The charges

Braden Peters, the 20-year-old livestreamer known online as Clavicular, pleaded not guilty on Thursday, 22 October, to a rape charge at an arraignment in Orleans District Court on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was charged in September with two felony counts, rape and drugging someone to facilitate sexual intercourse, plus a misdemeanor count of providing alcohol to someone under 21. If convicted on all counts, the penalties could be as severe as life in prison. Peters attended in person after flying in from California, wearing a dark suit and tie.

The alleged incident

The charges stem from May 2025, when a 17-year-old girl was at the family home in Chatham on Cape Cod. According to a police report, Peters served her alcohol while livestreaming and later had sex with her several times after the broadcast ended. Police concluded that, given her likely level of intoxication, she lacked the capacity to consent. She also told police that Peters had paid her to appear in his 'looksmaxxing' videos.

Court conditions and the next hearing

The judge set bail at $10,000, an amount prosecutors agreed to. Peters must surrender his passport, is barred from contacting the young woman and may not publish anything about her. His next hearing is on 24 November, when the judge will decide whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed. At the hearing he did not answer reporters' questions. Afterwards he posted a photo of himself in the same black suit and tie, holding the dog he had brought to court.

Denial and separate lawsuits

Peters denies the allegations, and his lawyers say the sexual contact was consensual. They have described a civil lawsuit filed in April in Florida as an attempt to attract public attention. That complaint also alleges he injected her with a fat-dissolving substance without her consent during a livestream. In a separate Florida case in 2026, he was charged after filming himself shooting at what appeared to be a dead alligator, and he pleaded no contest to unlawfully discharging a firearm in public. In March 2026 he was arrested on suspicion of battery after authorities suspected him of instigating a fight between two women, and in July 2026 authorities said they did not intend to file charges.

Who he is

Peters has around a million followers on Instagram, and his often hours-long streams rate other people's looks and promote looksmaxxing methods that range from surgery to medication. The case has drawn wide attention because his online following is built on that kind of content. His next court date will show whether the case moves to trial.