Home US Ruby Franke is sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for abusing two of her children: YouTube mommy blogger sobs in Utah court as she apologizes to her ‘little chicks’ and claims she was led to believe ‘world was evil’

Ruby Franke is sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for abusing two of her children: YouTube mommy blogger sobs in Utah court as she apologizes to her ‘little chicks’ and claims she was led to believe ‘world was evil’

by Jack
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The popular YouTuber was arrested along with her partner Jodi Hildebrandt in August and charged with six counts of child abuse after one of her children was discovered with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs.

Disgraced YouTube mom blogger Ruby Franke wept in court as she was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for brutally abusing two of her own children in a “concentration camp-like environment.”

Franke, 41, pleaded guilty last year to four counts of child abuse after one of her young children escaped and alerted a neighbor to his suffering.

She was sentenced to between one and 15 years in prison on each count (up to 60 years total) in Utah’s Fifth District Court on Tuesday.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles will determine how much time he will spend in prison, and state law means he can only serve a maximum of 30 years.

Franke, who has six children in total, broke down while speaking in court as she apologized to her ‘chicks’ and told the judge she was willing to serve her sentence.

Franke’s partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, also received the same sentence Tuesday.

The popular YouTuber was arrested along with her partner Jodi Hildebrandt in August and charged with six counts of child abuse after one of her children was discovered with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs.

Ruby Franke, (left), who ran the now-defunct channel 8 Passengers, was arrested along with her partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right) on August 30.

Ruby Franke, (left), who ran the now-defunct channel 8 Passengers, was arrested along with her partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right) on August 30.

The criminal ‘Momfluencer’ became an internet sensation thanks to her YouTube channel 8 Passengers, where millions of viewers watched how she and her then-husband, Kevin Franke, raised and disciplined their six children.

But late last year, shocking allegations emerged that Franke, a Mormon, had spent years abusing her children, including accusations of starving them and using duct tape as a means of restraint.

Franke was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, on whom Franke attempted to place most of the blame for her family’s abuse.

The couple pleaded guilty in late December.

In court, Franke broke down in tears as she told her ex-husband, Kevin Franke, who was present in the courtroom, that he was the love of her life.

She said, ‘I’m sorry to let you finish what we both started together.’ The end of our marriage is a tragedy and you were wrapped in my heart.

Franke did not turn to look at her ex-husband, who was also moved to tears as he sat with his head bowed behind her in the courtroom.

He also apologized to his six children for the suffering he had caused them. ‘To my babies, my six chicks. You are part of me. I can see now that for the past four years I was in a deep undercurrent that led us into danger. I would never have knowingly led you into darkness… I was made to believe that this world is an evil place.’

And he added: ‘I took from you everything that was soft, safe and good. I took your mother away from you. How terrifying this must have been for you… You are so precious to me… I’m sorry.’

She reportedly told Judge Walton: “I am honored and willing to serve a prison sentence…I understand this will take time.”

Before Tuesday’s sentencing, Ruby’s ex-husband, Kevin Franke, who had previously demanded Hildebrandt pay for their children’s medical treatment, called for them to be jailed.

“We are confident that the judge will sentence them both to 1 to 15 years on each of the four counts, consecutively, and then we will let the Utah State Board of Pardons decide whether that sentence should be shortened or other conditions imposed.” his lawyer said in a statement.

Hildebrandt seemed devastated as she walked into the courtroom in handcuffs Tuesday morning.

Before his sentencing, he read a brief statement in which he said he “sincerely loved” the children he had abused for years. She added: ‘I wish them to heal physically and emotionally.

“One of the reasons I didn’t go to trial is that I didn’t want them to get emotional relief from the experiences that had happened to them.”

She said she was willing to submit to whatever “the State deems to be the appropriate time” for restitution.

Judge Walton reserved his ire against Hildebrandt during his sentencing, saying that his “philosophy in dealing with them frankly seems divorced from reality by any objective standard of decency or common sense.”

He told him: ‘Your conduct in this case was disastrous. Adults are supposed to protect children… You didn’t do that in this case. In this case they terrorized the children and the results have been tragic.

The initial arrests occurred in August of last year after Franke’s 12-year-old son crawled out of a window at Hildebrandt’s house, malnourished and with tape on his ankles.

He arrived at a neighbor’s house, where the Good Samaritan proceeded to call 911.

“I just saw a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help,” the neighbor said in the heartbreaking 911 call.

‘We know there have been problems at this neighbor’s house. He is emaciated. He has duct tape around his legs. He is hungry and thirsty.

The boy accused ‘Jodi’ of tying him up and using cayenne pepper in addition to using honey to treat the wounds caused by the tape.

He was rushed to a local hospital. Shortly after, his 10-year-old sister was found in the same house, also malnourished.

Four of Franke’s minor children were immediately taken into protective custody.

In court, Franke broke down in tears as she told her ex-husband, Kevin Franke, who was present in the courtroom, that he was the love of her life.

In court, Franke broke down in tears as she told her ex-husband, Kevin Franke, who was present in the courtroom, that he was the love of her life.

Judge John J. Walton accepted Franke’s plea agreement, which included an agreement by Franke to serve a prison sentence that runs consecutively depending on his sentence.

In the plea agreement, Ruby admits that she tortured her son from May 22 to August 30 by forcing him to perform hours of physical labor, outdoor summer work without adequate water, and “severe and repeated sunburns.” which caused blisters.

He was denied food or given very simple meals and isolated from other people without access to books, notebooks or electronic devices.

After he tried to flee in July, his hands and feet were periodically tied, sometimes with handcuffs.

Ruby also admitted to kicking her son while wearing boots, dunking his head in water and covering his mouth and nose with her hands, according to the plea agreement.

“They also told him that everything they were doing to him were acts of love,” the agreement states.

Ruby acknowledged similarly abusing her 9-year-old daughter, forcing her to work outside, run barefoot on dirt roads and go without food or water.

“They also repeatedly told her that she was evil and possessed, that punishments were necessary for her to be obedient and repent, and that they were doing these things to her to help her,” the plea agreement said.

The girl “was convinced” that what her mother said was true, according to the agreement.

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