YouTube gamer ProJared ‘forced underage girls to send him sexually explicit photos and abused his wife’
Jared Knabenbauer's wife made the allegations soon after announcing the pair were divorcing
YOUTUBE gaming sensation Jared “ProJared” Knabenbauer forced underage fans to send nude photos and abused his wife, it's been claimed.
Knabenbauer’s wife, fellow gamer and popular cosplayer Heidi O’Ferrall, made allegations of abuse soon after the pair announced they were filing for divorce.
O’Ferrall made claims over Twitter that Knabenbauer "had absolute financial and social control over me" and felt "powerless by comparison".
She also revealed she had been "brutally betrayed" by her husband after finding out about an affair he was having with a fellow cosplayer.
Taking to Twitter, she said: "I've been living in a private hell for the last year. Wondering if I'm going crazy because the person I loved told me that the obvious wasn't true, that I'm paranoid and wrong."
Knabenbauer's channel of close to one million subscribers is described as a place for “all of your gaming video needs” and includes “hilarious retro reviews, videos on the newest releases and comedic play-throughs”.
But support from fans has turned sour after O’Ferrall’s allegations of abuse led to a landslide of accusations from followers.
The YouTuber is alleged to have sent unsolicited, sexually explicit photos and asked for photos in return over a period of years.
Over a public statement on Twitter, O’Ferrall said: “It’s true that he has been soliciting nudes from his fans for years. I was there.
“In the beginning, it was a joke on Tumblr … for consenting adults”.
But eventually, O’Ferrall says it turned into “an abuse of power for him to intentionally manipulate anyone to show him their naked body on the basis that he’s a popular internet man.”
One fan, who goes by the name of Chai, claims Knabenbauer knew he was underage when he requested nude photos and “spoke sexually” to him at the age of 16.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Friday, Chai alleges that Knabenbauer sent him an explicit “d**k pic,” and that he publicly posted one of the underage photos sent by Chai.
Chai said: “I sent him many actual, real nudes … He knew I was 16.”
The former fan said Knabenbauer knew that he “was a big fan, and that I was underage, and still wanted to talk sexually to me. He made me feel special and wanted.”
NormalBoots, the creator collective Knabenbauer belongs to, told The Verge in a statement that it was first tipped off about the allegations in early April and has since agreed to mutually part ways.
A statement reads: “On April 4, 2019, an unsolicited e-mail was sent to the NormalBoots business account containing allegations of inappropriate conduct pertaining to Jared Knabenbauer.”
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Knabenbauer has made a public response, saying that people “may see a lot of rumors, speculation, and gossip going around. I ask that you make your own observations and come to your own conclusions.”
The Sun has reached out to Knabenbauer for comment.
Last week, popular YouTuber Austin Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison for soliciting sexually explicit photos from underage fans.
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