Who is Ruby Franke? The YouTube parenting influencer who has admitted child abuse charges
A once-popular YouTube parent vlogger was arrested in August after her son was found emaciated and with duct tape on his limbs by a neighbour.
Ruby Franke faced six child abuse charges in the US state of Utah. She admitted four of them today.
Who is she, what controversy has she stirred before and what led to her arrest? Here is everything you need to know.
Who is Ruby Franke and what was her YouTube channel?
Ruby Franke and her husband launched their family YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, in early 2015.
The channel chronicled the lives of the parents and their six children and focused on parenting style, the children’s upbringing and discipline.
The parents, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (known as the Mormon Church), also shared their children’s home-schooling.
The channel gained 2.3 million subscribers before it was removed earlier this year.
What is Ruby Franke charged with?
Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were both charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse.
Each count carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000 (£8,044).
In Utah, aggravated child abuse is defined as an act that “inflicts upon a child serious physical injury” or “causes or permits another to inflict serious physical injury upon a child”.
“Each defendant is accused of causing or permitting serious physical injury to the victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardises life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm,” the Washington County Attorney in Utah told Sky News’s sister outlet NBC News.
Who is Jodi Hildebrandt?
Hildebrandt founded the controversial life counselling organisation ConneXions, which Franke became a key part of.
The two women created advice videos that critics say promote a harsh style of parenting.
Hildebrandt has agreed not to see patients until the allegations against her are addressed by state licensing officials.
Her next court hearing is set for 27 December, according to court records.
Jodi Hildebrandt appears at a virtual court hearing. Pic: Utah State Courts via AP
What led to Ruby Franke’s arrest?
Franke’s arrest came after her 12-year-old son escaped out of the window of Hildebrandt’s house and ran to a neighbour asking for food and water.
The local police department released the audio of the neighbour’s 911 call.
“I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here in my front door asking for help,” he said.
He added: “We know there’s been problems at this neighbour’s house. He’s emaciated. He’s got tape around his legs. He’s hungry and he’s thirsty.”
The boy’s condition was judged by police to be so severe he was taken to hospital.
Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was later found malnourished and was also taken to the hospital.
The children were found at Hildebrandt’s house, but Franke had been seen on a YouTube video filmed there and posted two days earlier, indicating she was at the home and had knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment and neglect, arrest records said.
Four of Franke’s children are under 18 and have now been placed in care.
Ruby Franke appears at a virtual court hearing. Pic: Utah State Courts via AP
Previous reports to authorities
Police were called to Franke’s home last year after a concerned neighbour said her children had been left home alone for several days, according to NBC’s account of a police report.
A police officer who visited wrote in the report that he saw children inside, but they refused to open the door.
When police returned, Franke was there with her children, but would not talk to them.
Franke’s eldest daughter, Shari Franke, called the police wanting to make sure her siblings were safe and had food after the neighbour alerted her to her mother’s absence, the report said.
In 2020, viewers of 8 Passengers launched a petition to get child protection services to investigate Franke. Insider reported that officials visited the house but closed the case “because the claims were unsupported”.
How did Franke cause controversy with viewers?
Viewers had been calling out Franke’s parenting style and discipline choices for several years before her arrest.
The incident that prompted the petition was a video in which Franke’s eldest son revealed he slept on a beanbag for seven months because he had been moved out of his brother’s room for teasing him.
Franke defended herself in an interview with Insider, saying her son had chosen a beanbag over an airbed or a pullout guest bed.
She also angered viewers with a video about her 6-year-old forgetting her school lunch. In the video, Franke said she would not drop any food at school and her daughter should use the “pain” of being hungry as a lesson not to forget her lunch in future.
Franke was also criticised for threatening to throw away her children’s possessions and denying them personal space.
Neighbours also accused Franke of withholding food as a punishment for her children.
They also claimed that, after her husband was out of the home, Franke would leave the house for weeks at a time, with the children inside.
“Everyone is just breathing a collective sigh of relief because we thought they were going to come out of that house with body bags,” one neighbour told NBC.
“I remember that she took away their Christmas one year,” he said, “and she would say things like ‘They’re not repenting correctly,’ which is a Mormon term for ‘they’re sinning.’ Just complete insanity.”
Read more:
Neighbours say they tried to warn child services
Sisters ‘did as much as we could’ to help kids
Franke’s time in court
When Franke and Hildebrandt had their first court hearing on 8 September it was derailed by tech issues as more than 1,000 people tried to join virtually.
YouTube commentator Tezzmosis provided a live commentary of the hearing to people who couldn’t get on the live stream.
He later told NBC he believed the intense public interest stems from the clear disconnect the case illustrates between the “perfect image” a parenting influencer can present online versus their family’s reality.
“They’ve been on [authorities’] radar for a couple of years,” he said, referring to the news police had previously visited Franke’s house due to concerns about her alleged treatment of her children.
“But being from an affluent family and having this notoriety in such a way, I think it was so hard for people to believe that something so bad could be going on beyond the surface,” Tezzmosis added.
‘I am not my sister’s crimes’
Two sisters of Franke used YouTube vlogs to distance themselves from her, both uploading videos on 14 September.
In a video titled “I am not my sister. I am not my sister’s crimes”, Bonnie Hoellein said she was “cut off” from the family and “did not have access to anyone”.
She said she disagreed with what she called her sister’s “extreme” parenting tactics and “did everything legally that we could do” to help the children.
Ellie Mecham, another of Franke’s sisters, also said in an Instagram post they had done “everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe”.
Franke’s eldest daughter has also spoken out. Shari Franke, 20, said in an Instagram story after her mother’s arrest: “We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
Other influencers have also shared their shock at her crimes.
Julie Deru, who has a family channel called Deru Crew Vlogs, said she last spoke to Franke three years ago.
“We are kind of in complete shock, still, as to what she had done, because we had no idea of what was happening,” she said.
What about the father, Kevin Franke?
Kevin Franke’s lawyer appeared on Good Morning America to distance Ruby Franke’s husband from the child abuse allegations she faces.
The lawyer said the couple had been living separately for 13 months and Kevin Franke was “distraught” after hearing about the alleged abuse.
“No one’s ever made any allegations that he’s ever physically abused those kids, or anyone else,” he told the programme.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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