In December, Franke entered a guilty plea to four charges of severe child abuse.
Ruby Franke, a YouTube vlogger, was sentenced to four consecutive terms ranging from one to fifteen years in jail on Tuesday after entering a guilty plea to serious child abuse of two of her children.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will decide how long Franke stays behind bars.
In December, Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, the creator of Connexions Classroom, her former business partner, entered guilty pleas to four counts of child abuse in Washington County 5th District Court in Utah.
After Franke, Hildebrandt received four consecutive sentences ranging from one to fifteen years.
Franke and Hildebrandt acknowledged in their plea deals that from May to August 2023, they had intentionally hurt Franke’s children or had allowed another adult to do so.
Tuesday in court, Franke gave a heartfelt statement prior to being sentenced.
“I’ve made the decision to heed advice and guidance that has brought me into a terrible delusion for the last four years. I would withdraw from everyone who disagreed with me, so my warped perception of reality remained mostly unchecked,” Franke claimed.
"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," Franke said. "Jodi Hildebrandt was never my business partner, nor was I ever employed by her. I have never received wages from her or connections. Jodi was employed as my son's counselor, in 2019 and in 2020, I paid her to be my mentor," Franke said. "It is important to me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without blame. I take full accountability for my choices, and it is my preference that I serve a prison sentence."
After Franke’s 12-year-old son, who had been staying at Hildebrandt’s house, crawled out of a window, fled to a neighbor’s house, and told the neighbor that he had been abused, the two women were arrested on August 30.
In a statement made in court, Hildebrandt said, “I truly love these kids. I want them to experience emotional healing. I did not go to trial in part because I did not want children to suffer emotionally from events that could have been harmful to them.”
According to the plea deal, Franke’s kid was subjected to physical abuse and “forced to do physical tasks for hours and days at a time.” In the summer heat, he was made to perform manual labor outside without shoes. He spent several days in full sunlight, which led to “repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skins,” according to the agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the youngster was punished for “secretly consuming water,” was not given enough food, and was refused access to enough water on several of the days he was forced to stay outside in the heat.
The plea deal stated that when he attempted to flee, his hands and feet were “regularly bound,” frequently with two sets of handcuffs for his wrists and ankles. It also stated that occasionally, ropes were used to bind the two sets of handcuffs together, raising his arms and lower legs off the ground.
According to the plea deal, the youngster suffered injuries to their wrists and ankles as a result of the restraints, with the handcuffs causing damage to muscle and tissue through cutting through the skin. As per the agreement, the youngster was bound once again on top of the duct tape after the injuries were wrapped with duct tape and treated with homeopathic remedies.
The youngster was attempted to be persuaded that he was “evil and possessed” by Franke and another adult. and that in order to escape penalties, he had to voluntarily obey. And so in order to repent, the penalties were required,” the plea stated.
Yet another Child was subjected to similar mistreatment and made to labor outside in the heat while jogging for extended periods of time on dirt roads in their bare feet.
Franke was found not guilty of two additional offenses, according to the Washington County Attorney’s Office. As part of her plea deal, she consented to serve her terms consecutively.
“Ruby Franke desires to accept accountability for the devastation she has done to her family as a whole, including her children. She is aware that she is moving in the proper route toward accepting responsibility for her acts by entering a guilty plea and receiving the punishment, Franke’s attorneys said in a statement to ABC News in December.
After the sentencing, prosecutor Eric Clarke expressed to media his desire that Hildebrandt would receive a longer sentence than Franke. According to Clarke, it seems like Franke has accepted responsibility for her abuse and realized her mistake, but Hildebrandt has indicated in phone conversations from jail that she is not sorry.
“In the end, I believe that Mrs. Franke’s statement kind of went into the case of religious fanaticism in this instance. Prosecutor Eric Clarke told reporters, “These guys went down a rabbit hole, and Ms. Hildebrandt thought she was regularly talking to God and Ms. Franke was following the directions that she was getting from Ms. Hildebrandt.”
According to Clarke, this is among the worst examples of child abuse their staff has ever encountered.
“I’m super concerned that Jodi — if she were released today — is a significant risk to gather followers,” Clarke stated. “Ruby was essentially a follower of Jodi, and if she’s gathering people and then convincing them to do this kind of thing, that’s a huge risk.”
The lawyer for Hildebrandt claimed that her remarks in court were “absolutely sincere” and that her present beliefs differ from what she said during phone conversations with those who did not think she was guilty of abusing children.
Doug Terry, Hildebrandt’s lawyer, told reporters, “She entered into the plea agreement to take responsibility for her conduct in this case.”
LaMar Winward, Franke’s lawyer, informed reporters that she agrees with the judge’s decision.
“We feel that justice is served today and Ruby is committed to change her way of thinking and acting during her time in prison,” Franke stated.