YouTube Vlogger Ruby Franke Sentenced Up To 60 Years In Prison For Child Abuse
Former '8 Passengers' YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse charges.
Franke, 42, was arrested last August alongside her former business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt after Franke's 12-year-old son climbed out of a window at Hildebrandt's home and ran to a neighbor's house begging for food and water.
According to a report filed with the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, the neighbor noticed the boy was malnourished, with duct tape residue on his ankles and wrists. Authorities were notified and he was placed on hold at a local hospital, citing "deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment."
Arrest warrants say the boy told investigators that Hildebrandt, 54, would put cayenne pepper and honey on wounds caused by being bound with rope.
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In December, both women plead guilty to four counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse.
Sentencing took place on Tuesday, where the mother of six — who used to provide parenting advice online — was given four one to fifteen year sentences, one for each of the four counts of child abuse. Hildebrandt received the same sentencing.
"I'll never stop crying for hurting your tender souls. My willingness to sacrifice all for you was masterfully manipulated into something very ugly. I took from you all that was soft and safe and good," Franke said in a statement.
"I sincerely love these children," Hildebrandt responded.
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The now defunct YouTube channel, "8 Passengers," which debuted in 2015, included videos of Franke's family life and parental advice. The momfluencer's parenting style often included harsh punishments, withholding meals, and Christmas presents.
"I was the mama duck who was consistently waddling you to safety. I can see now that over the past four years, I was in a deep undercurrent that led us to danger," she said in a statement.
She went on to say she was "disoriented" and "believed dark was light and right was wrong."
