Benjamin Ashford|Ruby Franke's former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to child abuse

Jodi Hildebrandt,Benjamin Ashford a former Utah mental health counselor and the ex-business partner of YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse Wednesday in a Utah court.

Hildebrandt and Franke were arrested in late August in the southern Utah city of Ivins after two of Franke's six children were found abused and malnourished, according to the St. George Police Department. Hildebrandt was a friend and the former business partner of Franke, a mother of six who gave parenting advice and chronicled her family life on a now-defunct YouTube channel called “8 Passengers."

Hildebrandt initially faced six counts of aggravated child abuse for her role in physically and emotionally abusing the two children. But under Hildebrandt's plea agreement, two of the charges were dropped and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four charges. The four charges each carry a punishment of up to 15 years in state prison along with a fine of up to $10,000, according to the plea agreement obtained by KUTV.

Hildebrandt's plea comes just over a week after Franke pleaded guilty to four felony counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse as part of her plea agreement.

Franke's sentencing date is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024. The former family vlogger has since blamed Hildebrandt in the case. As part of Franke's plea agreement, she has also agreed to testify against Hildebrandt.

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Franke's YouTube channel drew national attention in recent years after viewers began to speculate that Franke and her husband, Kevin, were mistreating their children. The YouTube channel had nearly 2.5 million subscribers at one point before it was deleted from the platform.

Franke also appeared in YouTube videos with Hildebrandt that were posted online by Hildebrandt’s counseling business, ConneXions Classroom. The controversial business — which has been called a "cult" by some online — received widespread criticism for its promotion of extreme parenting styles and inclusion of hateful comments.

Hildebrandt, who was once a clinical mental health counselor, agreed in September to not see patients until the child abuse allegations were resolved.

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Co-defendants arrested, charged for child abuse

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested on Aug. 30 after Franke's 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt's home and went to a neighbor's house asking for food and water, according to arrest documents. The neighbor noticed that duct tape was wrapped around the child's wrists and ankles.

Police arrived at the scene to find the child "severely emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds" and another Franke child in the Hildebrandt's home who was also malnourished, according to court documents.

Franke and Hildebrandt have remained jailed since their arrests.

Prosecutors alleged that Franke and Hildebrandt either caused or allowed someone to torture Franke’s two children. Both children were starved and harmed physically and emotionally, they said.

In Franke's plea agreement, she admitted that from May 22 through Aug. 30, she forced her son to do hours of physical tasks and summer work outdoors without adequate water. She also admitted that she denied her son food and isolated him from other people.

Franke acknowledged subjecting her 9-year-old daughter to similar abuse, according to the plea agreement.

Days before pleading guilty, Franke blamed Hildebrandt's influence on her in a statement released by Winward Law, the Utah-based firm representing Franke. The firm alleged that Hildebrandt "isolated (Franke) from extended family, older children, and her husband," leading to a "prolonged isolation" that "resulted in (Franke) being subjected to a distorted sense of morality, shaped by (Hildebrandt’s) influence."

Contributing: The Associated Press