Ruby Franke, a popular influencer American parent who gave advice to more than two million followers of her YouTube channel on how to raise children, was sentenced to serve, consecutively, a sentence of up to 60 years in prison for four crimes of aggravated child abuse minors. Thus, Franke may have to serve up to 30 years in prison, the maximum legal term for consecutive sentences in the state of Utah.
The same sentence, of up to 15 years for each crime, was read, this Tuesday, by Judge John Walton to Jodi Hildebrandt, the woman with whom he partnered to give advice to mothers and fathers on social media.
Both Hildebrandt and Franke had signed an agreement in which they pleaded guilty to four crimes of violence against their daughter’s children. vlogger, who, according to prosecutor Eric Clarke, were “regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in and practically all forms of entertainment”. Furthermore, he recalled, “they were beaten”, with two of the minors having to be hospitalized after the abuse was revealed.
In the closing arguments, Clarke also highlighted how the children were led to believe that the abuse was their fault, something that Franke’s partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, did not shy away from insinuating after the arrests. “In telephone conversations, which will be provided in full to the Pardons and Parole Board — and which she knew were recorded —, [Hildebrandt] has repeatedly stated that she is the victim and that the children are the criminals,” Clarke said.
Judge John Walton also did not mince his words when he addressed Jodi Hildebrandt: “This circumstance is tragic; to a large extent, it was created by itself”, he assessed, quoted by USA Today. And the analysis of the case continued: “Adults are supposed to protect children. Adults with specialized training, in particular, must protect children. It wasn’t what [Jodi] did in this case. In this case, he terrorized children and the results were tragic.”
Walton added: “What happened to these children and the philosophy in dealing with them seems frankly disconnected from reality or any objective standard of decency or even common sense.”
Before, Hildebrandt addressed the court to regret what had happened: “I sincerely love these children”, said the coach parental over Ruby Franke’s children. “I want them to heal physically and emotionally. One of the reasons I didn’t go to trial was because I didn’t want them to emotionally relive the experience that had been harmful to them. My hope and prayers are that they heal and move on to have beautiful lives.”
Ruby Franke cried while apologizing to her children. “I (…) believed that dark was light and that right was wrong,” she explained. “I would do anything in this world for you. I have taken from you everything that was smooth and safe and good.”
To Judge John Walton, Franke justified, implying that he had been under the influence of Hildebrandt: “Over the past four years, I have chosen to follow advice and guidance that led me into a dark delusion.”
It will now be up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine how long Franke and Hildebrandt will spend in prison, ahead of NBC.
Who is Ruby Franke?
Ruby Franke, 42, became known to Americans as influencer parental, having gained fame for defending severe methods for educating his children, the same ones he applied to his offspring of six: Shari, now 20 years old; Chad, 19; Abby, 16; Julie, 14; Russell, 12; and Eve, nine. Some of the moments shared aroused suspicions that Franke’s strictness was, in fact, a form of aggression.
And, after some suspicious episodes, a petition would end up triggering child protection services. Ruby, supported at the time by the children’s father, Kevin Franke, justified the fact that the moments had been taken out of context. “A reasonable person wouldn’t have seen that video and thought, ‘She’s a child abuser,’” commented Ruby Franke. But it did not convince the majority of the public, which would result, first, in a reduction in content, and, finally, in the elimination of the channel.
The influencer did not give up, however, on showing the world her way of raising six children, having created a new channel in June 2022. And this time, with ConneXions, she was not alone; Beside her was her business partner, Jodi Nan Hildebrandt. Together they also created an Instagram account, Moms of Truth, in which they advised mothers and fathers on the best ways to educate and live with children.
The abuses
On August 30th, the 12-year-old son of influencer He escaped from Hildebrandt’s house and knocked on a neighbor’s door for help. The minor, who immediately asked for water and food, showed signs of abuse, which led the neighbor to call 911 (the number that corresponds to the national number 112).
At the hospital, the boy, Russell, was diagnosed with malnutrition and deep lacerations were observed from being tied up with ropes and tape. When the authorities were called, Eve, the youngest of Ruby Franke’s offspring, aged nine, was found malnourished and with injuries — both children were at Hildebrandt’s house.
Minors Abby, 16, and Julie, 14, were taken by the North American child and youth protection services; Shari, 20, and Chad, 18, expressed relief that their brothers were safe. “Justice be done”, wrote the eldest daughter in the stories of Instagram, cited by site of news HITC.
Subsequently, the two women were detained and police findings revealed a difficult-to-comprehend scenario, with medical gauze “arranged alongside cayenne pepper and honey paste.” Other items were also seized during the searches, such as two bowls with a red liquid and metal spoons, three ropes, two handcuffs, documents, post-itsdiaries, tape, cling film, bandages, a notebook, smartphones and portable computers.