Luckily For YouTuber Myka Stauffer, 'Rehoming' Her Adopted Son Isn’t Illegal, Just Horrible

By Maria Sherman | July 1, 2020 | 4:17pm

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Luckily For YouTuber Myka Stauffer, 'Rehoming' Her Adopted Son Isn’t Illegal, Just Horrible

Myka Stauffer, a lifestyle/mommy YouTuber who recently went viral for “rehoming” her adopted son Huxley, a toddler from China with special needs, to his “forever family,” will not face criminal charges. Apparently, referring to your adopted son with language commonly used when fostering an unruly pet isn’t against the law! Ohio’s Delaware County Sheriff’s Office opened and closed an investigation into Huxley’s welfare after receiving numerous requests from concerned parties skeptical of the conditions of Huxley’s re-adoption.

According to BuzzFeed, Huxley seems to be doing alright with his new family. Deputy Susanna Leonard of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office described a meeting with Huxley’s “prospective adoptive parents” on June 9: “When we walked into the office, [Huxley’s] adoptive mother was singing a song to him as he was sitting on her lap smiling,” Leonard said. “[Huxley] appeared to be very happy and well taken care of… [he] seemed very active and showed no signs of any abuse from what I could visually see.” She also said the sheriff’s department performed welfare checks on Stauffer’s four biological children, Kova, Jaka, Radley and Onyx, and interviewed the couple on June 4. They found no signs of abuse.

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Since Stauffer first announced that Huxley was no longer living with her family, critics have accused her of exploiting her son: she monetized YouTube videos documenting her adoption, and her subscriber count skyrocketed after Huxley’s adoption story took over her channel. Some have even accused Stauffer of human trafficking, according to The Hill. Leonard cleared that up, too. “As far as the talk of possible human trafficking against [Huxley], it was determined that the process of his adoption is being conducted legally,” she said.

On Monday, The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Twitter—though no identifiable information is mentioned, the details appear to refer to the Stauffer case, E! reports. “The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office has completed its investigation related to a local adoption process, which has been highly publicized in the news and social media by other interested parties,” it reads. “The case is closed without any charges.”

Last week, a month after posting a vlog detailing her decision to “rehome” Huxley, Stauffer apologized on Instagram, framing her situation like it were any other YouTube controversy resolved with a simple “I’m sorry” and the promise that her fans will soon hear “more from my side of the story.” For months she has been the only side of any story, until now. The only person without a voice in the matter is Huxley and his new adoptive family, who I’m sure care much less about the future of Stauffer’s social media career and much more about keeping the child safe and his privacy secured.

This seems like a logical end to the saga, but I wouldn’t be surprised in Stauffer comes back with another vlog, all in the name of making influencer coin.