Disgraced vloggers Michael and Heather Martin, who posted videos as DaddyOFive and FamilyOFive, have finally been banned from YouTube, nearly a year after being sentenced to five years of probation for child neglect.
In 2017, we told you about DaddyOFive’s series of “prank” videos, where Michael and Heather would play cruel pranks on their own children. The DaddyOFive YouTube channel contained dozens of similar videos, showing Michael and Heather destroying an Xbox, and pushing their son Cody into a bookcase.
In one video, Michael even initiates a game he called Bottle Flip Slap, which ended with the kids being encouraged to hit each other. People saw these videos and reported them, not just to YouTube, but to the police.
Child Protective Services found that Cody and Emma had experienced “observable, identifiable and substantial impairments of their mental or psychological ability to function.” Emma and Cody, who are Michael’s biological children, were removed from the home and currently live with their mother, Rose Hall.
Heather’s three biological children were not part of the investigation by CPS. Michael and Heather entered Alford pleas in court, meaning they maintain their innocence, but admit that the prosecution had enough evidence to get a conviction.
In September of 2017, the couple was sentenced to five years probation for child neglect.
However, even after all that, they created a new channel and continued to post content, and they say they’d received assurances from YouTube that the new content was fine. However, after increasing pressure from the public and media, YouTube made the decision to delete the Martin family’s new channels, FamilyOFive and FamilyOFive Gaming.
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And Rose Hall, that’s Emma and Cody’s mom, thinks it’s about time. Watch a video of her statement here.
In a statement, Google said: “Content that endangers children is unacceptable to us. We have worked extensively alongside experts in child safety to make sure we have strict policies and are aggressively enforcing them. Given this channel owner’s previous strikes for violating our Guidelines prohibiting child endangerment, we’re removing all of his channels under our Terms of Service.”
But in a video posted to the channel Team DO5 Fans, Heather Martin’s three sons argue that the channels were deleted unjustly, and that their pranks were faked to ensure safety. That channel, Team DO5 Fans, is still up and running and may be a conduit for Martin, Heather, and the three boys to continue to put out content.
Unless, of course, YouTube takes that one down as well.
What do you guys think? Should the FamilyOFive remain banned from YouTube? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.
