The former business partner of recently-convicted YouTube vlogger, Ruby Franke, has a history of child abuse allegations, spanning back to 2010.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Franke and her business partner, Jody Hildebrandt, were arrested in August when one of Hildebrandt’s neighbors called the police to report that a child knocked on their door, asking for food and water.
The victim, identified as Franke’s child, had duct tape on their legs and complained of hunger and thirst. Officers went to Hildebrandt’s Utah home and encountered another child, a 10-year-old girl, who was taken for treatment and deemed malnourished by medical professionals.
Hildebrandt directly cared for the children, but police said Franke was aware of the abuse. Franke has since pleaded guilty to child abuse, while Hildebrandt is currently awaiting trial on the same charges.
According to court documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, on March 9, 2010, a teen approached the American Fork police in Utah, seeking a “safe house” due to concerns about the treatment doled out by their aunt, Hildebrandt.
The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, told investigators that their parents sent them to live with Hildebrandt due to ongoing issues at home. Hildebrandt, who was a licensed clinical mental health counselor, allegedly exhibited a “mean” and “very strict” demeanor with the child.
She’s accused of making the teen sleep outdoors in a sleeping bag, and during one instance, she put duct tape over the teen’s mouth, according to what the victim told police. The teen also disclosed wearing the same clothes for three weeks and not being enrolled in school, which was allegedly part of Hildebrandt’s unconventional counseling methods.
After the teen’s report, law enforcement attempted multiple times to contact Hildebrandt without success. The officers then contacted the teen’s parents. The victim’s father said the teen had been “defiant” and that they had planned to send them to a “wilderness program,” explaining why the victim hadn’t been enrolled in school.
When the officers couldn’t locate Hildebrandt, they took the victim to a short-term shelter for adolescents.
Then, on March 23, 2010, Hildebrandt contacted police to report the child missing, adding that they could have fled to avoid a “program for troubled youth,” court documents state.
Investigations later revealed that the teen had reached out to friends through social media, sending a message that read, “DUDE, save me, I’m trapped!”
On April 28, 2010, police located the teen at The Road Home, a shelter in Salt Lake City. Two officers engaged with the teen, who appeared to be scanning the surroundings with intentions to flee.
The officers subsequently brought the teen back to the American Fork Police Department, where arrangements were made for the grandparents to meet them, according to official documents.
While waiting for their grandparents, the teen told investigators that they ran away because Hildebrandt had attempted to coerce them into confessing their “sins.”
The teen further claimed that Hildebrandt tried to emotionally break them down; the teen emphasized that they would run away again if placed back in Hildebrandt’s care.
No charges were filed against Hildebrandt in that particular incident. Meanwhile, she’s scheduled for a court hearing on Wednesday in connection with child abuse charges in connection with Franke’s minor children.
She’s facing six counts of child abuse.
FOX 19 reports that Franke’s attorneys are pushing to pin the blame on Hildebrandt, asserting that she “systematically isolated Ruby Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke.
“This prolonged isolation resulted in Ms. Franke being subjected to a distorted sense of morality, shaped by Ms. Hildebrandt’s influence,” the attorneys continued.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: FILE – In this image made from video provided by the Utah State Courts, Jodi Hildebrandt is seen during a virtual court appearance, Sept. 8, 2023, in St. George, Utah. Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke were charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse after their arrests on Aug. 30 at Hildebrandt’s house in the southern Utah city of Ivins. They remain jailed without bail. A 12-year-old boy said Hildebrandt used ropes to tie him up, according to search warrants made public this week. Hildebrandt’s attorney was out of the office on Wednesday, Sept. 20, and not available to comment on the boy’s allegations. (Utah State Courts via AP, File)
