YouTuber Ruby Franke Sentenced to Prison for Child Abuse

Facts

• Ruby Franke, a Utah-based influencer who offered parenting advice via a YouTube channel, has been sentenced to 4 to 60 years in prison having pled guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse last December.¹
• Judge Walton also handed the 42-year-old mother's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, the same sentence. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will ultimately determine both women's prison time, which will run consecutively.²
• Utah prosecutor Eric Clarke had told the court that two of Franke's six children lived in a 'concentration camp-like setting' and were 'regularly denied food, water, [and] beds to sleep in.'³
• The two women were arrested in August 2023 after Franke's malnourished 12-year-old son climbed out of a window at Hildebrandt's home and ran to a neighbor's house for help.⁴
• According to their plea agreements, Frankie's son was forced to complete physical tasks without shoes in direct sunlight for several days, which resulted in 'repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skins.'⁵
• In addition, Franke acknowledged that she pushed her then 9-year-old daughter 'to run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time,' denied her food and water, and convinced her she was 'evil and possessed.'⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Independent, ³BBC News, ⁴Guardian, ⁵ABC News and ⁶Peoplemag.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Page Six. The so-called 'momsfluencer' should be given the harshest punishment for starving, terrorizing, and torturing her children. It's implausible to imagine that a mother could inflict severe physical injuries and irreparable emotional harm upon her own flesh and blood. Franke should be put away forever in light of her shocking behavior and heinous crimes.
• Narrative B, as provided by CNN. Franke was isolated, lived in a dark delusion, and was brainwashed into believing the world was an evil place. The woman should be given a lenient sentence as she is taking a step in the right direction to be accountable for her actions — demonstrating her remorse and regret — and has chosen not to go to trial for her children's emotional well-being.
• Narrative C, as provided by Medium. Ruby Franke's case is shocking proof that anything you see on social media should not be blindly copied. It also brings the practice of 'sharenting,' which invades a child's privacy and violates ethical rules, under the spotlight. Franke's actions should set a precedent, allowing the state to protect the children whose lives are broadcast online as well as bar parents from using their children to earn millions on video-sharing apps.

Predictions