Let the Speculation Begin

I'm betting that there are a lot of people who aren't surprised to hear that Cody Wilson has been charged with the sexual assault of a child:

Cody Rutledge Wilson, the 31-year-old Texas man who’s been fighting with the U.S. government to publish instructions for 3D-printed guns on the internet, was charged today with the sexual assault of a child. Wilson allegedly met the girl on a website called SugarDaddyMeet.com.

Wilson allegedly paid the girl, whose name has been withheld in court documents, $500 for sex at a hotel in Austin, Texas. The exact age of the victim is not immediately clear, though the affidavit for the arrest warrant explains that she’s under the age of 17.

The reason I'm betting that a lot of people aren't surprised by this is because it wouldn't be the first time that a thorn in the government's side found themselves falsely charged with a crime that was convenient for the government. Governments aren't above ridding themselves of troublesome individuals by assassinating their character through fabricating evidence that they committed heinous crimes. In addition to being very convenient for the government for which Wilson is currently causing trouble, another reason this charge seems fishy is because Wilson seems to be aware enough of security matters to know that seeking sex from a minor online is a recipe for getting caught up in a sting operation.

However, in the interest of objectivity, I must also accept that there is a possibility that the charges are legitimate. If they are, Wilson wouldn't be the first thorn in the government's side who handed it a freebie by acting in a manner that most people find reprehensible.

What makes matters worse is if Wilson doesn't beat the charge, we will probably never know beyond a reasonable doubt whether the charge was fabricated by the government or legitimate.