Family YouTuber Ruby Franke pleads guilty to child abuse for starving her children

A Utah mother who ran a family YouTube channel has pleaded guilty to four felony counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse for abusing and starving two of her six children.

Appearing in court on Monday morning, Ruby Franke expressed “deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children” as she admitted the charges under a plea agreement.

The former influencer, who had more than two million followers on her channel 8 Passengers, is set to be sentenced by Judge John J Walton on 20 February.

The judge indicated that prison would be “the appropriate sentence” for the crimes.

Under Utah law, second-degree aggravated child abuse can be charged if that person knowingly or intentionally inflicts serious physical injury to a child or causes or permits another to inflict serious physical injury to their child. Each charge carries a sentence of one to 15 years in prison.

Franke pleaded not guilty to two other counts, court records said, and was returned to custody after the hearing.

Her attorneys said in a statement Friday that the alleged abuse occurred while Franke was influenced by a relationship counsellor who led her to “a distorted sense of morality”.

“Ruby Franke is a devoted mother and is also a woman committed to constant improvement,” Winward Law said.

Franke initially believed that Jodi Hildebrandt “had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement,” but said that Hildebrandt “took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous”.

Hildebrandt “systematically isolated Ruby Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke,” the statement said.

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested on 30 August after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s house in the southern Utah city of Ivins and asked a neighbour to call the police, according to the 911 call released by the St George Police Department.

The boy was emaciated and had duct tape around his ankles and wrists but wouldn’t say why, the caller reported.

“I think he’s been detained,” the caller said, his voice breaking up. “He’s obviously covered in wounds.”

Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was also found at Hildebrandt’s house, court records said. Both children were taken to the hospital. Eventually, Franke’s four youngest children were taken into state custody.

Franke and Hildebrandt were each charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse. They have remained in jailed since their arrests.

The 12-year-old boy told investigators that “Jodi” put the ropes on his ankles and wrists and that they used cayenne pepper and honey to dress the wounds caused by the ropes.

Kevin Franke has filed for divorce.

Franke’s attorneys said that during her incarceration, “she has actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions”. She “is committed to taking responsibility for the part she played in the events leading up to her incarceration,” they added.

Hildebrandt has agreed not to see patients until the allegations are addressed by state licensing officials. Her next court hearing is set for 27 December, according to court records.

The since-removed Franke family YouTube channel broadcast the family’s controversial parenting decisions, including banning their oldest son from his bedroom for seven months for pranking his younger brother. In other videos, Ruby Franke talked about refusing to take lunch to a child who forgot it at home, and threatening to cut the head off a young girl’s stuffed toy as a punishment.

In one video, Franke said she and her husband told their two youngest children that they would not be getting presents from Santa Claus because they had been selfish.

The YouTube channel, which started in 2015, ended after seven years and was deleted in September.

Additional reporting by Associated Press