A Utah mother and YouTube parenting microcelebrity pleaded guilty Monday to four felony counts of child abuse involving two of her children, a courtroom video published by The Associated Press (AP) showed.
Ruby Franke, 41, entered the courtroom handcuffed and dressed in a striped jumpsuit, the video shows. Franke confirmed that she signed her plea agreement Monday and had read “every word,” the video showed.
“Ms Franke, how do you plead to count one, aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony?” asked Judge John Walton of the Fifth District Court in St. George, Utah.
“Guilty,” Franke replied, offering the same response to the same charge for counts three, five.
When Walton asked for Franke’s plea to count six — also a second-degree felony charge for aggravated child abuse — she answered, “With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty.” (RELATED: REPORT: Mommy Vlogger Arrested After Allegedly Abused Child Climbed Out Of Window)
Franke, a mother of six, admitted to subjecting her 12-year-old son for about three months to undernourishment and hard outdoor labor — which caused him to develop severe sunburn that blistered — among other forms of torture that she called “acts of love,” AP reported.
Franke also admitted to similarly torturing her nine-year-old “evil and possessed” daughter, according to the outlet. Franke’s co-defendant, a licensed relationship counselor named Jodi Hildebrandt with whom she ran “8 Passengers” — a once-popular parenting advice YouTube channel — was accused of tying up the boy, who had once tried to escape, AP noted.
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested on Aug. 30 after the boy escaped from Hildebrandt’s house in Ivins, southern Utah, according to AP. The boy — reportedly emaciated, “covered in wounds,” and with duct tape around his ankles and wrists — then convinced a neighbor to call the St. George police, the outlet explained.
Franke pleaded not guilty to two other counts, AP noted. She faces sentencing on Feb. 20 and a possible maximum sentence of 15 years per charge, with the sentences to run consecutively, according to the outlet. Hildebrandt reportedly agreed to suspend her counseling work pending investigation by state licensing officials and will return to court Dec. 27, the outlet reported.