YouTube Hasn’t Deleted Hundreds of ‘Kid’ Videos Made by an Accused Child Molester

Seven Super Girls/YouTube

YouTube has been on many parents' sh*t lists for months now, thanks to tons of creepy YouTube videos that slip through its parental control filters, the Logan Paul dead body video controversy that surfaced last year, and for allowing potentially abusive content to remain in play. Now, the social network is in hot water once again after Buzzfeed News reporter Charlie Warzel broke the story Monday that YouTube has failed to remove videos made by an accused child molester.

According to the report, Ian Rylett, the creator of a popular network of YouTube channels, was recently arrested on charges of "lewd and lascivious molestation."

Seven Super Girls/YouTube

55-year-old Rylett, who's behind Seven Super Girls, Seven Awesome Kids, and other YouTube channels aimed at tweens, allegedly assaulted one of the tween girls who stars in his videos. 

An arrest report obtained by Buzzfeed News states that police were called to an Orange County, Florida, hotel room on August 16 following a report that Rylett allegedly "verbally abused the girl, demanding she undress in front of him against her will" and “practice wrapping her breasts down, to make them appear smaller for the video shoot.”

The victim, who is younger than 16 and has not been named, also reportedly told police that Rylett touched her breasts, forced her to undress while he fondled her, and tried to "forcefully remove her underwear," threatening to use her contract to fine her if she refused.

Despite the serious charges, Rylett's channels and content are still live and searchable on YouTube.

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The videos on Rylett's channel feature a rotating cast of girls between the ages of 8 and 18 in short videos aimed at young girls. Each video has a theme, like slumber parties or the pool. But as Buzzfeed reports, many people, including comedian Daniel Tosh, raised concerns that the channel was really intended to cater to creeps and pedophiles. Tosh even devoted a segment to it on his comedy show, shown above.

Warzel spoke with many former stars of Rylett's channels who reported feeling uncomfortable with him.

They cited situations such as being asked to size down their bathing suits so they fit tighter, having to send send him “sizing” pictures of them in outfits for the videos, and frequent jokes he would make about “wardrobe malfunctions” or repeatedly asking them to look younger for their videos.

“Then some of us started to get the feeling we were being groomed for some darker audience,” a former Seven Awesome Kids performer told BuzzFeed. “Things that didn’t feel weird at the time — like the themes, the leotards, and the camera angles — started to feel strange. I started to get that feeling especially when you think that some of these girls are 9 years old.”

As many have pointed out in the discussion online, everything about this situation looks like a red flag.

Buzzfeed/Facebook

Many pointed out that Rylett's behavior sounded a lot like "grooming," a behavior used by pedophiles to gain the trust of potential abuse victims.

Buzzfeed/Facebook

BuzzFeed/Facebook

Given the alleged behavior of Rylett and the seemingly very real potential that he was creating videos for pedophiles, it's difficult to understand why his content is still on YouTube — or why it was ever allowed to be on YouTube in the first place. In a statement to BuzzFeed, a YouTube spokesperson said:

“We take safety on YouTube very seriously. We work closely with leading child safety organizations and others in our industry to protect young people. When we’re made aware of serious allegations of this nature we take action, which may include suspending monetization, or, upon conclusion of an investigation, terminating the channel."

But for many parents and the former stars of the channel, it's all too little, too late. As a mom of a little girl who begs to watch YouTube, I've always felt creeped out by these "reality" style videos that, in my opinion, exploit little kids and make them sitting prey for online creepers. These disturbing allegations only serve to highlight a startling lack of oversight on the part of YouTube, and they're a wake-up call to any parents who think they can trust the streaming network to provide safe entertainment for kids.