Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke of Utah pleads guilty in child abuse case

By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

A Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice via a once-popular YouTube channel called “8 Passengers” has pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse for abusing and starving two of her children. Ruby Franke’s attorney said she did so while under the influence of a relationship counselor who led her to a “distorted sense of morality.” The judge accepted the guilty pleas on Monday and scheduled sentencing for Feb. 20. Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested on Aug. 30 after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s house in Ivins, Utah, and asked a neighbor to call police. The boy was emaciated and had duct tape around his ankles and wrists.