Cody Rutledge Wilson has been released from jail in Harris County, Texas after posting $150,000 bond on Sunday. Wilson, best known for publishing blueprints of 3D printed guns, has been charged with sexual assault after he allegedly paid $500 to a 16-year-old girl for sex. Police allege that Wilson met the girl on a website called SugarDaddyMeet.com, telling her that he was a “big deal.”
Wilson reportedly fled to Taiwan earlier this month after getting tipped off about the charges, and was arrested there on Friday after trying to rent an apartment. The apartment owner recognized Wilson from the recent TV coverage in Taiwan and notified the police. Wilson was deported and placed on a flight from Taipei to Texas, landing at Bush Intercontinental Airport overnight on Sunday.
Local news station KHOU captured video of Wilson leaving jail on Sunday, where he appeared to be smiling before a man shielded his face from the cameras. Wilson had no comment.
After the two exchanged naked pictures, Wilson met the girl at a coffee shop in Austin before he took her to a nearby hotel where they allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse and oral sex. Police have surveillance video of Wilson and the girl at both the coffee shop and the hotel. The cameras also captured the license plate of a vehicle registered to Wilson’s company, Defense Distributed. Wilson dropped the girl off at a Whataburger after the alleged assault.
“We are glad that Cody is back in Texas again where we can work with him on his case. That’s our focus right now, representing our client and preparing his defense,” Wilson’s attorney Samy Khalil said in a statement released to KHOU.
Wilson, who has donated a fair amount of money to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, has been in an uphill fight with several states over his desire to publish the blueprints for 3D-printed guns on the internet. After a judge ruled that he couldn’t publish the plans for free, Wilson began selling the plans to people through his website in August.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have sued the Trump regime over its settlement with Wilson’s company that would have allowed Defense Distributed to distribute the blueprints for free.
As you might expect, many gun rights activists believe conspiracy theories that Wilson is only being targeted for his activism. But others acknowledge that the government seems to have him “dead to rights” if there’s security footage that shows him with the 16-year-old before and after they allegedly had sex at a hotel. Still others are trying to minimize the charge with a litany of excuses.
“Also, not saying sexual assault of a minor should be scoffed at... but in this case the facts we know are that a 16 year old lied about being 18 and purposefully signed up for a website to meet (and possibly) have sex with older men,” one commenter said on Reddit’s r/Firearms forum.
“It’s not like the guy intentionally hunted down a random young girl on the street to attack. The reports aren’t even claiming anywhere near that level of criminality.”
[KHOU]