Court documents supporting six felony child abuse charges against YouTube influencer Ruby Franke have revealed how her son’s dramatic escape from the family’s home led to her arrest.
According to an affidavit obtained by KUTV, a child in the care of Ms Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, who is also facing charges, “climbed out of the window of an Ivins residence belonging to Jodi Hildebrandt and ran to a neighbor’s home” on 30 August.
Ms Franke’s 12-year-old child then “knocked on the door requesting food and water,” and the neighbor noticed “duct tape on (the child’s) ankles and wrists and contacted law enforcement”.
Officials determined the 12-year-old to be severely malnourished, according to the probable cause statement, and was transferred to a nearby hospital. The child was placed on medical hold after it was discovered that he was also suffering from “deep lacerations” due to “being tied up with rope,” arrest records said.
Police then searched Ms Franke’s house, where they found a 10-year-old girl who was also allegedly malnourished and suffering from wounds. This child was also taken to the hospital.
Four of Ms Franke’s children wound up in the custody of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, KUTV reported.
The affidavit also noted that “Ruby Franke was seen on a YouTube video filmed in Mr Hildebrandt’s downstairs” just two days prior to the incident, showcasing that the women were “present in the home and having knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment, and neglect.”
When police arrived at the home to arrest Ms Franke, the influencer “requested a lawyer” and refused to speak with police, the affidavit stated.
In one video, Ms Franke said: “My kids are literally starving. I hesitate to say this because this is going to sound like I’m a mean barbarian, but I told the kids, I said, ‘I’m not even going to let you eat breakfast until you get your chores done.’” But now all of Ms Franke’s videos have been removed from Youtube.
Each of the child abuse counts that Ms Franke and Ms Hildebrandt face carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.
Since her arrest, Ms Franke’s family has not been shy about speaking out.
Ms Franke’s estranged 20-year-old daughter, Shari, rejoiced at her mother’s arrest on social media, writing “finally” over a video capturing the arrest.
“Today has been a big day,” she wrote in a separate post. “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.”
Ms Franke’s three sisters have also come forward on social media in defence of her children. Bonnie Hoellein, Julie Griffiths Deru and Ellie Mecham posted a joint statement on Instagram, writing that although they have kept quiet for the last three years about Ruby Franke “for the sake of her children,” but behind closed doors, “we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe.”
They added that they won’t be commenting on the arrest further.
“Ruby was arrested which needed to happen. Jodi was arrested which needed to happen,” they wrote. “The kids are now safe, which is the number one priority.”
