Wait a second! You're saying that this god being COULD eliminate the suffering of these innocent children but this god chooses NOT to, all because this god somehow NEEDS these children to suffer rape and murder, just so we can prove ourselves to this god? If this god WANTS these children to suffer and die just so that I am able to 'ascend to this god in a meaningful way' please tell this god to STOP!. I do not want to ascend to this god if it means innocent children have to suffer and die. I don't want to ascend to any god that makes children's suffering a requirement for my ascension. That just sound horrible and disgusting to me.
Salam
With time, physical pleasures get stale, so he could've created paradise to be more of a physical pleasure thing and stopped anyone trying to do crimes, and he could've made Adam body with gleaming light and of a type that Iblis would not disobey but things would be so pale, stale, boring and we would suffer in the long run.
Of course God created world without suffering and Adam was in paradise and meant to stay there, but things have gone haywire. If Adam didn't swerve perhaps this whole tragedy would've be avoided. But if he didn't allow Iblis to "misguide him", this would not be allowing creatures to misguide others, and everyone would be to afraid to disbelieve and voice their view.
And of course God doesn't want suffering but has allowed of a way of error handling and tries us by each other and trial from a fallen world. Without patience benefiting believers from their patience with regards to their enemies and trials of this world, he wouldn't have allowed it.
And God could've not tried Angels but they would be quite full of themselves and their worship almost worthless, so he created Adam and put his authority in him out of grace to them as well.
And of course it looks bad on God, but all it takes is some significant sincere amount of followers to God and his anointed Kings in any generation and we can put an end to suffering. And if the cursed Iblis remain patient and didn't fall and gave up his pride, everything would be perfect now.
So it looks bad, but it's error handling, things that were chance wise, very low chances to happen. Of course God knew the chances, but probability was on world being guided. This is a world that is not probable, so if we think it's purposely chosen to be like this, it's going to make God look bad.