A former US influencer who became known for her extremely brutal parenting tips on social media was found guilty of serious abuse of her children on Tuesday. Her severely malnourished twelve-year-old son fled to the neighbors last year and begged for help – a sister was eventually also found malnourished. Ruby Franke risks a long prison sentence.
The Mormon mother has six children and became known as the ‘Momfluencer’ through the Instagram account moms-of-truth. She later hosted the YouTube show ‘8 Passengers’, which also dealt with parenting. The channel had 2.3 million subscribers, but has since been discontinued.
This post shows a photo of the family of eight:
The social media personality was considered controversial. She recommended, among other things, depriving children of food to punish them for alleged misdeeds. She once left a daughter to starve for a week after forgetting her lunch at home. One of her sons was forced to sleep on a beanbag for months as punishment.
No food or drink for boys for days
Twelve-year-old Russell managed to escape his ordeal in the summer of 2023: he ran from the home of his mother’s business partner, Jodie Hildebrandt, to the neighbors. They recognized traces of abuse on the boy and alerted the authorities. He reported serious abuse: he was allegedly physically tortured and forced to work outside in the summer heat without shoes and stand in the scorching sun for several days. He was also given no water or food for days.
The boy was taken to the hospital and police eventually discovered another malnourished child in Hildebrandt’s home: her ten-year-old daughter. Franke and her business partner were arrested. The momfluencer’s husband and father of the children was not arrested – he filed for divorce.
Mom wants to change ‘toxic behavior’.
The mother of six confessed and repented in court. She tearfully stated that she was willing to “serve a long prison sentence” and vowed to put an end to her “toxic behavior.” She followed advice and instructions “which led me into a dark delusion.” She further explained, “My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I isolated myself from anyone who challenged me.”
A court in the American state of Utah gave Franke four consecutive prison sentences of one to fifteen years on Tuesday (local time), ABC and other media report.
Source: Krone
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