10 Horrific Crimes Involving YouTube Stars

10 Horrific Crimes Involving YouTube Stars

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the most infamous times popular YouTubers were arrested or accused of committing terrible crimes, destroying their online careers in the process.

Ruby Franke

Following several years of running the family vlogging channel 8 Passengers, upon Franke and her husband, Kevin, separating, and accusations of abuse, the channel was shut down. So, Franke teamed up with counselor Jodi Hildebrandt to run the channel ConneXions and even – ironically – operating parent classes. However, all of that came crashing down in 2023, when one of Franke’s sons escaped from Hildebrandt’s Utah home and sought help from neighbors. When the authorities arrived and searched the house, they found more evidence of neglect and abuse amongst Franke’s children, resulting in her and Hildebrandt’s arrests. On top of having their channel terminated, Franke and Hildebrandt, after pleading guilty, were sentenced to between 4 and 30 years in jail.

Austin Jones

With multiple albums released and a YouTube channel that often did a cappella covers, Jones was one of the platform’s most popular musicians at one point. However, in 2015, he found himself embroiled in a scandal when allegations arose that he sent inappropriate messages to fans who were minors. With petitions calling for Jones to be removed from the 2015 Warped Tour, he released an apology video. However, in 2017, it got much worse for him. Following a police search of his residence, Jones was arrested at Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport. The authorities found explicit messages on his devices between him and minors. In 2019, after pleading guilty, Jones was sentenced to ten years in jail, causing his YouTube channel to be terminated.

Stephen McCullagh

In 2022, Natalie McNally, who was pregnant, was murdered at her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. While the police arrested her boyfriend, McCullagh, he had an alibi as he was live-streaming video games at the time. For weeks, the police were unable to find the culprit. They arrested one suspect multiple times, while McCullagh blamed McNally’s ex for the fatal attack. However, evidence then emerged that the stream was pre-recorded. McCullagh, who ran the YouTube channel Votesaxon07, had created a fake alibi to hide his terrible crime, even claiming in the video that a technical glitch made it impossible to interact with viewers. In 2026, McCullagh was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, resulting in his channel's termination.

Mr. Crafty Pants

With a focus on arts and craft videos, Michael David Booth, who ran the Mr. Crafty Pants YouTube channel, became a very popular place for those looking to express their artistic side, earning him nearly 600,000 subscribers. However, allegedly, there was a very different side to him from the wholesome content he uploaded across multiple social media sites. The police investigated a Kik account after it had sent explicit content to other users multiple times. They soon discovered the account allegedly belonged to Booth, resulting in him being charged in 2025. YouTube quickly terminated channels associated with Booth, stating it was for violating the platform’s “creator responsibility policy.”

DaddyOFive

YouTube channels and practical jokes are a hazardous combination. Often, they’ll keep upping the stakes, eventually going way too far. Case in point: DaddyOFive. Created by Michael and Heather Martin in 2015, their content quickly spiralled as they encouraged their children to torment each other and even hurt them themselves as a “joke.” As the controversy rose, two of the children were put into the care of their biological mother. In 2017, Michael and Heather were sentenced to five years of probation for child neglect. The Martins attempted to dodge the negative attention with a new channel, MommyOFive, which was later renamed FamilyOFive. Yet after that was banned on YouTube in 2018, they made other channels, resulting in their eventual terminations, too.

Fantastic Adventures

Ran by Machelle Hobson, Fantastic Adventures debuted on YouTube in 2012, which was fronted by her seven children with skits and vlogs. Yet the cheery content was a stark contrast to what happened behind the scenes. In 2019, following a tip-off by one of her daughters, the police found evidence of abuse at their Arizona home. Allegedly, Hobson would use physical punishments when they didn’t do what she wanted in videos. However, the charges were later dropped against Hobson following her death from natural causes. Yet two of her sons, Ryan and Logan Hackney, were arrested in 2023 for misconduct with minors. In 2025, after pleading guilty, Ryan was sentenced to three and a half years, and Logan received four and a half years.

Germán Loera

Showcasing himself as a rising powerhouse of an entrepreneur, Loera began releasing motivational YouTube videos in 2016 that were aimed towards businesspeople. His success even led to him being a speaker at the World Congress of Young Leaders for Peace. Yet, in 2018, Loera decided that instead of making cash legitimate, as his online persona seemed successful in doing, he’d resort to crime. As part of a six-person group, they kidnapped a lawyer in Chihuahua, Mexico. The gang planned to ransom her back for around $103,000 in Bitcoin. Instead, the police tracked down the victim two days later, resulting in multiple arrests, including Loera. In 2020, the disgraced business guru was sentenced to 50 years in jail.

Onision

After rising to fame with viral YouTube sketches, James Jackson, also known as Onision, saw his career and reputation collapse in 2019. That year, several women came forward with the allegations that he and his partner, Kai Avaroe, had groomed them into relationships. In response, Jackson doxxed one of his accusers, resulting in him being banned on Patreon. Chris Hansen of “To Catch a Predator" fame attempted to interview Jackson at his home in 2020, only for the YouTuber to call the police for harassment. Following the release of the 2021 docuseries “Onision: In Real Life,” which examined the allegations, Jackson’s channels were suspended from the YouTube Partner Program. Since then, further allegations have emerged, resulting in Jackson being sued twice in 2023.

LionMaker

Specializing in Minecraft YouTube videos, Marcus Wilton, also known as Lionmaker, became a prominent personality among fans of the video game. However, in 2015, on the site formerly known as Twitter, Wilton admitted to having a relationship with another Minecraft YouTuber while she was a minor and uploaded explicit images. While Wilton would delete the posts and claim he was “hacked,” others came forward with similar interactions with the YouTuber, sparking the police to investigate. With the Belgian authorities using “arrest huis,” which allowed them to detain suspects if they believed they’re a danger or could tamper with evidence, Wilton was locked up for ten months. Following that, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for several months. In 2020, YouTube terminated his channels.

Mr. Anime

Operating the LensCapProductions channel since 2006 and using the Mr. Anime persona, Trey Sesler was described as a pioneer in developing the anime community on the platform. However, in 2012, after making multiple allusions online, Sesler enacted his horrific crime by taking the lives of his mother, father, brother, and pets at their home in Waller, Texas. Following this, inspired by infamous serial killers and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, he drove to Waller High School, where he was once a student. However, rather than enact another terrible deed, Sesler had second thoughts. Instead, he visited a friend. Following the police seeing the carnage at the house, they arrested the YouTuber. After pleading guilty, Sesler was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Are there any horrible crimes committed by YouTube stars that we missed in the video? Let us know below.