Peter Bright is a tech reporter who has worked for Ars Technica and Conde Nast. Bright also has a very active presence on social media, tweeting under the name Dr Pizza about social justice issues. But earlier this month, Bright was arrested and charged with trying to solicit sex from underage children.
According to court papers, Bright was arrested on May 22 at 2:55 PM and was presented in court that evening. He was denied bail because he was deemed a “danger.” He is now in jail awaiting his next court appearance. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Bright Told an Undercover FBI Agent That He Wanted to Engage in Sexual Acts with a 7 Year Old & a 9 Year Old
According to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Peter Bright contacted an undercover FBI agent through a website called KinkD. The FBI agent was posing as the mother of a 9 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. She posted a message to the site seeking to chat with people who could teach her children lessons about the “birds and the bees.”
Bright responded to the ad, and he and the undercover agent shifted to a conversation over WhatsApp. That’s when Bright started suggesting that he should meet the children for sexual acts. You can read the disturbing details about what Bright suggested in the criminal complaint, here. The complaint also contains exchanges between Bright and the agent. Be aware that the complaint contains disturbing and explicit language.
2. Bright Bragged that He Had Been ‘Teaching’ Sexual Lessons to an 11 Year Old Girl
According to the complaint obtained by the Daily Dot, Peter Bright bragged to the undercover FBI agent that he knew all about how to teach children about sexual acts. He said that he had been “teaching” an 11 year old girl who lived in the Bronx. He also described, in graphic detail, the kind of “teaching” he’d like to do.
Bright also asked the FBI agent, who was posing as the mother of two young children, whether the “lessons” were to be heteronormative. When she said that she didn’t understand, he replied, “Does [the Girl] eat flowers and [the Boy] suck snake.”
3. Bright, a Londoner Living in New York, Described Himself as ‘Pervy’ on Social Media & Said Age-Based Rape Laws Are ‘Stupid’
Peter Bright is a UK national who has been living in Brooklyn, New York. His Twitter page describes him as “poly/pan/pervy.” In now-deleted tweets, Bright wrote, “I think that age-based rape laws (rather than consent-based) are stupid.”
Bright has been arrested and charged with trying to solicit sex from minors. According to a complaint filed with the Southern District of New York, Bright was in contact with an undercover FBI agent who posed as the mother of two young children. He offered to “teach” her children about the birds and the bees and boasted about his sexual experience with an 11 year old girl living in The Bronx.
4. Bright Often Tweeted About His Pro-Choice Stance & His Dislike of President Trump
I got this very welcome message today (shared with permission), and it’s a big part of why I’m so public about what I’ve been through and am continuing to work on with depression.
Peter Bright’s Twitter feed is full of tweets about his pro-choice stance and his dislike of Donald Trump and the Republican party. He was critical of the president’s policies, and also wrote that Trump had sexual feelings for his own daughterr. Bright is also an outspoken opponent of Brexit who once wrote on Facebook, “if you support brexit in any form please (a) unfriend me (b) throw yourself into the sea.”
Bright also used his social media to talk about his struggles with depression. He wrote that Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant, was making him “unimaginably sweaty.” He also wrote that he wanted to help others who were suffering from depression.
5. He Is Married & Lived in Brooklyn
Peter Bright is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. Before his arrest, he lived in Brooklyn. He is married, according to his social media. He describes himself as “married” on his Facebook page. He also posted about his wife occasionally on Twitter. In 2018, Bright tweeted, “wife is away. wife told me “don’t eat mcdonald’s for every meal”. youtube just showed me an ad for mcdonald’s. i don’t understand how i can be expected to do the right thing in this situation.”