MiaButler

On Aug. 30, Ruby Franke, Utah mom and family-vlogger, was arrested on six counts of aggravated child abuse, each up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Franke is one of many “momfluencers” who publicly document their family’s lives online, but Franke seemingly took her vlogs to an entirely different extreme.

Franke gained her social media presence in 2015 through her 2.5 million subscriber family YouTube, “8 Passengers,” where she, like the typical momfluencer, filmed content based on home life, school life, faith life, and every life in between. However, her avid filming is what caught viewer’s attention; “8 Passengers” watchers noticed that Franke failed to abide by her children’s boundaries and would film them during visibly uncomfortable moments. For example, she would film during vulnerable moments of emotion, punishments, body discussion, and more. 

“I always question what’s best for the kid,” counselor Mrs. Amanda Losee said. “There are laws coming into place to help the kids that are a part of vlogging channels. These laws are similar to the Child Actor Laws. For example, parents are going to have to start paying their kids who are in the vlogs.” 

Franke never turned the camera off; their account gained traction as more people started to notice the absurdity of the vlogs and Franke’s rules. Whether or not Franke intended to, she would lecture and punish her children in strange ways. 

One time, Chad, the oldest son, pranked his sister, and as a punishment, he lost his bed for multiple months, leaving the teenager to sleep on the floor. 

Another time, Eve, the youngest daughter, left her lunch at home, and after Ruby noticed and received a call from Eve’s teacher, she refused to bring her lunch and even said that her “hope is she will be hungry and come home and be like ‘that was really painful being hungry all day,” all to teach her a lesson.

“There is a fine line between a parent punishing their child as they see fit, and abuse. No one knows how a family disciplines their kids, but I would always encourage parents, if they have to give a consequence, to make sure it is attached to what they are getting a punishment for. So losing his bed for months, for a prank, doesn’t really fit,” Losee said.  

This punishment was typical of Franke, who repeatedly denied her children food on camera, leaving viewers questioning her parenting. Franke’s food abuse is one reason she was arrested: malnourishment. When law enforcement arrived at Jodi Hildebrandt’s home, they found Eve malnourished. Hildebrandt is Franke’s controversial business partner. Prior to this, Russell, the 12-year-old son, had escaped Hildebrandt’s home, running to a neighbor’s home, begging him for water and food. When police arrived on scene, according to People.com, they immediately noticed Russell’s “visible wounds and marks from tape around his wrists and ankles” that were lacerated from being tied up, too.

 These two children, Eve and Russell, were taken to their local hospital by police after finding their horrific conditions. Now, Eve, Russell, and two of their other siblings, Julie and Abby, are in the care of Utah Division of Children and Family Services.

“Their son escaping their home is ultimately how the parents were caught. Even though these other stories sound horrible, it’s really hard to prove child abuse. You hope this never happens to anyone but unfortunately it does. The “8 Passengers” huge following is what got these stories so much coverage in the news,” Losee said. 

 Franke and Hildebrandt were supposed to be held without bail until their court hearing on Sept. 18, however, “Officials of Utah State Courts cited ‘additional time [is] needed to review copious amounts of discovery.’” According to Utah media reports, the court hearing is now postponed until Oct. 5.