castle. GEORGE, Utah (TCD) — A judge has sentenced two parenting vloggers to at least four years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of child abuse for allegedly torturing and starving their two children.
Judge John Walton sentenced Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt to one to 15 years in prison each on four counts of aggravated child abuse, with the sentences to run consecutively, according to KSL-TV. It was reported that it would be executed. The two women were arrested in September 2023 and initially charged with six counts of child abuse.
Frankie was free from the moment he was arrested and claimed the officers were 'angels' who saved his children.
Franke pleaded guilty a few days before Hildebrandt and agreed to testify against her at trial.
Franke and Hildebrand will serve up to 30 years in prison under state law, which, with a few exceptions, does not allow consecutive sentences to last longer than that period, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
On the morning of Aug. 30, officers with the Santa Clara-Ivins Police Department received a call from someone saying a youth had gone to the home and “appeared emaciated and malnourished, with wounds and tape around his extremities.” I asked for help. The police responded to the reporter's home and transported the male victim to the hospital. Police learned there may be other potential victims and went to the home to rescue a “similarly malnourished” juvenile female.
Police arrested Franke and Hildebrand on child abuse charges.
According to Franke's guilty plea, the abuse occurred approximately between May 22 and August 30, 2023, and involved a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy who was now 12 years old. The boy, known as RF, was reportedly forced to work outside in the sun without his shoes, stand in direct sunlight for several days, and carry heavy boxes of books up and down stairs. He was reportedly not allowed to drink water, and was punished if he was caught hydrating.
It is reported that the boy tried to run away from home last July but failed. As a result, Franke and Hildebrand tied his feet and hands, sometimes with handcuffs or weights.
“At times, RF would be placed on his stomach and a rope would be used to tie two sets of handcuffs together to lift his arms and legs off the ground,” the petition reads.
The handcuffs caused damage to the muscles and tissues, but the wounds were “treated with homeopathic remedies and covered with duct tape. The bindings were then placed over the duct tape.”
Other punishments included kicking the boy, putting his head under water, and depriving him of oxygen.
Hildebrandt and Franke “tried to brainwash RF and convince him that he was evil and possessed and that he must be willing to obey to avoid punishment.”
According to court documents, RF “was told that everything that was done to him was an act of love.”
A 9-year-old girl suffered similar treatment, being isolated outside and deprived of food and water. She said, “She was repeatedly told that she was evil and demon-possessed. Her punishment was necessary for her to obey and repent, and these things were done to her to help her.”
The abuse reportedly occurred at Hildebrand's home.
Franke gained popularity through his YouTube channel ‘8 Passengers’, which at one point had over 2 million subscribers. The channel was discontinued in 2022 and she began collaborating with Hildebrandt on a program called ConneXions. Hildebrand was a mental health counselor, but her license was revoked because of her allegations.
“I love these kids with all my heart,” Hildebrand said during the sentencing hearing, according to KSL.
Judge Walton told Hildebrand: “Adults, especially those with professional training, are supposed to protect children. They did not do that in this case. In this case, they put children in fear.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Washington County Prosecutor Eric Clarke described the victims' living conditions as “camp-like conditions.”
“If the eldest of the children hadn’t had the courage to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, heaven only knows how much longer he would have survived that situation,” Mr Clarke said.
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