Ruby Franke, known as a YouTube mom, offered an apology during her sentencing in a child abuse case.

Ruby Franke, a mother of six from Utah and a former prominent YouTube parenting advisor, tearfully apologized to her children for the physical and emotional abuse she inflicted on them. This took place before a judge sentenced her to a potentially lengthy prison term.

Franke admitted to feeling “manipulated” by her business partner and fellow YouTuber. She stated that she would not contest her sentence. Franke expressed her acknowledgement and appreciation for the intervention of local law enforcement, medical professionals, and social workers, referring to them as “angels” who rescued her children from her harmful actions. She attributed her behavior during that period to the influence of her business associate, Jodi Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt, a mental health counselor from Utah initially hired to work with Franke’s youngest son, received multiple prison sentences totaling between one and 15 years.

In accordance with Utah state law, which limits the combined sentence duration for consecutive convictions, Franke and Hildebrandt will serve a maximum of 30 years in prison together. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will evaluate their conduct while incarcerated to determine the duration of their imprisonment.

During the sentencing proceedings in St. George, Franke directly addressed her children, expressing profound regret for the harm she caused and the remorse for misplacing her love in a harmful manner, depriving them of safety and solace.

At the age of 42, Franke, and 54-year-old Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. They were apprehended at Hildebrandt’s residence in Ivins, Utah, after Franke’s 12-year-old son sought help from a neighbor, who then alerted the authorities. The boy was discovered malnourished and injured, with his hands and feet bound with duct tape. He disclosed that Hildebrandt had restrained him with ropes and treated his injuries with cayenne pepper and honey.

Prosecutor Eric Clarke described the deplorable living conditions that Franke and Hildebrandt subjected the children to as akin to a concentration camp, comparing it to the merciless treatment inflicted on Jewish people and other minorities by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Clarke noted Franke’s expression of regret and cooperation with legal procedures, juxtaposed with Hildebrandt’s reluctance to accept accountability and tendency to shift blame onto the children. During the public hearing, Douglas Terry, representing Hildebrandt, argued that his client is misrepresented by the public and acknowledged her responsibility for her actions. In a concise statement to Judge John J. Walton, Hildebrandt conveyed her affection for the children and desire for their recovery, stating that she accepted the plea deal to protect them from the trauma of a trial.

Both Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four of their six respective charges, with two counts being dismissed as part of their plea agreements. Franke, alongside her husband Kevin Franke, established the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel in 2015, amassing a significant following by documenting their experiences raising six children. Subsequently collaborating with Hildebrandt’s counseling company, ConneXions Classroom, Franke provided parenting seminars and created additional online content on a separate YouTube channel and their joint Instagram account “Moms of Truth.”

As part of her plea deal, Franke admitted to subjecting her son to abuse by kicking him with boots, submerging his head in water, and obstructing his breathing with her hands. She also compelled him to undertake excessive physical labor in hot weather without sufficient food or water, resulting in dehydration and severe sunburn. The children were led to believe that these actions were acts of love.

Hildebrandt confessed to pressuring Franke’s youngest daughter, who was 9 years old at the time, to repeatedly jump into a cactus and run barefoot on gravel roads until her feet blistered. Following their arrests, the son and daughter were hospitalized and placed in state custody with two other siblings.

Prior to her arrest in 2023, Ruby Franke was a contentious figure in the parent vlogging community. She faced online backlash for various parenting decisions, including prohibiting her eldest son from his room for seven months in response to a prank on his younger brother. In other videos, Ruby Franke discussed withholding lunch from a forgetful kindergartener and threatening to destroy a young girl’s stuffed toy as retribution for misbehavior.

The “8 Passengers” YouTube channel has been deactivated, and Kevin Franke has initiated divorce proceedings.

Franke and Hildebrandt both have a 30-day timeframe to file appeals against their sentences.