Actions have consequences, which is something Michael Brutsch is just starting to learn.
Brutsch, aka "Violentacrez," was Reddit's biggest troll until Gawker exposed his true identify, revealing to the world the man behind questionable forums, such as r/creepshots -- a space dedicated to pictures of women unaware that their photographs had been taken.
Now that the 49-year-old from Arlington, Texas, has been outed, his behavior has caught up with him.
According to The Daily Dot, Brutsch was fired from his position at a financial services company less than 24 hours after Gawker editor Adrian Chen's exposé went live.
Before the article was published, Chen wrote that Brutsch pleaded with him not to reveal his identity, correctly fearing he would lose his job and his ability to provide for his family.
"My wife is disabled. I got a home and a mortgage, and if this hits the fan, I believe this will affect negatively on my employment," he told Gawker. "I do my job, go home watch TV, and go on the internet. I just like riling people up in my spare time."
In a phone conversation, Brutsch admitted to being the Reddit user named Violentacrez, who created or moderated sections dedicated to pornographic and violent images, including subreddits called r/rapebait, r/incest, r/picsofdeadkids, r/jailbait, and r/chokeabitch.
In the days leading up to the big reveal Brutsch deleted his Violentacrez account, and is now posting on Reddit using the account mbrutsch, reports the Daily Dot.
"Nothing like living in the US with a disabled wife and no health insurance," Brutsch wrote on Reddit after he lost his job.
“I'm eligible [for insurance], but COBRA is very expensive. Who can afford to pay 5 times as much for insurance at the very moment they lose their income? Only rich folks can afford COBRA. I have maybe 3 weeks pay in the bank. I just hope I can hold out a month. My wife hasn't been able to work for over a year, and our savings will last about 3 weeks, not considering the current lack of health insurance.”
Brutsch also posted a link to his Paypal account so that fellow Redditors could donate money to him now that he is unemployed.
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