A Utah influencer and “mommy blogger” who was arrested on child molestation charges is set to take a plea deal Monday – and accused her business partner of causing her to lose her “moral compass.”
Ruby Franke, a 41-year-old mother of six, once enjoyed YouTube fame, racking up a billion views on her parenting channel 8 Passengers, which documented family life, homeschooling and tough parenting styles.
But in August her world collapsed and she was arrested after police found her 12-year-old son Russell severely emaciated, injured and bound with duct tape.
The boy was at the home of Franke's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, who was also arrested and charged with child abuse.
Ruby Franke (right) ran the controversial parenting advice service ConneXions together with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (left).
Both women were arrested and charged with six counts each of child abuse
It later emerged that Franke's husband, Kevin, had left their marital home in Springville, Utah, a year earlier due to differences in parenting styles.
Franke has created a new YouTube wellness and coaching channel with Hildebrandt.
Her lawyers did not reveal the details of Franke's settlement but accused Hildebrandt of corrupting her.
“Ruby Franke is a devoted mother and also a woman committed to constant improvement,” her lawyers said in a statement released Friday.
“Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrandt had the insight to provide a path to continuous improvement. Ms. Hildebrandt took advantage of this search and turned it into something vile.”
The lawyers claim Hildebrandt worked to control Franke and portrayed her as a Machiavellian force bent on dominating Franke.
They accuse Hildebrandt of “systematically isolating Ruby Franke from her extended family, her older children and her husband Kevin Franke.”
He filed for divorce last month.
Franke (left) is also in a custody battle with her ex-husband (right) over the placement and well-being of their six children
Millions of fans tuned in to watch Franke's YouTube channel about raising her six children
Franke, a parenting blogger from Utah, was arrested in August after her “emaciated” son alerted police
Franke's lawyers claim that Hildebrandt's isolation from Franke left her with a distorted sense of morality, shaped by Ms. Hildebrandt's influence.
They claim that the three months in prison gave her perspective and made her realize her mistakes.
“While incarcerated in the Washington County Jail over the past few months, Ruby Franke has engaged in active introspection that has allowed her to redefine her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions,” it said.
'MS. Franke is committed to taking responsibility for the role she played in the events that led to her incarceration.”
They say Franke is trying to make amends with her relatives and “make a positive contribution to her family's healing journey.”
Hildebrandt's lawyers did not comment on Franke's claims.
Last month, Hildebrandt's niece made similar claims, accusing Hildebrandt of being the “mastermind” behind Franke's abusive upbringing.
Jessi Hildebrandt lived with her aunt as a child and said she was tied up, had duct tape over her mouth, was blindfolded and isolated for 12 hours a day.
She said she was even forced to sleep outside in the snow.
Jessi Hildebrandt (pictured) revealed the extent of the alleged trauma she allegedly suffered as a child while living with her aunt Jodi Hildebrandt
Hildebrandt was accused of “destroying” people's lives through her counseling program – which pitted spouses against each other and focused men's teachings on “porn, sex and lust”.
Jessi said she hoped her aunt would not be “sidelined” in the abuse case.
“She's so connected to what's happening – and yes, Ruby needs to be held accountable for making these decisions, she's just as guilty.”
“But Jodi has been doing this for a lot longer,” she said.
Jessi listed the severe abuse she said she suffered while in Hildebrandt's care, saying she “experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse.”
“I was told that I shouldn't be around other people, that I was dangerous to be around, that people were afraid of me, to the point where I was afraid of myself, me physically unable, I was forced to sleep outside in the snow.” “I was isolated for up to 12 hours a day,” she explained.
“If someone spoke to me directly and I wasn’t wearing tape around my mouth, I just had to stare at them and not answer.”
Jessi told the station she “wouldn't be surprised” if the same therapy tactics she experienced were used at Hildebrandt and Franke's company ConneXions, a self-improvement program that offers DVDs, workshops, workbooks and other materials.
'She [Jodi] is remarkably convincing. “She's also frightening when you get in her way because she has systematically destroyed your life and will continue to do so, she destroys your reputation, she destroys your credibility,” Jessi said.
Hildebrandt was disciplined by the Utah Department of Professional and Occupational Licensing for “unprofessional conduct” and removed from the Mormon Family Services roster after her license was temporarily placed on probation.
Patients who used her services between 2008 and 2019 claim she separated spouses and encouraged them to “cut off” people who did not live “in accordance with her teachings.”
Five men who were counseled by Hildebrandt said they were put into groups to talk about their porn, sex and lust addictions and ended up being kicked out of their home or having sex for months as punishment for watching porn denied with her partner.
Pictured is Ruby Franke's home in Springville, Utah. “Ruby lived on one side of the house and Kevin lived on the other. “Kevin couldn’t talk to Ruby when Jodi wasn’t there,” Ruby’s sister-in-law said
Ruby's eldest daughter Shari, 20, posted on Instagram about her mother's arrest, sharing a picture of police officers outside the house with the caption, “Finally.”
Hildebrandt and Franke are seen at a virtual court hearing in Utah
Franke has six children – Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve – with the four youngest currently in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Franke's 12-year-old son, Russell, ratted out the couple after claiming that Hildebrandt bound him with rope and then dressed his wounds with cayenne pepper and honey, search warrants show.
The boy escaped from Hildebrandt's home with duct tape around his wrists and ankles on August 30 and begged neighbors for food, water and help – telling police that two of his other siblings were still there.
Franke had kept the three children in Hildebrandt's care, arrest warrants later revealed.
The blogger's 10-year-old girl was then found at Hildebrandt's home, but police did not find the 14-year-old, according to the search warrant. The two youngest children were taken to the hospital.