A Maryland couple known for “pranking” their young kids have been found guilty of child neglect.
Michael and Heather Martin, the masterminds behind the viral YouTube “prank” channel DaddyOFive, received a sentenced of five years probation on charges of child neglect on Monday.
The Martins had been charged with two counts each of child neglect after their “kids prank” videos sparked outrage and allegations of child abuse.
It was their fellow Youtubers who eventually reported the couple who amassed millions of views on their “prank” videos.
According to BuzzFeed, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and Child Protective Services began investigating the couple after several citizen complaints about the couple’s YouTube videos that appeared to show their children in emotional distress.
After the Martins and their five children underwent psychological evaluations, it was found that two of the children, 10-year-old Cody and 11-year-old Emma, suffered “mental injury” as a result of the videos, Lindy Angel, the Frederick County Assistant State’s Attorney, told BuzzFeed News on Monday.
Last May, the couple lost custody of Cody and Emma who are Michael Martin’s biological children and Heather Martin’s stepchildren.
Under the terms of their probation, the Martins are not allowed to have contact with Cody and Emma, unless dictated by a judge in their ongoing custody case. They are also not allowed to post videos featuring Cody and Emma on social media.
Cody, the youngest child in the family, was a frequent target of his parents’ recorded pranks and appeared to be the most resistant to them, according to popular YouTube commentator Philip DeFranco, who was among the first to suggest that DaddyOFive’s videos amounted to possible child abuse.
In a now-deleted video, Cody was seen crying hysterically after Heather falsely accused him of pouring ink on his bedroom carpet, called him a liar, and hurled obscenities at the 10-year-old.
The three other children, who are Heather Martin’s biological sons, were not subjects of the criminal case as the psychological evaluations found that they did not suffer from “mental injury” associated with the videos, Angel said.
Angel said that while she first thought the videos were “horrendous,” she believed the sentence was in “the best interest of the children.”
She said that the couple’s psychological evaluations indicated they had “an extreme lapse in judgement,” but that there was “no intention to injure the children.”
“It was insensitive, cruel, bad decision-making,” Angel said. “But there was no real intention behind it.”
Since the allegations came to light, the Martins have reportedly complied with authorities by taking counseling and refraining from making and posting videos.
“The Martins are taking this very seriously,” Angel said, adding that the prosecution did not want the children to go through a trial.
She said the probation sentence “serves everyone’s interest.”
The Martins have since deleted all of their prank videos and uploaded an ‘apology’ to their subscribers.