In May we told you the despicable story of Heather and Mike Martin, parents who lost custody of two of their five children for recording the abuses against them and spreading them on their YouTube channel DaddyOFive.
The children were victims of supposed "jokes" in which insults, humiliations, screams and even physical punishments were the daily tonic. Now parents have been sentenced to five years on probation for negligence in caring for their children and may not have contact with them without permission of a judge.
Child abuse is not entertainment
While any of the five children could be subjected to their cruel humiliations, Cody and Emma, the youngest of 10 and 11 years (sons of the father with another woman, Rosie Hall), they were the ones who suffered them most regularly, practically daily. From staining the carpet with ink and blaming them, letting them pack their bags because they were given up for adoption, to tearing apart their video console or making them eat a disgusting meal was the caliber of the "jokes." Child abuse disguised as entertainment that thousands of people witnessed.
After the custody of two of their children was removed, the parents recorded a video (which is no longer available) saying that the jokes were planned and apologizing for their "bad decisions" and for the "mistakes made." but the damage was done.
His biological mother had denounced the situation without result, but the real trigger for the courts to take action on the matter was the accusation of youtuber Philip De Franco, with millions of subscribers, who publicly denounced the DaddyOFive channel for the abuse suffered by children .
What would you do if you see that they mistreat a child?
The channel had more than 300 videos and 750,000 subscribers who watched the despicable spectacle of mistreatment of parents towards their defenseless children impassively. It is estimated that the couple has earned up to $ 350,000 a year (about 320,000 euros) with their videos, and most curiously, it has only lost 20,000 since the story came to light.
The parents committed a serious crime. Those who were to ensure the welfare of their children, their own parents, were those who abused them, in their own home, and in view of thousands of people. And on top of that they profited from it.
Although many people reported it on the networks, what about the thousands of followers who watched the videos and did nothing. Is it that viewers have no responsibility? What would they do if, for example, they were to see a play in which children are mistreated or see a father hit his son in the street? Would they also remain impassive?
Observing without reacting makes us complicit in violence. If we see that a father whips or mistreats his son on the street, we must act, and even more so, when we talk about a helpless minor. Concerns that the Internet contributes to making abuse invisible and that society continues to consider it acceptable for children to be mistreated.
The children have been traumatized
The prosecution presented a psychological report that states that children have been traumatized by these events, that they had experienced "observable, identifiable and substantial damage to their mental and psychological abilities."
And they were not only victims of physical and psychological abuse of their parents, but these they were forced to beat or humiliate their brothers too, threatening them if they didn't.
It will not be easy for the little ones to overcome what happened. Children who received abuse in their childhood are at a higher risk of suffering problems in adult life such as mental disorders, depression and alcohol abuse. Even if they do not reach physical abuse if they are having violent actions such as humiliation, screaming or emotional blackmail, these can leave an indelible mark on the psyche of children.
The parents will be monitored
Wanting to become popular at the cost of mistreating children has cost parents dearly. During the time of the sentence, the marriage must undergo periodic evaluations and may not upload to the networks or videos or images of children unless it is for a legitimate family purpose.
In channel, all the content related to children is still deleted; There are only two videos about video games, which apparently will be the father's next business. However, we can find videos made by others about the abuses children were subjected to, such as the one you see above.
