Anish Vij
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing
The husband of YouTube mum Ruby Franke was in court to witnesses a judge hand her the maximum prison sentence for child abuse.
The mother-of-six, from the US, became a popular figure on YouTube after sharing parental advice content to millions of people, alongside her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.
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Earlier this week, Franke, 42, and Hildebrandt, 54, both pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse for trying to convince Franke’s two youngest children that they were 'evil and possessed' and needed to be punished.
The pair were arrested last August at Hildebrandt’s house in Utah, after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped through a window and asked a neighbour to call the police.
The boy, who was covered in wounds and had duct tape around his ankles and wrists, told the St George Police Department that Hildebrandt had put ropes on his limbs and used cayenne pepper and honey to dress his cuts.
State prosecuting attorney Eric Clarke said the environment the children were kept in was like 'a concentration camp-like setting'.
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Franke admitted in her plea deal to kicking her son while wearing boots, holding his head under water and closing off his mouth and nose with her hands.
Franke and her husband Kevin Franke launched 8 Passengers on YouTube back in 2015, racking up a large following as they documented their experiences of raising children.
She later began working with Hildebrandt’s counselling company, ConneXions Classroom, offering parenting seminars, while starting another YouTube channel.
"Kevin, my husband of more than 23 years. You are the love of my life. [I’m] so sorry to leave to you to finish what we both started together,” she said of her husband in her statement.
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As the words were read out, Kevin and his two oldest children didn't sit behind Franke in the courtroom, and it appears they didn’t even look at her when she spoke.
"The ending of our marriage is a tragedy. And you are wrapped around my heart in a knot I’ll never be able to undo," she continued.
"To my babies; my six little chicks - you are a part of me.
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"I will - I will never stop crying for hurting your tender souls.
"You are so precious to me, I’m sorry.
"My choice to live in fear of the world has created a great vulnerability and a blind spot for me - where I have broken hearts, and I’ve caused people to suffer and I have betrayed sacred trust.
"Watching my community respond to my charges with justice and mercy and grace and love is all the more evidence to me of how wrong I’ve been.
"This world is full of really good people.
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"And finally, I’m sorry for twisting God’s word and distorting His doctrines."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.