A Utah judge sentenced vlogger Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt to 4 to 60 years behind bars on Tuesday (Feb 20) after the duo pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.
Ruby Franke in her 10-page plea agreement admitted that she had kicked her son while wearing boots, tied him, and covered his mouth and nose with her hands so he could not breathe.
“Under the plea agreement, two more charges of aggravated child abuse for each woman were dropped,” Tania Mashburn, a spokeswoman for Utah State Courts was quoted as saying by media outlet People.
Ironically, Ruby Franke, a mother of six, used to give parenting advice via a once-popular YouTube channel called “8 Passengers.”
How the matter came to light
Franke’s 12-year-son, Russell, escaped through the window of Hildebrandt’s house and in the southern Utah city of Ivins on Aug 30 last year and asked a neighbour for help.
The boy was thin, covered in wounds and had duct tape around his ankles and wrists. He told investigators that Hildebrandt had put ropes on his limbs and used cayenne pepper and honey to dress his cuts, according to a search warrant.
The two women were subsequently detained and charged with six counts of aggravated abuse.
While Franke pleaded guilty to four of six charges in a hearing on December 18, Hildebrandt saw two of her six charges dropped under the plea agreement.
But not only Russell was abused.
Hildebrandt admitted before court to have asked Franke’s youngest daughter, a 9-year-old to jump into a cactus multiple times and run barefoot on dirt roads until her feet blistered.
Both the boy and the girl were taken to hospital once the duo was arrested.
Ruby Franke’s YouTube channel is now defunct and her husband Kevin Franke has filed for divorce.
(With inputs from agencies)
