YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke, business partner Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced in child abuse case

YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke, who pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse of two of her children, was sentenced on Tuesday to four consecutive sentences of one to 15 years in prison.

The amount of time Franke spends in prison will depend on the Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Franke and his former business partner, Connexions Classroom founder Jodi Hildebrandt, pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse in Washington County Fifth District Court in Utah in December.

Hildebrandt was sentenced to the same four consecutive terms of one to 15 years after Franke.

In their plea agreements, Franke and Hildebrandt admitted to inflicting or allowing another adult to inflict serious physical injuries on Franke’s children between May and August 2023.

Before receiving his sentence, Franke tearfully read a statement in court Tuesday.

“Over the past four years, I have chosen to follow advice and guides that have led me into a dark delusion. My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I isolated myself from anyone who challenged me,” Franke said.

“I was made to believe that this world was an evil place full of police who control, hospitals that hurt, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and are lustful, husbands who refuse to protect, and children who need abuse,” Franke said.

“Jodi Hildebrandt was never my business partner, nor was I employed by her. I never received salaries or connections from her. Jodi worked as a counselor for my son, in 2019 and in 2020, I paid her to be my mentor.” Franke said. “It is important for me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without guilt. I take full responsibility for my decisions and prefer to serve a prison sentence.”

He two women were arrested On August 30, after Franke’s 12-year-old son, who had been staying at Hildebrandt’s house, climbed out a window, he ran to a neighbor’s house and told him he had been abused.

Hildebrandt said in a statement to the court: “I sincerely love these children. I want them to heal emotionally. One of the reasons I did not go to trial is that I did not want them to emotionally relive experiences that would have been harmful to them.” “.

Franke’s son was physically tortured and “forced to perform physical tasks for hours and days at a time,” according to the plea agreement. He was forced to perform outdoor work without shoes in the summer heat, being exposed to direct sunlight for several days, which caused him “severe and repeated sunburns with blistering and peeling of the skin,” according to the agreement.

The boy was denied adequate water during several of the days he had to stay in the heat and was punished when he “secretly consumed water” and was denied sufficient food, according to the agreement.

After he attempted to flee, his hands and feet were “regularly bound,” often using two sets of handcuffs for his wrists and ankles, according to the plea agreement, adding that ropes were sometimes used to bind the two sets together. of handcuffs, so that his arms and legs were lifted from the ground.

The restraints caused injuries to the boy’s wrists and ankles, and the handcuffs cut skin and damaged muscle and tissue, according to the plea agreement. The injuries were treated with homeopathic remedies and covered with duct tape, before the child was re-tied on top of the duct tape, according to the agreement.

Franke and another adult tried to convince the boy that he was “evil and possessed. And that he needed to be willingly obedient to avoid punishments. And that punishments were necessary to repent,” the statement said.

Another child received similar treatment and was forced to work outdoors, barefoot, in the heat, running on dirt roads for an extended period of time.

Two other charges were dismissed against Franke, according to the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office. She agreed to serve consecutive sentences as part of her plea deal.

“Ruby Franke wants to take responsibility for the harm she has caused to her children and her entire family. She knows that by pleading guilty and accepting punishment, she is taking a step in the right direction toward being accountable for her actions.” Franke’s lawyers said in a statement to ABC News in December.

Prosecutor Eric Clarke told reporters after the sentencing that he expects Hildebrandt to serve more time than Franke. Clarke said it appears Franke understands that he was wrong for abusing him and took responsibility, but Hildebrandt has made statements on jailhouse calls suggesting he has no remorse.

“At the end of the day, this is a case about religious extremism and I think Ms. Franke’s statement came into that. These guys went down a rabbit hole and Ms. Hildebrandt believed she was regularly talking to God and Mrs. “Franke was following instructions given to him by Ms. Hildebrandt,” prosecutor Eric Clarke told reporters.

Clarke said this case has been one of the worst cases of child abuse his office has ever seen.

“I am very concerned that Jodi, if she were released today, would be a significant risk to gaining supporters,” Clarke said. “Ruby was essentially a follower of Jodi, and if she gathers people and then convinces them to do this kind of thing, it’s a huge risk.”

Hildebrandt’s lawyer said the statement she made in court was “absolutely sincere” and that what she said in calls with people who did not believe she was guilty of child abuse is not what she currently believes.

“She entered into a plea agreement to take responsibility for her conduct in this case,” Hildebrandt’s attorney, Doug Terry, told reporters.

Franke’s attorney, LaMar Winward, told reporters that he accepts the judge’s sentence.

“We feel that justice is served today and Ruby is committed to changing the way she thinks and acts during her time in prison,” Franke said.