Former YouTube parenting host will serve up to 30 years in prison for child abuse

Ruby Franke, the host of a now-defunct parenting channel on YouTube who pleaded guilty in December to four counts of aggravated child molestation, was sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison on each of those charges, to be served consecutively, a judge ruled . on Tuesday.

Jodi Hildebrandt, who had worked with Ms. Franke, received the same sentence on Tuesday.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine the exact length of their sentences, neither of which will exceed 30 years, the maximum allowed under state law for consecutive sentences.

From May to August 2023, Ms. Franke, a mother of six, created a “concentration camp-like environment” for two of her children, who were 9 and 11 at the time, Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said during the hearing. sentencing hearing. She regularly denied them adequate food, water, entertainment and beds and isolated them from others, he said.

Ms Franke, 42, also forced her children to perform physical tasks in extreme heat, without shoes, socks or water, Mr Clarke said. They were forced to stand on hot concrete for hours and sometimes days at a time in the summer heat, he added, and were beaten and regularly tied at the hands and feet. The injuries were so serious that the children had to be hospitalized.

“If the eldest of the children had not had the courage to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, heaven only knows how long he could have survived in that situation,” Mr Clarke said.

Ms Franke, who was known for documenting her strict parenting style on social media, was arrested along with Ms Hildebrandt on August 30 last year. Police said at the time that two of Ms. Franke's children appeared malnourished, and one had open wounds and duct tape on his ankles and wrists.

Ms Franke was the host of a YouTube channel called '8 Passengers', which has since been removed from the platform. In the videos, she documented the lives of her six children and recorded her parenting strategies, including disciplining her children by withholding food. The channel had almost 2.5 million subscribers before it was deleted.

“For the past four years, I have chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion,” Ms. Franke said during Tuesday's sentencing hearing.

“I was led to believe that this world was a bad place full of cops who control, hospitals who injure people, government agencies who brainwash, church leaders who lie and covet, spouses who refuse to protect, and children who need abuse,” she added.

She expressed regret on Tuesday and said she took “full responsibility” for the choices she made.