MARICOPA—Arizona authorities say a woman has been arrested on allegations of using pepper spray to discipline her seven adopted children to perform on her YouTube videos which got millions of views.
A police report says Machelle Hackney’s adopted children had no food, water, or access to a bathroom for days while inside the closet at her home in the small city of Maricopa south of Phoenix.
The report says that officers who went to the house last week reported that six of the children appeared malnourished and underweight.
Hackney was being held at the Pinal County Jail on suspicion of two counts of molestation of a child, seven counts of child abuse and five counts of unlawful imprisonment and child neglect.
‘ YouTube mom’ Machelle Hackney, is accused of starving, beating, locking up and pepper spraying her seven adopted children to force them to perform in videos which got millions of views https://t.co/GEQcGmT09n pic.twitter.com/P0IUUiq2jm
— konniemoments1 (@KonnieMoments1) March 20, 2019
It was unclear Tuesday whether 48-year-old Hackney had a lawyer.
Hackney’s two adult sons, Logan and Ryan Hackney, who were being held on suspicion of failing to report abuse of a minor, have been booked into jail, according to a police report that was released on Wednesday, March 20.
Hackney’s YouTube channel has racked up more than 250 million views since it was created in 2012. The channel has more than three dozen videos, the oldest of which was posted in February 2018, CBS News reported.
YouTube told KPHO-TV that it cut the channel off from making money following Machelle Hackney’s arrest. The platform, which is owned by Google, also told the station it may delete the channel depending on the result of the investigation.
Child Abuse
An estimated 674,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment in 2017, according to the Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.
Of the victims, about 75 percent were neglected, 18 percent were physically abused, and 9 percent were sexually abused.
Nationwide, an estimated 1,720 children died from abuse and neglect, a decline from the 1,750 children who died from the same in the previous year.
How to Report Suspected Child Maltreatment
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency so officials can investigate and assess the situation. Most states have a number to call to report abuse or neglect.
To find out where to call, consult the State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers website.
The Childhelp organization can also provide crisis assistance and other counseling and referral services. Contact them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).
“Every year more than 3.6 million referrals are made to child protection agencies involving more than 6.6 million children (a referral can include multiple children),” according to Childhelp.
