YouTube mum facing 60 years for starving own kids in 'concentration camp' home
Disgraced family vlogger Ruby Franke has been sentenced to four sentences of one to 15 years in prison to run consecutively after pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.
It means she faces a potential total prison sentence of four to 60 years, with the board of pardons and parole to determine the length of her sentence at a later date. Franke addressed the court, turning the blame on Hildebrandt, who was set to be sentenced following Franke.
She said: "For the past four years I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion. My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me.
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Ruby Franke appeared in court in Utah today for her sentencing (Law&Crime Network/Youtube)"I was led to believe that this world was an evil place, filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and molest, husbands who refuse to protect, and children who needed to be abused. My choice to believe and behave this paranoia culminated into criminal activity for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability.
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"Jodi Hildebrandt was never my business partner, nor was I ever employed by her. I have never received wages from her or Connexions. Jodi was employed as my son's counsellor in 2019 and in 2020 I paid her to be my mentor.
"It is important to me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without blame, I take full accountability for my choices, and it is my preference that I serve a prison sentence. Thank you to the officers in Santa Clara and the Ivin City Police... You were the angels who came and saved my children."
She went on to thank one officer in particular, saying: "She plucked me out of a situation I didn't know how to get myself out of. And the moment she handcuffed me was the moment I gained my freedom. You were not the controlling ones, I was."
Franke broke down in court as she read out a statement (Law&Crime Network/Youtube)Franke next thanked hospital staff, saying: "Your skill, tenderness, and professionalism helped to heal my children. Jodi and I inflected the injuries, not the hospital."
She continued to thank others, including those involved in the court case and CPS, saying: "You've gathered my children under your wing and offered them love, compassion, encouragement... You were not the ones who were doing the brainwashing."
Next on the list to thank was her church and her spiritual leaders "for reminding me of the Lord's love for the lost. So much pain and suffering would have been avoided had I heeded your counsel. I was the one who was deceived, not you."
Franke even carried on to thank prosecutors, adding: "My charges are just, they offer safety to my family, accountability to the public and they did show mercy to me."
Franke apologises to friends and family
She apologised to her friends for "letting you down", saying their association with her called their "innocence into question". She then spoke to ex-husband Kevin's family, saying: "You all saw the warning signs long before I did, and you did what you could. You wanted to help but I pushed you away."
Addressing her own family she spoke to her parents saying: "I have been utterly wretched to you. You have offered me unconditional love and for that I have offered you unconditional contempt". She apologised to her siblings and their families, claiming that her decision to "roll around in a pig sty" dragged them "through the mud in public". Adding: "Your capacity to love is unprecedented."
Franke referred to her children as her 'six little chicks' (Instagram)Ex-husband Kevine Franke was in the court throughout the sentencing and could be seen crying in his seat. Franke turned her attention to him next, saying: "My husband of more than 23 years, you are the love of my life, I'm so sorry to leave to you to finish what we both started together. The ending of my marriage is a tragedy.
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"To my babies, my six little chicks, you're a part of me. I was the momma duck who was consistently waddling you to safety. I can see now, over the past four years, I was in a deep undercurrent that led us to danger, led you to darkness knowingly. I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong.
"I would do anything in this world for you. My willingness to sacrifice all for you was masterfully manipulated... I took from you all that was soft, and safe, and good. I took from you, your mother. How terrifying this must have been for you. I will never stop crying for hurting your tender souls. You're so precious to me. I'm sorry."
Children abused in 'concentration camp-like setting'
As sentencing began, prosecutors asked the judge to honour the plea agreement which will see Franke serving time in prison for the charges. They said: "She committed horrible acts of child abuse... in a concentration camp-like setting. The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment. They were isolated from others and were hidden when people came to visit the house."
Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in December (Utah Fifth District Court)Franke's defence attorney claimed she was indoctrinated by partner Jodi Hildebrandt, saying she had unwrapped lawyers of deceit and deception forced upon her by Hildebrandt. Her defence added she is committed to doing the work, saying: "She is a delightful and respectful person."
The Mormon mommy YouTuber documented the lives of herself, her husband Kevin and their six children on their '8 Passengers' YouTube channel, which had more than 2 million subscribers before being taken down. In August last year, Franke, 42, was arrested on six counts of child abuse after her 12-year-old son escaped business partner Jodi Hildebrandt's home in Ivins, Utah.
The young boy, described by authorities as "emaciated" ran to a neighbour's home for help, asking for food and water. He was found to have markings on his wrists and ankles that indicated he had been restrained with tape, as well as wounds across his body.
After police arrived on the scene, they discovered her 10-year-old daughter at Hildebrandt's, 54, home in a similar malnourished condition. Following her arrest, four children were taken into the care of the Utah Department of Child and Family Services.
Shari Franke, 20, the eldest child of disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke (sharilfranke/Instagram)
Shari Franke revealed she's dealt with serious mental health struggles following her mother's arrest (sharilfranke/Instagram)Franke's eldest daughter, Shari, took to social media to share her relief at her mother's arrest, captioning a photo of cops outside the home "finally". In another post, she shared: "Today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up".
Chilling details of abuse emerge
Throughout the court case, harrowing details emerged of the horrors Franke's children endured between May and August 2023. This included starving two of her children, denying them water while having them work outdoors in the glare of the sun on a hot day with no shoes, and convincing them that they were possessed and evil and had to repent for their sins.
Franke and Hildebrandt were each charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony that carries a maximum of 15 years in the Utah State Prison. In December, they each pleaded guilty to four counts, with Hildebrandt having two counts dismissed as part of her plea deal while Franke pleaded not guilty to two counts. The pair agreed to serve prison time as part of their plea deal, with the judge deciding the sentence in Washington County, Utah, today.
Franke faced sentencing after pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse (8 Passengers/Instagram)According to the plea agreement, Franke's son, who was between 11 and 12 at the time, was "forced to do physical tests for hours and days at a time" as well as "outside labour without shoes and in the summer heat." The young boy was forced to "remain outside at all hours of the day and night for extended periods of time."
As a result, he suffered "repeated and serious sunburns" and was left with "blistered" skin. When the boy tried to sneak a sip of water, he was "punished". After he tried to flee in July, the boy was regularly bound, which included being "tied" to Franke and to weights. He was bound with handcuffs on his wrists and ankles, and at times, "ropes were used to tie the two sets of handcuffs together so that his arms and lower legs were lifted off the ground".
This left the boy with injuries to his wrists and ankles where "the handcuffs cut through the skin and damaged the muscle/tissue". Franke is said to have used "homoeopathic remedies" and covered the wounds with duct tape, while it was alleged Hildebrandt used a mixture of cayenne pepper and honey to coat the wounds.
Franke with husband Kevin, who was reportedly estranged at the time the abuse was carried out (Instagram)On top of all of this, the young boy was kicked by Franke when she was wearing boots, had his head held "underwater" and oxygen cut off as Franke placed her "hands over his mouth and nose". The young girl, who was around nine years old at the time of the abuse, was subjected to similar gruelling punishments.
She, too, was forced to do physical tasks, remain outside and was denied food and water. She was also "forced to run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time" which left her with wounds to her feet. But it wasn't just "physical torture" Franke inflicted on the children.
They were also repeatedly isolated, with no forms of entertainment, electronic or otherwise. Franke and another adult "regularly sought to indoctrinate" the children to convince them they were "evil and possessed". The kids were told they needed to "willingly be obedient to avoid punishments" and "that the punishments were necessary to repent". The young boy was also told "everything that was being done to him were acts of love".
The young girl was left with "severe emotional harm" having been "repeatedly told she was evil and possessed" and that the punishments were "necessary" and being carried out "in order to help her". It got to the point, the girl was "convinced she was evil and needed to go through these things in order to repent."
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