A Kentucky-based YouTube creator known online as “Mr. Crafty Pants” has been arrested and charged with possessing and distributing explicit images of children, according to local reports.
Michael David Booth, 39, was taken into custody Wednesday after authorities said he repeatedly shared disturbing photos of minors on the social media messaging app Kik, Wave News reported. Booth, whose YouTube channel has nearly 600,000 subscribers and features crafting tutorials using smart cutting machines, is accused of sharing the images more than 15 times between August 4 and August 7.
Investigators said the material included six explicit photos, three depicting children under the age of 12 and three showing teenagers. Police traced the flagged Kik account to Booth’s home in Norton Commons, prompting the August investigation.
“It’s scary to think what he could have had access to,” neighbor Laura Nash told Wave News. “It feels like a gut punch. It makes you feel really vulnerable. It’s terrifying, as a mom, to hear about something like this. It just makes you realize that you’re not safe anywhere.”
Nash described the community as “family-friendly” and said she became alarmed after realizing Booth also followed several of her friends on social media. “It’s worrying to me to wonder what he may have been viewing of their life,” she said. “It’s an eye-opener for sure.”
Booth, who also has more than 250,000 combined followers across Facebook and Instagram, was charged with possession and distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, according to Wave News.
The influencer, whose last YouTube upload was four months ago and who posted to Facebook as recently as Tuesday, was arraigned Thursday with bond set at $150,000. If released, Booth will be confined to home detention and prohibited from using the internet.
He is scheduled to return to court Friday as the investigation continues.