On her YouTube channel “8 Passengers”, Ruby Franke gave tips on raising children and showed off her family with six children in Utah. A few days ago, a darker side of family life emerged when her son, malnourished and with signs of having been tied up, ran to the neighbor to ask for food and water.
According to the police, the family’s twelve-year-old son must have escaped through a window and made his way to the neighbor.
The neighbor called the police, who came to the scene, and a ten-year-old daughter who was malnourished was also found in the family’s house.
On Wednesday, Ruby Frank was arrested, who together with the therapist and business partner Jodi Nan Hildebrandt for several years ran a YouTube channel where they advocate a strict child rearing. They both stand accused of child abuse, reports BBC.
Had received reports earlier
The YouTube channel has been taken down, but before it disappeared the account had 2.4 million followers worldwide. On the channel, you could see discussions and conversations between Franke and Nan where they talked about raising children, mixed with clips from the family’s everyday life.
Ruby Franke first became famous in 2015 on Youtube and in the following years she also developed together with Jodi Nan Hildebrandt the life coaching company ConneXions Classroom.
Franke had already received suspicions directed at him before this week’s arrest. In a clip on the YouTube channel, one of the older boys mentions that his parents took his bedroom away from him for several months, after which he had to sleep on a bean bag ever since. Then reports came in from viewers who questioned the children’s well-being.
Other punishments that the mother-influencer suggested on the YouTube channel are taking away a meal from the child or not getting presents on Christmas Eve.
Older daughter and sister relieved
The family’s eldest daughter, who no longer lives with the family and has not had contact with her mother, wrote “finally” on her Instagram after the arrest, and that she was happy that “justice had finally been served”.
Ruby Franke’s sister and the children’s aunt says in a clip that she waited for several years for the police to intervene, and that they did everything they could so that the smaller children would not be exposed to danger.
Franke and Nan have not commented
When the BBC reported on the incident, they have not been able to reach the two arrested, nor their defenders. They are both charged with multiple counts of child abuse.
The 12-year-old boy, who ran to a neighbor for help, was taken to hospital with wounds after being tied down and due to malnutrition. The ten-year-old girl also had to be taken to hospital.