This week, Utah judges will sentence Ruby Franke, former host of the parenting YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” and her accomplice Jodi Hildebrandt. Both women pled guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse involving Franke’s younger children.
According to authorities, Franke’s then-12-year-old son escaped from a home on August 30th, 2023 with duct tape still binding his ankles and wrists. The emaciated boy implored a neighbor to call police and report the women holding him captive.
Investigations revealed over two years of stomach-churning mistreatment. Franke admitted to kicking her son while wearing boots, holding his head under water and closing off his mouth and nose with her hands in her plea deal.
Meanwhile, the women forced Franke’s daughter, then 9 years old, to leap into cacti. They also made both children undergo hours of grueling outdoor labor in summer temperatures, causing dehydration and painful sunburns.
Once arrested, the women faced six felony counts each initially. But negotiated plea agreements allowed both to plead guilty to four charges in exchange for recommended sentences prosecutors submitted.
Still, the sheer cruelty described stunned veteran child welfare advocates. “8 Passengers” amassed a large YouTube audience documenting the Franke family’s daily lives. But disturbing controversies had already emerged involving Ruby Franke’s severe parenting methods.
She once refused to deliver a kindergartner’s forgotten lunch, or decapitated a young girl’s stuffed animal as punishment. Her husband has since filed for divorce and terminated their lucrative channel.
Franke and her counselor-turned-accomplice Hildebrandt are facing all-but-certain imprisonment. Still, the pending outcome offers little solace for victims whose trust they betrayed so contemptibly behind closed doors.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.