Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Update: Counter-Strike Co-Creator Jess Cliffe Officially Charged With Commercial Sexual Abuse Of A Minor
Update: Charges have been filed against Cliffe, along with a release of the statement of probable cause.
Warning: The details of this arrest feature sexual exploitation of a minor. Do not proceed further if you are sensitive to such details.
Cliffe is accused of multiple instances of sexual contact with a minor and videotaping the final instance without her knowledge. At the time of the incidents, the juvenile victim was 16 years-old and initially referred to Seattle police by Child Protective Services because of "reports of CSEC [Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children] activities."
The minor arranged to meet Cliffe through a dating site with the expressed purpose of exchanging sexual relations for money. Police traced back information from Cliffe's ISP and the dating website to find Cliffe, who denied knowing the victim, but did admit to similar arrangements. After confronting Cliffe with the alleged chat logs, though he denied them, police felt that he corroborated enough evidence to bring charges.
Cliffe's next hearing is scheduled for February 25 and has posted the court-set $150,000 bail. There is no update from Valve after the previous comment where the company stated they have suspended Cliffe until they know more.
The original story is as follows.
Counter-Strike co-creator and Valve game designer Jess Cliffe has been booked for sex exploitation of a child, Seattle local news KIRO 7 reports.
Police have not commented yet, but KIRO 7 reports Cliffe has not been charged yet. The arrest occurred at 1:17 AM this morning at the Seattle Southwest precinct police department.
Cliffe has been an employee of Valve since 2003 after creating Half-Life mod Counter-Strike in 1999 alongside co-creator Minh Le. Valve hired Cliffe and obtained the rights to the game, which has become one of if not the most popular multiplayer shooter in the world in the fifteen years since.
"We are still learning details of what actually happened," Valve's Doug Lombardi told us. "Reports suggest he has been arrested for a felony offense. As such we have suspended his employment until we know more."
.[Source: KIRO 7 News]
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
