Family Vlogger Accused of Child Abuse After Malnourished Child Allegedly Asks Neighbor for Help

A once-popular family vlogger has been arrested on child abuse charges alongside her business partner after police in Utah said officers found two of her children “emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around” their arms and legs.

The Santa Clara Public Safety Department announced the arrest of Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt in a press release Thursday morning, as police records reviewed by PEOPLE show the two women have both been charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse.

The women, who hosted a mom’s “support group” podcast together, are currently in police custody after being arrested Wednesday night.

Officers searched the home after a neighbor called 911 when one of the children allegedly came to their house “asking for help,” authorities said. “The juvenile was asking for food and water,” police said, describing the wounds and markings found on the child’s body. “The condition of the juvenile was so severe that they were seen by Santa Clara-Ivins EMS and transported to a local area hospital.”

Police said officers soon found another child in “a similar physical condition of malnourishment” inside the home, transporting the second child to the local hospital as well. Local news outlet Fox 13 reports the home belongs to Hildebrand.

“Finally,” Franke’s oldest daughter Shari Franke wrote on her Instagram story, alongside a photo of police standing outside the home in Springville, Utah. 

Shari had cut off her mother a year ago, according to an Insider report, and has long been outspoken about her mother’s alleged abuse — something the Franke family’s social media followers have reportedly suspected for years.

Insider has previously reported on Franke’s suspected abuse and reports the family has been on a “downward spiral” in recent years amid multiple controversies surrounding Franke and her husband Kevin’s parenting.

“Today has been a big day," Shari wrote in a follow-up Instagram story. "Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up."

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On Thursday morning, Shari wrote that her younger siblings “are safe, but there’s a long road ahead” for them.

Franke amassed 2.3 millions subscribers on her YouTube channel “8Passengers” over the years, where she blogged about her, her husband Kevin Franke and their six kids: Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve. 

However, the 8Passengers page fell under scrutiny in recent years due to Franke’s strict parenting, which led many viewers to question whether she was abusing her children. The page was eventually deleted, and Franke and Hildebrand then launched the Connexions podcast.

The women’s podcast soon came under similar scrutiny, especially as the two women espoused homophobic, transphobic, racist and ableist rhetoric, according to Insider.

In one 2018 episode, for example, Franke used a monologue to explain how “pain is meant to be a teacher” for children. “It’s not your nemesis. It’s your ally,” she said. “Pain is not bad. It is here to temper you and teach you and humble you and refine you and create wisdom in you.”

Shari also shared a public Google Doc with links to episodes of 8Passengers and Connexions and quotes from the episodes that allegedly showcase abusive parenting.

In Utah, a person found guilty of aggravated child abuse charges can face up to 15 years in prison.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.