The co-founder of a tween girl YouTube network in sight was arrested for assaulting a minor

Content warning: The following story contains sensitive information regarding physical and verbal abuse.

Ian Rylett, the 55-year-old British co-founder of the popular YouTube empire SevenAwesomeKids, was arrested in Florida in August. BuzzFeed News reported today. However, all channels of the company are still in place: SevenAwesomeKids, SevenSuperGirls, SevenPerfectAngels, SevenFabulousTeens, SevenCoolTweens, SevenFuntasticGirls and SevenTwinklingTweens. It seems that none of the channels has released new video in the month since Rylett's arrest. Together, the channels have more than 17 million subscribers and have accumulated billions of views; Each includes a cast of over 20 girls, all ages 8-18. Details of charges, by BuzzFeed:

According to a stop warrant obtained by BuzzFeed News, detectives were named in Rylett's Orange County hotel room on the morning of August 16, after Rylett reportedly verbally abused the girl. , demanding that she undresses in front of him According to the report, the girl, under the age of 16, says that Rylett touched her breasts and patted her while undressing her repeatedly, eventually attempting to remove his underwear by force. The arrest report also alleges that Rylett "threatened to use the contract to fine her if she did not comply with her request." Rylett pleaded not guilty to charges during an indictment last month. He handed in his passport and will be judged later this year. Rylett's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

"We take security on YouTube very seriously," reads a YouTube statement in the newspaper. BuzzFeed report which was reiterated at The edge via a spokesperson. "We work closely with the major child safety agencies and others in our sector to protect young people. When we become aware of serious allegations of this nature, we take steps that may include suspension of monetization or, following investigation, the removal of channels.

YouTube also confirms to The edge that the SevenAwesomeKids channels were demonetized shortly after Rylett's arrest, although she apparently did not contact any of the artists after the incident.

What "demonetization" means in this context is tricky: when a channel is demonetized, its ads, usually paid for in advance by advertisers, are moved from the reported channel to another one with a number of times. similar subscribers. In other words, the owner of the channel might not get paid, but YouTube is inevitably.

Rylett's "frightening" behavior – having her performers take pictures of swimsuits, make jokes about "wardrobe malfunctions" and manipulate their incomes – hurt them. 39; ease. "Then, some of us began to feel that we were prepared for a darker audience," said a former interpreter. BuzzFeed.

YouTube has been criticized in recent years for lack of sufficient policies regarding the content of the children it hosts. Last year, YouTube caused a public outcry for hosting videos showing dark, twisted content specifically for children; in the days that followed several damning reports, dozens of these videos, representing billions of views, were removed.

SevenAwesomeKids has equally disturbing content, which was announced last year by comedian Daniel Tosh in his Comedy Central show. Tosh.0. "I'll be at the same level as myself – I may have come across something dark here," he said at the beginning of the segment. "Who's watching all these videos of little girls in swimsuits and attached to beds?"

This is not the first time that creators of children's videos like this one are accused of criminal behavior. Last year, the YouTube channel DaddyOFive, which had 750,000 subscribers at the time, was shut down after users rebelled against the content of their videos showing "jokes" that two parents would play on their five children. After the outcry, two of the children involved in the video were taken from the DaddyOFive home and placed with their birth mother; the parents eventually pleaded guilty to child negligence and were sentenced to five years of probation. Less than a month after the parents' conviction, they had changed channels with FamilyOFive, and had continued to broadcast joke videos with their kids. YouTube also ended the channel, but only after their videos recorded nearly 200 million views.

In cases like Rylett's, YouTube ends the channels when the allegations are based on a plea of ​​guilty or conviction. Rylett will be judged later this year.