Ruby Franke, a mother of six from Utah, who once dispensed parenting tips to a large audience on a well-liked YouTube channel, expressed a sorrowful apology to her children for subjecting them to physical and emotional harm. This confession came prior to a judge pronouncing a verdict that could potentially incarcerate her for a substantial number of years, possibly even decades.
A judge has set a prison sentence of up to 60 years for parenting advice blogger Ruby Franke after she admitted to physically and emotionally abusing her childrenhttps://t.co/9AM3bjomjU
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) February 21, 2024
Additionally, Franke asserted that she had been “exploited” by her YouTube collaborator and business associate.
Franke communicated to the judge that she wouldn’t contest a reduced sentence. She then took a moment to express her gratitude towards the local law enforcement, medical professionals, and social workers, referring to them as “angels”. These individuals intervened to protect her children during a period when she claims she was manipulated by her business associate, Jodi Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt, a mental health counselor from Utah, was initially engaged to assist Franke’s youngest child before becoming her business partner. Hildebrandt was also handed down four successive prison terms, each ranging from one to 15 years.
A #Utah judge sentenced #JodiHildebrant to one to 15 years in prison Tuesday. Hildebrandt and her business partner, YouTube mom Ruby Franke, pleaded guilty to numerous counts of child abuse.
"You terrorized children," the judge said to Hildebrandt before sending her to prison. pic.twitter.com/7d1dHlgvhT
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) February 20, 2024
Nonetheless, due to a specific law in Utah that limits the length of consecutive sentences, the women will serve a maximum of 30 years in prison. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will evaluate their conduct during imprisonment and decide the actual duration each will remain incarcerated.
“Endless tears I shed for the pain inflicted upon your delicate hearts,” Franke expressed to her children, absent at the sentencing in St. George. “My readiness to give up everything for you was skillfully twisted into something horrendous. I stripped away from you all that was gentle, secure, and virtuous.”
Franke, aged 42, and Hildebrandt, aged 54, each admitted guilt to four charges of severe child abuse for persuading Franke’s two youngest offspring that they were wicked, possessed, and required punishment for atonement. The duo was apprehended at Hildebrandt’s residence in the southern city of Ivins, Utah, the previous August. This followed an incident where Franke’s 12-year-old son managed to flee through a window and implored a neighbor to alert the authorities, as per a 911 call disclosed by the St. George Police Department.
The lad was frail, his body adorned with injuries and his ankles and wrists bound with duct tape. He informed the investigators that Hildebrandt had tied ropes around his extremities and used a concoction of cayenne pepper and honey to tend to his wounds, as stated in a search warrant.
State prosecutor Eric Clarke likened the conditions in which Franke and Hildebrandt kept the children to a “setting reminiscent of concentration camps,” a phrase that is predominantly linked with the camps set up by the Nazis. These camps were notorious for their brutal treatment of Jewish individuals and other minority groups across Europe during the Holocaust, including starvation, overwork, and execution.
While Franke has exhibited regret and collaborated with lawyers, Clarke stated, Hildebrandt has not done so and persists in attributing fault to the children. During the broadcasted hearing, Hildebrandt’s lawyer, Douglas Terry, asserted that his client is not the unrepentant woman she has been depicted as and acknowledges accountability for her deeds.
In a concise remark, Hildebrandt refrained from expressing regret, yet affirmed her affection for the children and her desire for their recovery. She brought to Judge John J. Walton’s attention that her acceptance of the plea deal, in lieu of proceeding to trial, was driven by her wish to spare the children from re-experiencing their distress through testimony.
In December, the mental health counselor admitted guilt to four out of her six charges of severe child abuse, with two counts being dropped as a component of her plea agreement. Similarly, Franke confessed to four out of her six accusations, while pleading not guilty to the remaining two.
Franke, along with her husband Kevin Franke, initiated “8 Passengers” on YouTube in 2015, garnering a substantial audience as they chronicled their journey of bringing up six kids. Subsequently, she collaborated with Hildebrandt’s therapy firm, ConneXions Classroom, where she contributed by conducting parenting workshops, starting an additional YouTube channel, and posting material on their joint Instagram handle, “Moms of Truth.”
In her plea agreement, Franke confessed to physically abusing her son, which included kicking him while she was wearing boots and submerging his head underwater. She also admitted to covering his mouth and nose with her hands. Both Franke and Hildebrandt acknowledged that they subjected the boy to prolonged physical labor in the scorching summer heat, with minimal food and water. This led to the boy suffering from dehydration and severe sunburns. They justified their actions by telling the boy that all these were acts of love, as per the plea agreements.
Hildebrandt also has admitted to coercing Franke’s youngest daughter, who was 9 at the time, to jump into a cactus multiple times and run barefoot on dirt roads until her feet blistered. The boy and girl were taken to the hospital after the arrests and placed in state custody along with two more of their siblings.
Before her arrest in 2023, Ruby Franke was a contentious personality in the realm of parent vlogging. The Franke parents faced online backlash for some of their parenting choices, such as prohibiting their eldest son from his room for a seven-month period as a consequence of a prank on his younger sibling. In separate videos, Ruby Franke discussed her refusal to deliver lunch to a kindergartener who had left it at home, and her threat to decapitate a young girl’s plush toy as a penalty for her cutting objects in the house.
The YouTube channel “8 Passengers” has come to a conclusion, and Kevin Franke has initiated divorce proceedings.
ALSO READ | 70s Show Actor Danny Masterson transferred out of maximum security prison
