Ruby Franke was charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse.
Former YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke, known for offering parenting advice to millions online, received a sentence of up to 60 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to child abuse charges, according to The Independent.
Franke, a mother of six, broke down in tears while addressing the court before Judge Richard Christofferson sentenced her to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years. These sentences stem from four counts of child abuse to which she pleaded guilty in December, according to the newspaper.
The charges relate to the abuse of two of Franke’s children, aged nine and 11 at the time, allegedly involving psychological manipulation, food deprivation, and isolation. Prosecutors described the victims’ living conditions as “concentration camp-like” and called her a significant threat to the community.
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Franke’s former business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, who was also involved in the abuse, received the same sentence.
“The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment,” Utah prosecutor Eric Clarke said.
In court, Franke was in tears following the sentence. She apologised to her children and said: “I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong.”
“I was led to believe that this world was an evil place, filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect, and children who need abuse,” she said.
In August 2023, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested following an incident involving Franke’s undernourished 12-year-old son. The child escaped through a window at Hildebrandt’s residence in Ivins, Utah, seeking assistance from a neighbor by requesting food and water. Police records indicate that the child sustained lacerations from being restrained with a rope.