YouTuber Ruby Franke was arrested in August 2023 after the abuse came to light.
YouTuber Ruby Franke has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for child abuse, telling a US court she was deceived by “dark delusions”. The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in December and was sentenced on Tuesday to one to 15 years in prison on each charge. Frank’s business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, whom she calls her “mentor,” received the same sentence. She became famous for giving parenting advice, attracting millions of subscribers to her now-deleted YouTube channel “8 Passengers.”
she broke in court On Tuesday, prosecutors described child abuse that was “concentration camp-like.”
“I was led to believe the world was an evil place. Over the past four years, I chose to follow the advice and guidance that led me into dark delusions,” Frank said.
time magazine Said Franke started her YouTube channel in 2015, which is centered around her parenting style. She shared snippets of her life with her husband and their six children – Sally, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve.
The most concerning aspect of her videos is how she disciplines her children. In a 2020 video, she said her son, Chad, had been sleeping on a bean bag for seven months. That led to a petition on change.org and workers from the Utah Department of Children and Family Services being dispatched to her home. But the investigation was closed because “the allegations were unfounded.”
Another video shows Frank refusing to bring her daughter’s lunch to school because her daughter, who was six at the time, forgot her lunch. In the now-deleted video, time She was quoted as saying, “Eve is responsible for making her own lunch in the morning, so the natural consequence is that she will be hungry. Hopefully no one gives her food and no one steps in and gives her lunch.”
The abuse was discovered in August 2023, when Frank was arrested on child abuse charges. According to NBC News, her 12-year-old son jumped out of the home’s window and ran to a neighbor’s house to seek help.
The boy was found malnourished and had duct tape on his wounds.
After Frank was arrested, her eldest daughter Sally uploaded a story on Instagram in which she said: “My family and I are delighted that justice has been served. We have been trying to report this to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for years. I’m glad they finally decided to come forward. The children are safe, but there’s still a long road ahead.”
