Who Is 'Evil Influencer's' Ruby Franke? Family Vlogger Convicted Of Child Abuse, Where Is She Now?

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story was released on December 30, 2025, (ET). The Netflix series follows the story of Jodi Hildebrandt, a therapist jailed in 2023 for child abuse alongside Ruby Franke. For the unversed, Ruby rose to fame in 2015 for her controversial parenting channel, 8 Passengers. The channel featured her six children, Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve.

However, in 2022, the channel was suspended, and Ruby and Jodi were arrested for child abuse. So, as the world re-lives the truth behind the horrid family, let us take a look at who Ruby Franke is.

Who is Ruby Franke?

Ruby Franke rose to fame for her YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, documenting her family life in Springville. However, one year after launching the channel, she told the KSL news station that her page was a way that "let [her] heart rate come down and to just enjoy being with the kids as they are right now." Ruby went on to spark criticism after revealing in a video that her son, Chad, had been sleeping on a beanbag for seven months following a prank he played on his sibling. 

In June 2020, viewers contacted the local child protective services, with a Change.org petition created to encourage a CPS Investigation. Amid backlash, Rosy told Insider that the arrangement was Chad's choice after he stopped sharing a room with his younger brother. Meanwhile, a letter from DCFS stated that the claim was unsupported, and eventually the case was closed. However, in August 2022, she faced further criticism for refusing to bring her then-six-year-old daughter lunch. Ruby asserted that it was to ensure her child knew that everything has consequences.

As the headlines riled up, Ruby began working as a mental health coach at ConneXions, a company run by Jodi Hildebrandt. The two started a joint channel, which further sparked outrage. The Utah mother claimed that if her child doesn't "love" or "trust" her after she offers them "the gift of truth," then they are "refusing to love unconditionally." She said:

"If my child will only love me if I give them what they want, then that's not really love, is it?"

What led to Ruby Franke's arrest?

Following Ruby's arrest, Shari took to Instagram and made several statements about the situation. She started by posting pictures of a police car and an officer, writing: "Finally." Shari also created a document asking followers to share "questionable" or "concerning" information about ConneXions or 8 Passengers. Franke's sisters, Ellie, Julie, and Bonnie, released a statement citing that they remained quiet about Ruby "for the sake of her children." They added that they had done everything they could to ensure the children were safe.

However, as the case progressed, some awful details were revealed. Ruby admitted to several horrifying acts in her guilty plea, including abusing two of her children from May 2023 until her arrest. She even claimed that she tried to convince her children that they were evil and possessed, describing the abuse as "acts of love." She also admitted that her "actions involved the physical torture" of her son and forcing the boy into long physical tasks outside in summer without shoes or adequate water, leaving him with "repeated and serious sunburns."

Ruby also admitted to kicking her sons while wearing boots, holding their heads underwater, and using ropes to tie them while they lay on their stomachs to lift their arms and legs off the ground, resulting in injuries. The statement also revealed Ruby would keep her son isolated from others, denying all sorts of entertainment. Ruby even punished her then-nine-year-old daughter the same way, forcing her to work outside, run on dirt roads barefoot "for extended periods of time," and go without food and water.

What happened to Ruby Franke?

In February 2024, Ruby was handed four one-to-15-year sentences in prison, one for each of the four counts of child abuse to which she pleaded guilty back in December 2024. Jodi Hildebrandt also received the same sentence. However, the women will serve only up to 30 years due to Utah's law that caps the duration of consecutive penalties. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will consider their behavior while incarcerated and determine how much of that time each will serve. Before the sentencing, Ruby shared an apology for her children, stating:

"I'll never stop crying for hurting your tender souls," Franke said to her children, who were not at the hearing. "My willingness to sacrifice all for you was masterfully manipulated into something very ugly. I took from you all that was soft and safe and good."

Ruby Franke's husband filed for divorce after the case and is now remarried

According to KSL-TV Utah, Ruby's then-husband, Kevin, originally filed for divorce three months after Ruby's arrest in August 2023. However, Utah District Judge Roger Griffin did not sign the divorce decree until March 2025. Shari recently shared that she and Chad attended their father's wedding to Becca Bevan in November 2025. In August 2025, Kevin filed a lawsuit against Jodi Hildebrandt, alleging that she used her role as a mental health professional to manipulate and isolate him from his family.

Where is Ruby Franke now?

Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt are currently serving time in prison. While they are in the same jail, they are held in separate sections. Like Jodi, Ruby's first parole hearing is set for December 2026.

What are your thoughts on Ruby Franke's abuse of her own children? 

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