Ruby Franke breaks down in tears as judge orders her to serve up to 60 years for child abuse
Ruby Franke broke down in tears Tuesday as she was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for aggravated child abuse.
The judge on the former “8 Passengers” host’s case sentenced Franke to the terms of her plea — four counts of one to 15 years, served consecutively.
However, she will only serve 30 years maximum, according to a Utah law that caps imprisonment time on consecutive sentences.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine her exact amount of prison time, and Franke will have 30 days to appeal the decision.
“I am humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence for as long as I need,” Franke, 42, told the judge as she fought back tears.
“I am committed to unlearning my toxic behavior.”
Franke also apologized for “twisting God’s words and distorting his doctrine” after the judge handed down the maximum sentence under Utah state guidelines.
Franke’s former business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, received the same sentence after the judge told her she “terrorized” the children.
“I sincerely loved these children,” Hildebrandt said in response.
“One of the reasons I didn’t go to trial is I didn’t want them to relive this.”
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in late August on charges of aggravated child abuse of the momfluencer’s children after one of her “emaciated” children with duct tape around his extremities escaped from Hildebrandt’s house in Ivans, Utah, through a window and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.
Police described the unidentified child’s wounds, neglect and malnourishment as so “severe” that they transported the victim to the nearby Saint George Regional Hospital.
The pair pleaded guilty in December 2023, with Franke admitting in her agreement to torturing her children by holding their heads under water and starving them.
When one of her sons attempted to run away in July, the former YouTuber bound him using handcuffs on his wrists and ankles.
She then used a rope to connect the two sets, so his “arms and lower legs were lifted off the ground.”
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One of Franke’s sisters-in-law shared in September 2023 that they were praying she’d be “put away forever” in light of her crimes.
“I don’t think she should get out on bail. I do believe the allegations against her,” said Cynthia Franke.
“After all of this, she should be put away forever if convicted.”
In legal documents obtained by Page Six, Ruby’s estranged husband, Kevin, demanded Hildebrandt be financially responsible for paying for his kids’ health care — but didn’t condemn Ruby’s actions.
“It is clear and admitted that the children suffered immediate and continuing irreparable harm as a result of the crimes perpetrated upon them by [Hildebrandt],” he wrote.
Kevin, 45, said in his filing that after the juvenile court matter, in which the state determines custody of the kids, the cost of his family’s long-term care would have to come out of his pocket.
“This would be a completely inequitable result; that the victims and the victims’ family would have to pay for their own treatment for injuries caused by [Hildebrandt],” the motion said.
Ruby and Kevin quickly rose to fame when they launched “8 Passengers” in 2015, documenting their lives as a married couple with six children.
Behind the scenes, however, their marriage started to fall apart and Ruby became estranged from her two eldest children, Shari and Chad.
The now-estranged pair turned to Hildebrandt’s therapy group, ConneXions, during which the founder recommended Ruby and Kevin separate to save the marriage.
An attorney for Kevin, who was never charged with any crimes related to Ruby and Jodi’s, later told Page Six that the duo were separated for more than a year at the time of the media personality’s arrest because of “a difference of opinion about their family parenting.”
Following her mother’s arrest, 20-year-old Shari admitted on social media that she was “glad” to see Ruby cuffed.
“Today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served,” she wrote on Instagram.
“We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
In addition to Shari’s concerns, viewers of the YouTube show also began to worry about the Franke children when Ruby started sharing worrying anecdotes about refusing to take her 6-year-old daughter lunch after the young child had forgotten to take it with her.
“My hope is she will be hungry and come home and be like, ‘That was really painful being hungry all day, I’ll make sure to always have a lunch with me,'” Ruby shared in one of her now-deleted videos.
Ruby actually denied abusing her children after Chad, now 19, once claimed he had to sleep on a beanbag for seven months.
Not long after Ruby was locked up, Shari shared that she was suffering from chronic panic attacks following the arrest but said her faith and mental health treatment eased the pain.
“Therapy has literally saved me, but God has too,” she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “My life is somehow more beautiful and fulfilling, despite all the terrible things going on.”
Despite the relief she felt upon learning of her mother’s arrest, Shari still faced trouble with her father, who wanted her arrested for burglary after he believed she broke into his house.
“Kevin stated that Shari is not allowed in the home, and that he believes she entered unlawfully, and he wants her charged with burglary,” a Utah police officer wrote of the Sept. 1, 2023, incident.
Kevin “wanted to have his daughter charged with theft for taking some hard drives out of the house,” but the officer on the scene informed Kevin that Shari “wasn’t aware” she was not allowed to have the items and offered to bring them back.
Shari returned three tablets, three cellphones, three cameras, a stack of written journals and three passports to the Springville Police Department, which in turn gave them to Kevin.
She was not charged with a crime.
