A Mormon YouTuber has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse after a kid was found with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs.
Ruby Franke, who ran the 8 Passengers page, was arrested for two counts of aggravated child abuse along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.
Both have been previously criticized for their teachings on parenting – collaborating on Hildebrandt’s life counseling service ConneXions.
The Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department in Utah arrested the two women after a report of a juvenile in need at 10.50am on Wednesday.
Authorities said the child was described as ’emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities’ and asking for food and water.
Ruby Franke, (left) who ran the now-defunct 8 Passengers channel, was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right)
Her eldest daughter Shari, 20, posted about her mother’s arrest on Instagram, sharing an image of police officers outside the home captioned ‘Finally’
In a statement they said: ‘The condition of the juvenile was so severe that they were seen by Santa Clara-Irvins EMS and transported to a local area hospital.
‘Information was obtained by police that other juveniles in similar condition may be in a nearby home.
‘Officers arrived at the home and searched the residence, locating another juvenile in a similar physical condition of malnourishment.
‘They were also transported by EMS for hospital treatment’. Cops said ‘evidence consistent with the markings found on the juvenile’ was located in the home.
Four minor children were taken into the care of Child and Family Services following the investigation. It is unconfirmed if the children were related to either woman.
Both Franke and Hildebrandt remain in custody at the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Franke is well-known for her strict parenting style on the channel, which she stopped uploading footage to in January 2022. It was taken down earlier this year.
When asked why she left YouTube behind months later on ConneXions, she said she opted to stop uploading videos because she wanted to ‘save her kids.’
Four minor children were taken into the care of Child and Family Services following the investigation, and two were rushed to hospital. It is unconfirmed if they were Franke’s children
Franke (seen with her husband) is well-known for her strict parenting style on the channel, which she stopped uploading footage in January 2022. It was taken down earlier this year
She once came under fire for revealing her then-six-year-old daughter Eve had to ‘go hungry’ because the little girl had failed to make her own lunch before school
She said her children were ‘being hurt’ by the constant ‘advice’ they were receiving from their immense following.
‘I don’t care what the world’s opinion is, this is the truth and this is where I stand,’ she added.
Franke racked up more than 2.2million subscribers for documenting their day-to-day endeavors on social media, with her husband Kevin.
The mother-of-six came under fire in July after footage resurfaced of her allowing her daughter Eve, 6, to go hungry because she forgot to make her own lunch.
In a video posted to YouTube in February 2020, Ruby explained that she had received a text from her daughter’s teacher, telling her that the youngster didn’t have anything to eat for lunch.
She said all her kids are responsible for preparing their own lunches in the morning, so she would not be dropping off any food for Eve because she wanted to teach her a lesson.
Franke said: ‘My hope [is that] she will be hungry and come home and be like ‘that was really painful being hungry all day I’ll make sure to always have a lunch with me.”
‘The natural outcome is that she is just going to have to go hungry.’
Ruby, her husband, and their six kids were shot into stardom back in 2015, after she started sharing videos giving an inside look into her life as a Mormon mother-of-six on YouTube
Ruby’s eldest child, Shari (seen in May), revealed in April that she was no longer in contact with her mom
Franke’s strict parenting style has faced a repeated backlash since she started the channel in 2015.
Viewers called child protective services in 2020 after their son Chad, 15, claimed that he had slept on a bean bag for seven months.
She also threatened to bin her children’s items if they didn’t pay her cash for them, claiming it was a lesson in understanding the value of their things.
Her eldest daughter Shari, 20, posted about her mother’s arrest on Instagram, sharing an image of police officers outside the home captioned ‘Finally.’
She added: ‘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.
‘Kids are safe, but there’s a long road ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy.’
Shari, who broke contact with her family in April, also asked for anyone with access to ‘any questionable or concerning ConneXions or 8Passengers videos’ with her.
In Utah, as an act that ‘inflicts upon a child serious physical injury’ or ’causes or permits another to inflict serious physical injury upon a child.