8 Passengers/YouTube
- Former momfluencer Ruby Franke was sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison.
- Franke, known for her YouTube channel "8 Passengers," was charged with four counts of aggravated child abuse.
- Franke's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, faced the same charges.
Disgraced momfluencer Ruby Franke was sentenced Tuesday to four to 60 years in prison after the mother-of-six pleaded guilty, along with her associate, to abusing two of Franke's children.
Neither woman will serve more than 30 years in prison, as Utah law prohibits consecutive sentences exceeding that.
Moments before a Utah district court judge sentenced Franke to serve one to 15 years behind bars for each of the four counts of aggravated child abuse, consecutively, Franke tearfully told the court she never meant to harm her children.
'I was led to believe that this world was an evil place,' Franke said
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.
"My choice to believe and behave this paranoia culminated into criminal activity, for which I stand before you today ready to take accountability," she added.
Franke previously pleaded guilty to all four counts of child abuse.
While sobbing, she referred to her six children as her "little chicks" and herself as the "mama duck who was consistently waddling" them "to safety."
"I can see now over the past four years I was in a deep undercurrent that led us to danger. I would never have led you to darkness knowingly. I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong," Franke said. "I would do anything in this world for you."
Franke said that her "willingness to sacrifice all" for her children "was masterfully manipulated into something very ugly."
" I took from you all that was soft and safe and good," she said through tears. "I took from you your mother, how terrifying this must have been for you. I will never stop crying for hurting your tender souls."
The judge gave Franke's associate, Jodi Hildebrant, the same sentence
Jodi Hildebrandt, who has been described as Franke's business partner, was handed down the same prison sentence as Franke on Tuesday.
Under Utah law, the state's Board of Pardons and Parole will determine how long both Franke and Hildebrandt spend behind bars, according to the Salt Lake City-based newspaper Deseret News.
Franke rose to fame with her family's YouTube channel "8 Passengers."
Franke and Hildebrant were arrested on the night of 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.
Utah State Courts via AP
"8 Passengers" had over 2 million subscribers at its peak, and it followed the lives of Franke, her husband Kevin, and their six children.
Last August, one of the children, Franke's 12-year-old son, climbed through a window from Hildebrant's house 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.
A prosecutor said Franke and Hildebrant committed 'horrible' acts of child abuse
Franke and Hildebrant were sentenced separately on Tuesday, and shortly before each was sentenced, a prosecutor said they both committed "awful" and "horrible" acts of child abuse from May 2023 to August 2023.
"Mrs. Franke and her business partner held her two children, ages 9 and 11, turning 12, in a concentration camp-like setting," the prosecutor said. "The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment."
The children were beaten, bound, forced to do manual labor in the sweltering heat, and emotionally abused, the prosecutor said.
"Both children had extensive physical injuries from the abuse that required hospitalization when they were found," said the prosecutor. "The injuries from the binding to the 12-year-old are particularly awful."
"Had the older of the children not had the courage to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, heaven only knows how much longer he could have survived in that situation," the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor added that while Franke has shown "considerable remorse," Hildebrant has shown "little to no remorse."
The judge told Hildebrant that she 'terrorized' Franke's kids
Hildebrant also addressed the court just before she was sentenced, saying: "I sincerely love these children. I desire for them to heal physically and emotionally."
"My hope and prayer is that they will heal and move forward to have beautiful lives," Hildebrant said.
After she spoke, Judge John Walton told Hildebrant that she "terrorized" Franke's children.
"This circumstance is tragic. It's largely, of course, of your making," the judge said.
"By any measure, your conduct in this case was disastrous for these children. Adults are supposed to protect children. Adults with specialized training, in particular, are supposed to protect children. You didn't do that in this case," Walton said. "In this case, you terrorized children and the results have been tragic."
When Franke addressed the court earlier, she claimed that Hildebrant was never her business partner, and said Hildebrant was employed as her son's counselor in 2019.
"In 2020, I paid her to be my mentor," Franke said of Hildebrant.
Franke's eldest daughter previously celebrated her mom's arrest
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 previous 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.
Franke's husband Kevin — who was in the courtroom for Tuesday's sentencing and was seen crying — has kept quiet through previous court 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."