Braden Peters, the 20-year-old social media influencer known as "Clavicular," faces criminal charges of rape, drugging a person for sex, and providing alcohol to a minor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, charges that carry up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Massachusetts prosecutors filed three charges against Peters on September 8 in connection with an alleged incident on May 23, 2025. An arraignment is set for October 14 at 8:30 a.m. The accuser, whose identity is shielded under Massachusetts victim protection laws, was under 18 at the time of the alleged offenses, the Daily Mail reported after reviewing legal documents.
Peters has not directly denied the criminal allegations. His representative, Mitchell Jackson, told reporters that Peters "has not been physically served" and accused The Bulwark, the outlet that first broke news of the charges, of "exaggerating the status of a case to boost traffic." But court records confirm the charges and the upcoming court date.
The criminal charges in Massachusetts appear to overlap with a separate civil lawsuit filed against Peters in Florida. That complaint, brought by the same accuser, alleges battery, fraud, and emotional distress. It seeks at least $50,000 in damages.
The civil complaint describes a pattern of alleged exploitation. Peters reportedly recruited the young woman to be "the female face" of his looksmaxxing brand. After their first meeting, the filing states, he gave her alcohol until she was "visibly intoxicated." What followed, the complaint alleges, was sexual assault.
The civil filing states plainly:
"Peters then had sex with [her] while she was knowingly intoxicated, to the point where she was unable to give consent."
It continues: the next morning, the accuser "woke up with Peters penetrating her and having sex with her, again without her consent." The New York Post reported that the rape charge alone carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and would require sex offender registration upon conviction.
Months after that first meeting, the complaint alleges, Peters injected the accuser with Aqualyx, an unapproved fat-dissolving substance, during a livestream on the platform Kick. He allegedly framed it as part of his promise to help her build an online presence through looksmaxxing, a subculture obsessed with maximizing physical attractiveness. The accuser believes the injection may have contained methamphetamine or another undisclosed substance.
The FDA flagged Aqualyx as a safety concern in 2023, warning that it can contain phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate, which "pose a significant safety risk because they are unapproved, which means the FDA has not evaluated their safety or effectiveness." The agency received reports of adverse reactions including permanent scars, infections, skin deformities, cysts, and deep, painful knots.
The accuser claims to have suffered severe emotional distress, trauma, humiliation, nightmares, fear, panic, and mental anguish as a result of Peters's alleged conduct. She has not spoken publicly. High-profile criminal cases involving public figures, like the former American Idol contestant now on trial for murder in Ohio, often unfold slowly in court before the full picture emerges.
Rather than address the criminal charges through his attorney, Peters took to X on Monday. He posted a message that appeared directed at his accuser:
"Trying to get my attention in anyway possible, a lawsuit? Seriously... really petty of you."
Alongside that post, he shared what he described as a letter from the accuser thanking him for their collaboration, and a clip of her saying she had a "really fun" time doing a stream. A follow-up post went further, referencing what he claimed were the accuser's financial struggles:
"Lmao was literally trying to work at Bacara as a bottle girl... how about dont finance cars you cant afford. Happens to all successful young men, people try to come for your money. Greed is evil."
Peters had struck a similar note back on April 29, writing on X: "The consistent theme of girls trying to use me for money is brutal for a young guy trying to navigate a complex society." The posts paint a picture of a defendant who sees himself as the victim, a framing his camp has pushed aggressively. Insiders close to Peters described the situation to TMZ as a "shakedown" and vowed to fight "this till the end."
His representative offered a specific counter-narrative to the Daily Mail. The accuser, the representative said, initially filed her civil lawsuit without including sexual assault as a count. She amended the complaint to add it only after Peters filed a motion to dismiss, citing letter and text messages that the representative claims show the accuser "knew what was happening with the injections." The representative alleged the accuser and her lawyer went to police only after the motion to dismiss was filed.
Peters's attorney, Steve Kramer, issued a statement to Rolling Stone in April, before the criminal charges were filed, that stuck to standard legal boilerplate:
"We are aware of the complaint recently filed against Mr. Peters. These are allegations only and remain unproven. Mr. Peters denies the claims and disputes the characterization of events. He will respond through the appropriate legal channels and intends to vigorously defend himself."
Kramer had not responded to the Daily Mail's request for comment as of publication.
Even before these charges, Peters had built his following on behavior that most adults would find alarming. He has drawn attention, and controversy, for hitting himself in the face with a hammer, claiming the bones would grow back sharper, and for taking small amounts of methamphetamine to suppress his appetite. This is the world of looksmaxxing: a corner of the internet where young men pursue extreme and often dangerous methods to alter their appearance.
Peters is 20 years old. His accuser was a minor under Florida law during the events described in the civil complaint. The gap between a grown man building a brand on reckless self-harm and a teenager allegedly recruited to be the "female face" of that brand is not a small detail. It is the center of the case. When serious criminal charges land on public figures, the facts in the courtroom matter far more than the spin on social media.
Several questions remain unanswered. The specific Massachusetts statutes under which Peters was charged have not been publicly identified. The exact court handling the case has not been named. The relationship between the May 23 incident date and the alleged injection during a livestream, described in the civil complaint as occurring "a few months" after the first meeting, remains unclear. And Peters has still not directly denied the specific criminal allegations of rape, drugging, and providing alcohol to a minor.
The October 14 arraignment will be the first formal step in what could become a lengthy criminal proceeding. As with other high-profile arrest warrant cases, the public record will fill in what social media posts cannot.
Meanwhile, the accuser's civil suit in Florida presses forward. Peters filed a motion to dismiss. The court has not ruled. The criminal and civil tracks now run in parallel, one seeking damages, the other seeking accountability that no dollar amount can substitute for. Cases involving minors and allegations this grave deserve the full weight of the legal system, not a public-relations counteroffensive waged through X posts.
A 20-year-old influencer can post all the clips and letters he wants. The courtroom does not care about clout, and neither should anyone else when the charges are this serious.
