Family Vloggers Arrested

By: Renee Chard '24

Family vlogs on YouTube have become a popular source of entertainment. Many enjoy getting an inside perspective of families. Often, viewers may find themselves feeling as if they know the family dynamic through the vlogs. The mother of a fan-favorite family YouTube channel 8 Passengers, and her business partner, were arrested for alleged child abuse on August 30.

Late last week, Franke’s twelve-year-old son, Russell Franke was found at a neighbor's house asking for food and water after climbing out the window of Hildebrandt’s home. The neighbor immediately called the police after seeing Franke with open wounds and duct tape on his wrists and ankles.

“The condition of the juvenile was so severe, they were seen by Santa Clara-Ivins EMS and transported to a local area hospital,” a Washington County Sheriff statement said.

Police further investigated Hildebrandt’s home where they also found her ten-year-old daughter. Both children were declared severely malnourished at the hospital. Franke’s son was placed on medical hold because of his lacerations from being tied up with rope.

Ruby Franke and her family rose to fame through the YouTube channel she and her husband created when their first daughter, Sheri Franke was born in 2003. The channel was intended to broadcast their children's lives and give parenting advice to viewers. The channel reached up to 2.3 million followers before being deleted last year for an unknown reason.

Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, often collaborate on parenting and relationship videos, calling themselves the “Moms of Truth.”

A September 5 article in the Salt Lake Tribune outlined Hildebrandt’s role and the mission statement, “Hildebrandt owns a counseling service, ConneXions Classroom, which helps clients to facilitate personal growth through impeccable honesty, rigorous personal responsibility and vulnerable humility.”

Many believe that this partnership and their shared beliefs are what sparked the alleged child abuse.

During the arrest, four of Franke’s other children were taken into custody by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.

Franke’s oldest daughter posted to her Instagram story a picture of police officers with the caption, “Finally.” In the following post, she said, “Today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS [Child Protective Services] for years about this. So glad they finally decided to step up. Kids are safe, but there's a long road ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy.”

The sheriff’s statement also reported that Franke was seen in Hildebrandt’s home two days before the arrest, allegedly confirming that she was aware of the abuse and neglect.

According to a statement from the Washington County Attorney’s Office, Franke was charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse. Both Franke and Hildebrandt were held in jail without bail before their scheduled court date, September 8.

During the court case, Franke claimed that her young children began looking at pornography at the age of three and this is what caused her to alter her approach to parenting. According to Franke, this child allegedly sexually abused a younger member of the family for several years and then proceeded to abuse twenty other neighboring children and cousins as well. Franke claims that her child “even admitted to this”, but she provided no further evidence.

The Judge, Bazzelle, responded to this by saying, “If your claims are provided to be true, this child should be placed in a home with no other children.”

After 30 minutes, the judge confirmed a mediation hearing on September 15, with a pretrial hearing on September 18.

With more court dates approaching, Franke’s neighbors have been asked to report on the alleged sexual abuse claims of her young child.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about what’s been going on with Ruby’s kids this last year, but it’s still a shock to learn that there were criminal charges,” an anonymous neighbor of the Franke’s said.

The neighbor feels that the two youngest children have “disappeared” this last year compared to past years when they would frequently play outside.

Newtown High School students offered mixed reactions to the events.

“This is honestly crazy to me because I have watched this family on YouTube for years. I never really thought anything of it, but now that this has happened I feel like the proof has been right in front of us for a while,” NHS senior Macey Cuomo said.

Cuomo believes that the child abuse has taken place for many years, calling it “easy to spot” on their YouTube channel.

“I’m really surprised that Ruby was arrested. I knew a lot of people made fun of her on TikTok, but I never thought it could be serious. When I found out about this, I thought it was a joke at first,” NHS senior Alison Bottone said.

Bottone feels that the dynamic of the family has always been off, but it was difficult for viewers to catch, as they only saw a portion of their lives.

According to a September 8 article in The U.S. Sun, Franke and Hildebrandt are still in jail and if convicted, they will face one to 15 years of jail time as well as a 10,000 dollar fine. No further information can be concluded at this time.