David E. Christman (DJ Dave Ghoul)

Public FB post

Over the last several days the growing accusations against Jeff Mach – owner of Widdershins, Inc. and producer of GKE, The Steampunk World’s Fair, and Wicked Faire (aka Wicked Renaissance Faire), as well as co-producer of The Dark Side of The Con – have been disturbing to say the least. Many have come forward with their experiences with Jeff and his misconduct. Most of those accounts have been documented here - https://owleyeview.blogspot.com/2018/01/time-to-name-drop-and-protect-newbies.html .

Most of you are already familiar with my own account of how he financially swindled me as a third party contractor, but if not you’re welcome to reach out to me privately. But there are two other accounts that I feel need to be brought to light. Accounts that between my own notes and other’s I’m now able to pieces together finally…

The first is that I’m one of the witnesses to the water dosing incident of Wicked Faire 2013. This took place during the Saturday night dance party that I was DJing along with two others. A group showed up and began offering attendees bottles of water with MDMA, the drug commonly known as ecstasy. Myself and others attempted to make JME staff aware but were met with indifference and they made no attempt to stop them. So a few attendees took it upon themselves to kindly show this group the exit, and the group left. Soon after someone had collapsed in the hotel lobby and an ambulance was called. It was discovered that this person had drank from a water dispenser stationed in the hallway just outside of the performance room, and it had been dosed with MDMA by someone in the group that was offering the drug earlier. When I confronted the senior JME staff member in charge of handling the situation they outright praised what had happen, exclaiming “it’s not a con unless someone gets sent to the hospital”. The next day when I confronted Jeff about everything that transpired he dismissed it as a minor indecent not worth pursuing. He eventually invited the group suspected of the dosing to 2014’s Wicked Faire in an effort to assist running programming at a satellite hotel.

The second account I can finally piece together, now having read other accounts of Jeff’s repulsive and abhorrent misconduct.  And I’m sure many will have a hunch as to what I’m alluding to by the screenshot I’ve attached with this post.

From 2009 to 2013 Jeff Mach had made many attempts to offer me sexual favors as a means of compensation or payment. The first was in an email sent on January 30th, 2009 (the attached screenshot to this post). He offered “slaves and beer” as a possible means of compensating me for botching up an advertisement I paid for to be placed within the 2009 Wicked Faire program book. It seemed like nothing other than an unprofessional and inappropriate joke at the time, and I ignored it. But he continued to make such offers at various times, with each time becoming more graphic and brazen. And despite my clearly voiced objections to his asking, he continued to push, often claiming he was only joking. These include;
• During a 2010 consultation meeting with a member of his senior staff he proposed exchanging sexual favors in lieu of payment for potential contractual services.
• Propositioning me on two separate occasions (2011 and 2012) - in in front of witnesses - in an effort to convince me to move my vending booth to another location.
• And in 2013 during Wicked Faire offering sex from himself and/or one or both of his two assistants that were with him (both of whom seemed no older than 20 at best) – once again in front of witnesses -  as compensation for DJing. And judging by their reactions I’m now fairly certain his offering them up to me was non-consensual.
Unfortunately I believed his claim of only joking, thinking he was honestly unaware of how completely unprofessional and inappropriate it was. But after the recent accounts from at least five people who have said they themselves were offered up by Jeff to others as sexual favors for compensation and payment, I’ve come to the realization that he was not joking. That he was genuine in his propositions.

This particular realization is beyond heartbreaking and sickening. That Jeff thought so little of someone he felt no hesitation or remorse in treating them as nothing more than chattel to be handed off to someone for sexual favors.  And to say I’m disappointed in myself for not realizing what was actually going on is an understatement. But I didn’t. And I feel I should have. And for that I am truly sorry.

But I’m here now, knowing what I know now, speaking out now. Jeff Mach is a manipulative, thoughtless, depraved, and monstrous person that must be held accountable for all he has done. His stepping away from the day-to-day operations of his company and events - while still being able to financially gaining from them – is not enough. His actions prove that he is not to be trusted. Jeff Mach must not under any circumstances be allowed to return to this or any other community that provides him access to even more victims. And my hope is that his victims stand up and take action through the law. He must not be allowed to harm anyone again and must be held accountable for what he has done.