A former YouTuber, whose parenting advice made her an online sensation, had been sentenced to 30 years in prison after she admitted to physically and emotionally abusing her children. Ruby Franke, a Utah-based mother of six, has been sentenced to four prison terms of between one and 15 years each after pleading guilty to child abuse charges.
Franke had over two million followers on her now-deleted YouTube channel, named '8 Passengers'.
The 42-year-old tearfully apologised in court as the judge pronounced the sentence on Tuesday. Earlier, she had pleaded guilty to starving and abusing her children. Franke appeared in court alongside her ex-business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, who received an identical sentence, The Guardian reported.
She was taken into custody in the southern Utah city of Ivins in August last year after her malnourished 12-year-old son climbed out of a window at Hildebrandt's house and asked for food and water from neighbours. At the time, the child was found with open wounds and bound with duct tape, the report added.
Besides Franke's son, one of her daughters was also found in a similar malnourished condition at Hildebrandt’s home later.
After her arrest, Franke's eldest daughter shared a now-deleted image of police officers on Instagram and wrote, “Finally.”
In December 2023, Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated child abuse.
During her sentencing, Franke apologised to her children and said that she had "believed dark was light and right was wrong."
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“I would do anything in this world for you. I took from you all that was soft and safe and good,” she added.
She further informed the court that for the past four years, she has chosen to follow counsel and guidance that led her into a dark delusion. “My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate myself from anyone who challenged me,” she added.
As per the report, Hildebrandt, in her defence, stated that she desired for the children to “heal physically and emotionally.”
“One of the reasons I did not go to trial is because I did not want them to emotionally relive the experience which would have been detrimental to them. My hope and prayer are that they will heal and move forward to have beautiful lives,” she stated.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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