The son was found with open wounds • Up to 60 years
Published 2024-02-21 21.22
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Ruby Franke’s children lived in a “concentration camp-like environment”.
Now the punishment has been decided – and the YouTuber is sentenced to several years in prison.
– I thought right was wrong, she said crying in court.
The American influencer Ruby Franke, 42, previously ran the YouTube channel “8 passengers” where followers got an insight into her family life with six children. Before the channel was shut down, it had well over two million subscribers.
But last summer Ruby was arrested and last December she was convicted, along with her former business partner, of four counts of aggravated child abuse.
Now the court has decided that they receive the maximum sentence for child abuse, which is at least four years. They will serve a total of four prison terms, of one to 15 years each, which means that the prison term could be 60 years, writes BBC.
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full screen Ruby Franke. Photo: Instagram
The tears after the verdict: “Disoriented”
During the trial, the prosecutor said Eric Clarke among other things, that two of Ruby’s children lived in a “concentration camp-like environment”.
– The children were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in and practically all forms of entertainment, he said at the time.
Ruby Franke has admitted the crimes and said she is guilty with “deepest remorse and sorrow” for her family.
When the verdict was handed down, she burst into tears and apologized to her children.
– I was so disoriented that I thought dark was light and right was wrong, she said.
The son was found with open wounds
Ruby was arrested on January 30, 2023, after her 12-year-old son ran away from home to plead with a neighbor for help. According to the verdict, the son was emaciated with open wounds and tape around his wrists.
When police later found Ruby’s 10-year-old daughter, she was in a similarly malnourished state.
After the arrest, her eldest daughter shared a picture of several police officers with the text “Finally” and later wrote that it was a “big day” and that for several years she had been trying to tell the police what the children were exposed to.
