Ruby Franke, YouTube mom vlogger, sentenced to prison for child abuse|News udate| New News

Ruby Franke, YouTube mom vlogger, sentenced to prison for child abuse|News udate| New News

The 42-year-old US woman was detained as a collaborator when Franke's undernourished son broke out of the window in search of food.

Helmore Edward

Tue, Feb 20, 2024, at 22:45 GMT

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Ruby Franke, a mother of six who provided parenting advice online through a well-known YouTube channel, was sentenced to four periods in jail, each lasting between one and fifteen years, on Tuesday due to allegations of serious child abuse.

Franke, 42, was arrested in the southern Utah city of Ivins last August after her malnourished 12-year-old son, who was bound with duct tape and had open wounds, climbed out of a window at the home of Jodi Hildebrandt, the owner of a self-improvement counseling business, to ask for food and water from a neighbor. Franke had 2.3 million followers on her now-deleted 8 Passengers video channel.

Later on, one of Franke's daughters was discovered in Hildebrandt's house in a similarly undernourished state. Following Franke's arrest, her 20-year-old oldest daughter Shari Franke posted a since-deleted Instagram photo of law enforcement with the comment, "Finally."

In December, Franke and Hildebrandt entered a guilty plea to second-degree aggravated child abuse. The two had worked together on parenting and relationship guidance films that were featured on Hildebrandt's life coaching business, ConneXions. On Tuesday, Hildebrandt received the same prison sentence as Franke.

Franke expressed her regret to her kids during her sentencing, stating that she had "thought dark was light and right was wrong." I would sacrifice everything for you. All that was good, safe, and soft, I took from you.

Additionally, Franke spoke before the court, saying, "I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion for the past four years." "I would isolate myself from anyone who challenged me, so my distorted version of reality went largely unchecked."

In a statement, Hildebrandt, 54, expressed her desire for the kids to "heal physically and emotionally."

"I did not want them to emotionally repeat the incident, which would have been harmful to them, which is one of the reasons I did not go to trial. "I pray and hope that they get better and go on to lead happy, fulfilling lives," she continued.

The case has refocused attention on "sharing," or the practice of parents publicizing and advertising their parenting abilities in an attempt to profit from it. Opponents of the practice caution against ethical transgressions and the risks of violating a child's privacy.

A law protecting child performers' earnings was passed in Illinois in August of last year. The goal of the bill was to safeguard youngsters whose lives are exposed on social media for financial gain, and it essentially mirrored California's 1939 Coogan Act.