Counter-Strike Co-Creator Officially Charged With Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor

The co-creator of Counter-Strike, Jess Cliffe, has been officially charged with commercial sexual abuse of a minor by Seattle police. He is accused of having multiple sexual encounters with a 16-year-old girl in 2017. He also is accused of making a video recording of the final sexual encounter without the victim’s consent.

According to the Seattle police’s statement of probable cause (via Ars Technica), Cliffe arranged meetings with the minor through a dating site with the expressed purpose of exchanging sexual acts for money. Cliffe is said to have paid her $300 an hour. Police took a statement from the victim after being contacted by Seattle Child Protective Services, in which she detailed where Cliffe would pick her up, the location of his home and identified Cliffe’s photo in a lineup.

Police traced Cliffe’s ISP to the dating site to find him. He denied knowing the victim, but admitted to making similar arrangements with women through the site. When shown the chat logs with the minor, Cliffe denied knowledge of them but corraborated enough evidence to warrant charges.

Cliffe’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25, and while he was initially denied bail, he has since posted the $150,000 bail set by the court.

Valve, Cliffe’s employer, suspended him pending an internal investigation when news of his arrest broke last week. Valve has yet to respond publicly to the charges filed against Cliffe.