“Sickening” Pipergate documentary is even scarier than smartschoolboy9

If you’re one of millions of viewers who tuned into the smartschoolboy9 saga, you may have noticed a reference to an even scarier documentary on “Pipergate.”

Last week, YouTuber Nick Crowley posted a mini true crime documentary examining the ongoing internet mystery of smartschoolboy9, an Instagram user who appears to be an adult posing as a child and sharing disturbing content on his various channels. 

The deep dive has spread like wildfire across the internet, amassing nearly 4.5 million views and sparking rumors of arrests, police investigations, and local anecdotes – none of which have been confirmed at the time of writing. 

In Crowley’s video, which simply sticks to the facts of what’s happened so far, he provides screenshots of content from smartschoolboy9’s various Instagram accounts, including truth_sticks_11. 

“No matter what they discussed, school uniforms and mini boots were always a talking point,” he says. “Which adds confirmation to something that is already becoming apparent: this is fetish content.”

The Pipergate rabbit hole is as sinister as it gets

The YouTuber goes on to say it’s “not too unlike the bizarre accounts in the Pipergate rabbit hole.” This is a reference to his chilling 2021 min-doc ‘Pipergate: A YouTube Rabbit Hole’, which centers around the YouTube channel known as ‘Piper Rocks’. 

As explained by Crowley, the account was launched in December 2017 by a person claiming to be a 10-year-old girl named Piper, who would use it to showcase her video editing skills. 

But rather than the innocuous nature of the channel, the edits were “bizarre, violent, and highly perverted, despite Piper being just a kid.” 

Much like smartschoolboy9, as concerned spectators started digging, they found a string of similar YouTube channels connected to each other, all of them featuring the same style of editing, suggestive content related to minors, and crude humor. 

YouTube

What’s more, these channels attracted perverse comments, which “Piper” would respond to. Even though they claimed to be just 10 years old, adults would respond with flirtatious remarks. 

There were plenty of clues to suggest Piper wasn’t who they said they were, not least the disturbing nature of their videos. Then, in March 2018, they shared audio of their voice for the first time, which sounded unnatural, as if it had been pitched up to sound like a child.

What’s more, the channels collectively had been posting up until 2021 and as far back as 10 years ago, further adding proof that they weren’t a minor. 

As concerned spectators started to share the case on various forums, Crowley states the one that took it most seriously was 4chan. So much so that a group was set up solely for the purpose of investigating what they dubbed Pipergate, with online sleuths producing a 33-page report in 2020. 

Where Pipergate differs from the smartschoolboy9 case

In it, they had found emails associated with the Piper Bynes YouTube channel, and when they reverse searched the address, it led to a man named William Glenn Whitaker. 

This is where the case differs from smartschoolboy9 – at least for the time being. Whitaker was a real registered sex offender, having been arrested in 2002 for possession of CP. 

What’s more, that same year it was discovered that he had set up a phony talent agency called Wizard Productions, which he had used to lure in families with the promise of stardom. 

Through this, he would bring children into his home, record them singing and dancing, and promise to send the tapes to higher ups in the music industry, despite having no connections at all. 

As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, he was later released on $5,500 bail, and “had a 13-year history of arrests and convictions for worthless checks.”

Whitaker was able to go on making disturbing and suggestive content online, even using smaller YouTubers who were underage in some of his videos. 

Although the 4Chan investigation suggested he was doing so to distribute content to other predators, this was never proven. Crowley theorizes that he was simply doing so for his own “disgusting, sickening, vile fetish.”

But, he points out, to this day his motives are a mystery and may remain that way forever. Crowley presents a screenshot from the sex offender registry site in Mississippi, the state where he had been living in, which shows that Whitaker died. 

Frankly, it’s one of the most sinister rabbit holes on the internet, showing how predators hide in plain sight and are able to operate online. 

YouTube

Crowley’s deep dive has received thousands of comments, with one even saying, “Smartschoolboy9 brought me back here.”

“As a kid, I never understood why my parents were so strict and protective,” said another. “But now that I’m older, I understand how sick this world truly is.”

A third added, “Those edits are legit some of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen. Way scarier than any horror movie because it’s the manifestation of absolute depravity.”

“Literally everything about this is scary,” commented a fourth. “The clips are disturbing and sickening, the music is unsettling, William and his creepy voice are scary, the mystery of this rabbit hole is frightening, and Nick’s editing is just the cherry on top. Imo this is the scariest Nick Crowley video by far.”

If you’re concerned about the smartschoolboy9 case, tech and legal experts have recommended what’s the best course of action. For more true crime news, learn about the Laci Peterson case, what you need to know about the Menendez brothers ahead of Monster Season 2, what happened to Worst Ex Ever’s Mei and Rosa, and where Hadden Clark is now.