Destroyers of Innocence

“	Oh, Max... I'm so glad you asked this question. Simply put, I'm obsessed with the idea of capturing that moment when innocence evolves into corruption. That shift from black, to white, to gray... and beyond. Most models are cynical; they lose that naivete. However, some Blackwell students carry their hope and optimism with them like... an aura. And those lucky few become my models... my subjects.	„
	~ Mark Jefferson explaining his motive to Max Caulfield

“	A lot of the kids who used to come to Ardelia's Story Hours are in AA around these parts, Sarah - make of it what you will.	„
	~ Dave Duncan about Ardelia Lortz's abuse of children and its consequences.

“	I-It's only now that I understand the depth of the depravity of this... creature, this monster that I unwillingly helped to create. As if what he had already done wasn't enough, he found a new way to desecrate, to humiliate, to destroy. As if the suffering wasn't enough, the loss of innocence, the loss of everything to so many people. Small souls trapped in prisons of my making now set to new purpose and used in ways I never thought imaginable. He lured them all back. Back to a familiar place. Back with familiar tricks. He brought them all together.	„
	~ Henry Emily talks about William Afton's monstrous deeds.

Destroyers of Innocence are type of villains who are responsible for a "loss of innocence". A "loss of innocence" occurs when a sympathetic and (usually) somewhat defenseless character is broken or harmed in some way or similar; this often invokes great feelings of anger by audiences and marks a common Moral Event Horizon. It can also refer to an event that causes unprecedented outrage in society, such as child murder and terrorist attacks, which challenges our concepts of what people can do to each other. Often, victims whose innocence are lost would never be the same person they used to be.

Destroyers of Innocence are villains who effectively "destroy" the innocence of a story, setting or character; they are often especially wicked beings who ruin lives and their crimes can never truly be reversed as it erases the concept of "innocence", though some rarer examples do not fully know that they are responsible for this occurring (e.g. Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist). While not an automatic qualifier, this quality is common among Pure Evil villains.

A Destroyer of Innocence is the evil opposite of a Protector of Innocence.

Examples of this type of villain are as follows:

Child Cruelty: Characters who abuse/corrupt a child or someone with a childlike mentality (many "Fagin" types fall into this category). Examples are Supreme Leader Snoke, Madara Uchiha, Ozai, Medusa Gorgon, Rip Blazkowicz, Sebastian Shaw, Judge Claude Frollo, and Yakone.
From Admiration to Distress: Characters whom a protagonist has admired deeply in the past (even without their knowledge); upon finding out the character's true nature, the protagonist is visibly distressed. Examples of this are, Charles Muntz from Up, Guy Gagné from Turbo, Chester V from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Yokai from Big Hero 6, Gil Yepes from The Prodigies, Diane Simmons from Family Guy, Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco, Dawn Bellwether from Zootopia, Mysterio from Spider-Man: Far From Home, Rex Dangervest from The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Sentinel Prime from the Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ardeia Lortz from The Library Policeman, and Sōsuke Aizen from Bleach, who has shattered Momo Hinamori's trust in him by betraying the Gotei 13.
Traitors: Characters who betray loved ones, family, or friends, especially if their betrayal is extremely brutal and treacherous in nature. Good examples of this are Scar's betrayal of both Simba and Mufasa in The Lion King, Griffith's betrayal of Guts and Casca in Berserk, Cassie Howard's betrayal of both Maddy Perez and Lexi Howard in Euphoria, Abalone Cookie's betrayal of Lord Oyster in Cookie Run: Kingdom, and Prince Hans' betrayal of Anna in Frozen.
Mastermind: Characters who mastermind a particularly shocking event, such as a terrorist attack or massacre of innocents, which in turn causes a deep and lasting "loss of innocence" in their setting. The event itself can also count if it has profoundly challenged people's perception of the world. An example of this type of villain would be Isaac Ray Peram Westcott from Date A Live, who caused the death of over millions of people in his wars and turned an entire city into a battlefield, killing hundreds of people, also as destroying an entire reality and killing his own daughter. Three other good examples are the Joker, whose scheme to destroy Gotham murdered Harvey Dent's fiancee and scarred half his body, turning him into the villainous Two-Face, Junko Enoshima brainwashing Class 77-B into becoming Ultimate Despair and leading them to start the The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, as well as her later starting the Killing School Life by trapping Class 78 in Hope's Peak Academy and pushing them to kill one another, and Vladimir Makarov massacring innocent civilians at the Zakhaev International Airport, which sparked World War III between Russia and the United States and also killed Joseph Allen at the end of the Massacre.
Faux Affably Evil: Characters who apparently seem to be harmless or even innocent, but it is only one facet to hide their nature and can easily commit atrocities. For example, Eric Cartman lost his innocence since he killed Scott Tenorman's parents in the South Park episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die".
Corruption of Victim: Characters who turn their victim to the dark side, often developing the "Evil Vs. Evil" scenario where their victim seeks revenge on those who destroyed their innocence. Good example of this are Chris McLean, Judge Hopkins, Gil Yepes, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Margaret White, Chris Hargensen, and Count Bleck's Father.

Note: The destruction of innocence doesn't necessarily apply to children or teenagers being exploited, but also to regular adults or even mature heroes with relatively innocent mind and intentions who are forced to commit atrocities/participate in mind-breaking situations with murder/torture involved due to the actions or direct influence of the villain.

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