American mom influencer charged with 6 counts of felony child abuse after children were discovered with open wounds, malnourished

YouTuber mom Ruby Franke has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse after her 12-year-old son was found with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Another case of child abuse in the United States perpetrated by a white adult. These white American adults, just what are they thinking?

YouTuber mom Ruby Franke has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse after her 12-year-old son was found with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs.

Ruby, 41, who runs the 8 Passengers YouTube page, was arrested on two counts of aggravated child abuse along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt on August 30. 

The Mormon mom's son climbed out of a window of Hildebrandt's home and ran to a neighbor for help, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by NBC states. 

In addition to his wounds, the boy was found in an emaciated state. Ruby and husband Kevin Franke's 10-year-old daughter was found in a similar condition. 

Hildebrandt is also charged with six counts of felony child abuse in Washington County, Utah. Each count carries a sentence of up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine. 

At the time that Ruby's children were discovered, authorities said that Russell, 12, and Eve, 10, were so malnourished they needed to be taken to a hospital for care. 

Investigators said 'evidence consistent with the markings found on the juvenile' was located inside the home upon a search. 

The woman's other four children - Shari, Chad, Abby, and Julie - were taken by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. 

In a statement to NBC News, the Washington County attorney said the two women are believed to have caused or permitted 'serious physical injury' in three ways.   

'(1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm,' they said. 

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office's website, both women are still in custody as of September 5. 

Ruby and her business partner will next appear in court on September 8. 

The Mormon woman first rose to fame for her strict parenting style which blew up on YouTube and made her 'millions' of dollars, she claimed. 

She racked up more than 2.2million subscribers for documenting their day-to-day endeavors on social media, along with husband Kevin. 

The pair stopped uploading videos in January 2022 and the page was taken down completely from the website earlier this year. 

When asked why she left YouTube behind months later, she said she opted to stop uploading videos because she wanted to 'save her kids.'