Ruby Franke formally charged with 6 counts of felony child abuse

Ruby Franke, the mother of six behind the family YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse by the Washington County Attorney in Utah, a spokesperson for the attorney’s office confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday.

Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, were arrested last week after law enforcement found Franke’s 12-year-old son emaciated and with open wounds and duct tape on his wrists and ankles. The boy had climbed out of a window of Hildebrandt’s home and ran to a neighbor house for help, according to a probable cause affidavit acquired by NBC News.

Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was found at Hildebrandt’s home in a similar malnourished condition, according to the affidavit. Officials said the condition of the children was so severe that they were transported to a local area hospital. Franke’s other four children were taken into the care of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services.

Hildebrandt was also charged with six counts of felony child abuse. Each count carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000, the county attorney told NBC News in an emailed statement.

Joyboy,
@Joyboy@lemmy.ml avatar

It’s scary to think that some dumbasses took parenting advice from this psychopath. There really should be some sort of test one has to take before becoming a parent.

Colorcodedresistor,

i had to turn off her videos, i just couldn’t fathom how monstrous she was being…she literally thinks she owns her children like a pilot does a mech. i feel so bad for her children, they are going to have some social snags to deal with and heal from, i just hope they can find a more supportive human network.

iHUNTcriminals,

On my feed the thumbnail for this is a multiple picture’s of a mouse eating a cherry tomato…

Rukmer,

I found this so funny, I mean what a tragic news story but such a cute sounding collage of photos, such contrast.

Yewb,

What is this a chatgpt story? There is almost no substance....

Are we really as society going to look at websites like this that are 1% story content? 99% add content that frankly I visually dont even process?

Am I the only one? I literally wouldn't click on an add link even if it was something I want!

comedy,
@comedy@kbin.social avatar

This isn't the entire story, just a snippet that was copied from the full story, which is linked in OP.

blanketswithsmallpox,
@blanketswithsmallpox@kbin.social avatar

Yewb

Ahhh AI!!!

-_-

foggy,

Bro go skim YouTube shorts.

Stock footage, reddit posts, AI voiceover.

It’s making money. It’s a weird era.

agent_flounder,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.one avatar

This is why I love pi-hole. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I see no ads on that page.

SomeoneElse,

The article contains quite a big error too. Her two eldest children are over 18, have moved out and and are estranged from their mother. The eldest daughter actually helped the police, she posted on Instagram (or maybe TikTok) from outside the house when her mother was arrested. Initial reports said two of the children found in the house weren’t hers but I don’t think they’re the other lady’s either, she’s in her late 50 iirc.

NatakuNox,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

Just reading about some of her, “parenting advice” it was obvious that she was a terrible person. And to think some people actually listened to her

agent_flounder,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.one avatar

That probably means they’re also terrible.

xkforce,

Do you have an example? I dont really want to go rooting around in that rabbit hole trying to find out.

superduperenigma,

Withholding meals as punishment was one example I saw in a different article.

booly,

In comparison, the Geneva Convention literally forbids doing this to enemy POWs.

Custoslibera,

Ahhh child abuse. What a great parenting technique.

lightnsfw,

Missing one lunch is hardly abuse. I forgot to grab my lunch on many occasions when I was a kid and nobody even called my parents about it. I was fine.

That doesn’t make her not a bad parent for all the other shit she did but if it was just this one thing it wouldn’t be that bad.

NatakuNox,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

There are some things that should never be used in punishment. Food, safety/security, water, sleep, education, housing, and love. She broke several of those rules when she refused to bring her kid lunch.

Instigate,

Child protection caseworker and previous child of abuse here: this is absolutely correct. Punishment should NEVER involve removal of a basic necessity. It should always amount to removal of a want, not a need. Taking away dessert, access to video games etc. are the only acceptable forms of punishment. This follows research that shows that taking a child’s basic necessities from them doesn’t improve behaviour, it merely adapts their attachment style to dysfunctional.

NatakuNox,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

Wanted to add, most elementary schools have a policy that requires students to eat lunch. Kids don’t learn on am empty stomach.

QHC,

Were you six years old?

lightnsfw,

Roughly, and my parents worked an hour away from the school too so it’s not like they could have brought me a lunch in time anyway if they’d been notified.

hitmyspot,

Forgetting it accidentally or not having any food does not make you a bad person. Purposely withholding food from someone in your care without the means to get their own certainly is abusive.

I agree, she shouldn’t have her kids taken away for making them skip one meal. It’s bad, but not horrific Tied up and injured on the other hand…

Chickens,

Not defending her other actions, but the case I heard on NPR this morning they are using against her, was her daughter was assigned to make her own lunch to take to school. She didn’t do it and then had the school call this woman to bring her lunch. Mom said the natural consequence of failing to make your lunch and bring it was to not have lunch. On this ONE incident, the mom is right. We have to teach our children there are natural consequences for bad decisions.

But it sounds like this one incident is the least of her charges.

mrnotoriousman,

I think you misheard. This NPR article https://www.npr.org/2023/09/01/1197289217/ruby-franke-utah-youtube-child-abuse from 5 days ago mentions that as part of the controversy over her, but doesn't mention it in connection with the charges. There's another short one from 2 hours ago that doesn't bring up the lunches at all.

Heresy_generator,
@Heresy_generator@kbin.social avatar

If your 6 year old goes to school without lunch that's on you, not her. It might be appropriate for a 12/13 year old to be responsible for their own school lunches, but no way in hell is a first grader mature enough.

matter,

IMO it’s good and fine for a 5+ year old to make their own lunch, but at that age it’s absolutely important and necessary for parents to double check that it’s fine and they’ve got it with them.

noride,

Yeah, the punishment for forgetting to make your lunch at 5 should be mom or dad makes you something boring and bland instead, not they let you starve for a day.

matter,

I don’t even think there should be a punishment. Children aren’t tiny adults with the same kinds of obligations we have. If they don’t make their lunch their parents should make them a nice lunch, it should just be part of the kids routine of learning life skills to make lunch.

maniajack,

There are a bunch on this tiktok page: www.tiktok.com/

marron12,

She threw their homework and other things in the trash. Said they had until the end of the day to pay cash or do chores to get it back so they could learn the real value of their things.

She took her son’s bed away for seven months, apparently because he played a prank on his brother.

Oh, and the kids had to make their own school lunch in the morning. The school calls one day because her 6 year old daughter didn’t have any food. She let the girl go hungry. Quote:

My hope is that she’ll be hungry and come home and go, ‘oh man, that was really painful, being hungry all day. I will make sure to always have lunch with me.

pinkdrunkenelephants,

She sounds like she has “I don’t really gie a fuck about my kids and don’t actually want them” disease.

The only cure for which is an ass whipping. Well, she’s getting jail time where that sort of thing is par for the course, so there’s that.

aceshigh,
@aceshigh@lemmy.world avatar

one time as punishment she cancelled christmas for the younger 2… the older 2 got presents like usual. another time she didn’t allow her oldest son to sleep in his room for 6 months oh and he slept on a bean bag during those months… when he did have a room he wasn’t allowed to have a door. if you want to see examples check out mormon stories podcast. they go into detail.

Son_of_dad,

Monstrous woman, and sadly she infected many dumb mothers with her bullshit.

TruTollTroll,
@TruTollTroll@lemmy.world avatar

What’s even crazier, from some of what I have seen online, she was/is Mormon and many/good portion of her viewers seem to be too… they all claim this lifestyle as normal and it is quite frankly scary and jarring to see some of the comments saying she was just a ‘strict parent’.

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