Ruby Franke Deep Dive: Where Are They Now? - H3 After Dark #17

Ruby Franke's parenting methods, initially presented as strict Mormon discipline on her '8 Passengers' channel, escalated into severe abuse. Key incidents, such as forcing her son Chad to sleep on a beanbag for seven months and withholding lunch from her six-year-old daughter, drew widespread public condemnation and led to the channel's decline and eventual suspension.

The hosts discuss the 2020 turning point where public scrutiny intensified after videos surfaced of Chad discussing his beanbag punishment and Ruby refusing to bring her daughter lunch. 'People were going back and digging and looking for other ways that the mom had been abusive.'

Jodie Hildebrandt, a 'marriage counselor' vetted by the LDS church, systematically manipulated Ruby and other women, fostering a high-control environment. She encouraged isolation, public shaming, and spiritual abuse, ultimately leading to Ruby separating from Kevin and moving her children into Jodie's home, where the most severe abuse occurred.

The hosts detail Jodie's methods: 'Jod is praising some people, shaming others, encouraging the couples to shame each other. There's manipulation. There's obviously spiritual abuse happening.' Kevin Franke also recounts Jodie's workshops where 'men are horrible' was the palpable energy.

Kevin Franke, Ruby's husband, moved out of the family home in 2022 and did not see his four youngest children for a year, despite being aware of Jodie's influence. He justified his absence by claiming he was on a 'mission' to 'heal himself' based on Jodie's directives, demonstrating a profound failure to protect his children.

Kevin states, 'It was just this constant drip of you're the problem. You're the problem. You're dangerous.' He believed he needed to 'work on yourself and heal yourself and then come back to us a healed and a truthful and a man of truth.'

Over a decade before the Ruby Franke case, Jodie Hildebrandt was reported to the police by a teenage family member (Jesse) living in her care, who described similar abuse tactics including forced outdoor sleeping, duct-taping of the mouth, and isolation. This prior report highlights a systemic failure to address Jodie's abusive patterns.

Jesse Hildebrandt recounts, 'I experienced being tied. I experienced being duct taped. I experienced being blindfolded. I experienced severe isolation.' The report from 2010 noted the teen was forced to 'sleep outside in a sleeping bag and had at one point duct taped their mouth shut.'

Ruby's older children, Chad and Sherry, processed the trauma differently. Chad engaged in social media with a 'tongue-in-cheek' approach and launched a merchandise brand ('Reason'). Sherry, however, pursued legislative change, successfully advocating for a Utah bill to protect child influencers.

Chad discusses his 'Reason' brand, stating, 'Love doesn't equal control. A statement against possession, pressure, and power disguised as care.' Sherry is shown speaking to the Utah Congress, stating, 'There is never ever a good reason for posting your children online for money or fame.'

Inspired by Sherry Franke's advocacy, Utah passed a law in March 2023 to protect child influencers. This legislation ensures financial compensation for children featured in monetized content and grants them the right to demand the removal of content after turning 18.

The new law 'sets up a system for children to be financially compensated... if they were in at least 30% of the content... and that content is making at least 20K a year.' It also grants kids 'the right to demand that content gets taken down after they turn 18.'