A popular influencer and YouTube content creator known as “Mr. Crafty Pants” was arrested for allegedly possessing and trading disturbing s£xual images of children on social media, according to reports.
Michael David Booth, whose YouTube channel features arts and crafts tutorials with smart cutting machines, was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Kentucky after repeatedly sharing the sickening images on the social media messaging app Kik, Wave News reported.
The twisted online personality allegedly possessed six explicit photos — three showing children under the age of 12 and the others depicting teens — which he shared more than 15 times with other users between Aug. 4 and Aug. 7, according to an arrest report obtained by the outlet.
Police said they launched their probe into the depraved 39-year-old in August after the social app flagged his account, which was traced to an IP address linked to Booth’s Norton Commons home.
“It’s scary to think what he could have had access to,” his neighbor, Laura Nash, told the outlet, adding that she immediately asked her children if they had ever interacted with the creep after he was arrested.
“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 their neighborhood as “family-friendly,” noting that Booth, who also has more than 250,000 combined followers on Facebook and Instagram, also followed a bunch of her friends online.
“I know that he followed a bunch of my friends online, so it’s worrying to me to wonder what he may have been viewing of their life,” she added.
Booth was charged with possession and distribution of matter portraying a s£xual performance by a minor, according to the local station, which cited sources as alerting them to his online persona.
The accused predator was arraigned on Thursday, Oct. 23, with bond reportedly set at $150,000.
If released, he would be placed on home detention and barred from accessing the internet, the outlet reported.
