By: SUNG HAE -Media Reporter PUBLISHED: OCT 18, 2021
Online grooming is becoming a growing cause for concern. The voice actor Anthony Ingruber was accused of sexual assault and unwanted behavior by multiple peers. Ingruber was found to have solicited fans in the hopes of reprising his favorite role as John Doe from the Telltale Games series Batman. He established a pattern of interacting with minors privately online:
In 2018, Anthony Ingruber, age 28, followed and interacted with a 15-year-old minor fan named 'dr.pepto' on Instagram after the closure of Telltale Games studios. They claimed Ingruber tried befriending them in a fast-paced way that didn't feel natural.
In 2019, Ingruber followed another minor on Instagram who wished to remain anonymous. A video reveals Ingruber winking at the minor at the end of a Cameo video. The winking was not requested or consented.
On Feburary 2020, Ingruber, at 30 years old, followed and interacted with a 16-year-old minor called 'lemon.chips' on Instagram. Ingruber exchanged private voice over recordings to the minor for them to animate in his voice.
On May 2020, Ingruber interacted with a high school minor named Abby. Abby painted a custom color funko pop of the fictional character John Doe from the Telltale Batman videogame series. Evidence reveals Ingruber privately soliciting and indirectly coercing Abby to send him a John Doe figure with the quote: "I always wanted a figure of myself." Ingruber gave Abby his physical shipping address to send him a free custom Funko pop. Abby spent over forty-five dollars in overseas shipping for Ingruber during the pandemic. When the figure arrived, Ingruber posted a selfie with the custom funko and tagged Telltale Games, especially.
On April 2021, Anthony Ingruber 31, followed and interacted with a 17-year-old fan named 'puddinjohn', (who recently changed their username to "cutiepuddin") mainly posts the fictional character John Doe, or Joker, from the Telltale Batman videogame. They did not create or sculpt the 3D models of John Doe, but downloaded it from DeviantArt artists called: 'MrUncleBingo' and 'Mageflower'. They also admit to using AI to help with their art. Ingruber developed a special interest with the minor which led to a private exchange of files and personal voice recordings.
Grooming can stem from coercion of labor with promises of developing a relationship. However, the allegations did not stop there. A source who met Ingruber publicly shared their story, on behalf of a user 'zenaart', about the disturbing sexual assault they experienced from Ingruber. In London, at a Salix Games Launch Party hosted around April 2019, the source claimed as the hours went on, Ingruber started to reek of alcohol and acted a little more unusual as the party continued. When they went to temporarily isolate themself to a quieter area, Ingruber pursued them. The source claimed that when they were alone, Ingruber forcibly gripped their face and kissed them. The source noted that Ingruber declared that if they told anyone he would deny what happened.
The latest allegation involves two more close sources, who claim to have interacted with Ingruber in the past, shared their messages and video evidence. They told Accountability News they did not wish for their identities to be revealed. They allowed us to share their story on their behalf. One of the sources, who goes by the name of 'Morgan', claimed that they were contacted first by Ingruber when they were 16 years old. Ingruber offered a collaboration in exchange for priority interaction and called them "sexy" as the conversation went on. Morgan feeling creeped out, rejected the offer, and asked Ingruber to leave them alone. Ingruber messaged back by declaring he would deny the interaction if caught. Another source claimed that they also had a similar experience interacting with Ingruber. They were 17 years old when Ingruber privately messaged them. As the conversation grew, the source felt increasingly uncomfortable, and they ended up rejecting Ingruber's request for collaboration. The sources state they never held any personal disdain for Ingruber, they felt that Ingruber needed mental therapy.
A past industry coworker, named Jesse, shared her own experience about Ingruber publicly: "He would try to send me messages over linkedin (presumably because of telltale) and it really creeped me out, so I never replied. This is disgusting and sadly not surprising in the least."
"He would try to send me messages over linkedin (presumably because of telltale) and it really creeped me out, so I never replied. This is disgusting and sadly not surprising in the least." -Jesse
Christian J., an acquaintance of Ingruber, publicly stated his own thoughts and sided with the victims: "From personal, albeit incredibly brief experience, I believe it."
Ingruber was also accused of mocking deformed animals when he would visit local zoos. His wife Talitha M. Jacobs (Ingruber) posted the image publicly on her Instagram. Sources claimed she then went private.
"Fans often feel like they know actors from the characters they play, but the character they portray is not necessarily consistent with who the celebrity is in real life.” states another past collaborator with Ingruber. "In my experience, Ingruber is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, If you offended him, even unintentionally, he would throw a childish temper at you privately while displaying a nice guy persona publicly. He'll pretend to act like your friend only when he wanted or needed something from you."
"Fans often feel like they know actors from the characters they play, but the character they portray is not necessarily consistent with who the celebrity is in real life."
They continued: "I think Ingruber's obsessive and toxic behavior is self-evident. I feel that his actions reflect a delusional mindset, and he cannot separate himself from a fictional character. Ingruber's self- insertion into a pre-existing character feels egotistical and unhealthy, and the lengths he would go to solicit minors online to preserve a fictional character is honestly pathetic."
"I regret deleting my criticisms when Anthony privately requested me to do so", according to another informant who communicated with Ingruber online. "He wanted to protect his public image from the allegations. Ingruber played the victim and fooled bystanders into believing him. I'm not surprised he abused parasocial power so that his fans would harass and doxx people he doesn't like. Ingruber is known to delete and unsend messages to protect himself. I regret ever interacting with him".
Despite metadata confirming no editing to the original screencaps and video evidence, Ingruber denied the allegations to an informant privately, but did admit to interacting and following minors online. The multiple evidence and allegations raise serious questions of parasocial control and abuse of public trust made by Ingruber.
"If Ingruber is claiming that the allegations were false, why is he so desperate to hush everything up?"
"If Anthony (Ingruber) really cared about the community, says an industry peer, why would he encourage minors to animate an adult videogame character? Moreso, If Ingruber is claiming that the allegations were false, why is he so desperate to hush everything up?"
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.
California/ Anthony Ingruber/ News
Anthony Ingruber Grooming & Sexual Assault Allegations.
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