Ex-family YouTube vlogger pleads guilty to child abuse, blaming ex-business partner

An ex-family vlogger took a plea deal on charges of child abuse in Utah, according to news outlets.

Ruby Franke, 41, formerly known under the account “8 Passengers” on YouTube was arrested on Aug. 30 after police said they got reports of a “malnourished and emaciated child asking for help,” McClatchy News previously reported.

Court documents obtained by KTVX state one of Franke’s children had climbed out of the window of an Ivins home owned by her then-business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, and went to a neighbor for help’s home.

The neighbor called police after the child, whose wrists and ankles were duct-taped, “knocked on the door requesting food and water,” USA Today reported, citing court documents. McClatchy News reached out for the documents in August but did not receive them.

Franke said “she tortured her son from May 22 through Aug. 30 by forcing him into hours of physical tasks, summer work outdoors without adequate water and ‘repeated and serious sunburns’ that blistered,” according to a plea agreement obtained by The Associated Press.

He also often wasn’t given food and was regularly tied up, the outlet reported, citing the plea agreement.

McClatchy News reached out to Franke’s lawyer on Dec. 18, but his office declined to comment.

On Dec. 15, Franke’s lawyer announced in a statement she would take a plea deal to resolve “this matter quickly,” KSL reported.

Franke, described in the statement as a “devoted mother,” believes Hildebrandt, her ex-business partner and friend, “took advantage” of Franke’s trust and “twisted it into something heinous,” KSL reported.

Hildebrandt was also arrested Aug. 30 and was charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, The Associated Press reported.

Franke also said Hildebrandt “isolated her from extended family, older children, and her husband,” USA Today reported. The “prolonged isolation” led to Franke’s “distorted sense of morality,” according to the statement.

Hildebrandt and her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dec. 18.

Franke’s lawyer said in a statement that she “actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions,” KSL reported.

Franke pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 to four felony counts of aggravated child abuse, The Associated Press reported.

Franke’s plea agreement was approved, and she will be sentenced on Feb. 20, according to CBS News.

Ivins is about 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Ex-family YouTube vlogger pleads guilty to child abuse, blaming ex-business partner."