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Who is Ruby Franke?
Ruby Franke, the mother behind the once controversial yet popular YouTube account “8 Passengers”, has been placed under arrest for child abuse charges by the Washington County Attorney in Utah.
The YouTuber featured her husband Kevin Franke, and their six children, Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve on the channel where the family vlogged their lives and posted fun videos that often went viral. At the peak of the channel’s popularity, the family had more than two million followers, but “8 Passengers” was removed from YouTube this year.
Now, Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt work at Franke’s most recent project, “ConneXions“, a life counseling organization. The two make advice videos on mental health and counseling, and some critics claim that they promote a harsh style of parenting.
YouTuber arrested on child abuse charges
Franke was arrested on Wednesday after her 12-year-old son escaped from a window at Hildebrandt’s house. Franke’s son went to the neighbors to ask for food and water, who further called 911. The boy was malnourished, had duct tape on his wrists, and several open wounds. Police also found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter at Hildebrandt’s home in a similar malnourished condition.
The children’s state was so severe they were transported to a local area hospital. The YouTuber’s other four children were taken into the care of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services. Eldest daughter, Shari, has been estranged from her family for almost a year. She said in a podcast five months ago that her family left her feeling “spiritually drained”.
Shari shared on her Instagram story a picture of police officers following her mother’s arrest with the caption “Finally.” She further stated “Today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
Elle Mechem, Julie Griffiths Deru, and Bonnie Hoellein, three women who say they are Ruby Franke’s sisters and who are also family influencers, shared their own statement on Instagram, stating that “behind the public scene we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe.”
In 2020, concerned viewers of the “8 Passengers” channel created a Change.Org petition to encourage a Child Protection Services investigation of the YouTuber and her family. The petition cited a now-deleted video that showed then-15-year-old Chad sharing that he’d slept on a bean bag for seven months as a punishment for playing a prank on his sibling.
In August 2022, the YouTuber also faced criticism for not bringing her 6-year-old daughter’s lunch to school after her daughter said she’d packed food but had actually forgotten it. The video was also shared on TikTok, to which people responded with harsh criticism.
@utahvloggersyas 🚨🚨👮♀️ WHOOP WHOOP #8passengers #utahisweird #utahvloggers ♬ original sound – free chad 😘🤪🙄💕
Franke and Hildebrandt were both listed as “in custody” Saturday afternoon and have been charged with 6 counts of child abuse. The investigation is still ongoing, and due to its sensitive nature, additional information will come with time.
Children should always be treated with respect and dignity. Physical punishment is never appropriate. They should also be a part of decisions that include and can affect them, such as whether or not they want to be YouTubers.
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