Jodi Hildebrandt’s niece claims her aunt was the “mastermind” behind YouTuber Ruby Franke’s “abusive” parenting tactics and has revealed the extent of the alleged trauma she endured as a child while living under her roof.
Jessi Hildebrandt said she was tied up, had duct tape placed over her mouth, blindfolded, isolated for 12 hours a day and even forced to sleep outside in the snow when she lived with her aunt as a child more than a decade ago.
The disgraced influencers were arrested in Utah in August after Franke’s “emaciated” son alerted police to allegedly horrific neglect.
Jessi told KUTV that Hildebrandt was the “mastermind” behind the alleged abuse her business partner Franke inflicted on her own children.
Franke, 41, ran a controversial parent advice service, ConneXions, with business partner Hildebrandt, 54, a licensed mental health counselor.
Jessi Hildebrandt (pictured) revealed the extent of the alleged trauma she endured as a child, reportedly while living with her aunt Jodi Hildebrandt
Ruby Franke (right) co-led a controversial parent advisory service, ConneXions, with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (left).
Both women were arrested and charged with six counts of child molestation each
The Mormon YouTuber had millions of subscribers and online followers on parenting through her 8 Passengers channel, but viewers repeatedly complained about the way she treated her children.
Franke and Hildebrandt face six counts of child abuse after police rescued two of Ruby’s six children at Hildebrandt’s home.
Both children appeared to be malnourished, and police subsequently raided Franke’s nearby home to locate her other children.
Hildebrandt has been accused of “destroying” people’s lives through her counseling program – which pitted husbands against each other and focused men’s teachings on “porn, sex and lust.”
Jessi said she hoped her aunt would not be “sidelined” in the abuse case.
“She’s so connected to what’s happening and yes, Ruby needs to be held accountable because she made those choices. She is just as guilty, but Jodi has been doing this much longer,” she said.
Jessi listed the serious abuses she said she experienced while in Jodi’s care, including: “being tied up, I’ve experienced being tied up with duct tape, I’ve experienced being blindfolded, I’ve experienced severe isolation experienced, I have experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse.”
Franke, a Utah-based parenting blog, was arrested in August after her “emaciated” son alerted police to alleged horrific neglect
Millions of fans watched Franke’s YouTube channel, which focused on raising her six children
‘I experienced being told that I shouldn’t be around other people, that I was dangerous to be around, people were so afraid of me that I became afraid of myself, I was physically forced to go outside in the snow to sleep I was isolated for up to twelve hours a day,” she explained.
“If someone spoke directly to me, if I wasn’t wearing duct tape over my mouth, I had to just stare at them and not respond.”
Jessi told the broadcaster that she “wouldn’t be surprised” if the same therapy tactics she experienced were used in Hildebrandt and Franke’s company, ConneXions, a self-improvement program that offers DVDs, workshops, workbooks and other materials.
“She (Jodi) is remarkably persuasive. She is also terrifying if you cross her because she has and will systematically destroy your life, she destroys your reputation, she destroys your credibility,” Jessi said.
Hildebrandt was disciplined by Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for “unprofessional conduct” and she was removed from the Mormon family’s service roll after her license was temporarily placed on probation.
Patients who used her services between 2008 and 2019 claim she divorced spouses and encouraged them to “cut off” people who were not living “in accordance with her teachings.”
Five men mentored by Hildebrandt said they were put into groups to talk about their porn, sex and lust addiction and ultimately were kicked out of the house by their partners or refused sex for months as punishment for watching porn.
Ruby Franke’s home in Springville, Utah, is pictured. “Ruby lived on one side of the house and Kevin on the other. Kevin couldn’t talk to Ruby unless Jodi was there,” Ruby’s sister-in-law said
Ruby’s eldest daughter Shari, 20, posted about her mother’s arrest on Instagram, sharing a photo of police officers outside the house with the caption “Finally”
Hildebrandt and Franke are seen attending virtual court hearings in Utah
Franke has six children – Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve – and the four youngest are now in the care of Child Protective Services.
Judge Suchada P. Bazzelle of the Fourth District of Juvenile Court said in her ruling that while she recognizes the “media and public interest in this case and values transparency,” the court cannot guarantee a “fair, impartial and private trial” for the Frankes and their children without “adequate safeguards to protect the children from the intrusive effects of media reporting on this case.”
Franke’s 12-year-old son Russell blew the whistle after claiming Hildebrandt used ropes to tie him up and then dressed his wounds with cayenne pepper and honey, according to search warrants.
The boy escaped from Hildebrandt’s home on August 30 with duct tape around his wrists and ankles and begged for food, water and help from neighbors. He told police that two of his other siblings were still there.
Franke had kept the three children under Hildebrandt’s care, arrest warrants later revealed.
The blogger’s 10-year-old girl was then located at Hildebrandt’s home, but police did not find the 14-year-old, according to the search warrant. The two youngest children were taken to hospital.
Franke (left) is also embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband (right) over the placement and well-being of their six children
Her estranged daughter Shari, 20, claimed family members had ‘been trying to tell the police and CPS about this for years’
Franke made astonishing claims during an earlier court hearing that one of her minor children had sexually abused one of their siblings and other children.
Her estranged daughter Shari, 20, claimed that family members had been “trying to tell the police and CPS about this for years,” adding that she was “so happy they finally decided to act” and that the children were safe.
Franke’s estranged husband Kevin revealed in October that he had only seen the alleged child molester four times since their divorce last year.
He claimed he only learned where his family was when his wife was arrested, two days after that he called the police on Shari to accuse her of breaking into their home and stealing hard drives.
Franke’s sister, Bonnie Hoellein, broke down in a video in which she blamed the YouTube influencer for causing their mother’s heart attack – and revealed how she ‘destroyed’ their lives offline.
The video came after all three of her sisters – who are all YouTubers – posted a joint statement on Instagram saying: ‘For the past three years, we have remained silent on the subject of our sister Ruby Franke for the sake of her children.’