Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Jodi Hildebrandt is a Utah therapist and a business partner of Ruby Franke, a YouTube vlogger. She was charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse. She pleaded guilty to four of them in the Utah court. On December 18, 2023, Ruby Franke, who used to make parental advice videos on YouTube, pleaded guilty to child abuse charges, and she reportedly attempted to convince her two youngest children that they were evil, possessed, and needed to be punished to repent.
8 Passengers was a YouTube channel through which Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt gave parenting advice. Franke started the channel and gave details of her family life with her husband and her six children. They also collaborated on videos for Hildebrandt’s life coaching service called ConneXions. While the videos revolved around parenting, relationships, and family advice, Franke and Hildebrandt were reportedly business partners.
How did authorities find out about the abuse of Ruby Franke’s children?
In August 2023, Franke’s son reportedly escaped Hildebrandt’s house, which is located in the southwestern Utah community of Ivnis. He approached a neighbor to ask for food and water. The boy was wounded, malnourished, and had duct tape on his ankles and wrists, AP News reported. After the police were informed, they found out that the boy, along with two other children of Ruby Franke, was left in Jodi Hildebrandt’s care.
Franke’s four youngest children were then reportedly put under the care of child protective services while the two youngest children, who were until then held and tortured at Hildebrandt’s residence, were rushed to the hospital. When searching Hildebrandt’s home, authorities reportedly found ropes, handcuffs, bowls with honey and cayenne paper, bandages, and plastic wraps.
As per NBC News, Ruby Franke’s legal representatives claimed Jodi Hildebrandt “systematically isolated” her and made her vulnerable to a “distorted sense of morality”. Both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt have their sentencing scheduled for February 20, 2024.
What was Jodi Hildebrandt’s plea deal?
Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse from the six counts that she was charged with. Her plea deal was signed on December 23, 2023. It included that two charges would be dropped if she pleaded guilty. According to the agreement, Hildebrandt either executed the torture of the children or allowed the infliction of torture on them, and the nature of the crime was also described as “physical torture,” CBS News reported.
Physical labor and wall sits were some of the activities that two of Ruby Franke’s children were reportedly coerced to perform. They were also allegedly denied food and water or were only offered a limited amount of both. They were left outside in the hot sun for days, which resulted in serious burns on the children. Franke’s daughter, who is 9, reportedly suffered serious injuries and also burns on the feet after she was left outdoors on bare feet. She was also forced to jump onto a cactus on multiple occasions.
The plea deal also reportedly describes one instance when Franke’s now 12-year-old son attempted to escape Jodi Hildebrandt’s house. However, after the attempt, he was bound with ropes and handcuffs. His burns were reportedly medicated with homeopathic remedies, including cayenne pepper and honey. The wounds were covered up using duct tape.
Ruby Franke’s plea deal also included that she would testify against Jodi Hildebrandt, while both Franke and Hildebrandt’s plea deals included admissions that they convinced the victims that they were “possessed” and that they had to be punished for their disobedience, BBC reported.
