim blaming and bullshit.

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