DISGRACED YouTuber Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt have been sentenced up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse.
Franke, 42, and Hildebrandt turned against each other in dramatic statements before hearing their fates in the southern Utah courtroom on Tuesday.
YouTube/LawAndCrimeRuby Franke, seen in a St. George, Utah, courtroom, has been sentenced to 4 to 30 years in prison[/caption]
Franke, seen smiling with her estranged husband Kevin Franke and their children, had a successful YouTube channel called 8 Passengers before she was arrested8 Passengers
Franke said in court Tuesday that her religious beliefs were twisted by her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt when she was abusing her childrenYouTube/LawAndCrime
YouTube/LawAndCrimeHildebrandt, who gave a brief statement, was slammed with the same sentence[/caption]
Hildebrandt and Franke were Latter-day Saints social media influencers who paired up to give parenting advice on YouTube.
They met after Franke amassed over 2.5 million subscribers on her YouTube channel 8 Passengers where she gave an inside look at her life as a mom of six.
On August 30, 2023, the pair was arrested after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped Hildebrandt’s home in St. George, about two hours northeast of Las Vegas, and asked neighbors for help.
The little boy was emaciated, and had lacerations on his body with duct tape wrapped around his ankles and wrists, St. George police said in a search warrant.
The arrest came after former fans started a petition to investigate Franke after notice signs of abuse in her videos.
MOM SENTENCED
Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced for their sick crimes in a Washington County courtroom on Thursday.
Dressed in a white and blue striped prison jumpsuit, Franke gave a shocking statement where she turned the blame on Hildebrandt, who worked with Franke for her counseling business ConneXions.
Franke’s defense attorney said his client had “unwrapped the layers of deceit and deception” forced upon her by Hildebrandt before the hearing, video filmed by Law & Crime reveals.
The mom went on to give an emotional statement where she said, “I was led to believe this world was an evil place filled with church leaders that lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect, and children who need abuse.
“My choice to believe this led to criminal behavior.”
She then said she never made money from her and Hildebrandt’s videos, and that the two weren’t business partners.
“My choice to live in fear of the world has created a blind spot for me,” she said.
“Watching my community respond to my charges with justice, mercy, grace and love… this world is full of really great people.
“I’m sorry for twisting God’s words and distorting his doctrine.”
“I am willing to serve a prison sentence as long as it takes to unravel what I believed.”
Franke told her estranged husband Kevin Franke that she loved him, and he started sobbing in the courtroom.
She thanked law enforcement for “saving her children” and broke down while addressing former spiritual leaders, saying “I was the one deceived, not you.”
After Franke concluded her statement, the judge announced his sentence and said she would serve her years consecutively.
STATEMENT SLAMMED
Hildebrandt’s attorney countered Franke’s statement and said his client, “is not the person she was portrayed to be.”
In a brief statement, she said, “I sincerely love these children. I desire for them to heal physically and emotionally.
“One of the reasons I did not want to go to trial, is that I did not want them to emotionally relive the experience which has been detrimental to them.
“My hope and prayer is that they will heal and move forward to have beautiful lives.”
Judge John J. Walton slammed Hildebrandt after the statement and said she was mainly responsible for the crimes.
“This circumstance is tragic. It’s largely, of course, by your making,” Judge Walton said.
“Adults are supposed to protect children. Adults with specialized children in particular are supposed to protect children. You didn’t do that in this case.”
Judge Walton hit Hildebrandt with the same sentence as Franke.
HORROR ABUSE
As part of their plea deal, Hildebrandt and Franke admitted to inflicting horrific punishment on Franke’s young children.
Hildebrandt said that she would either physically force or coerce Franke’s youngest daughter, who was nine at the time, to jump into a cactus.
She also made the little girl run barefoot on dirt roads and would keep her isolated from others.
Both of Franke’s youngest children were found with painful sunburns that officials found were from forced labor without proper protection.
The two women admitted to telling the youngest children that they were demon-possessed and that they were only punishing them out of love.
And Franke said that she had kicked her son, and at one point, held his head under water while covering his mouth and nose.
After the sentencing, Chief Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum released a statement commending the judge’s decision.
“In nearly 30 years of prosecuting crimes, Franke and Hildebrandt’s actions amount to some of the worst child abuse I have seen,” he said.
“For over three months, the two children, ages 9 and 11-12, were held by their mother and her business partner in a concentration-camp setting.
“They were beaten, and the 12-year-old was bound hand and foot after he attempted to run away.
“The children were also emotionally abused to the extent that they came to believe they deserved the physical abuse.”
Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said that Franke showed significant remorse since she was arrested, but that Hildebrandt still “saw herself as the victim.”
“She views the devil, as well as the children, as the perpetrators,” Clarke said.
She even compared herself to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, according to the prosecutor.
“Child abuse is never appropriate,” Clarke said.
“In these cases, the defendants were careful to hide the abuse from their personal and online friends.
“No one should treat children in a way that must be hidden from others.”
Judge John J. Walton slammed Hildebrandt for abusing children instead of protecting themYouTube/LawAndCrime
YouTube/ConneXionsFranke also blamed her former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt for affecting her views[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
