The 7 adopted children of the mother were found hungry, thirsty, and some locked in closets. They starred in a popular Youtube show, ‘Fantastic Adventures.’
An Arizona mother is accused of abusing her seven adopted children and forcing them to perform for her mega-popular YouTube channel.
Machelle Hackney, 48, was arrested March 15 at her home in Maricopa, roughly 30 miles south of Phoenix, and charged with two counts of child molestation, seven counts of child abuse, five counts of unlawful imprisonment and five counts of child neglect.
Her two biological adult sons, Logan and Ryan Hackney, were also arrested and face charges for failing to report abuse. The two men have appeared alongside their adopted siblings in “Fantastic Adventures,” a children-oriented YouTube series created by their mother in 2012. As of Wednesday morning, the channel had nearly 800,000 subscribers.
Police had received a tip about the abuse from Machelle Hackney’s biological daughter on March 13, prompting a welfare check on the home, according to arrest records. When they arrived on the scene, police say they found children who appeared to be malnourished and underweight.
One child was found in a closet wearing only a pull-up diaper, police said. Several children said they were extremely hungry and thirsty. Upon being offered water, a male child consumed three 16-ounce bottles of water within 20 minutes.
