Jailed sex offenders are earning an income thanks to YouTube placing adverts for big-name brands on their videos.
Adverts for Ford, TSB, Netflix and Philips all appeared on content posted by Larry Nassar, a former US gymnastics team doctor who was sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography.
According to the conditions of the streaming site, 55 per cent of ad revenue is kept by the content creator.
An investigation by The Times has revealed that this likely means Nassar has been provided a significant revenue.
The doctor also pleaded guilty to seven charges of sexual assault in November — including three on girls under the age of 13
Larry Nassar’s videos mostly feature him toughing young gymnasts for the purpose of ‘medical examinations’
The doctor also pleaded guilty to seven charges of sexual assault in November — including three on girls under the age of 13.
More than 140 women, including Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, have accused him of abuse.
Nassar is to be sentenced for these crimes next month.
‘He abused my trust, he abused my body, and he left scars on my psyche that may never go away,’ McKayla Maroney – another Olympian – told the sentencing court.
‘He needs to be behind bars so he will never prey upon another child.;
Accusations against Nassar received extensive coverage after he was removed from his post in 2015.
More than 140 women, including Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, have accused him of abuse
But YouTube, which is owned by Google, has retained his channel and continued placing adverts in his videos.
The mostly feature him toughing young gymnasts for the purpose of ‘medical examinations’.
One shows a young girl’s bottom being manipulated by Nassar to demonstrate different muscles.
Dr. Larry Nassar, 54, appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Michigan
Other brands that features on Nassar’s channel included New Statesman, Lavazza and the Olympic Channel.
Nassar is alleged to have abused his young victims while giving them massages and medical treatments — similar to those show in his YouTube videos.
The sex offender uploaded a total of 133 videos, which have been viewed 639,240 times, generating up to £867 a year.
It comes after YouTube was criticised for failing to properly moderate the service.
This week, seven of Nassar’s videos were flagged as inappropriate by one of YouTube’s ‘trusted flaggers’, whose role is to police the site.
But Nassar’s videos remained online even after the flagger highlighted his convictions.
Other adverts for well-known brands were also said to have appeared on videos that apparently feature convicted sex offender Jeff Williams, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
They included adverts for Center Parcs, Spotify, Brompton Bicycles ad the National Citizen Service (NCS).
The trusted flagger then sent a file of evidence pertaining to Williams to senior member of staff at YouTube in October — but the videos remained on the site.
The NCS last night said they had discontinued its YouTube advertising, adding that the delivery of its message in a safe and appropriate environment was ‘of the utmost importance’.
Breakdown: He broke down in tears while he confessed to ‘sexually penetrating’ his victims and will face 25 to 40 years in prison for each count
TSB said it had taken immediate action and was shocked to see its adverts had been placed inappropriately.
Ford demanded that its adverts be removed immediately.
Lavazza said their advert was a ‘rogue placement and not in line with their coffee-associated brief’.
Philips said they will investigate and Center Parcs said they would take steps to address the issue.
A spokesman for YouTube told The Times: ‘We take child safety on YouTube very seriously. When we find behaviour on YouTube like uploading, commenting or engaging in any type of activity that targets or sexualises minors, we take action and terminate user accounts.’
YouTube also said that it works closely with leading child safety organisations to report illegal activity to law enforcement.