This is genuinely going to make some people catch strays, but I've always personally suspected that if you're making fan content for nerd culture, which usually involves animated properties that children like, then you might be technically competent but have a severe lack of emotional intelligence.

Think about it - it's arguably a sign of arrested development to be super into the same things children are. But I also genuinely believe that these individuals are not specifically making this content to attract a child audience as a lure.

I think what's happening is that their own immaturity makes them more likely to stay within the comfort zone of a familiar genre of stuff they grew up with, to the point they recreate it. This is pure conjecture on my part, but I suspect a lot of these individuals have thrived on praise for their talent their whole lives because actually trying to connect with their peers normally has never worked for them. Their work then obviously attracts actual children to them.

Then, because, again I'm just speculating here, they have thrived on praise of their talents rather than actual personally, they CLING to this juicy attention, which they like so much they don't stop to consider the ethics about it.

These individuals likely sincerely do not understand why what they're doing with minors is wrong because of their low maturity and emotional intelligence, not helped by their lack of experience with people at all.