Ruby Franke sobbed on Tuesday after being found guilty of serious child abuse and given a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
The terms of Franke’s plea—four charges of one to fifteen years served consecutively—were imposed by the court in the case of the former “8 Passengers” host.
Franke will have 30 days to file an appeal when the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole decides how much time she will spend in jail.
Franke, 42, held back tears as she told the judge, “I am humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence for as long as I need.” “I’m determined to stop learning my harmful habits.”
Franke also expressed regret for “twisting God’s words and distorting His doctrine” following the judge’s imposition of the highest sentence permitted by Utah state law.
Jodi Hildebrandt, Franke’s ex-business partner, was given the same punishment after the judge informed her that she had “terrorized” the kids.
Franke declared, “I am humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence for as long as I need.” “I’m determined to stop learning my harmful habits.”
In response, Hildebrandt claimed, “I sincerely loved these children.” “I didn’t want them to go through this again, which is one of the reasons I didn’t go to trial.”
After one of the momfluencer’s “emaciated” children—who had duct tape wrapped around his extremities—escaped through a window of Hildebrandt’s home in Ivans, Utah, and made a run for it with a neighbor’s help, Franke and Hildebrandt were detained in late August on allegations of aggravated child abuse of the momfluencer’s children.
The injuries, malnourishment, and neglect of the unidentified youngster were deemed by the responding police to be so “severe” that the victim was sent to Saint George Regional Hospital, which is located nearby.
In December 2023, the two entered a guilty plea. Franke acknowledged in her plea deal that she had starved and held her children’s heads under water as a form of torture.
The former YouTuber restrained her son who tried to flee in July by putting handcuffs on his wrists and ankles.
After that, she joined the two sets with a rope, causing his “arms and lower legs to be lifted off the ground.”
In September 2023, one of Franke’s sisters-in-law revealed that, given her transgressions, they were hoping that she would be “put away forever.”
“In my opinion, she shouldn’t be released on bond. Cynthia Franke stated, “I do believe the allegations against her.”
“If found guilty after all of this, she ought to be imprisoned forever.”
Ruby’s estranged husband, Kevin, made the demand in court records seen by Page Six that Hildebrandt bear the financial burden of covering his children’s medical expenses. However, Kevin did not denounce Ruby’s behavior.
He added, “It is evident and acknowledged that the crimes committed against the children by [Hildebrandt] caused them immediate and ongoing irreversible harm.”
Kevin, 45, stated in his filing that he would have to pay for his family’s long-term care after the juvenile court case, in which the state decides child custody, was resolved.
The motion stated that paying for the victims’ and their families’ medical care for injuries brought on by [Hildebrandt] would be a wholly unfair outcome.
After launching “8 Passengers” in 2015 to chronicle their lives as a married couple with six kids, Ruby and Kevin soon became well-known.
But behind closed doors, Ruby’s marriage began to fail, and she lost contact with her two oldest children, Shari and Chad.
After the now-divorced couple sought help from Hildebrandt’s therapy group, ConneXions, the founder advised Ruby and Kevin to part ways in order to preserve their marriage.
After the media personality was arrested, Kevin’s lawyer told Page Six that the couple had been split up for more than a year due to “a difference of opinion about their family parenting.” Kevin was never charged with any charges pertaining to Ruby and Jodi.
Twenty-year-old Shari acknowledged on social media that she was “glad” to see Ruby in handcuffs after her mother was arrested.
It’s been a significant day. Justice is being served, and my family and I couldn’t be happier,” she posted on Instagram.
“We are happy that the police and CPS have finally taken action after years of us trying to tell them about this.”
As Ruby began revealing unsettling incidents about refusing to bring her 6-year-old daughter lunch after the little girl had neglected to bring it with her, viewers of the YouTube broadcast started to worry about the Franke children in addition to Shari.
“I’m hoping she’ll be hungry and say, ‘It was really painful being hungry all day. I’ll make sure to always have lunch with me,'” when she gets home. shared by Ruby in a since-deleted video.
After Chad, now 19 years old, claimed he was forced to sleep on a beanbag for seven months, Ruby truly denied harming her kids.
Shortly after Ruby’s incarceration, Shari revealed that she had been experiencing frequent panic episodes since the arrest; nonetheless, she said that her faith and mental health therapies helped to lessen the suffering.
She stated in an Instagram post that has since been removed, “Therapy has literally saved me, but God has too.” “In spite of all the horrible things happening, my life is somehow more beautiful and fulfilling.”
Shari was relieved to hear that her mother had been jailed, but she still had to deal with her father, who thought she had broken into his home and wanted her prosecuted for burglary.
Regarding the Sept. 1, 2023, incident, a Utah police officer noted, “Kevin stated that Shari is not allowed in the home, and that he believes she entered unlawfully, and he wants her charged with burglary.”
After removing some hard drives from the residence, Kevin “wanted to have his daughter charged with theft.” However, the responding officer told Kevin that Shari “wasn’t aware” that she wasn’t supposed to have the things and volunteered to return them.
Shari provided the Springville Police Department a stack of written journals, three tablets, three phones, three cameras, and three passports, which they then gave to Kevin.
She didn’t face any criminal charges.
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