YouTube mom Ruby Franke and counselor Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to 4-30 years for child abuse

Ruby Franke will not appeal her four- to 30-year prison sentence, her lawyer says.

“As far as we know, Ruby Franke does not have any intentions of appealing the sentence,” a spokesperson for Franke’s attorney at Winward Law tells TODAY.com. “She has taken full responsibility for her actions and is prepared to serve her time in prison.”

Both Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, a counselor who Franke described as her former mentor, were sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for brutally abusing Franke's children, in what the county prosecutor called the worst child abuse case in his office's history.

Both women have 30 days following their Feb. 20 sentencing to appeal. TODAY.com reached out to Hildebrandt's attorney, but did not hear back. It is unknown if Hildebrandt will appeal.

In remarks outside the courtroom, county prosecutor Eric Clarke said the abuse inflicted upon Ruby Franke's children was "horrific," adding, "It would have been apparent to anybody that would have seen the kids, that something was wrong here."

Clarke said the cases were the worst that he had seen in his career: "Not just in my career but in our office's career, in our institutional memory, this is one of the worst child abuse cases we've ever seen."

Addressing Jodi Hildebrandt's fate, Clarke said, "I hope that Jodi does serve more — I think that that would only be fair." Clarke explained that the women received a sentences of four to 30 years and that Utah caps sentences at 30 years.

"I think that a four-year minimum for Ruby's actions are entirely appropriate. I hope that Jodi serves more time than that and I hope that she isn't out of prison until everybody is completely confident that she's no longer a risk. And to get there, she's going to have to acknowledge that she has done wrong and that you can't use religion as a means to justify your crazy behavior."

When a reporter asked why a mother wouldn't be held more accountable than an outsider, Clarke answered in part that while both women received the same sentence, Jodi influenced Ruby's actions.

"I'm super concerned that Jodi, if she were released today, is a significant risk ... Ruby was essentially a follower of Jodi. And if she's gathering people and then convincing them to do this kind of thing, that's a huge risk and those types of people shouldn't be walking the streets," Clarke said.

Opinions flooded social media as former YouTuber Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were sentenced to four to 30 years in prison, after each pleaded guilty to four counts of felony child abuse.

"Omg, who else cheered?" one person tweeted about Ruby's prison sentence.

Some X users questioned Ruby's sincerity and said her court statement resembled a Hollywood speech.

In her remarks to the court, Ruby thanked the police and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services for intervening in the abuse, along with the Washington County Attorney's Office. At the end, Ruby addressed her estranged husband and then her children, tearfully stating, "How terrifying this must have been for you. I will never stop crying for hurting your tender souls. You’re so precious to me. I’m sorry.”

Some of the people following the case on X objected to the “indeterminate sentencing" in Ruby and Jodi's cases. In Utah, sentences are given as a range, not a set number of years. Ruby and Jodi's exact sentences will be decided by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

County prosecutor Eric Clarke described the torture inflicted on Ruby Franke’s children as a “concentration camp-like setting" during his opening statements in both Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt's sentencing hearings.

"The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in and virtually all forms of entertainment," said Clarke. "They were isolated from others and were hidden when people came to visit the house ... the children were forced to do physical tasks, like carrying ... boxes up and down stairs and wall sits or sitting against a wall without a chair or a stool for hours at a time."

Clarke added, "They were also forced to do manual labor outdoors and in the extreme summer heat, at times without shoes or socks. They were forced to stand outside on a cement patio in the summer heat for hours, and even days at a time. They were beaten ... both children had extensive physical injuries from the abuse that required hospitalization when they were found. The injuries from the binding to the 12-year-old are particularly awful."

He described how the children were conditioned to believe that the abuse was their fault: "Had the older of the children not had the courage to run away and ask a neighbor to call the police, heaven only knows how much longer he could have survived in that situation."

Clarke saved his harshest words for Hildebrandt. While he said Franke had shown "considerable remorse" by agreeing to consecutive prison terms and being willing to cooperate with the state against Hildebrandt, he said Hildebrandt had "shown little to no remorse for her actions."

"In telephone conversations that will be provided in full to the Board of Pardons and Parole — and which she knew to be recorded — she's repeatedly claimed that she is the victim and the children are the perpetrators," Clarke said.

He added that he believes Hildebrandt is a "significant threat to the community."

In her statement to the court, Ruby Franke dismissed the idea that she was Jodi Hildebrandt's "business partner." On Hildebrandt's life coaching website Connexions, Ruby is listed as a business team member with the title "certified mental fitness trainer."

"Jodi Hildebrandt was never my business partner," said Ruby. "Nor was I employed by her. I have never received wages from her or Connexions. Jodi was employed as my son's counselor in 2019 and in 2020, I paid her to be my mentor. It is important to me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without blame. I take full accountability for my choices and it is my preference that I serve a prison sentence."

Franke’s sister Julie Deru said in a YouTube video that Franke began counseling sessions with Hildebrandt in approximately 2020 “because their family needed it.”

In her video, Deru said that Connexions was “not a great resource” for her sister and that no one in the family liked hearing about Hildebrandt’s teachings. Deru also said Franke suddenly cut her family members out of her life after getting involved with Connexions. “I literally had no contact with her,” said Deru.

Franke and Hildebrandt posted parenting videos together on their Instagram page “Moms of Truth,” where they also advertised their parenting “coaching” services.

Judge John Walton tells Jodi Hildebrandt, "This circumstance is tragic; it's largely, of course, of your making. By any measure, your conduct in this case was disastrous for these children. Adults are supposed to protect children. Adults with specialized training in particular are supposed to protect children. You didn't do that in this case. In this case, you terrorized children and the results have been tragic."

Walton added, "What happened to these children and your philosophy in dealing with them frankly seems detached from reality or any objective standard of decency or even common sense."

He gave Hildebrandt the maximum sentence under state guidelines.

"I sincerely love these children," Jodi Hildebrandt told the court about Ruby Franke's children.

"I desire for them to heal physically and emotionally. One of the reasons I did not go to trial is that I did not want them to emotionally relive the experience which had been detrimental for them. My hope and prayer is that they will heal and move forward to have beautiful lives."

The Utah counselor was sentenced to four to 30 years, the maximum under state guidelines, for child abuse.

Ruby Franke’s sisters, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, said they were suspicious of Jodi Hildebrandt and her website, ConneXions.

“We all felt weird about this Jodi lady, we weren’t comfortable with it ... we didn’t like the teachings Ruby was bringing to the family functions,” sister Julie Griffiths Deru said in a September 2023 video. “We were this close to telling (Ruby), ‘If you come to our family events ... we do not want to hear what you are learning through ConneXions because we don’t like it.’”

Hoellein added in a YouTube video released that month:

“My thoughts toward Ruby and Jodi and Kevin and ConneXions is ... it was complete indoctrination of this thing that they created. I don’t agree with how extreme they are on everything. I knew they were weird, I knew that they were off. Those are the things that we kept quiet about because what was I going to say — I was not going to come out and publicly say that I don’t like my sister and I don’t like what she’s doing and I think she’s weird. That is what we kept quiet about.”

Jodi Hildebrandt, who pleaded guilty to child abuse, has been sentenced up to 30 years in prison, the same sentence as Ruby Franke. That's the maximum sentence.

She was given a sentence of 1-15 years for each of her four counts of child abuse. Prosecutor Eric Clarke explained outside the courtroom that the sentence for her crimes is capped by state law at 30 years, maximum.

Hildebrandt and Franke, a popular family YouTuber, made parenting advice videos together. Franke said in court that she had hired Hildebrandt as a counselor for her son.

The sentencing hearing for Jodi Hildebrandt, who pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse, is underway.