Ruby Franke, a popular parenting YouTuber has pleaded guilty to child abuse after starving two of her children.
Franke had amassed over 2.3 million subscribers on her controversial YouTube channel where she was known for her strong parenting style and disciplining her children.
As reported by Sky News, the Utah mother of six was arrested in August after her emaciated 12-year-old son sought help from a neighbor, asking for food and water, and revealing signs that he'd been restrained.
In court, wearing grey and white prison clothing, Franke individually pleaded guilty to the first three charges, expressing deep regret to her family and children.
On the fourth charge, she also admitted guilt, and sentencing is scheduled for February 20, following a plea agreement accepted by Judge John J. Walton.
Franke's attorney, LaMar Winward, acknowledged that the plea agreement doesn't rule out prison time, leaving the sentencing to the judge's discretion. Winward claimed that Franke was influenced by her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, a relationship counselor, who allegedly led her to a "distorted sense of morality."
The lawyer's statement highlighted Franke initially believed that Hildebrandt "had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement," but claimed the counselor "took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous".
Allegedly, Hildebrandt "systematically isolated Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke."
Hildebrandt, also arrested on August 30, will not see patients until the allegations are addressed, with her next court hearing scheduled for December 27, per court records. Meanwhile, Kevin Franke has filed for divorce.
The disturbing case came to light when Franke's 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt's home, showing signs of restraint and malnourishment. The 911 call reported the boy's emaciated condition with duct tape around his ankles and wrists, prompting immediate hospitalization due to the severity of his condition.
Franke's 10-year-old daughter was also hospitalized after being found malnourished at Hildebrandt's house. Four of Franke's children under 18 have been placed in care as a result.
YouTube viewers had previously criticized Franke's parenting choices, with a particular video facing backlash. In the video, Franke defended her decision not to provide her six-year-old daughter with food at school, stating that the "pain" of hunger would serve as a lesson that she should have remembered to bring her own lunch.
While the children were found at Hildebrandt's house, arrested records indicated that Franke had been seen on a YouTube video filmed there and posted two days earlier, suggesting she was aware of the abuse, malnourishment, and neglect.
The behavior of the YouTuber family has been called into question for years as in 2020 they denied accusations that their son had been sleeping on a bean bag for months.
The family became the target of abuse allegations after the emergence of a now-deleted video, in which their teenage son Chad explained that he had his room taken away as a punishment.
The 15-year-old said: "My bedroom was taken away for seven months. I was sleeping on a beanbag since October."
This came after Chad played a number of pranks on his eight-year-old brother Russell, and the Frankes told Chad that he shouldn't stay in his shared room with his brother while another bedroom in their house was being renovated.
Per The Metro, the couple claims that they gave Chad the option to sleep on a pullout guest bed, an inflatable mattress, or elsewhere in the house, but that Chad chose the beanbag because it was the most comfortable.
The sentencing in February will determine the consequences Franke will face.
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