It’s not just about the original story; it’s also about the way people responded to that story.
When my son first started going to Pokemon league, I always made sure to sit in the back of the room. The game store where it was held had a cafe attached (a pretty good one) where I could have relaxed with a beer and some fries, but I always hung at the very back and watched.
The main reason was that, for the first few weeks, an older guy decided to teach him out to play the game. The guy gave me the skeevies for a lot of reasons, not least that his shirts were always filthy in back between the shoulder blades, as though he was sleeping outside (now that sex offenders have to register and inform their neighbors of their criminal history, many have become homeless).
Did I know the guy was a pedophile? Nope, but there was no way I was going to take the chance, and I wasn’t going to leave my son’s safety in the hands of the store/event staff.
Now, this is different from a convention-type event. Pokemon League took place in a room about the size of the cafe I’m sitting in right now. In a convention, people range farther, it’s a bigger space, and there’s way more to see. In that situation, the organizers absolutely have to step up.
If the event is going to have little kids in attendance, pron and other sexual materials should be forbidden. If the whole point is pron and sexual material, the organizers should not allow anyone under 18 to attend.
More importantly, if the people attending have zero faith in the organizers’ ability to keep their attendees safe (especially 11yo girls) that’s a huge, huge problem.