YouTube Bans Ruby Franke, Deletes Her Channels Following Arrest and Child Abuse Charges

In the aftermath of Ruby Franke’s arrest on six felony child abuse charges, the parenting social media influencer’s YouTube pages have been deleted and she has been banned from the platform.

A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed the news to PEOPLE on Wednesday, saying in a statement that the platform has “terminated two channels linked to Ruby Franke in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines.”

The platform said it was also prepared to delete other channels that re-upload Franke’s content.

The Springville, Utah, woman initially gained about 2.5 million followers on her 8Passengers page, which documented her family life alongside husband Kevin Franke and their six children. After controversies surrounding Franke’s strict parenting style, she discontinued the family vlog and then started a parenting advice podcast called Connexions with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested last Wednesday. Both were later charged with six felony child abuse charges.

Police said in a statement that officers arrived at Hildebrandt’s home in Ivins, Utah, last week after a neighbor called to report a young boy had come to their house asking for food. Authorities said the boy, Franke’s 12-year-old son, had escaped Hildebrandt’s home and ran to the neighbor for help. 

The boy “appeared to be emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities,” according to the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department’s statement.

Responding officers allegedly soon found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter “in a similar physical condition of malnourishment” inside Hildebrandt’s home. Both children were taken to a local hospital for treatment, and family members have said in recent days the kids are doing OK.

“The kids are now safe,” Franke’s sisters Ellie Mecham and Julie Griffiths Deru said in a joint social media statement on Tuesday.

“For the last 3 years we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby Franke for the sake of her children,” the sisters said in the statement.

Franke’s oldest daughter Shari also spoke out against her mom hours after her arrest last week.

“Finally,” Shari wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of police outside the family’s home.

“Today has been a big day," Shari wrote on Instagram. "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."

A neighbor who lived next to the Franke family for about five years told PEOPLE this week that multiple families in their “tight-knit” neighborhood had called child protection services to check on Franke’s children in the past year.

The neighbor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said “at least a dozen” police cars responded to Franke's home after her arrest last week and some officers were “in tactical gear” with assault weapons in hand.

“We were concerned that we might see kids coming out in body bags,” the neighbor said. “We knew it was serious.”

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Washington County Sheriff's Office jail records show Franke and Hildebrandt are still in custody. It is unclear if Franke or Hildebrandt have entered pleas or retained attorneys to speak on their behalf.

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.