Australian gamer returns to streaming after alleged domestic assault

An Australian gamer has returned to the popular streaming service Twitch less than a month afteran alleged domestic assault was captured during one of his livestreams. (AP Photo/File)

An Australian gamer has returned to the popular streaming service Twitch less than a month after an alleged domestic assault was captured during one of his livestreams.

A disturbing 3-minute video  of the incident has been circulating widely since Dec. 9. It shows Luke Munday, known as MrDeadMoth on Twitch, apparently getting into an off-camera altercation with someone during a stream of the video game Fortnite, followed by a slapping noise and what sounded like a woman and children crying.

“Just go away, leave me alone, I’ll be out soon,” Munday says in the video as the other person can be heard crying in the background.

Seconds later, the other person says: “You hear that? All you people there, he just hit me in the face.”

The two get into a verbal argument moments later, where the other person can be heard saying “you punch women,” as Munday is heard yelling several profanities.

Some people defended Munday online, while others said he should be jailed for his alleged actions.

Police in Australia said they arrested a 26-year-old man on Dec. 9 in connection to an alleged assault of a 21-year-old woman that was “livestreamed to an online gaming site,” but did not identify anyone by name.

Munday listed 26 as his age on his Twitch profile.

Police said the man they arrested was charged with common assault and appeared in Australian court on Dec. 13, where the case was put off until Jan. 10. Munday did not immediately respond to a request from CTVNews.ca for comment.

Following the incident, Munday’s Twitch account was deactivated, however it’s unclear if he was banned or if he removed the account voluntarily. Twitch did not immediately respond to CTVNews.ca’s request for comment.

On Dec. 30, in a tweet announcing he would resume streaming on Twitch, Munday included the request: “let’s be positive.”

Twitter users have criticized Twitch for allowing Munday to return to the platform.

“MrDeadMoth needs to be permanently banned,” wrote one user named Al. “Your decision is abhorrent. Your view on domestic violence needs to be shown in this situation. It was a horrible scene to watch!”

None of the allegations involving Munday have been tested in court.