YouTube Star Brooke Houts Will Not Face Criminal Animal Abuse Charges

YouTuber Brooke Houts will not face criminal charges after she accidentally uploaded a video showing herself slapping, shoving, and spitting on her Doberman Sphinx.. The news comes as the Los Angeles Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Task Force wraps up its investigation into the incident and has determined that there is not enough evidence to support criminal charges, sources told TMZ.

Additionally, Houts will be allowed to maintain custody of Sphinx. The sources note that should new evidence arise, the case could be reopened and criminal charges could be placed against Houts, whose YouTube channel boasts more than 300,000 subscribers.

The LAPD had confirmed in early August that they had opened an investigation into the incident after they “received several direct messages related to a YouTube video which people believe shows animal abuse.”

“LAPD Animal Cruelty Task Force has received numerous complaints related to the same video and are looking into the matter,” they confirmed in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.

It was later revealed that Houts had been allowed to keep custody of Sphinx throughout the investigation, as investigators did not feel as though the dog was in any immediate danger.

The controversy, as well as the investigation, had been sparked after Houts in August uploaded an unedited video titled “Plastic wrap prank on my Doberman,” in which she could be seen yelling at and slapping Sphinx several times. At one point in the video, she even spit on Sphinx.

After the video, which was later taken down, sparked fierce backlash, Houts spoke out, writing on Twitter that she wanted “to clarify that I am NOT a dog abuser or animal abuser in any way, shape, or form… My dog, in no way, shape, or form was hurt by any action that I displayed in this video.”

“Anyone who knows me personally knows I have an immense love for animals, including my own,” she concluded. “I would never do anything to purposefully physically or mentally harm any animal. Again, I should NOT have yelled at him or have been as physically aggressive as I was, and I’m fully aware of that. He was not hurt, nor has he ever been purposefully hurt by me. I know I’ll be in many future situations where he’s being physical, but I will not respond this way again.”

Among those to speak out against Houts was Logan Paul, who has faced his fair share of controversy as well. PETA also addressed the controversy, urging YouTube to “enact a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who posts videos or photos of themselves harming animals.”