A ‘YouTube mom’ died after being accused of torturing her kids. Now, her son is going to jail for child sexual abuse
An Arizona man whose mother became famous for her parenting YouTube channel — before she died in disgrace after being accused of abusing her adopted kids — now faces prison time for the sexual abuse of a minor.
Ryan Hackney, 31, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday in Pinal County, Arizona, after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and attempted sexual contact with a minor, according to the Arizona Republic. The court credited him for 58 days that he spent in jail over the course of the legal process.
Ryan is the biological son of Machelle Hobson, who police arrested in 2019 on charges that she was abusing her seven adopted children. A girl reportedly told investigators that Ryan began abusing her when she was 8 or 9 years old and continued to do so until she was 11 or 12.
Ryan's brother, 33-year-old Logan, was also sentenced to four and a half years back in January after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and two counts of attempting to commit sexual conduct with a minor. Logan received probation on the latter charge and was credited with 631 days that he spent in jail. Both of the brothers will have to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives once they are released from prison.
Hobson produced content on the video platform under the name "Hobson's Fantastic Adventures," amassing a following of 800,000 subscribers and pulling in approximately 350 million page views. The channel brought in tens of thousands of dollars for her.
The children who spoke to police said Hobson would pepper spray and pinch their genitals as punishment and said she would lock them in closets for days without food or bathroom access if they forgot a line in a script or otherwise failed to follow her directions.
When the situation at Hobson's home finally came to light, she was charged with 30 felony counts of child abuse and kidnapping that involved five of her adopted or fostered children. Her YouTube channel was removed by the platform.
Before her arrest, Hobson had reportedly been investigated by the Arizona Department of Child Safety on nine occasions, but no evidence of abuse were ever formally discovered.
Great job, ADCS, 9 opportunities to get it right and you failed the kids every time.
Hobson pleaded not guilty to her charges, but then suffered a non-traumatic brain injury while she was locked up in Pinal County court custody and died six months later in a hospital.
Ryan and Logan were arrested alongside their mother and were both charged for failing to report their parent’s actions to the authorities.
It was ultimately another one of Hobson's biological children — her daughter Megan — who tipped police off to the abuse her adoptive siblings were facing.
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