Last year, it was reported that a YouTuber by the name of Kanghua Ren was facing up to two years in prison after pulling a prank on a homeless man. Ren, who goes by the name ReSet on the platform, took to the streets of Barcelona to offer several passers-by toothpaste-filled Oreo cookies. After accepting the snack, as well as a €20 note, the homeless man, identified as George L., started vomiting, fearing for his life.
The New York Times reports that the prankster has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for the act. Spanish law dictates sentences under two years for non-violent crimes are usually suspended for first-time offenders, meaning he may not spend one day in jail.
Ren was also ordered to pay €20,000 (about $22,400) to the victim after the court learned he made about €2,000 in ad revenue from the video. After his supporters denounced the action, he attempted to pay the victim's daughter €300 to sway her from pursuing legal action. In addition, he was mandated to shut down all social media platforms for the next five years (he currently has 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube).
Ren, who was born in China but moved to Spain furing his childhood, told the court that the prank was simply a distasteful joke. "I do things to mount a show: People like what is morbid," he said. However, Judge Rosa Aragonés wasn't going for it, saying that he has targeted "easy or vulnerable victims" in previous videos.
ReSet, whose account is still active on the video platform, has switched his content from mindless pranks to Fortnite videos.
