Logan Hackney and his brother Ryan Hackney, left and right, were sexually assaulted years after authorities dropped criminal charges against their mother, Machel Hobson, for failing to report that she abused her adoptive siblings. was charged with sexual abuse. (Hackney family headshot: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office; Hobson headshot: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, via AP, file)
When the “YouTube mom” died of natural causes in 2019, the criminal case against her was of course closed, but the legacy of allegations of abuse continues to haunt the family as her sons are accused of sexual abuse. ing. Logan Hackney, 31, faces four counts of having sex with a minor. Ryan Hackney, 29, faces two counts of the same crime.
The brothers’ dishonorable claim to fame was made through their mother, Machel Hobson.she died natural cause In 2019, he faced trial for allegedly abusing his adopted children and forcing them to appear in videos on his now-defunct YouTube channel Fantastic Adventures. Hobson was accused of a series of horrific acts. For example, she is said to have pepper sprayed all over her body, including the genitals of her children. And she allegedly locked them in a closet with no access to her food, water, or toilet.
The kids were known to appear on the “Fantastic Adventurers” channel, which had over 700,000 subscribers before YouTube took it down. Police say behind the scenes life was full of terror. Hobson allegedly abused children when they forgot their lines or tried to escape from the video, and even took them out of school to appear in the film. Police said the children hadn’t been to class for “years.”
Police said the abuse left a mark both physically and mentally. Investigators said the adopted children appeared malnourished and said they were thirsty and hungry. One boy drank three bottles of water within 20 minutes, police said. Another girl was offered a bag of potato chips but was afraid to eat because she didn’t want her mother to smell the food in her breath, officials said.
The Hackney brothers were initially arrested in Pinal County for failing to report abuse. Prosecutors did not formally indict.
The new charges came after a delay in a referral by the Maricopa Police Department to the Mesa Police Department, according to the report. KNXV, first reported the arrests on Monday. Ryan Hackney was arrested on March 16 and released on March 18 while wearing an electronic monitor, a Mesa, Ariz., police spokesman told Law&Crime. Records show that Logan Hackney was arrested on April 25 and is being held in the Maricopa County Jail on $20,000 bail.
According to documents obtained by Law&Crime, the victim of Logan Hackney’s case told Maricopa police that she was sexually abused by Logan multiple times while in Mesa, Arizona. She was in elementary school at the time.
“Based on school records, the period from August 2011 to February 2012 was fixed,” police said. “This makes the victim about 9 years old and the defendant about 20 years old. The victim recalls when the defendant graduated from high school.”
Another person, who was 25 at the time of the forensic interview, recounted to police the sexual abuse by Logan Hackney.
“This started when she was five years old,” investigative sources said.
Another, who was 22 at the time of the interview, told police that he was sexually abused by Logan Hackney between the ages of six and nine. The incident occurred in Pinal County, Maricopa, Arizona and was referred to local police.
Ryan Hackney faces very similar, if not identical, allegations. The victim told investigators that he was sexually abused multiple times by a man while in Mesa, Arizona. Authorities have not confirmed whether this is the same elementary school victim in the Logan Hackney complaint, but the details match.
“Based on school records, the period from August 2011 to February 2012 was fixed,” the authorities wrote in his lawsuit. “This makes the victim about 9 years old and the defendant about 18. The victim recalls when the defendant graduated from high school.”
Two other victims also separately claimed sexual abuse. As was the case with Logan Hackney, one testified that he was abused at some point between the ages of six and nine.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ryan Hackney’s trial is set to begin on August 17th, while Logan Hackney’s trial is set to begin on August 31st.
