A former family vlogger has been sentenced to the maximum prison term for child abuse.
Ruby Franke, known for her YouTube channel ‘8 Passengers’, received the verdict in court on Tuesday (20 February) along with her business partner and mental health counselor, Jodi Hildebrandt, aged 54.
Both individuals pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in December after being arrested in August last year. The arrests came after one of Franke’s children sought help from neighbors in Ivins, Utah, by fleeing through a window at Hildebrandt’s residence.
The 12-year-old boy was discovered thin, with lacerations, and restrained with duct tape on his ankles and wrists. Subsequently, a search of the family home unveiled that Franke’s other children were also enduring similar maltreatment.
The plea deal exposed the shocking details of the parenting influencer’s offenses. Franke admitted to submerging her son’s head underwater, covering his face with her hands, and assaulting him while wearing boots. Additionally, she and Hildebrandt subjected her son to strenuous physical labor without proper protection from the sun, leading to severe sunburn and dehydration.
During sentencing, Ruby Franke, who once boasted over 2 million YouTube subscribers, broke down in tears. The court learned that she indoctrinated her youngest children, convincing them of their purported ‘evil and possessed’ nature, enforcing a regime akin to a ‘concentration camp’.
Hildebrandt, in her plea agreement, acknowledged her complicity in the abuse or her awareness of its occurrence. She disclosed forcing Franke’s youngest daughter to injure herself by jumping into a cactus repeatedly and walking barefoot on rough terrain until her feet blistered.
Expressing remorse in court, Franke tearfully apologized to her six children, expressing profound regret for causing them harm. She lamented the manipulation that distorted her perception of right and wrong, leading her to perpetrate such atrocities.
Both Franke and Hildebrandt, having pleaded guilty, were sentenced to four terms of 1 to 15 years for each second-degree felony charge of aggravated child abuse. This could result in a combined maximum imprisonment of 60 years, with the sentences to be served consecutively as per Utah law. The parole board will determine the actual duration of their imprisonment at a later stage.
Amidst these legal proceedings, Franke’s ex-husband, Kevin Franke, initiated divorce proceedings and advocated for the harshest possible sentence, condemning her actions as ‘horrific and inhumane’.