Utah mummy blogger’s ‘accomplice’ pleads guilty to child abuse

Mummy blogger Ruby Franke’s accomplice and YouTube co-host Jodi Hildebrandt has pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse.

Parenting bloggers Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke. Picture: Instagram

Utah parenting blogger Ruby Franke’s accomplice and YouTube channel co-host Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse on Wednesday local time as part of a plea deal.

The 45-year-old St George woman’s plea comes less than a week after Franke, 41, also pleaded guilty to four of six counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse, Fox News reports, in connection with the physical and emotional abuse of two of her six children, with help from Hildebrandt.

“As part of the plea agreement, Ms Hildebrandt agreed to be sentenced to consecutive as opposed to concurrent prison terms for each of the four counts,” Washington County District Attorney Eric Clarke said in a Wednesday statement.

“One of the toughest things we ask victims of alleged abuse to do is testify at a trial against their abusers. We are pleased that in this case, and in Ms Franke’s, that won’t be necessary.”

Franke and Hildebrandt, who ran a joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel, were each charged with six counts of child abuse in September after police rescued two of Franke’s children, who appeared malnourished and neglected, from Hildebrandt’s home on August 30.

Parenting bloggers Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke. Picture: Instagram

“With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and children, guilty,” Franke said when the judge asked how she pleaded to the last and sixth count of second-degree child abuse on December 18.

The first count of aggravated child abuse filed against Franke involved the physical abuse of one child, who was “forced to do physical tasks for hours and days at a time”, including wall-sits, carrying boxes full of books up and down stairs, and outdoor work without shoes, according to court documents.

“He was forced to stand in direct sunlight for several days. He was forced to remain outside at all hours of the day and night for extended periods of time. These actions resulted in repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skin,” court documents stated, adding that the child was also denied sufficient food and water.

After the child attempted to “run away in July, his hands and feet were regularly bound”.

The second count involves the severe emotional harm inflicted upon that child. Franke and Hildebrandt tried to convince the child that he was evil and possessed and “needed to willingly be obedient to avoid punishments”.

Both women were arrested and charged on August 30 with aggravated child abuse. Picture: Instagram

The third and fourth counts involve the severe emotional harm inflicted on another child, who was “subjected to the same treatment as her brother: she was isolated and forced to do physical tasks, remain outside, and denied food and water”.

Franke and Hildebrandt also sought to convince the second child mentioned in the documents that she was evil and possessed and needed to be punished. She was also forced to “run barefoot on dirt roads for an extended period of time”.

Franke with her husband and six children. Picture: Instagram

Both women are scheduled to be sentenced on February 20.

A neighbour of Hildebrandt reported the abuse to police after one of Franke’s sons showed up on his doorstep.

“I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help, and he said he just came from a neighbour’s house, and we know there’s been problems at this neighbour’s house,” a man said in a 911 call in August reporting the alleged abuse and obtained by Fox News Digital.

“He’s emaciated. He’s got tape around his legs. He’s hungry, and he’s thirsty.”

The boy apparently told the neighbour that even though he came from Hildebrandt’s house, his mother was Ruby Franke, who lived in a different town. Police would later locate Franke’s four other children at different locations, according to a police report. The boy also told police he climbed through Hildebrandt’s window to escape and get help.

Two of Franke's children were found malnourished and emaciated by police. Picture: Instagram

After rescuing Franke’s youngest children from Hildebrandt’s house on August 30, police from Springfield and other local agencies began to search for her other four kids, who were not at Hildebrandt’s home at the time. They made contact with the two eldest children, Chad and Shari Franke – both living away from home at the time of the incident – in an effort to find the other two juveniles.

Authorities eventually located the two children at another adult’s house in American Fork, Utah.

In a recent video posted on their joint YouTube channel, which has since been taken down, Hildebrandt said pain can be a good thing for children of a certain age.

“Pain is meant to be your teacher. It’s not your nemesis. It’s your ally. Pain is not bad … Pain is here to support you to grow and develop,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission