Attorney says Arizona’s YouTube mom isn’t competent to stand trial

PHOENIX – The attorney for the Arizona woman accused of abusing five adopted children who appeared in her popular YouTube videos reportedly said his client isn’t mentally fit to stand trial.

Josh Wallace told a judge that a Rule 11 psychological evaluation determined that Machelle Hobson of Maricopa wasn’t competent, according to the Casa Grande Dispatch.

“The conclusion is that Ms. Hobson is not competent,” Wallace said during a hearing in Pinal County Superior Court.

“There is a recommendation that there is no point in engaging in (competency) restoration services right now.”

Another psychological evaluation had been scheduled, and the next hearing was set for Aug. 28, the newspaper reported.

In March, a grand jury indicted Hobson on 30 counts, including kidnapping and a variety of child abuse charges.

Hobson, whose arrest made national headlines, had seven adopted kids, but the charges only pertained to five of them because investigators didn’t find evidence of abuse of two 3-year-olds.

According to police documents, she forced the children to act in a YouTube series and punished them if they forgot lines.

Among the allegations were that she pepper sprayed the kids on their genitals and locked them in a closet.

Police said the children, who were malnourished, were taken out of school so they could keep filming videos and hadn’t been back to class for years.

Hobson’s Fantastic Adventures YouTube channel drew more than 240 million views for 36 videos and more than 800,000 subscribers since debuting in 2012.

The channel was taken down hours after news of Hobson’s March 15 arrest spread.

In the videos, the children acted out plots such as “Dream Machine Adventure!,” which featured a “Star Wars” theme and a Nerf gun fight.

Two adult sons of Hobson’s, Logan and Ryan Hackney, also were arrested for failing to report the abuse, but authorities chose not to press charges against them.

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