The vlogger and mother of six was arrested Aug. 30 in Utah and charged with six felony counts of child abuse.
Ruby Franke, a Utah mother of six who branded herself as a parenting expert and garnered millions of subscribers to her now-defunct YouTube channel"8 Passengers," was arrested in southern Utah on child abuse charges.
While Franke, 41, and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, 54, were initially arrested on two counts of aggravated child abuse, the charges were later upgraded to six felony counts of aggravated child abuse. They were arrested at Hildebrandt's home in Irvins, Utah, about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City. The Frankes live in Springville, Utah, about four hours north of Irvins.According to the Santa Clara-Irvins Public Safety Department, the arrests on Aug. 30 came after the department got a call about a juvenile in need of help. That juvenile turned out to be one of Franke's 12-year-old sons, who police say escaped Hildebrandt's home by climbing out of a window and running to a neighbor's home for help. Police say the boy showed up to the neighbor's home with duct tape around his ankles and wrists and he was also"emaciated and malnourished." According to multiple reports, the neighbor called 911 and said the boy told him that"what's happened to him is his fault." While waiting for paramedics and police to arrive, the neighbor gave the juvenile food and water. The department said its officers eventually were led to Hildebrandt's home, where another child -- a 10-year-old girl -- was found in a similar condition. The girl turned out to be Franke's child as well. The juvenile boy and 10-year-old girl were then taken to a hospital, while two of Franke's other children were taken by the Department of Child and Family Services.Franke and Hildebrandt made a virtual court appearance on Sept. 8, which was delayed for nearly an hour after more than 1,300 people -- mostly TikTokers -- tried logging on to watch the virtual hearing. According to multiple reports, the women appeared via video from jail wearing orange jumpsuits. They did not enter a plea., Franke and Hildebrandt are accused of causing or permitting serious injury to the children in three different ways -- through a combination of physical injuries or torture; through starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life; and by causing severe emotional harm. The judge ordered the women to remain behind bars without bail. Their next hearing is set for Sept. 21.The St. George Police Department released the eerie 911 call, in which a neighbor appeared emotional while talking to the dispatcher.He added,"We know there's been problems at this neighbor's house. He's emaciated. He's got tape around his legs. He's hungry and he's thirsty.""He asked us to call the police. So, he's very afraid," the neighbor says before taking deep breaths."This kid has obviously been [breathing hard] ... I think he's been, I think he's been detained. He's obviously covered in wounds. We need the cops here as soon as possible." First responders, via radio communication, then described the boy's wounds, saying he has"sores" all over his body. Prosecutors allege Franke and Hildebrandt either caused or allowed someone to torture the two starving children. They further allege Franke was seen filming in the home days before the arrest, meaning she had to have been aware of the children's deteriorating condition.Franke built a strong following on social media due to her so-called strict and no-nonsense parenting approach. But she's come under fire multiple times. In one TikTok video she posted, Franke says her kids"are literally starving" because she wouldn't feed them breakfast until they completed their chores. Franke also came under fire after posting on social media that she refused to take her kindergartner lunch after the child forgot it at home. She said in the video that she told her daughter's teacher she would not be bringing her lunch in hopes of teaching her a lesson. "I know that her teacher is uncomfortable with her being hungry and not having a lunch and it would ease her discomfort if I came to the school with a lunch,” Franke says on video."But I responded and just said Eve is responsible for making her lunches in the morning and she actually told me she did pack a lunch, so the natural outcome is she’s just going to need to be hungry. And hopefully nobody gives her food and nobody steps in and gives her a lunch because then she’s not going to learn from the natural outcome." In another video, Franke shared that she and her husband, Kevin, told their two youngest children they wouldn't be getting any Christmas presents because they were selfish and weren't responding to punishment. The Franke's share six children -- Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve. "It's because they're so numb, and the more numb your child is, the bigger the outcome they need to wake them up," Franke said in video she shared on social media. Franke launched her"8 Passengers" YouTube channel in 2015, where she chronicled the Mormon family's activities, her parenting style and home renovations, among other things. YouTube removed Franke's channel in wake of her arrest.According to her website, Hildebrandt is the founder ConneXions Classroom, which offers counseling services. Her bio lists her as receiving a bachelor's degree in English and a master's in educational psychology, though she doesn't list where she earned the degrees.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke and business partner due in court on child abuse chargesA Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice via a YouTube channel is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on charges that she and the owner of a relationship counseling business abused and starved her children
Read more »
Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke and business partner due in court on child abuse chargesA Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice via a YouTube channel is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on charges that she and the owner of a relationship counseling business abused and starved her children.
Read more »
Ruby Franke case: Utah parenting advice YouTuber to appear in court on child abuse chargesUtah parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, will appear in court Friday after they were arrested last week in Ivins on six felony counts of aggravated child abuse.
Read more »
YouTuber Ruby Franke charged with 6 counts of aggravated child abuse after 2 kids hospitalizedA Utah mother known for her strict yet controversial parenting advice on her once popular YouTube channel is expected to appear in court Friday. Ruby Franke faces six felony counts of aggravated child abuse after two of her children were allegedly found abused and malnourished. CBS News' Nancy Chen reports.
Read more »
Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke, business partner to appear in court on child abuse chargesProsecutors allege Ruby Franke and her business partner either caused or allowed someone to torture Franke’s son and injure her 10-year-old daughter. Both children were starved and harmed emotionally, according to court documents.
Read more »
Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke and business partner due in court on child abuse chargesA Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice on YouTube is scheduled to appear in court on charges that she and the owner of a relationship counseling business abused and starved her children.
Read more »