A Utah mother, known for her stringent parenting advice on YouTube, has been sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison for child abuse.
Ruby Franke, 42, tearfully apologized in court alongside her former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, 54, both receiving identical sentences of four terms ranging from one to 15 years each, to be served consecutively.
The actual time served will be determined by the state’s parole board.
In court, Utah prosecutor Eric Clarke described the dire conditions in which Franke’s children, aged nine and 11 at the time, lived, labeling Franke as a significant threat to the community.
He detailed that the children were routinely deprived of basic necessities such as food, water, and proper bedding.
Franke, visibly emotional, expressed remorse to her children, stating, “I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong.”
She claimed to have been misled into thinking the world was a malevolent place.
The charges stemmed from an incident in August 2023 when Franke’s malnourished 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah, seeking help from a neighbor.
The child had injuries from being tied up with rope.
This led to the arrest of Franke and Hildebrandt, marking the end of Franke’s controversial YouTube career.
Franke gained fame through her channel “8 Passengers,” which amassed over two million subscribers by showcasing her Mormon suburban family’s daily life.
However, suspicions arose among viewers in 2020 when disturbing details emerged, such as one of her sons being forced to sleep on a bean bag for months.
Concerns intensified with allegations of abusive behavior, including withholding food and inflicting punishment.
Though initially dismissing criticism, Franke’s popularity dwindled, and her channel was deleted in 2022, coinciding with her separation from her husband.
She then appeared in videos on Hildebrandt’s YouTube channel, “ConneXions Classroom,” while behind the scenes, her children endured severe mistreatment.
In a plea agreement, Hildebrandt admitted to either participating in the abuse or being aware of it.
Franke’s ex-husband, Kevin Franke, urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, describing the abuse suffered by his children as “horrific and inhumane.”
Source-BBC
