Ruby Franke. Photo: Ruby Franke/YouTube
By Mike Wendling, BBC News
A Utah woman, whose harsh parenting advice built her a massive YouTube following, has been sentenced to four to 60 years in prison.
Ruby Franke, 42, previously pleaded guilty to accusations of starving and abusing her children.
She appeared in court on Tuesday along with her former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, 54, who received an identical sentence.
The judge sentenced both to serve four terms of one to 15 years each.
How much time they will ultimately serve will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
The two women were arrested in August 2023 after Franke's malnourished 12-year-old son climbed out of a window at Hildebrandt's house in Ivins, Utah. Police said the child then ran to a neighbour's house and asked for food and water. He had lacerations from being tied up with rope, according to police records.
Franke racked up more than two million subscribers to her YouTube channel 8 Passengers which was full of strict parenting advice.
She described withholding meals as a disciplinary measure and "cancelling" Christmas. In one video, one of her sons described sleeping on a bean bag for months at a time as a punishment.
Away from the camera, Franke's children were subjected to even harsher abuse. This included tying them up, beating and kicking them, neglecting to feed them and forcing them to work outdoors in the summer without sunscreen, resulting in serious sunburn, according to police records.
This story was originally published by the BBC.
