YouTuber Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, her partner, have been charged with abuse of the former’s children. They could end up serving as many as 30 years in prison. The charges are linked to the sustained child abuse of one of Ruby Franke’s children who escaped and reported his ordeal to a neighbor.
Ruby Franke has been sentenced to four terms in prison that she will serve consecutively that range up to fifteen years each, the prosecutors concluded following the hearing. It is the harshest penalty under laws prevalent in Utah. The pardons and parole board of the state will decide on the exact term in prison. Ruby Franke has thirty days in which to appeal the sentence.
The term of the sentence was the same for Ruby Franke’s partner. Franke used to give parenting advice on her channel. Her partner ran a counseling business named ConneXions Classroom. They initially faced six counts of aggravated child abuse that is counted as a second-degree felony. Each could range up to fifteen years in prison and an additional fine of $10,000.
Prosecutor Calls Ruby Franke Acts A Case Of Religious Extremism
Eric Clarke, the Utah state prosecutor, said that the duo created an environment that he compared to a concentration camp. He said that there were terrible instances of child abuse and called Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt significant threats to the community.
Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt have admitted to the mental and physical injuries that they inflicted on their children. Franke said that she and her partner were under the impression that the world was an evil place. She and Hildebrandt would make the children ‘repent’ for imagined ‘sins.’
Franke accepted her charges and said that they would offer her family safety and would enable her to be accountable for her acts. She referred to the safety officials who rescued her children as angels. Her family members accused Hildebrandt of brainwashing her and said she was so delusional that they could not recognize her.
