Mephit Furmeet put one of the world’s most infamous zoophiles on stage to represent the fandom

by Patch O'Furr

SERIES: Who runs your community? Five stories about predators with powerful friends in fandom.

Charles Alexander Berry (Toggle Rat) runs NAMBLA for zoophiles

For years, furry conventions have hosted Charles Alexander Berry, AKA Toggle Rat. He runs a podcast that launders animal molesting as identity, like NAMBLA for zoophiles, while hiding their victims offstage. In 2021 he was outed as a zoophile with his husband running a furry group in Tennessee. Many people’s effort to protect the fandom went unheard in August 2025, when despite protest, Berry was given a platform on stage at Mephit Furmeet, the furry con running since the 1990’s in Memphis, TN.

Before Berry was unmasked and protested, furries who were unaware saw him play ordinary music at conventions. Meanwhile his fursona Toggle Rat made voice-changed propaganda for his zoophile podcast. It does “openly positive and joyful” faux-identity-activism, based on mental gymnastics to get around the line of consent, making otherwise unobtainable validation for predators whose victims who can’t consent. Berry/Toggle touts zoophiles as secret community influencers, similar to pedophiles boasting about running churches. Take the boasting for validation with a heap of salt, of course:

Here’s how NAMBLA set the example; if you wanted to know more — and you shouldn’t — they claimed to be about free speech for child advocates and history lovers, manipulatively omitting the abuse while glorifying “boy love” as a tradition from before there were laws against molesting. All legal, they say. Pedophiles have tried and failed to sell this at furry cons, but Toggle’s shady echo chamber has wormed into furry crossover.

When predators target furry cons, you may ask how many are convicted abusers. Or you might ask how many of Berry’s zoo crew haven’t been busted yet for conspiracy to abuse in their cybercrime underworld full of illicit media trading. His podcast co-founder friend was the felon in this headline: “Coke kingpin Douglas Spink busted for running bestiality farm in Washington state.” Another co-hosting friend was Sean Patrick Kraese, AKA Quantum Kitty, a US Marine and zoophile-necrophile who was convicted in 2024 for abusing animals and distributing videos of it, after fouling his neighborhood with burn piles for their bones.

If you smell smoke, there’s fire with these organized predators, caught or uncaught. Complaining of thoughtcrime, bigotry, kink shaming or “cancel culture” about this would be like calling NAMBLA the champions of democracy. It makes Charles Alexander Berry one of the last people you’d ever want as a regular con-goer or on stage representing the furry fandom.

Charles Alexander Berry on stage at Mephit Furmeet (with band name Exit Mouse), a long-ignored problem despite years of protest.

Consistently attending Mephit Furmeet since 2013, with favor from con management

Years protest went unheard in August 2025, when a local source at Mephit Furmeet said: “He performed at the masquerade, it was set up to be a talent show type thing.” This wasn’t a random bad person attending under their noses, or just not taking action. Management directed him face-to-face as someone they’d hosted for years, while approving who would represent furry fandom on their stage.

This is on record with one of Berry’s known aliases making a public schedule for 27 panels he would attend at the 2025 con. There were at least 4 blown chances to curate the stage that hosted an infamous zoophile:

Blue Heeler’s schedule shows these were the ONLY events he had to run, besides a Christian Fur panel to “discuss our beliefs and share our views”. (Do those views include giving a non-judgemental stage to an unrepentant sex abuser, while directing small panels with him throughout a weekend?) Blue Heeler is no hapless newcomer. He’s an old-time furry since the 1990’s, a musician like Berry, and Mephit Furmeet’s Directors page names him as equal to the con chair.

Charles Alexander Berry’s past attendance at Mephit Furmeet is on record with his other known aliases for over a decade.

There’s a gap, where a source says “that was around when he was called out locally, when all the videos were coming out.” The con may have plausible deniability before then… yet Berry kept coming back for years after alerts about a zoophile they had officially promoted for a long time. (Berry is “Buck Riley” with Exit Mouse):

This won’t change until it’s forced in the open

Dogpatch Press contacted Blue Heeler for comment, but he didn’t answer. It took two tries to get another director to break the silence with a two sentence reply.

Apparently, public pressure and making a PR issue is how to get results. (Especially when animal victims can’t report themselves, making it almost never a police priority). A source in the Tennessee furry scene has an opinion that puts some responsibility on everyone in the community to stay loud, even if it needs outside allies to protect them:

“Many people have gone to staff, and after talking to them, I do believe he’s got them bullied and will attempt to sue the con. He has a history of biting back, someone tried to dig on him, and he went as far to try and get them fired, as well as his husband making threats.

With friends freaking out that they allow him and others to attend, this year was really the stand out as far as his appearances have gone, he’s kinda hidden away before, but is getting more bold with his sense of ‘yall WONT do anything about me you CANT’.”

As factual as Berry’s outing is, the problem isn’t that he could sue and win, but that a small con couldn’t afford to defend. Having a director actively approve someone on stage isn’t just a “scared of threats” situation, especially with over a decade of favor; but a small one-weekend event isn’t the fandom police to make predators unwelcome 24/7/365. This is where collective solidarity has power.

The community took action when Berry was outed, and his husband was in charge of a Telegram chat for the entire area of Memphis. They made their own group to get away from him and make him irrelevant. Sometimes, a con’s management can make that an appropriate action towards the con itself.

After Blue Heeler didn’t answer Dogpatch Press request for comment, another director gave this official response from Mephit Furmeet:

This is what you get for years of protest. Finally, a vague reply, maybe given grudgingly after two tries by a reporter. Maybe they shouldn’t say too much, but do you think a director should have approved stage appearances over years of protest? Imagine if we had the president of NAMBLA itself using our community spaces, and making people afraid or resigned to it with no end in sight.

Sources believe the con won’t bother much more about it, because Berry is moving to another state soon. In fandom, the priests are self-moving to new churches… if we let them. Time to inform those who care there. If furries don’t want to be smeared as predators by hateful outsiders, don’t let predators use your spaces and give them a reason.

MORE IN THE SERIES

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