Influencer and mother of six Ruby Franke from the USA was known for her strict child-rearing. Through the Youtube channels conneXions and Franke’s 8 Passengers, viewers were able to follow her family and take part in her strict control over the children. The channel Franke’s 8 Passengers had 2.5 million followers, who got a good insight into the lives of Ruby Franke, her husband Kevin Franke and their six children.
Franke has now been sentenced to between four and 60 years in prison. A court in Utah has given her four sentences, each of which is between one year and fifteen years in prison. It is up to the parole board to decide how long she will serve. The minimum period is one year for each of the four points. She can serve a maximum of 15 years for each of the four points.
Ruby Franke’s business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt has also been convicted in this case. Hildebrandt was a life coach, influencer and ran the YouTube channel conneXions, which Franke often participated in. Hildebrandt has received the same punishment as Franke.
Wanted to cancel Christmas
Among the followers there had long been rumors and allegations that the mother of six neglected and mistreated her children. The family appeared in the videos as healthy and the children smiled and joked in front of the camera, but at times the viewers also got to see another side. On one occasion, the son said that he had to sleep on a duffle bag in the living room for seven months. In a video, Franke threatened one of the children to cut off the stuffed animal’s head. Another time she threatened to cancel Christmas.
The followers collected a number of such examples and reported her for child abuse. At the beginning, child protection was involved in the case, but Franke and her husband initially rejected the accusations and said that the video clips were taken out of context.
Flee out the window
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in August 2023 after Franke’s malnourished 12-year-old son escaped from a window of Hildebrandt’s house in Ivins, Utah. He contacted a neighbor and asked for food and water. He then had clear traces of being tied with rope.
The police’s investigation had revealed that the children were exposed to more abuse than what appeared in the video channels. According to police, the children were kicked and beaten, tied up, denied food and forced to work outdoors in the summer without sunscreen, resulting in severe sunburns.
Lifecoach Hildebrandt has acknowledged that she mistreated or was aware of the mistreatment of the children, and that she forced one of Franke’s daughters to jump into a cactus several times.
Regretted
During the trial, Franke admitted that she had neglected her children.
“I was led to believe that this world was an evil place, filled with policemen who control, hospitals who injure, government agencies who brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect, and children who need beatings,” she said. .
Kevin Franke, who is now Ruby Franke’s ex-husband, has asked the court through his lawyer to give his ex-wife the strictest sentence she can get, and describes his wife’s mistreatment of their children as “horrific and inhumane”.