Ruby Franke & Jodi Hildebrandt Formally Charged

Social media influencer Ruby Franke, who has been long criticised for giving controversial parenting advice, has formally been charged with six felony counts of child abuse.

She now faces six charges, after initially being arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse.

A spokesperson for the attorney's office said her podcasting partner, Jodi Hildebrandt is also facing six charges, with each charge centering around the abuse of Franke's two children.

A press release claimed "each defendant is accused of causing or permitting serious physical injury to the victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm.”

Both women were arrested at Hildebrandt's home in Utah after police say Franke's 12 year old son, allegedly escaped the house and ran to a neighbour asking for food and water.

The neighbour proceeded to call police, and upon arrival, officers found Franke's 10 year old daughter "in a similar physical condition of malnourishment."

Both “appeared to be emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities” and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Franke’s two sisters and her oldest daughter Shari have recently said the kids are now "safe" and recovering.

“Finally. 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.”

One neighbour claimed Franke initially appeared "friendly and engaging" but in the last year, her behaviour changed suddenly, and her two youngest kids became less present around the neighbourhood.

“She really started isolating her kids. I think we saw some weird things. But I don't think anybody thought that these kids were being physically abused to that degree.”

Franke had gained as many as 2.5 million YouTube followers with her 8Passengers channel, where she and husband Kevin documented their daily life as parents to six.

Franke began receiving criticism from followers regarding her strict parents, with some suggesting abusive. She stopped uploading videos, and began the Connexions parenting advice podcast with Hildebrandt.

Since, YouTube has taken down her two channels and has permanently banned her from the platform.

Jail records show the two are still in custody.