‘8 Passengers’ case: Jodi Hildebrandt follows vlogger Ruby Franke in child abuse guilty plea

ST. GEORGE, Utah (KSL.com) — Jodi Nan Hildebrandt pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, admitting to abusing the children of Ruby Franke in a hearing that lasted only a few minutes.

Frankie had been Hildebrandt’s business partner, and one of Franke’s children escaped through a window at Hildebrandt’s home in August and asked a neighbor for food and water, according to charging documents. The child appeared to have been trapped in the home for some time, the documents said.

Hildebrandt, 54, is the founder of Orem-based mental and emotional healing company Connexions Classroom, which purported to help people with addiction and mental health issues. Ruby Franke, who previously ran the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel that had over 2.3 million subscribers, helped run the YouTube channel associated with Connexions Classroom.

Hildebrandt was charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, all second-degree felonies — two counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Her attorney Doug Terry told reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday that Hildebrandt decided to plead guilty before Franke ever entered a plea.

“She has pled guilty because she … did not want these children to have to testify. She takes responsibility. And it is her main concern, at this point, that these children can heal — both physically and emotionally,” he said.

Franke pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 to the same charges. Both women will be sentenced on Feb. 20.

In a statement filed with the court prior to her plea, Franke admitted her “actions involved the physical torture of her son.” The statement said he was forced to do physical tasks, including work outside without shoes and stand in direct sunlight for extended periods while being denied water.

Hildebrandt’s statement supporting her plea, which was also filed with the court, said she inflicted serious injuries on the two children, ages 9 and 11, while they lived in her home between May 22 and Aug. 30, and allowed Franke to do the same.

The details of Hildebrandt’s abuse mirrored those in Franke’s statement, including forced physical labor, withholding water and food, denying entertainment including books, forcing Franke’s son to remain outside “at all hours of the day and night,” resulting in sunburns.

“After (Franke’s son) attempted to run away in July, his hands and feet were regularly bound. Binding included being tied to an adult and to weights. Many times, the binding included using two sets of handcuffs … (which) cut through the skin and damaged the muscle/tissue,” the statement said.

It said the boy was given homeopathic remedies for the injuries which were then covered with duct tape.

In the statement, Hildebrandt said they tried to convince the boy that he was evil, and the punishments were necessary for him to repent and were an act of love.

Franke’s daughter received severe emotional harm from Hildebrandt’s actions, according to her plea statement. It said she received the same treatment as her brother, aside from the binding and other specific instances and her feet were “repeatedly injured” from being barefoot.

According to the statement, Hildebrandt also “forced or coerced (the girl) to jump into a cactus multiple times.”

The Washington County Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Hildebrandt agreed to the recommendation of consecutive prison sentences as part of her plea.

“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,” said Eric Clarke, Washington County Attorney.