A Utah influencer and ‘mommy blogger’ arrested on child abuse charges is to enter a plea deal on Monday – and blamed her business partner for making her lose her ‘moral compass’.
Ruby Franke, a 41-year-old mother of six, at one point enjoyed YouTube stardom, racking up a billion views on their parenting channel 8 Passengers, documenting family life, home schooling, and tough parenting style.
But in August her world came crashing down, and she was arrested after police found her 12-year-old son Russell severely emaciated, injured and bound with duct tape.
The boy was at the home of Franke’s business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt – who was also arrested, and charged with child abuse.
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
It later emerged that Franke’s husband Kevin had left the marital home in Springville, Utah, a year earlier amid differences in parenting styles.
Franke set up a new YouTube wellness and coaching channel with Hildebrandt.
Her lawyers have not revealed the details of Franke’s plea deal, but blamed Hildebrandt for corrupting her.
‘Ruby Franke is a devoted mother and is also a woman committed to constant improvement,’ her lawyers said, in a statement issued on Friday.
‘Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrandt had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement. Ms. Hildebrandt took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous.’
The lawyers claim that Hildebrandt worked to control Franke, depicting her as a machiavellian force set on dominating Franke.
They accuse Hildebrandt of having ‘systematically isolated Ruby Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke.’
He filed for divorce last month.
Franke (left) is also engaged in a custody battle with her ex-husband (right) over the placement and welfare of their six children
Millions of fans tuned in to watch Franke’s YouTube channel centered on raising her six children
Franke, a Utah parenting blogger, was arrested in August after her ’emaciated’ son alerted police
Franke’s lawyers claim that Hildebrandt’s isolating of Franke left her with a distorted sense of morality, shaped by Ms. Hildebrandt’s influence.’
They claim that the three months in jail have given her perspective and made her realize her mistakes.
‘During Ruby Franke’s incarceration in Washington County jail over the past few months, she has actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions,’ they state.
‘Ms. Franke is committed to taking responsibility for the part she played in the events leading up to her incarceration.’
They say that Franke is trying to make amends with her relatives and ‘contribute positively to the healing journey of her family.’
Hildebrandt’s attorneys have not commented on Franke’s claims.
Last month, Hildebrandt’s niece made similar claims, accusing Hildebrandt of being the ‘mastermind’ behind Franke’s abusive parenting.
Jessi Hildebrandt lived with her aunt as a child, and said she was tied up, had duct tape placed over her mouth, was blindfolded, and isolated for twelve hours a day.
She said she was even forced to sleep outside in the snow.
Jessi Hildebrandt (pictured) revealed the extent of alleged trauma she endured as a child allegedly while living with her aunt Jodi Hildebrandt
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 Hildebrandt’s care, and said she ‘experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse.’
‘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.
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.