Former family vlogger Ruby Franke is expected to be sentenced Tuesday in a monthslong child abuse case brought against the Utah mother of six.
Franke’s business partner Jodi Hildebrandt is also expected to be sentenced.
The two pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse in December, several months after being charged with six counts of felony child abuse.
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in August 2023 after police found one of Franke’s sons emaciated with open wounds and bound with duct tape. He had escaped Hildebrandt’s home to a neighbor’s house. One of Franke’s daughters was found in similar malnourished condition in Hildebrandt’s home.
Attorneys for Hildebrandt and Franke did not respond to requests for comment ahead of the sentencing date.
While Franke is not an A-list celebrity, her case has become a public spectacle. Some online commentators said they feel it has helped bring renewed attention to a dark underside of family vlogging channels.
Franke, her husband Kevin and their six children rose to prominence on YouTube, where they had amassed 2.3 million subscribers to their now-defunct channel 8 Passengers. Franke also frequently collaborated on controversial parenting and relationship advice videos with Hildebrandt.
The Frankes’ strict parenting style had previously led some viewers to report them to authorities. Franke had also faced backlash for videos in which she refused to bring her then-6-year-old lunch after the child forgot to pack food and threatened to throw away her children’s prized possessions.
Hildebrandt also faced scrutiny over her life coaching service, ConneXions, which some former clients described to NBC News as a program that isolated them from loved ones and destroyed marriages.
Franke, who has been held without bail since her arrest, is pursuing “personal growth and rehabilitation” by apologizing to and trying to reconcile with members of her family, the law firm representing her said in December.
Read more of NBC News’ coverage of Franke:
Lawyers for Franke said Hildebrandt “systematically isolated” Franke from her family over a prolonged period of time, which caused her to adopt a “distorted sense of morality” under Hildebrandt’s influence.
In November, Kevin Franke filed for divorce. Randy Kester, his attorney, told TODAY.com in September that the couple had been separated for 13 months “at Ruby’s directive.”
Lawyers for Franke said at the time of the divorce filing that she was “devastated” by the news, but that she understood Kevin Franke’s reasoning and respected his decision.
The statement also noted that she offered her “full cooperation” to help reunite their children with their father.
Virginia Blanchard, who has been representing the children, and Kester, Kevin Franke’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment made ahead of Tuesday’s sentencing.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
