Utah Influencer Mom Horror: Ruby Franke’s Trial And Aftermath After Being Convicted Of Child Abuse

American vlogger Ruby Franke’s name swiftly changed from being an influencer to becoming a horrific child abuser. The 44-year-old was joined by her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, who turned out to be her prime accomplice in committing child abuse.

The duo’s rise to fame since early 2015 saw a sharp decline by 2024 when Franke and Hildebrandt were criminally charged for their actions. They were subsequently arrested and put behind bars, along with their multiple social media channels suspended or even banned from being formed in the future.

In 2015, Franke created her first YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, where she filmed moments from her regular life. These documented videos contained visuals of her husband, Kevin Franke, and their six children. Within five years, she reached high popularity, and her channel saw a strong 2.5 million subscriber base.

The Utah-based influencer took a different course in her career by 2022 when she joined hands with Hildebrandt and even moved in with her. The latter was known to be a controversial family therapist. This was also the time when Ruby separated from Kevin and completely stopped posting any content on the 8 Passengers channel.

The duo then launched a new YouTube channel together called ConneXions and set up an Instagram page named Moms of Truth, which offered parenting classes.

Questions and valid concerns over Ruby’s parenting skills spiked when her 15-year-old boy made a bizarre revelation in 2020. In one of her videos on the 8 Passengers channel, the child revealed that his mother banned him from his bedroom and that he had been sleeping on a bean bag for seven months.

A second report of child neglect blamed Ruby for sending off her six-year-old daughter to school without a packed lunch. The mother reportedly believed that the child was old enough to prepare her own meals and be responsible for her lunch. When the school tried intervening in Ruby’s strict measures, the influencer simply refused to bring any lunch for her daughter.

Gradually, viewers were made aware of some of the most horrific abuses that the Franke children were made to endure by their mother. Ruby carried out unusually severe punishments over her kids, which included beheading their soft toys, sending one of her children to a wilderness camp for troubled teens, and more.

Her actions gave rise to much scrutiny, and in response, Ruby claimed that those videos were taken out of context. Concerned viewers even lodged a petition after perceiving her actions as those of child abuse and neglect.

The authorities were informed about Ruby’s questionable parenting skills by her eldest daughter, Shari. The college-going teen requested a welfare check to be made on her siblings after she claimed that her mother had left the minor kids alone at home.

On August 30, 2023, the influencer mom and her business partner were arrested and charged by the police. The arrests were carried out based on a statement received from Ruby’s 12-year-old son, who was spotted utterly malnourished and deeply injured. The child who was captivated at Jodi Hildebrandt’s home escaped from a window.

He then appeared emaciated and had several open wounds covered with duct tape. The child reportedly begged for food and water at one of the neighbors’ houses, prompting an immediate alert to the authorities. The boy later revealed that his wounds were dressed using cayenne pepper and honey.

Child protective services rescued Ruby’s ten-year-old daughter from the same house, who was similarly malnourished. The remaining children were promptly rescued, and all of them together were placed under the care and custody of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.

Both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were held without bail after their arrest. By December 2023, the mom of six pleaded guilty to the four counts of aggravated child abuse but pleaded not guilty to the two other counts.

During the trial, Ruby offered a factual explanation of the severe punishments she meted out on her children. This included forcing her son to work outdoors without any protection and causing him deep sunburns. The influencer mom and her business partner claimed that they believed the children were possessed and deserved punishment.

They attempted to justify their abuse of the children owing to religious beliefs. Franke and Hildebrandt remarked that the abuse was the only way to expel the evil from their bodies and repent for their sins.

On February 20, 2024, Franke received four consecutive sentences. Each of these ranged between one and fifteen years of imprisonment. The 44-year-old agreed to serve all her prison sentences consecutively rather than concurrently. Hildebrandt, too, pleaded guilty to her charges.

Ruby’s eldest daughter, Shari, has remained the most outspoken about the ordeal that her family had to go through because of their abusive mother. On Instagram, the young adult critiqued a documentary film being made on their mother’s crime and remarked that no consent was taken from her siblings or her.

Meanwhile, the secondborn child in the family, Chad, is an active social media user. He often posts pictures from his personal life, including his girlfriend, hobbies, and travels. In 2024, Chad announced joining a real estate school for further education.

The youngest four children of the Franke family, aged between 11 and 17 years, have remained out of the spotlight. The four minors were put into the custody of the Child Protection Services right after Ruby’s arrest.

An affidavit filed by the kids’ father, Kevin Franke, revealed that the four have been receiving professional care for the aggravated psychological and physical torture they faced at the hands of their mother.