Last year, we wrote about a child abuse case in the United States.
The perpetrator was RubyFranke, 42, a parenting blogger who had millions of followers.
rubyfranke）
Ruby, a mother of six, started a YouTube channel called "8passengers" in her early days because she has a family of eight. She mainly shares her parenting style and the daily life of the whole family, and was originally a gentle and loving mother in the minds of netizens.
Rubyfranke and husband Kevin and six children).
However, in August last year, she was abused by the two youngest children in the family: 12-year-old youngest son Russell ......
Youngest son Russell).
and 10-year-old daughter Eve:
The youngest child in the family, eve).
Ruby had a 54-year-old "business partner" at the time, namedjodihildebrandt
Left: hildebrandt; Right: Ruby).
One day, the youngest son, Russell, suddenly climbed out of the window of the Hildebrandt's house and ran to the neighborBegging for water and food。The neighbors saw that he was thin and woundedThere are also marks on the ankles and wrists that have been **, and immediately called the police.
* Soon came to search Hildebrandt's home, found the youngest daughter Eve also in the house, and took the two children to the hospital for examination, and found that they were all malnourished.
Ruby and Hildebrandt were immediately arrested without bail. With the exception of her two adult siblings, her remaining four minor children were temporarily placed in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.
RubyFranke and Jodihildebrandt).
When the news broke, Ruby's eldest daughter, Shari, applauded, and Ruby's sister also hinted that child abuse had been around for a long time.
Kevin, who had separated from Ruby at the time, quickly filed for divorce and asked to take back custody of his four minor children.
In addition to the eldest daughter Shari, 20, and the eldest son, Chad, 19, there are four minor children: daughter Abby, 16, Julie, 15, Russell, 12, and Eve, 10
The evidence of child abuse is conclusive, and there is nothing to refute. In December of the same year, Ruby and Hildebrandt each pleaded guilty to four second-degree felonies, and a series of horrific details of the case followed....
Ruby confessed in her plea agreement that she had committed a lot of abuse to her son Russell and daughter Eve from May 22 to August 30 of that year, causing both of them serious psychological harm.
Including: Forcing Russell to do hours or even days of physical labor outdoors in the summer, but not giving him enough water, causing him to suffer severe sunburn and blistering repeatedly, as a way to torture him.
Depriving Russell of food, or only giving him very rudimentary meals, and forbidding him contact with other people, as well as books, notebooks, or electronics.
Russell tried to escape in July, and when he was caught, Ruby often hand-to-hand and sometimes handcuffed him.
She also admitted to kicking Russell with her boots on, pressing his head into the water, and covering his mouth and nose with her hands to prevent him from breathing.
The same happened to the youngest daughter, Eve. Ruby forced her to go out to work, made her run barefoot on dirt roads, and denied her food and water......It's outrageous.
rubyfranke）
And the reason why Ruby did this to his own flesh and blood, according to her, has nothing to do with Hildebrandt.
Hildebrandt is an extreme religious believer who always says that he can communicate directly with the "gods" and receive "instructions from the gods."
For the past four years, she has been instilling in Ruby negative stories such as "institutions give people" and "husbands refuse to provide protection" to lead her to believe that the world is **.
And so onRuby began to see Hildebrandt as a leader, believing like she was that child abuse was necessary, believing that in order to drive the "evil spirits" out of the children's bodies and make them repent of their "sins".
After the abuse, Ruby also leads the children to believe that they are "demons".
For example, she would tell her youngest daughter that she was possessed, and that her mother punished her out of love, to help her, and to make her obey and repent. Eve was still young, and later he really believed ......
RubyFranke on trial).
It wasn't until he was imprisoned that Ruby came to his senses and expressed great remorse for his previous absurd behavior.
At a hearing in Utah court on Feb. 20 of this year, Ruby publicly apologized to all of his children:
For the past four years, I have chosen to follow the advice and guidance of others, but I have been plunged into dark delusions. ”
You are part of me. I realize now that I've been caught in an undercurrent for the past four years that has led us into danger. I will never deliberately lead you into darkness. I was tricked into believing that the world is **. ”
I have taken away all your softness, safety, and beauty. I took your mother. This must be very scary for you......You are so precious to me......I'm so sorry. ”
RubyFranke on trial).
Ruby and Hildebrandt each pleaded guilty to four second-degree felonies, each of which carries a prison sentence of 1 to 15 years, with a cumulative total of 60 years. However, under Utah law, Ruby can only be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years.
Ruby gave up the opportunity to appeal, saying that he was responsible for his choice and was fully willing to accept the sentence.
Hildebrandt also gave up her appeal, but her attitude was diametrically opposed, and although she confessed her guilt, she still regarded herself as a victim and believed that the "devil" and the children were the perpetrators.
She said that she "sincerely loved" the children she had stayed with, and did not choose to appeal because she did not want the children to re-experience the hurt emotionally.
It's really hopeless.
hildebrandt on trial).
But whether she admits it or not, the crime has been convicted, and it is estimated that she will have to atone for the rest of her life in prison.
All that remains is hope that the children can come out of the shadows as soon as possible and return to normal life......