Popular parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison, the harshest sentence available under Utah law, on child abuse charges.
The charges stem from one of Franke's children escaping from Hildebrandt's home in August to ask a neighbor for help.
According CBS News affiliate KUTVFranke has been sentenced to four consecutive prison sentences that could range between one and fifteen years each. The Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles will determine the prison sentence, while Franke has 30 days to appeal the decision.
Hildebrandt received the same sentence as Franke.
Franke gave parenting advice on her now-defunct YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” and Hildebrandt ran a coaching company called ConneXions Classroom.
Both women were charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, which is a second-degree felony and each carries a possible prison sentence of one to 15 years and a $10,000 fine.
State's Attorney Eric Clarke compared the Franke children's environment to a “concentration camp-like environment” and said Franke “committed horrific acts of child abuse,” while considering Hildebrandt a “significant threat” to the community. .
Both women addressed the court before being sentenced.
Hildebrandt said he will “submit to what the state deems an appropriate amount of time served.”
Meanwhile, Franke admitted that she and Hildebrandt had “caused injuries” to their children. She said that she had been “led to believe that this world is an evil place” and that Hildebrandt had never been her “business responsibility,” but that she had paid the other woman to be her mentor to her.
Franke also thanked the public safety officials who rescued her children, calling them “angels,” according to KUTV.
“My charges are fair,” Franke said. “They offer security to my family and accountability to the public.”
