Parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke has been sentenced to between four and 60 years in prison for child abuse. The former influencer faced jail time for mistreating her children.
The former influencer is sentenced to between four and 60 years in prison for abusing her children.
Ruby Franke, aged 42, stood tearfully in court as she received her sentence after previously admitting guilt to the starvation and abuse of her children. Her former business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, aged 54, also faced the same judgment.
The judge ordered both women to serve four consecutive terms, each ranging from one to 15 years, the maximum allowed under Utah law for their respective counts. The exact duration they will spend behind bars will be determined by the state’s parole board.
Franke has a 30-day window to challenge the ruling.
During the court proceedings, Utah prosecutor Eric Clarke painted a grim picture of the conditions Franke’s two children endured, aged nine and 11 at the time. He described their living situation as resembling a “concentration camp-like setting” and labeled Franke as a significant menace to society.
Clarke detailed how the children were routinely deprived of basic necessities like food, water, proper bedding, and any form of amusement.
In an emotional moment in court, Franke expressed regret and apologized to her children, stating, “I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong.” She went on to elaborate, attributing her distorted views to a belief that the world was a malevolent place controlled by corrupt authorities and untrustworthy individuals.
The arrest of Franke and Hildebrandt occurred in August 2023 after Franke’s malnourished 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s residence in Ivins, Utah. The child sought help from a neighbor, seeking food and water, and bore injuries from being bound with rope, according to police records.
The conclusion of her YouTube journey marked the culmination of a lengthy and contentious career. Franke amassed over two million subscribers to her channel, 8 Passengers, which she launched in 2015 during a flourishing period for parenting vloggers. Speaking to a local news outlet, she expressed how filming with her family allowed her to “live in the present and just enjoy the kids.”
Her videos portrayed a typical Mormon suburban family engaged in activities like home-schooling, cooking, eating, and conversing together. However, suspicions among fans arose in 2020 when one of her sons revealed he had been relegated to sleeping on a bean bag for seven months.
Diving into her archives, YouTube viewers uncovered other troubling and controversial practices employed by Franke. These included instances of withholding food, threatening to decapitate a toy stuffed animal, and imposing the punishment of “cancelling” Christmas.
A petition initiated by someone demanding an inquiry garnered thousands of signatures, prompting Utah’s child protection agency to be notified, although no legal action was taken initially. Franke and her husband initially brushed off the criticism, attributing some of it to their clips being taken out of context.
However, the channel’s popularity waned, leading to its deletion in 2022, coinciding with Franke and her husband’s separation.
Subsequently, Franke began appearing in YouTube videos posted by Ms. Hildebrandt, a counselor and life coach, on her platform, ConneXions Classroom. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Franke’s children endured even more severe abuse.
This abuse encompassed tying them up, physically assaulting them, neglecting their basic needs such as food, and compelling them to work outdoors without sunscreen during the summer, resulting in severe sunburn, as per police records.
In a plea agreement, Hildebrandt admitted to either inflicting torture on the children or being aware of the abuse, including the egregious act of forcing one of Franke’s daughters to “jump into a cactus multiple times”.
Franke reportedly told her children that they were “evil and possessed” and needed to “repent”.
Through his attorney, Franke’s ex-husband, Kevin Franke, urged the imposition of the maximum sentence and described the abuse suffered by his children as “horrific and inhumane”.
As parents, we often turn to social media and online platforms for advice, inspiration, and guidance. However, it’s important to tread carefully and discerningly, as recent events have spotlighted the complexity of the online parenting world.
The news of parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke being jailed for child abuse serves as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls and dangers that can be associated with social media influencers. As followers and consumers of content, we must remember to maintain a critical eye and prioritize the well-being of our children above all else.
While online communities can offer valuable support and insight, it’s imperative to exercise caution and prioritize the safety and happiness of our families. Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities of sharing our lives online and ensure that our actions always align with the best interests of our children.
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