Ruby Franke
Born (1982-01-18) January 18, 1982
Utah, U.S.
StatusIncarcerated
OccupationFormer YouTuber
Children6
Conviction(s)Aggravated child abuse (4 counts)
Details
Victims2
Date2020 - 2023
Date apprehended
August 30, 2023

Ruby Franke (born January 18, 1982)[1][2][3] is an American former family vlogger who ran the now defunct YouTube channel called 8 Passengers. On August 30, 2023, she was arrested in Washington County, Utah, and charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse under Utah law, four counts of which she pleaded guilty to. She is expected to be sentenced in February 2024.

Career

In early 2015, Franke created a YouTube channel called 8 Passengers in which she documented her family life in Utah with her husband, Kevin, and their six children.[4][5][6] She originally posted five days a week at 6:00 AM.[4] As of June 2020, the channel had almost 2.5 million subscribers;[7][8] it amassed 1 billion views.[9]

Beginning in 2020, when one of Franke's sons said that he had been banned from his bedroom and made to sleep on a bean bag for seven months, viewers became concerned about Franke's disciplinary methods, which also included withholding food,[5][8] sending a child to a wilderness camp for troubled teens, threatening to behead a stuffed toy, and telling two children that Santa Claus would not be bringing them anything for Christmas that year because they were too "numb" to respond to other punishments.[6] A Change.org petition was launched reporting perceived child abuse and neglect.[5][6][8][10] Ruby and Kevin Franke posted in defense of the discipline, saying the incidents had been taken out of context.[7] The 8 Passengers YouTube channel declined in popularity in 2021.[5]

In 2022, the Frankes separated, and Kevin Franke moved out of the house. Franke deleted the YouTube channel[11] and began working as a mental health coach at ConneXions, a company run by Jodi Nan Hildebrandt, a counselor.[2][6][10] They launched a new video channel together in 2022[12] and partnered in an Instagram account called Moms of Truth[12] and with offering parenting classes.[5] Neighbors and the Frankes' oldest daughter, a college student, observed that Franke often left the children alone at home and called authorities to check on them.[11]

Arrest and charges

On August 30, 2023, Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in Ivins, Utah, and on September 1 both were charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, a felony.[1][2][5][6][13][14] According to a statement from the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, Franke's 12-year-old son, who appeared emaciated and had "open wounds and duct tape around the extremities", had climbed through a window of Hildebrandt's house and asked at a neighboring house for food and water.[1][2][5][13] Emergency services found Franke's 10-year-old daughter in the house, also malnourished; both children were taken to a hospital, where the boy was treated for severe malnourishment and "deep lacerations from being tied up with rope".[1][6] A search of the house found evidence "consistent with the markings" on the 12-year-old, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services took the boy and girl and two more of Franke's children into care.[1][2] Police later reported that according to the boy, cayenne pepper and honey had been used to dress his wounds.[11][15]

Franke and Hildebrandt are being held without bail. Initial virtual hearings for both were held on September 8, 2023, in St. George, Utah;[16][17] a status review hearing scheduled for September 18 was postponed at their attorneys' request. Hildebrandt surrendered her license as a counselor pending resolution of the court case and a disciplinary investigation.[11][18]

After her arrest, YouTube banned Franke from the platform, also deleting two channels which were linked to her.[19]

On December 18, 2023, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. She later pleaded not guilty to two other counts.[20] The factual basis elucidated the abuse in greater detail, including an incident of Franke forcing her son to work outdoors over several weeks with inadequate protection, resulting in severe sunburns, and claims that the children were possessed. Franke agreed to serve a prison sentence and to serve her respective sentences consecutively rather than concurrently. Franke is expected to testify against Hildebrandt in Hildebrandt's upcoming trial. Franke is due to be sentenced on February 20, 2024.[21][22] [23]

Personal life

The Frankes are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[4][5] Their oldest daughter has stated that she has long disapproved of her mother's parenting strategies.[2][5] Franke has three sisters who are also parenting influencers;[2][4][5] they disassociated themselves from her actions in a joint statement[2][5][12] and later in individual videos.[24] In December 2023, Franke's husband filed for divorce after having been separated for more than a year.[25][26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ruby Franke: '8 Passengers' parenting mum arrested on child abuse suspicion". BBC News. September 1, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tumin, Remy (September 1, 2023). "Host of YouTube Parenting Channel Is Charged With Child Abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Utah County Sheriff's Office Inmate Search". sheriff.utahcounty.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Christensen, Megan Marsden (January 16, 2016). "Springville mother documents family life on popular YouTube channel". KSL.com. Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ables, Kelsey; Bellware, Kim (September 1, 2023). "What to know about Ruby Franke, parenting YouTuber charged with child abuse". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hanson, Amy Beth (September 1, 2023). "Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke charged with aggravated child abuse of 2 of her 6 children". Associated Press. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Dodgson, Lindsay (June 25, 2020). "These YouTuber parents are speaking out after drama channels and TikTokers accused them of being abusive to their children and had child protective services visit their house". Business Insider. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Walrath-Holdridge, Mary (September 1, 2023). "Who is Ruby Franke? 8 Passengers family vlogger arrested on child abuse charges". USA Today. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "8 Passengers YouTube Channel statistics". July 31, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Tolentino, Daysia; Rosenblatt, Kalhan (August 31, 2023). "Who is Ruby Franke, the mom of the '8 Passengers' YouTube channel arrested on abuse charges?". NBC News Pop Culture. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Jordan (October 4, 2023). "Ruby Franke case: A timeline of events". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 Bubalo, Mattea (September 9, 2023). "Ruby Franke and 8 passengers: The rise and fall of a parenting influencer". BBC News. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Sole, Elise (September 1, 2023). "YouTuber mom Ruby Franke arrested and charged in child abuse investigation". Today.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ Olson, Emily (September 6, 2023). "YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke formally charged with 6 felony counts of child abuse". NPR.
  15. ↑ Hanson, Amy Beth (September 20, 2023). "Son of Utah woman who gave online parenting advice says therapist tied him up with ropes". Associated Press.
  16. ↑ Rissman, Kelly (September 10, 2023). "Ruby Franke virtual court hearing on child abuse charges is derailed by tech issues". The Independent. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ Hanson, Amy Beth (September 8, 2023). "Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke and business partner to remain jailed on child abuse charges". Associated Press. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  18. ↑ "YouTube mom Ruby Franke to plead guilty in child abuse case, attorney says". ABCNEWS.
  19. ↑ Neumann, Sean (September 6, 2023). "YouTube Bans Ruby Franke, Deletes Her Channels Following Arrest and Child Abuse Charges". People. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  20. ↑ Fadulu, Lola (December 18, 2023). "Former YouTube Parenting Channel Host Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 990059982. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ "YouTube mom who gave parenting advice, Ruby Franke, pleads guilty in child abuse case". AP News. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Momfluencer Ruby Franke Admits to Sick Abuse in Guilty Plea". Daily Beast.
  23. ↑ "Mommy Vlogger Ruby Franke Pleaded Guilty To Child Abuse — Now Her Business Partner Has, Too". Rollingstone.
  24. ↑ Yang, Angela (September 14, 2023). "'We did not know what they were doing': Ruby Franke's sisters share new video statements". NBC News.
  25. ↑ "Ruby Franke's husband files for divorce". NBC News.
  26. ↑ "Ruby Franke's husband files for divorce after her child abuse arrest". independent. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 1113389868.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.