Downfall of a YouTuber: Mexican influencer arrested after she showed alleged gang rape online

YosStop, who has millions of followers, is in custody facing charges of child pornography, reports Chris Havler-Barrett in Mexico City

A supporter of YosStop holds a poster in her support at the court (EPA)

A major Mexican influencer and YouTube star has been arrested for the dissemination of child pornography after uploading a video review of an alleged gang rape circulating on WhatsApp to the video-sharing platform.

Mexican influencer Yoseline Hoffman, better known as YosStop, was arrested last week by agents from the investigative police branch of the attorney general’s office at her home in the Benito Juarez district of Mexico City.

Hoffman, who has 8.7 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, with a further 7 million on Instagram, is one of the biggest Mexican content creators on the platform.

She has been under investigation by Mexican authorities since March, when the FemxFem women’s advocacy collective reported one of her YouTube uploads to the attorney general’s office for breaching numerous child-protection laws.

After a two-month investigation, officials decided to charge Hoffman with possession, dissemination, acquisition, description, and “publicity” of child pornography, and have taken her into pre-trial custody in Mexico City’s Santa Martha Acatitla prison.

The original video, which prosecutors claim was actively shared by Hoffman, featured an assault on a then 16-year-old girl, classified as a minor, whom Hoffman identified and named. The video, taken three years ago at a house party, involves a series of sexual attacks on the victim by a group of five young males, all of whom are now under investigation for sexual offences.

In a since-deleted upload of her own, entitled Pathetic Generation, Hoffman watches and reviews the video on screen – albeit blurred out – while making sarcastic comments about the participants and suggesting that attendees should dress differently if they did not want to attract men’s attention.

There are also several moments in the video where Hoffman complains that YouTube will not allow her to air the uncensored video. The upload lasts for more than 16 minutes, which the YouTube star spends switching between criticising the victim and complaining that she is being preventing from showing the video fully.

The case has generated controversy in Mexico, where Hoffman is a publicly recognisable figure. Lawyers acting on behalf of the victim have accused her of “seeking publicity up to her ribs” .

Despite the backlash over the video, Hoffman, 30, said she was not concerned about the potential legality of it as she did not believe she had done anything wrong. She also claimed she was unaware that the original video itself depicted non-consensual activities.

Hoffman on her YouTube channel (YosStoP/YouTube)

Before her arrest, Hoffman restated her innocence in an Instagram statement. “Unfortunately, I find myself involved in an issue that has nothing to do with me. But I hope that everything is cleared up and resolved soon,” she posted.

The publication of the Pathetic Generation video ultimately led to the victim choosing to forgo her anonymity, file charges against Hoffman and her attackers and to speak out directly against her treatment after reportedly receiving targeted harassment from supporters of the social media star.

This ultimately resulted in the victim being confronted and beaten by a group of Hoffman fans in a public park. This second attack was also filmed and widely disseminated on social media.

As news of the arrest broke, family members, including Hoffman’s mother, appeared on her channel to support her. In a series of videos entitled Communication, her family alleged her innocence and claimed the attorney general’s office had made a mistake in arresting her.

The wider Hoffman family, many of whom are recognisable Mexican actors and personalities, are also embroiled in a series of accusations surrounding sexual abuse. Support for Yoseline within the family is divided, with one member, Daffne Hoffman, accusing her aunt of exploiting the original incident in a vain attempt to increase her online following.

“I hope the victim finds justice and those that are responsible will not go unpunished. Distributing intimate material is a crime, and should be punished,” she said, in a statement released via Instagram.

While Hoffman’s representatives are reportedly attempting to settle the case, the victim has so far refused, citing a desire for justice above a desire for personal gain.

The youths involved in the original attack are subject to separate legal proceedings, as the crime occurred while they were also under age. All the accused claim the video depicts consensual activity, and that the victim had agreed to the acts in exchange for three packets of cigarettes – a claim that led Hoffman to denounce her as a “stupid prostitute”. None of the alleged attackers has yet been detained by police.

Incidents like this are endemic to Mexican society. Earlier this year, the government announced that domestic violence – already a serious issue – had risen by more than five per cent on last year, with sexual assaults rising 30 per cent in the last quarter of 2020 alone.

No date has yet been set for Hoffman to stand trial.