American youtuber Ruby Franke, owner of the YouTube channel 8 Passengers which gave parenting advice to its 2.3 million subscribers, was arrested on Friday September 1, 2023. Our colleagues from SkyNews reported that she was suspected of child abuse. Ruby Franke and her husband had launched this family channel on YouTube in 2015. They told about their life as a couple and those of their six children in the state of Utah, in the United States. With their collaborator Jodi Hildebrandt, also arrested by the authorities, they advocated a harsh style of education in their videos. On Wednesday August 30, 2023, one of the 12-year-old sons of the YouTuber couple escaped from their home through the window. He went to a neighbour’s house, duct tape wrapped around his wrists and ankles, to ask for some water and food. The neighbor would then have immediately notified the police. The boy, described as “emaciated and malnourished” was taken to hospital and placed under medical supervision “due to his deep lacerations caused by rope ties and his malnutrition”.
A petition against parents had already been set up in 2020
Once at the Franke family home, one of the family’s 10-year-old daughters was also found malnourished. Two other of the children were taken into the care of child protective services. To date, Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt are still in custody, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told our British colleagues. The 8 Passengers YouTube channel has also been terminated. Despite their high popularity on social media, the Franke family, members of the Mormon Church, had already faced fierce criticism regarding child abuse in recent years. Local child protective services were reportedly called in June 2020, after an online petition called for the family to be investigated, it said. ABC News Friday, September 1, 2023. This petition was prompted by a video in which one of the children said he had slept on a beanbag for seven months, a punishment for his bad behavior. But no action had been taken. Ruby Franke, her husband and Jodi Hildebrandt remain presumed innocent for the moment.