Former family vlogger Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were sentenced to four to 60 years in prison on Tuesday for what the prosecution called described as “concentration camp-like” child abuse.
Eric Clarke said Franke’s children were “regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in and virtually all forms of entertainment.”
“Had the older of the children not had the courage to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, heaven only knows how much longer he could have survived in that situation,” he added.
Franke told Judge Walton that she was under the influence of Hildebrandt, who was sentenced on the same child abuse charges. The two women will serve their sentences consecutively.
The mother-of-six was once a YouTube sensation, drawing in millions of subscribers to her channel where she offered parenting advice. But her reputation unravelled when she and Hildebrandt were arrested in August 2023 for abusing her children.
It came after one of Franke’s sons escaped Hildebrandt’s home and fled to a neighbour’s home, who called 911.
The malnourished boy said Hildebrandt put cayenne pepper and honey on their wounds that were caused by being tied with the rope, according to arrest warrants.
