France has launched a new investigation following the death of Kick star Jean Pormanove after the creators accused of torturing him moved to Twitch and are accused of restarting their violent antics.
Back on August 18, 46-year-old Raphaël Graven, better known as Jean Pormanove, died in his sleep while live on Kick.
Prior to his death, the popular French creator was reportedly subjected to extreme violence, sleep deprivation, and forced ingestion of toxic products by members of his streaming group, ‘Lokal.’
The incident sparked controversy across the globe, and French politicians called the situation a national disgrace. Kick, which is based in Australia, was even warned by the country’s eSafety Commissioner that it could be subject to a penalty of up to $49 million under Australian online safety laws.
Investigations into the alleged abuse were opened, and Kick banned the creators involved in the brutal “ten days and nights of torture” broadcast. While no charges have been filed yet, a new investigation was launched after Lokal started broadcasting on Twitch.
Naruto (left) and Jean Pormanove (right).
France streamers raided for allegedly continuing “violence”
According to a report by Mediapart, two months after Pormanove’s death, Lokal moved to Twitch under a new name, ‘OGK Decoy.’ The channel is hosted by Gwen Cenazandotti, the brother of Owen ‘Naruto’ Cenazandotti, who is accused of tormenting Pormanove.
Furthermore, regulars from Lokal have begun showing up on OGK Decoy, and the broadcasts have become quite similar to what was seen on the previous channel.
The report claims that OGK Decoy has been bypassing Twitch’s moderation system and continues to stage violence and humiliation.
In one of the clips shown, a couple of new members of the group can be heard screaming in pain after the streamers opted to “cut the cam” so the alleged abuse couldn’t be shown.
“You are really monsters,” one of the group’s new creators, Marie, can be heard saying. Following this, it was alleged that she “took big slaps” strong enough to knock her glasses off.
Just like with Lokal, this group alleges that the attacks are just “stunts,” similar to something you’d see on Jackass, but the French authorities aren’t buying it.
On October 10, prosecutors in Nice opened an investigation into OGK Decoy for voluntary violence in a group and the dissemination of images of voluntary harm. The authorities ended up searching the location and seizing computer equipment.
According to BFMTV, Twitch has been “studying” the situation, but the channel remains active.
So far, no charges have been filed in this new case or the death of Jean Pormanove after an autopsy found no signs of external or internal trauma.
At Jean Pormanove’s funeral, the streamer’s mom defended the individuals accused of torturing her son, claiming they had given him a “good life.”
“I’m proud of them and I want to thank them for it. I’m not afraid to say it.”
