Famous YouTuber mother arrested… accused of child abuse

Just a few months ago, phenom mom Ruby Franke, who had close to three million followers, was arrested twice on suspicion of aggravated child abuse. Although Franke’s arrest came as a shock to many, most of the Franke family’s supporters had been waiting for this arrest for a long time.

Ruby Franke was taken into custody on the Washington County Sheriff’s Office website after being arrested in Springville, Utah at 9:33 p.m. on August 30. At the same time, not only Franke was arrested, but also her longtime associate, therapist Jodi Hildebrandt.

A child climbed out of the window of a residence in Ivins, Utah, to get help, according to the Santa Clara-Ivins Department of Public Safety. The house in question appears to have belonged to Franke’s partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, who was arrested in the case.

The boy ran to his neighbor’s house for help and asked for food and water. Noticing that the boy had duct tape on his wrists and ankles, the neighbors decided to call the police. It was revealed that the boy was taken to the hospital because he had serious injuries and was malnourished.

According to authorities, a second child with malnutrition was found in the same house. The second child was also taken to the hospital for treatment. It was claimed that four minor children were taken in by the “Department of Children and Family Services” following the search warrant.

THE RISE OF THE FRANKE FAMILY

Ruby Franke once became quite the celebrity with 8 Passengers, with whom she, her husband Kevin Franke, and their six children Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve share their lives.

The channel had close to three million subscribers, but earlier this year it was shut down for an unknown reason. In addition, the family had been drawing attention for a long time with accusations such as child abuse and the disappearance of some children.

It all started in January 2015 when the six children of Ruby and Kevin Franke shared their lives by launching a channel called 8 Passengers.

Franke had this to say about her channel, which became famous in 2016: “I just want women who are breastfeeding their babies, women who are still trying to reunite with their families, women who don’t sleep through the night to see what the bottom line is. . There seems to be a light at the end.”

The channel has grown in popularity as more people want to see Franke raising, cooking and homeschooling Chad. And in August 2017 it reached one million subscribers.

FAMILY FAITH….

As the YouTube channel grew, the image of millions began to darken. Viewers were more critical of the couple’s parenting styles; They began to find the partner too domineering and sometimes cruel.

In the summer of 2020, Chad revealed in a vlog that he slept on a beanbag chair after pulling a prank on his younger brother, which some viewers considered child abuse.

In another controversial video, Franke said she did not bring her daughter Eve, then 6, lunch because the boy forgot to bring it before going to school. Some viewers said that meant starving him.

A petition drive was organized on Change.org, calling for the intervention of Child Protective Services, and collected more than 17,000 signatures. None of the authorities responded to the request.

At the time, the Frankes said they gave their children choices and taught them the consequences of their actions.

Ruby Franke and her son Chad

Some YouTube channels have started reviewing older family content. People started posting videos of the family that they found disturbing. Franke’s two sons, Russell and Chad, while having a playfight, threatened to not give them dinner, took Christmas away from their youngest son due to selfish and terrible decisions according to his mother, did not give the children breakfast children until they did their chores, and were told they don’t deserve personal space and were harshly criticized.

Although the Franke Family continued to broadcast videos on their channels for a while despite the backlash, this situation became irregular by the day and the channel was eventually removed.

Larry Shapiro, CEO of the talent agency Ensemble Digital Studios, who previously worked with the family, said in May 2023 that they were a good family torn apart, but was unable to comment further.

ANOTHER SCANDAL CHANNEL…

In June 2022, Franke announced that she would be joining a new YouTube channel called ConneXions with a woman named Jodi Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt is a therapist whose license was placed on 18-month probation by the Utah Mental Health Clinical Counselor Licensing Board in January 2012.

Franke has been making outrageous statements on her new channel with Jodi Nan Hildebrandtile.

This channel, which Franke and Hildebrandt started together, caused more anxiety than enthusiasm in the public. Because in one video Hildebrandt argues that raped women have the right to choose, while in another video Franke says that children do not deserve privacy or unconditional love.

THE CHILDREN LEFT THE HOUSE

Shari, the eldest of Franke’s children, said in September 2022 that she is no longer in contact with her family and does not support ConneXions. But she also urged her followers to “remember that this is my real family.”

Chad, the second eldest son, is also believed to have moved on, but has not made any public posts online since the family’s channel went down.

Father Kevin Franke hasn’t shared anything in a while and it’s unknown if he’s still with Ruby.

Father Kevin Franke, on the other hand, once worked with ConneXions but hasn’t been seen in several months and it’s unclear if he’s still with Ruby.

Kevin Franke was an associate professor at Brigham Young University but was told his job ended earlier this spring. No details were given about why he left the job.

ARRESTED

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in Utah on August 30. That night, Shari shared a photo of a police car on her Instagram story with the words “finally.”

In another post, “Today was a great day. My family and I are very happy that justice has been done. “We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS about this for years, and I’m so glad they finally decided to take action.”

Franke’s sisters also posted a statement on Instagram, writing that Ruby should be arrested and the children are now safe.