This still from video footage shows Ruby Franke during a hearing on December 18, 2023 in Utah. Her verdict was announced on February 20, 2024. Image: keystone
A well-known “momfluencer” confessed that she severely abused her own children. Now a verdict has been made. She listened to a mentor.
Simone Rafael / t-online
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YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke, who pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse of two of her children, has been sentenced to four consecutive prison terms. The mother of six children therefore has to go to prison. How long is still being determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, a body of the judiciary that determines the sentences after hearing all sides.
Franke ran a YouTube channel with parenting tips, which has since been deleted. She and her former “mentor,” Jodi Hildebrandt, both pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation in December in Washington County’s 5th District Court in Utah. Hildebrandt was sentenced to the same four consecutive prison terms after Franke. They are between one year and 15 years long.
Franke and Hildebrandt admitted in court that they inflicted serious physical injuries on Franke’s children between May and August 2023. They also admitted to allowing other adults to hurt the children.
While Jodi Hildebrandt does not regret her actions, Franke tearfully read a statement to the court before her sentencing: “Over the last four years, I have chosen to follow advice and guidance that led me into a dark delusion. My distorted version of reality remained largely uncontrolled as I isolated myself from anyone who challenged me.”
Mother believed conspiracy stories
“I was led to believe that this world is an evil place, full of police officers who police innocent citizens, hospitals that hurt instead of healing, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and covet, husbands who refuse to accept protect, and children who have to be abused,” Franke continued. She saw Hildebrandt as her mentor and there was no business relationship. Franke ended with: “It is important to me to show my remorse and regret without accusations. I take full responsibility for my decisions and would prefer that I serve a prison sentence.”
The two women were arrested on August 30th. Previously, Franke’s 12-year-old son, who had lived in Hildebrandt’s house, climbed out of a window and ran to a neighbor’s house – the boy told him that he had been abused.
Son was tortured
Franke’s son was physically tortured and “forced to perform physical tasks for hours and days,” the court statement said. He had been forced to work outside without shoes in the summer heat. He was exposed to direct sunlight for several days, which led to “repeated and severe sunburns with blistering and peeling of the skin,” the text continues.
The child was denied sufficient water on several days that he had to spend in the heat and was punished if he “secretly consumed water”. He was also denied sufficient food.
After the boy tried to escape, his hands and feet were “regularly” handcuffed. The shackles caused injuries to the child’s wrists and ankles: The handcuffs cut through the skin and damaged muscles and tissue, the trial states. The injuries were treated with homeopathic remedies. The child was then tied up again to the wounds that were covered with adhesive tape.
Mother believed her son was “evil and possessed”
Franke and another adult tried to convince the boy that he was “evil and possessed.” And that he had to obey willingly in order to avoid punishment. And the plea states that the punishments are necessary in order to repent.
Another child received similar treatment and was forced to work barefoot outside in the heat and walk on unpaved roads for an extended period of time.
Prosecutor Eric Clarke said after the verdict that Franke appeared to understand she was wrong for her abuse and had accepted responsibility. Hildebrandt, on the other hand, made statements that indicated that she had no remorse.
Prosecutor Clarke also emphasized: “Ultimately this is a case of religious extremism and I think that Ms. Franke’s statement somehow captured that. These people went down a rabbit hole, and Ms. Hildebrandt believed that she was talking to God on a regular basis.” A “rabbit hole” refers to being trapped in a conspiracy-ideological madness from which those involved can hardly find their way out. The QAnon ideology may also have played a role in the “Moms of Truth,” as Franke and Hildebrandt also called themselves. Hildebrandt was the leader and Franke followed the instructions she had received from her alleged “mentor”.
Violence against children and young people
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