8 Passengers/YouTube
Disgraced momfluencer Ruby Franke was sentenced Tuesday to up to 60 years in prison after the mother-of-six pleaded guilty, along with her business partner, to abusing two of Franke's children.
Moments before a Utah district court judge sentenced Franke to serve consecutively one to 15 years behind bars for each of the four aggravated child abuse counts she pleaded guilty to, Franke tearfully addressed the court, saying she never meant to harm her children.
The former mommy blogger told the court she was "deceived" and had a "distorted version of reality" that went "largely unchecked."
"I was led to believe that this world was an evil place, filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abuse," Franke said, adding, "My choice to believe and behave this paranoia culminated into criminal activity, for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability."
Franke's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, was handed down the same prison sentence on Tuesday.
Franke rose to fame with her family's YouTube channel 8 Passengers. She was arrested at 9:33 p.m. on August 30, 2023, in Ivins, Utah, and later charged with six felony counts of child abuse.
The arrest followed years of controversy and allegations of child abuse.
"8 Passengers" had over 2 million subscribers at its peak, and it followed the lives of Franke, her husband Kevin, and their six children.
At the end of August, one of the children, Franke's 12-year-old son, climbed through a window to get help for himself and his 10-year-old sister, prompting a neighbor to call the police.
At the time, police described the child as emaciated and injured, with duct tape around his ankles and wrists.
Franke's eldest daughter, Shari Franke, 20, is estranged from her family and celebrated her mother's arrest.
"Today has been a big day," she wrote in an Instagram story. "Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up."
Hildebrandt received the same charges because the children were found at her house.
Franke and Hildebrandt set up the controversial parenting channel ConneXions, which they described as a mom's "support group." They claimed to "help treat those lost and stranded in the darkness of distortion — which addictions, fear, sadness, and all other self-destructive behaviors derive from." But, their methods were criticized as damaging, extreme, and authoritarian.
Both the 8 Passengers and ConneXions YouTube channels have now been terminated.
Since Franke and Hildebrandt's arrest, more details have emerged about the abuse Franke's young children were subjected to.
Both women pleaded guilty and struck plea deals after court filings alleged they tortured the kids.
In the agreement, prosecutors said Franke forced her son's head underwater, smothered him with her hands, and kicked him while wearing boots. It said she also forced her daughter to run barefoot on roads, withheld food and water, and scolded her for being "evil and possessed," The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Documents also stated Hildebrandt "physically forced or coerced" Franke's daughter to repeatedly jump into a cactus.
Franke's lawyer, LaMar Winward, said in a statement that Franke was "manipulated" by Hildebrandt.
He said Hildebrandt "systematically isolated" Franke "from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke."
That gave her a "distorted sense of morality," he said.
Hildebrandt has faced allegations of misconduct dating back years, including leaking confidential information about a client to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Her attorney also gave a short statement after the hearing, saying there were "a few details" in the deal that they were "not in full agreement with," but he did not elaborate further.
Franke's husband Kevin has kept quiet through the hearings but has made several statements through his lawyer Randy Kester.
Kester released a statement on February 19 to Law & Crime Network. He said they trusted the judge to sentence both women to "1-15 years for each of the four counts, to run consecutively."
"The treatment these children received at the hands of those whom the children had a right to trust, was horrific and inhumane, both physically and psychologically," Kester said. "Kevin remains focused on the rehabilitation of these sweet and vulnerable children so that they might return to a normal life as soon as possible."
