Just reported by the Baltimore Sun that Michael and Heather Martin has been charged with child neglect: http://www.baltimoresun.com/feature...ive-charges-child-neglect-20170815-story.html
August 15, 2017
The Maryland couple behind the controversial DaddyOFive YouTube account have been charged with two counts each of neglect of a minor.
Michael and Heather Martin, who live in Frederick County, were criticized in the spring for videos posted to their YouTube channel. In the now-deleted videos, the Martins were seen destroying an XBox, berating their sons for spilled invisible ink and pushing one of them into a bookcase, giving him a bloody nose. The couple said the videos were pranks that were often scripted or their childrens ideas.
Frederick County prosecutors filed charges on July 27 and a plea hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11. The two face a maximum sentence of five years and fines up to $5,000 per charge, according to the Frederick County states attorneys office.
The videos sparked outrage among the public in April, causing many internet sleuths and YouTubers to dive into the Martins video catalog, bringing attention to what they deemed abuse.
Two of the children were reunited with their biological mother, Rose Elizabeth Hall. Hall, who had first reported the videos to law enforcement in October 2016, obtained temporary custody of the children in May, according to a video she and her lawyer, Tim Conlon of The Custody Place, posted to YouTube.
But the current custody or whereabouts of the two children, who were often the brunt of many of the Martins so-called pranks, is unknown.
Conlon and Maryland Department of Human Resources Child Protective Services could not be immediately reached for comment.