Precursor Games founding member arrested by police on child pornography charges

Former Silicon Knights director of content and Precursor Games founding member Kenneth McCulloch has been arrested by police on charges related to child pornography, according to a media release from the Niagara Regional Police Service.

McCulloch, 42, of St. Catharines, Ont., was arrested and charged with one count each of possession of child pornography, making child pornography available and accessing child pornography, according to police. McCulloch was arrested on June 27, when detectives executed a search warrant at his St. Catharines residence. He was held in custody, pending a bail hearing scheduled for today. An investigation had been ongoing since April 2013, according to a media release. Niagara police declined to offer additional details about McCulloch's arrest and the alleged charges when contacted by Polygon.

Prior to McCulloch's arrest, he was listed on the Precursor Games website as "Lore Keeper, World Builder, Dream Merchant" at the small studio. McCulloch's LinkedIn profile says he was a 20 year employee of Silicon Knights. Today, McCulloch's employee profile was removed from the studio's website, and Precursor Games CEO Paul Caporicci said he's no longer with the company.

"Having just learned of these disturbing charges today and based on the serious nature of them, Ken McCulloch is no longer affiliated in any way with Precursor Games," Caporicci wrote on the developer's official forum.

Precursor Games, a studio comprised of largely former Silicon Knights employees, attempted to raise funds for their horror adventure game Shadow of the Eternals in two unsuccessful crowdfunding efforts. In June, Precursor put its dual fundraising plans on hold, promising to relaunch its efforts at a later date.

Polygon has reached out to representatives for Precursor Games and will update with any further details.

Thanks to Drake for the numerous tips.