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A Utah mother who chronicled her strict parenting style on YouTube and other social media channels was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse this week after one of her children climbed out a window and ran to a nearby house seeking help, officials said.
Ruby Franke (41) was arrested this week in Ivins, a city in southern Utah, at the home of Jodi Hildebrandt, her business partner, who was also arrested. Franke hosted the now-defunct YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” where she posted videos about her parenting approach with her six children, including refusing them food as a form of punishment.
Franke and Hildebrandt were each charged on Friday with six counts of aggravated child abuse, according to the Washington County attorney’s office. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, the attorney’s office said.
According to an affidavit, Franke’s 12-year-old son, identified as R.F. in the document, climbed out a window at Hildebrandt’s home and went to a neighbour’s house on Wednesday morning, asking for food and water. The child had duct tape on his ankles and wrists, as well as open wounds. He appeared to be emaciated and malnourished.
The neighbour called police, who then found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter, Eve, at Hildebrandt’s. She also appeared to be malnourished, the affidavit said. Both children were taken to a hospital. The boy was placed on a medical hold “due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment”, according to the affidavit.
Franke was seen on a YouTube video filmed in Hildebrandt’s home that was posted two days earlier, the affidavit said, adding that Franke and Hildebrandt (54), had knowledge of “the abuse, malnourishment and neglect”.
The two children were believed to be in direct care of Hildebrandt, police said in the affidavit.
A search of Hildebrandt’s home found evidence “consistent with the markings” found on the…
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