ST. GEORGE — In the aftermath of the sentencing and subsequent evidence drop in the case involving Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, both of whom were convicted of aggravated child abuse in March, an interview with the detectives and the Washington County Attorney provided insight into the heroism of the boy who went door to door for help — as well as the impact such a case would ultimately have on everyone involved.
Franke, a 41-year-old mother of six out of Springville, and her codefendant, 54-year-old Jodi Ann Hildebrandt, of Ivins, were each sentenced to prison on four counts of aggravated child abuse during two back-to-back hearings held before District Judge John J. Walton on February 20, sentences that were ordered to run consecutively.
During sentencing, Prosecutor Ryan Shaum said the actions perpetrated by both defendants were some of the worst forms of child abuse he has seen during his 30-year career.
The charges were filed against the pair in connection with an Aug. 30, 2023, emergency call about a malnourished boy who showed up at an Ivins residence asking for food and water. A search of Hildebrandt’s nearby residence revealed a second younger child, who was also found in a malnourished condition and both were transported to the hospital by ambulance, as previously reported by St. George News.
The state of the children was the result of a “training program” instituted by Hildebrandt and Franke outlined in several journals recovered by investigators shortly after the pair’s arrest in August 2023, photos of which can be seen in the video at the top of this report. The writings encompass dozens of pages authored by Franke starting in the middle of May 2023, when she brought her two youngest children to live with Hildebrandt in a remote, affluent area of Washington County.
The final journal entry was dated on or about Aug. 25, five days before the pair was arrested after Santa Clara-Ivins Police officers found one of the children partially bound and emaciated. As it turned out, the arrest intercepted the pair’s plans to move to the Arizona desert in the coming weeks, since Ivins was “not conducive to the intervention” they were engaged in with the children.
On the morning of Aug. 30, St. George Communications Center received a report that an adolescent had climbed out of the window of an Ivins residence and run to a neighbor’s house, as previously reported by St. George News. Responding officers described the 12-year-old boy as being in a “severe” state of malnourishment, with open wounds and deep lacerations caused by what appeared to be rope that reportedly was used to tie him to the ground.
While initial reports stated the boy climbed out of a window before running to the neighbor’s house, Tobler said on the morning of the incident the 12-year-old found himself home alone, which was rare, as there was typically someone present at all times. The boy then took a key from where it was hidden in the mother’s room and unlocked the handcuffs binding his wrists and ankles, then he exited using one of the sliding glass doors of the residence.
From there, he went to the first house, but received no answer when he knocked. It wasn’t until he reached the third residence across Tawgoo Court that he was met by the neighbor who called 911 while the man’s wife gave the child something to eat and drink. Tobler said he was traveling Hurricane for an open house with Santa Clara-Ivins Sgt. Nick Hallman, but when they heard over the radio that a child was found bound with duct tape, he made a U-turn towards Ivins and called Bate while en route.
Once they spoke to the neighbor and learned the child was transported to the hospital by ambulance, they decided to go directly to Hildebrandt’s house to check for signs of other malnourished children. Tobler said this was an urgent situation and they had to act fast, going from the emaciated state the boy was found in.
In the meantime, Hildebrandt was out searching for the boy when she came upon an officer and asked if he had seen the child. Knowing the current situation, the officer told her they would try and track down the child and would let her know if he was found. Hildebrandt returned home and shortly thereafter, multiple officers responded to the residence to search for the second child.
Tobler said the officer’s quick thinking while speaking to Hildebrandt was a “pivotal moment” in the investigation, since disclosing any information on the active scene unfolding at the neighbor’s house could have had disastrous results.
When officers reached the residence, Hildebrandt answered and officers explained that due to “exigent circumstances,” they did not require a warrant for her to exit the home, as shown in the body camera footage.
Upon entry, they found the second child “sitting alone in the middle of the floor in the dark, empty closet,” he said. They suspected that Hildebrandt had told the girl to go in there and shut the door after she returned home from looking for the boy.
It took more than three hours for detectives to coax the youngster out of the room, which Tobler said was because the child was fearful. After they brought the youngster pizza and soda, and with the special help from one of the emergency medical staff on scene, she was taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment.
During the search, investigators found a secured safe room and when they asked for the code to open the door, Hildebrandt said she did not have the code and the room had been locked for a “couple of years.”
When investigators were able to enter the room, they found handcuffs, rope and other evidence of the older child being bound. They also found the paste comprised of honey and cayenne pepper used to cover the boy’s wounds — remnants of which were found while the boy was being treated at the hospital in St. George.
Investigators also learned that both children were being fed beans and lentils, but Bate said the portions were “tiny,” and not enough to sustain a child under normal circumstances. Considering the children were required to do repetitive tasks and physical exercises for up to 18 hours a day, the small containers of food were nowhere near enough to sustain either child, she said.
Making matters worse, Bate said the children were routinely forced to go days without any food or water, even while forced to endure triple-digit temperatures while doing manual labor outdoors without any shoes or socks for hours on end. It was inconceivable that two children could be abused in such a manner, which is what also fueled everyone involved to put forth so much effort to bring the children justice, Bate said.
Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said it was difficult to describe the level of abuse the children endured during the sentencing hearing, and he became emotional while referring to the “torture” the 12-year-old suffered after a first attempt at escape, which was also an element that Bates discussed during the interview.
The state decided to enter into a plea agreement that guaranteed a conviction on the four counts of aggravated child abuse with consecutive sentencing, since they could prove emotional abuse, torture and malnourishment, Clarke said. Under Utah law, sentencing for those charges would have capped out at 30 years, meaning that was the maximum each would have served, so it wouldn’t have mattered if the state filed 60 or 120 charges of aggravated child abuse — the maximum sentence would have been the same.
He also said prosecutors to weigh the impact a trial would have had on the children, who would have had to testify against their own mother and a therapist they had at one time been close to. Based upon those factors, the state opted to make the offer to avoid any further trauma to the children “who have already suffered so much,” Clark said.
When asked how the case affected the two detectives, Bate said it was difficult to fathom how anyone could abuse any child, let alone to the extent these children were abused, starved and tortured.
For Tobler, it made him reflect upon his own children, and how difficult it was to describe the conditions the children in Ivins were subjected to, even when he was going over certain details with the county attorney’s office, he said.
The outcome, he went on to say, was the result of a team effort, adding there were multiple agencies both here and in Springville that assisted in the case.
For Clarke, it was the torture the 12-year-old endured following his first escape attempt. In spite of that, the boy went out that morning, malnourished and horribly injured, and knocked on not one door, Clarke said, but three until the third neighbor came to the aid of the child who refused to quit.
“That young boy is the real hero here, “Clarke said. “In fact — he’s the best part of the story.”
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