Ruby Franke Blames Jodi Hildebrandt After Child Abuse Guilty Plea, Judge Says Vlogger Will Go to Prison

Mar. 15, 2025

“With my deepest regret, and sorrow for my family and my children — guilty,” Franke pleaded on the final count, according to theTribune.

The 5th District Judge, John J. Walton, reportedly told Franke there “won’t be any argument” about whether she’ll face jail time when she’s sentenced in February, theTribunereports.

Ron Chaffin/St. George News via AP

Prosecutors had detailed the severe abuse Franke’s two youngest children faced in the months leading up to her arrest in late August alongside Hildebrandt, 54, according to the newspaper.Franke, who vlogged about her Mormon family’s daily life since 2015, had been criticized online in recent years for harsh punishments she and her husband Kevin Franke dolled out to their six children, including accusations the parents had denied their children access to food as a form of punishment.

TheTribunereports that throughout Franke’s trial, prosecutors laid out even more details about the abuse her two youngest children faced while under her and Hildebrandt’s watch in recent months after the Franke couple separated.The newspaper reports that prosecutors alleged Franke had forced her youngest son’s head under water, smothered him with her hands, and kicked him with boots on, while she also denied her youngest daughter food and water, and also made her daughter run barefoot on dirt roads as punishment.

In a statement tolocal Fox 13ahead of her guilty plea Monday, Franke’s attorneys at the Winward Law firm laid the blame for her behavior squarely on Hildebrandt – a controversial Mormon sex therapistwho Franke befriended and later paired up withto host the divisive Connexions parenting advice podcast.

“Initially, Ms. Franke believed that Jodi Hildebrant had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement. Ms. Hildebrant took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous," Franke’s attorneys’ statement to Fox 13 reportedly said.

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Franke’s oldest daughtercelebrated her arrestin late August, writing “finally” on social media alongside images of police outside the family’s home. Franke’s husband Kevinfiled for divorcelast month, while her sisters have distanced themselves publicly witha joint statementsaying her arrest “needed to happen.”

source: people.com