Madison Anidjar
Staff Writer
Former family Youtuber Ruby Franke was sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison for aggravated child abuse on Feb. 20. Franke pleaded guilty to four counts related to separate incidents of abuse, each carrying a consecutive sentence of 1-15 years. However, Utah law limits consecutive sentences to a maximum of 30 years.
Franke was first arrested in early September 2023 after her then 12-year-old son ran to a neighbor’s house to ask for help. The neighbor told 911 operators that the child was injured, emaciated and had duct tape on his wrists and ankles.
At the nearby home of Franke’s business partner, Jodie Hildebrandt, a 10-year-old child was found in similar conditions, and the four youngest Franke children were taken into state custody.
Franke and Hildebrandt were each charged with six counts of felony child abuse against the two young children.
Franke became a public figure after her family vlogging channel, 8passengers, rose to popularity. Over the years, Franke’s channel gained more than 2.6 million subscribers, but not without its fair share of criticism.
Franke’s authoritarian parenting style concerned many onlookers, leading to a 2020 Change.org petition asking Utah Child Protective Services to investigate the family.
Before her arrest, Hildebrandt was a mental health counselor and creator of ConneXions Classroom, an online mental health curriculum.
In 2019, Franke hired Hildebrandt to counsel one of her sons. Hildebrandt would soon become a mentor to Franke and the two teamed up to create the @moms_of_truth Instagram page and ConneXions Youtube channel. On their various accounts, the pair gave out parenting and mental health advice from a religious perspective.
Franke reached a plea deal with the prosecution in December 2023 and two of six charges were dropped after she agreed to testify against Hildebrandt.
In her plea agreement, Franke admitted to various shocking incidents of physical and emotional abuse including holding a child’s head underwater, handcuffing their hands and feet, forcing her children to work long hours in the heat without sunblock, water or footwear, and convincing a child that his “punishments” were because he was “evil and possessed.”
Hidebrant soon reached her own plea deal. Without a chance to speak at Hildebrandt’s trial, Fanke read a lengthy statement at her sentencing expressing regret and describing the cult-like mentality that Hildebrandt drew her into.
“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 lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need [to be] abused,” said Franke. “My choice to believe and behave this paranoia culminated into criminal activity, for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability.”
Franke and Hidebrandt received identical sentences and each woman must serve between four and 30 years, with the exact amount to be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
