Sexual Assault Warrant Issued for 3D Gun Pioneer Cody Wilson

Early on September 19, 2018, Travis County District Court issued an arrest warrant for Cody Wilson stating they have “good reason to believe” Wilson committed second-degree felony sexual assault of a minor. If the public face of 3D printed guns is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Read the original documents in the link below.

Cody Wilson Arrest Affidavit Download

Appearing in dozens of interviews about the 3D printing of guns with news agencies all over the globe Wilson is no stranger to the media. RECOIL interviewed Wilson several times, first in 2016 when he released his book “Come and Take It” and twice more in 2018 when Adam Kraut spoke with him about the settlement agreement allowing 3D printed gun files to be shared, as well as just days later when a judge issued an order suspending the settlement.

Wilson's company raised more than $340,000 in donations to fight legislation that prevents the sharing of 3D printed gun files.

What Is the Warrant For?

RECOIL obtained two documents detailing the alleged actions of the founder of Defense Distributed, the first of which is the actual warrant for Wilson's arrest. While much of the information in this particular document is in the Affidavit for Arrest Warrant we linked above (and that we'll dive into later) the warrant is the document that actually directs all Texas peace officers to place Wilson under arrest should they come in contact with him.

Wilson is being charged with Sexual Assault under Texas Penal Code section 22.011 (a)(2)(A).

The warrant also directs the officer who makes the arrest to collect a very specific piece of evidence, photographs of “the inside of the suspect's upper legs” aka his groin area where Wilson is alleged to have a “uniquely identifiable skin condition.” The document also states bond would be set at $150,000, and he would be required to not only wear a GPS but that he also surrender his passport and have no contact with the victim identified by the initials “CW.”

The Arrest Affidavit Summarized

The second document we obtained is a probable cause affidavit for an arrest warrant filed in the Travis County Circuit Court.

The affidavit was prepared by Austin Police Detective Shaun Donovan, a member of the Austin Police Department's Human Trafficking/Vice Unit whose duties include investigations involving child pornography, online solicitation of a minor, child sexual assault, and child sexual exploitation as well as the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force for the Austin, Travis County, Texas area.

Per the affidavit, the female juvenile “stated she created an online profile using the website SugarDaddyMeet.com.” According to the document, Wilson first met the female juvenile through SugarDaddyMeet.com. After Wilson told the female he was a “big deal,” she then looked him up online and learned he was in recent news articles. After knowing who Cody Wilson was, the female continued to engage in text messages and the pair exchanged nude photos.

The pair arranged to meet in person for the first time on August 15, 2018. The affidavit continues to lay out events that took place on August 15th which led to Wilson allegedly paying the female 500 dollars after allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse and oral sex.

According to the affidavit, after Wilson and the female left the hotel, Wilson drove her to a Whataburger fast-food restaurant where they sat in the car for approximately eight minutes before the female juvenile exited the passenger side of the car and walked to a parked car.

The document states Cody Wilson used the username “Sanjuro,” a possible reference to either League of Legends or the Japanese term for bodyguard or bouncer. The profile on SugarDaddyMeet.com has been removed from the site.

Download the document yourself HERE for all of the details surrounding the warrant for Cody Wilson's arrest.

Austin Police Press Conference

Austin Police Department held a press conference at approximately 3 PM CST where Austin Police Commander Troy Officer recounted the details of the Cody arrest affidavit for the press.

Commander Officer stated Wilson is not currently in custody his last known location was Taipei, Taiwan. Austin Police department was not able to interview Wilson before the warrant was issued as he'd already left the country.

Commander Officer stated the female is 16 years of age and lives in Central Texas. Officer also stated police were notified by the female juvenile's counselor due to a legal requirement that the counselor notifies the police in cases of sexual assault. When the police interviewed with the female juvenile, she cooperated with law enforcement.

The case was originally assigned to the Austin PD Child Abuse Unit but was transferred to the Human Trafficking Unit after the investigation indicated the case had potential human trafficking elements. This despite the police having no reason to believe anyone other than the female juvenile signed herself up for the website.

Commander Officer was asked if the female juvenile lied about her age to join the dating site, would that potentially lessen Wilson's charges? Since the statute states that anyone under the age of 17 is considered a child, it is not required that the suspect knows the minor is underage to constitute a crime in the state of Texas. While it has no bearing to the severity of the charges, the detectives stated that after interviewing the female juvenile their opinion was that “if someone mistakes her age, it would be because they think she is younger, not older than the 16 years old that she is,” according to Commander Officer.

The International Manhunt For Cody Wilson

Expanding more on the fact that Wilson's last known location in Taiwan, Commander Officer stated in the press conference “before [Wilson] left, he was informed by a friend of the female juvenile that [the victim] had spoken to police and police were investigating him for having sex with a minor.” At the time of the APD press conference, Wilson had missed a return flight to the United States.

Currently, Taiwan does not have an extradition treaty in place with the US according to the U.S. Department of State website so there is a possibility that he might evade capture for the time being.

Since the warrant was filed today, there has been no statement from Wilson that he intends to return to the United States to surrender himself to law enforcement.

The Future Of Defense Distributed

We reached out to Defense Distributed have not received a response at the time of publication. The fate of the company is unknown, and there is no indication of what will happen to the hundreds of thousands in donations that Defense Distributed gathered to fuel the legal fight against anti-3D firearm printing legislation.

According to the tax details on the Texas Comptroller website, the company has two named individuals, Cody Wilson and Zak Kubin, who both hold the title of Director at Defense Distributed.

Thanks to S.B., Jeff, and T.S. for their assistance with this story.

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