Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to child abuse charges
Washington County District Attorney Eric Clarke shares a statement after Jodi Hildebrandt's guilty plea to four of six counts of aggravated child abuse.
Utah parenting blogger Ruby Franke's accomplice and YouTube channel co-host Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse Wednesday as part of a plea deal.
The 45-year-old St. George woman's plea comes less than a week after Franke, 41, also pleaded guilty to four of six counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse in connection with the physical and emotional abuse of two of her six children, with help from Hildebrandt.
"As part of the plea agreement, Ms. Hildebrandt agreed to be sentenced to consecutive as opposed to concurrent prison terms for each of the four counts," Washington County District Attorney Eric Clarke said in a Wednesday statement. "One of the toughest things we ask victims of alleged abuse to do is testify at a trial against their abusers. We are pleased that in this case, and in Ms. Franke’s, that won’t be necessary."
Franke and Hildebrandt, who ran a joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel, were each charged with six counts of child abuse in September after police rescued two of Franke's children, who appeared malnourished and neglected, from Hildebrandt's home on Aug. 30.
UTAH MOMMY BLOGGER RUBY FRANKE PLEADS GUILTY TO 4 COUNTS OF AGGRAVATED CHILD ABUSE
Parenting blogger Jodi Hildebrandt on Wednesday pleaded guilty to four of six counts of aggravated child abuse in connection with the physical and emotional harm of two of her co-host's children. (Sheldon Demke/St. George News/Pool)
"With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty," Franke said when the judge asked how she pleaded to the last and sixth count of second-degree child abuse on Dec. 18.
The first count of aggravated child abuse filed against Franke involved the physical abuse of one child, who was "forced to do physical tasks for hours and days at a time," including wall-sits, carrying boxes full of books up and down stairs, and outdoor work without shoes, according to court documents.
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Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and charged on Aug. 30 after Santa Clara police received a dispatch call around 10:50 p.m. asking for help. (Instagram/moms_of_truth)
"He was forced to stand in direct sunlight for several days. He was forced to remain outside at all hours of the day and night for extended periods of time. These actions resulted in repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skin," court documents state, adding that the child was also denied sufficient food and water.
After the child attempted to "run away in July, his hands and feet were regularly bound."
The second count involves the severe emotional harm inflicted upon that child. Franke and Hildebrandt tried to convince the child that he was evil and possessed and "needed to willingly be obedient to avoid punishments."
Utah authorities found two malnourished and emaciated children at a home in Utah prior to arresting Franke and Hildebrandt. (Instagram/moms_of_truth)
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The third and fourth counts involve the severe emotional harm inflicted by another child, who was "subjected to the same treatment as her brother: she was isolated and forced to do physical tasks, remain outside, and denied food and water."
Franke and Hildebrandt also sought to convince the second child mentioned in the documents that she was evil and possessed and needed to be punished. She was also forced to "run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time."
Jodi Hildebrandt, left, and Ruby Franke ran a joint lifestyle and parenting YouTube page called ConneXions Classrooms. (Instagram/ConneXionsCoaching)
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Both women are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.
A neighbor of Hildebrandt reported the abuse to police after one of Franke's sons showed up on his doorstep.
Prosecutors say Hildebrandt helped her YouTube channel co-host Ruby Franke abuse two of Franke's six children. (Sheldon Demke/St. George News/Pool)
"I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help, and he said he just came from a neighbor’s house, and we know there's been problems at this neighbor's house," a man said in an August 911 call reporting the alleged abuse obtained by Fox News Digital. "He's emaciated. He's got tape around his legs. He's hungry, and he's thirsty."
The boy apparently told the neighbor that even though he came from Hildebrandt's house, his mother is Ruby Franke, who lives in a different town. Police would later locate Franke's four other children at different locations, according to a police report. The boy also told police he climbed through Hildebrandt's window to escape and get help.
Most families in the area were aware that Franke had a YouTube channel called 8Passengers, her neighbor told Fox News Digital. When she started another vlog called "Moms of Truth"/ConneXions on Facebook with Hildebrandt, "a few" neighbors became "very concerned" with the content, the neighbor said. (Moms of Truth/Instagram)
After rescuing Franke's youngest children from Hildebrandt's home on Aug. 30, police from Springfield and other local agencies began to search for her other four kids, who were not at Hildebrandt's home at the time. They made contact with the two eldest children, Chad and Shari Franke – both living away from home at the time of the incident – in an effort to find the other two juveniles.
Authorities eventually located the two children at another adult's house in American Fork, Utah.
Ruby Franke pleaded guilty to four of six counts of aggravated child abuse. (Sheldon Demke/St. George News/Pool)
In a recent video posted on their joint YouTube channel, which has since been taken down, Hildebrandt said pain can be a good thing for children of a certain age.
"Pain is meant to be your teacher. It's not your nemesis. It's your ally. Pain is not bad.… Pain is here to support you to grow and develop," she said.
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