“Vile” true crime documentary from smartschoolboy9 creator is even horrifying to listen to

The YouTuber behind the viral smartschoolboy9 story shared another documentary on a case that’s so terrifying, it’s even too scary to listen to. 

Warning: some may find this content distressing. 

That’s not to invalidate your fear. The smartschoolboy9 rabbit hole is undoubtedly unsettling, focusing on an adult who’s been posing as a child across various social media accounts and sharing disturbing content on his channels. 

Since Nick Crowley uploaded his deep dive into the case, it’s earned more than 5.8 million views at the time of writing. But this is far from the first rabbit hole he’s taken us down. 

More recently than his Pipergate doc, Crowley explored the sinister world of Joy Junction’s Ronald William Brown.

For anyone familiar with the case, that name will have likely sent a chill down your spine. 

Brown was a ventriloquist puppeteer on a television program called Joy Junction, a Christian-themed TV show launched in 1979 that aimed at teaching children moral values through Bible stories and faith-based lessons. 

Even before the crimes of Brown came to light, his appearance on the show proved polarizing due to the double act he performed with his ventriloquist puppet, Marty. 

As Crowley explains, many children watching at home found Marty to be “horrifying,” with some claiming that the doll gave them nightmares. 

What no one realized were the true horrors going on behind the scenes. Brown, along with more than 40 other predators, were captured as part of a child porn sting that spanned two continents.

The conversations between Brown and another perpetrator named Michael D. Arnett were shared online, and the worst part of them isn’t even the sexual abuse. In their discussions, they would describe in graphic detail torturing, mutilating, and eating minors.

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What’s even more alarming is that Brown’s entire career centered around him interacting with kids – in between filming for Joy Junction, he would travel around the country as a children’s entertainer. 

In some of the conversations, he would even discuss what he would do to a young boy he knew from his local church. 

As well as describing scenarios where they would torture and cook children, Brown and Arnett would revel in the fear it would cause the victims. 

“Wet with tears. So scared and helpless,” said Arnett in one exchange, to which Brown replied, “Probably trembling, trying to imagine his body being cut up and eaten.”

The vile nature of these messages are what make this up there as one of the most disturbing cases possible, so much so that Crowley would only share excerpts, writing, “I don’t feel comfortable reading them out loud.”

The Sword & Scale podcast’s Episode 20 focuses on the case too, and it’s so messed up even seasoned true crime fans found it hard to listen to. 

Following Brown’s arrest in 2012, the Tampa Bay Times reported that when the US Department of Homeland Security agents searched his home, they found lewd images of minors bound and gagged, a flier for a missing child, and “images of children that appear to be deceased.”

Despite the obvious danger he posed to society, Brown tried to argue that “it was just a fantasy and he could never and would never hurt anyone.” 

However, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of possessing child pornography and conspiring to kidnap a child. According to prison records, he died in 2020. 

As for Joy Junction, it’s considered to be a “lost media.” After the Brown revelations came to light, it appears to have been wiped from existence for obvious reasons. “No official copies have been published by its creators,” says Crowley. 

But the case of Brown certainly hasn’t been forgotten, with the YouTuber’s documentary being viewed more than 2.2 million times since it dropped in June. 

“I clicked on this video expecting the worst and was STILL shocked,” wrote one viewer, while another said, “Every detail of this story feels like a checklist for a bad creepypasta, insane to think it’s real…”

A third added, “It never ceases to blow my mind that these types of people actually exist. Imagine all the ones who are never caught.”

For more true crime news, take a look at the documentaries coming to streaming this month. Also, read about what to do if you’re concerned about the smartschoolboy9 case.