Ruby Franke, a ‘parenting influencer’ known for her YouTube channel ‘8 Passengers,’ has been charged with a total of six counts of child abuse.
The charges followed an incident involving Franke’s 12-year-old son, who in August fled from the family home to a neighbour’s house, where he begged for food and water.
The boy, who is one of six children in the Franke family, was covered in open wounds and had duct tape attached to his ankles, as per reports by BBC.
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The child was admitted to hospital due to “deep lacerations” from being bound with rope, and for malnourishment.
The five other Franke children were subsequently brought into care for malnutrition and Ruby Franke was arrested.
Franke started her YouTube channel, ‘8 Passengers‘ in 2015, sharing family-style vlogs showcasing her path as a mother in a Mormon household.
Over the years, Franke’s videos began to amass thousands of views but her strict parenting style and ‘advice’ prompted concern that put her in the eye of controversy.
Franke’s strict parenting style involved taking extreme measures to discipline her children.
In the past, Franke documented an incident where she banned their oldest son from his bedroom, forcing him to sleep on a beanbag for seven months, for pranking his brother.
Another video records Franke refusing to drop off lunch at school for kindergarten daughter, adding she had to be punished for not packing her own lunch.
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In 2020, concerned viewers of the ‘8 Passengers’ channel called child protective services and a petition demanding an investigation into the Franke’s gained thousands of signatures, as per AP.
Subsequently, after facing massive criticism online, Ruby Franke’s activity on the 8 Passengers channel slowly came to a halt and Franke eventually removed all uploads from the platform.
However, she still remained active on social media. In June 2022, Ruby Franke resurfaced with a new YouTube channel, ‘ConneXions‘ hosted with Jodi Nan Hildebrandt, her business partner and counsellor.
The pair then started a series called ‘Moms of Truth‘ offering parenting guidance, with their latest upload dating back to just one week ago.
“Justice is served” says estranged daughter
On 30 August 2023, a boy flees a Utah family home knocking at a neighbour’s door, where he asks for food and water.
The child appears distressed and is covered in open wounds, with duct tape attached to his ankles.
The 12-year-old boy – one of six of the Franke children – is admitted to hospital for his injuries and for malnutrition.
Subsequently, the other 5 Franke children are brought into care as both Ruby Franke and Jodi Nan Hildebrandt are arrested.
Less than a week later, Franke is charged with six counts of child abuse.
Kevin Franke’s lawyer has reportedly distanced his client from the abuse allegations, stating that he had no role in them.
The Franke’s eldest daughter recently took to Instagram, claiming she has attempted to flag concern about her estranged family with the police and child protection services for years: “Justice is being served,” she wrote.
As per BBC, Franke’s children are now safe.
This is a developing story.
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