alt=Hanna SeariacOn Wednesday in a St. George courtroom, Jodi Hildebrandt entered into a guilty plea in a felony child abuse case.
Fifth District Court Judge John Walton told the court that Hildebrandt signed a plea agreement. Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. Two charges of second-degree felony child abuse were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
“She has pled guilty because she did not want these children to have to testify,” Hildebrandt’s attorney Doug Terry told media after the hearing, per KSL TV. “She takes responsibility and it is her main concern at this point that these children can heal, both physically and emotionally.”
Her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20.
“One of the toughest things we ask victims of alleged abuse to do is testify in a trial against their abusers. We are pleased that the cases against Ms. Hildebrandt and Ms. Franke have both been resolved with the defendants agreeing to serve time in prison, and there will not be a trial requiring witnesses to testify,” Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said. “We are grateful for the multidisciplinary team that investigated this case. We have great law enforcement officers, case workers, and Children’s Justice Centers’ staff in our area and Utah County.”
The plea agreement obtained by the Deseret News showed Hildebrandt pleading guilty to counts 1, 3, 5 and 6 of aggravated child abuse. In her statement, Hildebrandt admitted to causing physical injury and severe emotional harm against two of Ruby Franke’s children, referred to as RF and EF.
As part of the plea agreement, Hildebrandt admitted that her actions “involved the physical torture of RF” and “caused two or more physical injuries to EF” in addition to causing severe emotion harm to both children.
Hildebrandt is a formerly licensed counselor who was charged alongside YouTuber Franke with six counts of aggravated child abuse.
Franke ran the now taken down YouTube channel “8 Passengers” and Hildebrandt was the founder of ConneXions Classroom.
Once a licensed counselor, Hildebrandt surrendered her license to practice counseling in Utah following her arrest.
“Given the heinous abuse allegations, the agency felt that the surrender of the license was the best course of action to protect the safety of Hildebrandt’s patients and clients,” Margaret Busse, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said in a statement.
Both Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested after Franke’s child appeared at an Ivins, Utah, home asking for help. “He’s emaciated, he’s got tape around his legs, he’s hungry and he’s thirsty,” the man who called 911 said to the dispatcher.
Franke entered a plea agreement on Dec. 18 where she pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. As part of her plea agreement, she also agreed to testify against Hildebrandt. The two other child abuse charges were dropped as part of the agreement.
Each count of aggravated child abuse carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
“She pled guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse, the state agreed to dismiss the two other counts of child abuse,” Clarke said.
In her statement, Franke admitted to four counts of aggravated child abuse against two of her child. “From approximately May 22, 2023 until August 30, 2023 in Washington County, Utah, the defendant, Ruby Franke, intentionally or knowingly inflicted and allowed another adult to inflict serious physical injuries upon her children that were ages 9 (EF) and 11-12 (RF),” the statement said.
Winward Law, who is representing Franke, released a statement after her agreement to the plea agreement, according to KSL.com.
“During Ruby Franke’s incarceration in Washington County jail over the past few months, she has actively engaged in an introspection that has allowed her to reset her moral compass and understand the full weight of her actions. Ms. Franke is committed to taking responsibility for the part she played in the events leading up to her incarceration.”
Franke will be sentenced for each of the four counts on Feb. 20, 2024, and is expected to serve the sentences consecutively.