The niece of Jodi Hildebrandt claims her aunt was the ‘mastermind’ behind Youtuber Ruby Franke’s ‘abusive’ parenting tactics and has revealed the extent of alleged trauma she endured as a child while living under her roof.
Jessi Hildebrandt said she was tied up, had duct tape placed over her mouth, was blindfolded, isolated for twelve hours out of the day and even forced to sleep outside in the snow when living with her aunt as a child more than a decade ago.
The disgraced influencers were arrested in Utah in August after Franke’s ’emaciated’ son alerted police to allegedly horrific neglect.
Jessi, told KUTV that Hildebrandt was the ‘mastermind’ behind the alleged abuse inflicted by her business partner Franke on her own children.
Franke, 41, ran a controversial parent counselling service, ConneXions, along with business partner Hildebrandt, 54, a licensed mental health counselor.
Jessi Hildebrandt (pictured) revealed the extent of alleged trauma she endured as a child allegedly while living with her aunt Jodi Hildebrandt
Ruby Franke (right) ran a controversial parent counselling service, ConneXions, along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (left)
Both women were arrested and charged with six counts of child abuse each
The Mormon YouTuber had millions of subscribers and online followers through her 8 Passengers channel about parenting but viewers repeatedly complained about the way she treated her children.
Franke and Hildebrandt face six counts of felony child abuse after police rescued two of Ruby’s six children at Hildebrandt’s home.
Both children appeared to be malnourished, and police then raided Franke’s home nearby to locate her other children.
Hildebrandt has been accused of ‘destroying’ people’s lives through her counseling program – that pitted spouses against each other and focused men’s teachings on ‘porn, sex and lust.’
Jessi said she hoped her aunt would not be ‘sidelined’ in the abuse case.
‘She is so connected to what is happening and yes, Ruby needs to be held accountable because she made those choices, she’s just as guilty, but Jodi’s been doing this for much longer’ she said.
Jessi listed the grave abuses she alleges she experienced while under Jodi’s care, including: ‘being tied, I experienced being duct taped, I experienced being blindfolded, I experienced severe isolation, I experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse.’
Franke, a Utah parenting blogge, was arrested in August after her ’emaciated’ son alerted police to allegedly horrific neglect
Millions of fans tuned in to watch Franke’s YouTube channel centered on raising her six children
‘I experienced being told I shouldn’t be around other people, that I was dangerous to be around, people were afraid of me to the point that I was afraid of myself, I was physically, I was forced to sleep outside in the snow, I was isolated for up to 12 hours a day,’ she explained.
‘If someone spoke to me directly, if I wasn’t wearing duct tape on my mouth I had to just stare at them and not respond.’
Jessi told the broadcaster she ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the same therapy tactics she experienced were used in Hildebrandt and Franke’s business, ConneXions, a self-improvement program that offers DVDs, workshops, workbooks and other materials.
‘She [Jodi] is remarkably convincing. She is also terrifying if you cross her because she has and will systematically destroy your life, she destroys reputation, she destroys your credibility’ Jessi said.
Hildebrandt was disciplined by Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for ‘unprofessional conduct’ and she was removed from the Mormon family services roster after her license was temporarily put on probation.
Patients who used her services between 2008 and 2019 claim she separated spouses and encouraged them to ‘cut off’ people who weren’t living in ‘accordance with her teachings.’
Five men who were counseled by Hildebrandt said they were put into groups to talk about their porn, sex and lust addictions and eventually kicked out of their house or refused sex by their partner for months as punishment for watching porn.
Ruby Franke’s Springville, Utah, home is pictured . ‘Ruby was living on one side of the house and Kevin was living on the other. Kevin couldn’t talk to Ruby unless Jodi was present,’ Ruby’s sister-in-law said
Ruby’s eldest daughter Shari, 20, posted about her mother’s arrest on Instagram, sharing an image of police officers outside the home captioned ‘Finally’
Hildebrandt and Franke are seen during a virtual court appearances in Utah
Franke has six children – Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve – with the four youngest now in the custody of child protective services.
Fourth District Juvenile Court Judge Suchada P. Bazzelle said in her order that while she recognizes the ‘media and public interest in this case and values transparency,’ the court can’t guarantee a ‘fair, impartial and private process’ for the Frankes and their children without ‘adequate safeguards to shield the children from the intrusive effects of media coverage related to this case.’
Franke’s 12-year-old son Russell blew the whistle on the pair after claiming Hildebrandt used ropes to tie him up and then dressed his wounds with cayenne pepper and honey, according to search warrants.
The boy escaped Hildebrandt’s home on August 30 with duct tape around his wrists and ankles and pleaded for food, water and help from neighbors – telling cops that two of his other siblings were still there.
Franke had kept the three children in Hildebrandt’s care, arrest warrants later revealed.
The blogger’s 10-year-old girl was then located at Hildebrandt’s house but cops did not find the 14-year-old, according to the search warrant. The two youngest children were taken to hospital.
Franke (left) is also engaged in a custody battle with her ex-husband (right) over the placement and welfare of their six children
Her estranged daughter Shari, 20, claimed relatives had been ‘trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this’
Franke made astonishing claims during a earlier court hearing that one of her minor children sexually abused one of their siblings and other children.
Her estranged daughter Shari, 20, claimed relatives had been ‘trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this’, adding that she was ‘so glad they finally decided to step up’ and the kids were safe.
Franke’s estranged husband Kevin revealed in October that he had only seen the alleged child abuser four times since their martial split last year.
He claimed he only learned of his family’s whereabouts when his wife was arrested, two days after which he called cops on Shari to accuse her of breaking into their home and stealing hard drives.
Franke’s sister, Bonnie Hoellein, broken down in a video in which she blamed the YouTube influencer for causing their mother’s heart attack – and revealed how she ‘destroyed’ their lives offline.
The video came after all three of her sisters – who are all YouTubers – posted a joint statement to Instagram which said: ‘For the last 3 years we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby Franke for the sake of her children.’