Mommy blogger's child escaped home through window with wrists, ankles wrapped in duct tape: police

Utah mommy bloggers Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt's arrests last week came after one of Franke's six children apparently escaped Hildebrandt's residence through a window and asked a neighbor for help, court documents show.

The neighbor saw "duct tape" wrapped around the minor victim's "ankles and wrists" and contacted law enforcement, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department.

Upon arrival, police noticed that the child had "wounds" and was severely malnourished, so they took him to a nearby hospital for treatment. He "was placed on a medical hold due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment," the affidavit states.

Law enforcement located one of Franke's children — also malnourished — inside Hildebrandt's home after the first child contacted police. The child "initially refused medical" assistance but was later taken to the hospital, the affidavit states.

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Franke and Hildebrandt, who ran a popular parenting and lifestyle advice blog on YouTube called ConneXions Classroom, have been charged with six counts of child abuse each in connection with the alleged abuse of two children. The women were arrested on Aug. 30 after Santa Clara police received a dispatch call around 10:50 p.m. from a juvenile asking for help, police said in a press release.

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Police were able to locate Franke's six other children later that day.

"Ruby Franke was seen on a YouTube video filmed in Jodi Hildebrandt's downstairs, which was posted two days [prior to their arrest]," the affidavit says. It further states that Franke was "present in the home and having knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment, and neglect" of her two children at Hildebrandt's residence.

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Franke immediately "requested a lawyer" and refused to speak with police at the time of her arrest, according to the affidavit. Her attorney did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

Police requested that Franke and Hildebrandt be held without bail.

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Months before Franke's and Hildebrandt's arrests, other social media users flagged their concerns about potential abuse. In one video, Fanke discusses her decision to withhold Christmas presents from her two youngest children to teach them a behavioral lesson. In another, she threatens to cut off a doll's head.

One YouTuber known as "Swoop" made a video expressing this belief, citing clips from the ConneXions YouTube page. "Now, to Ruby, it's all fair game even when her children show surprise or discomfort that they're being filmed during a particularly vulnerable moment, even when [her child] asked her to stop or to put the camera down. Ruby didn't want to do it," Swoop says in the video.

Other internet sleuths on TikTok and YouTube quickly descended upon Franke's and Hildebrandt's social media pages to uncover alarming statements made by the two influencers on their public platforms.

"My kids are literally starving," Franke, wearing red lipstick, said in one video in front of a Christmas tree. "I hesitate to say this because this is going to sound like, I'm, like, a mean barbarian, but I told the kids, I said, I'm not even going to let you eat breakfast until you get your chores done."

The Utah mom was charging parents up to $15,000, and as low as $5,000, as a mental health counselor for parents as a "mental fitness trainer," Swoop recounted back in March.

Even Franke’s neighbors said they had long been concerned about her treatment of the children. 

"Everyone is just breathing a collective sigh of relief, because we thought they were going to come out of that house with body bags," a male neighbor told NBC News under the condition of anonymity.
 

Franke and Hildebrandt are facing six counts each of aggravated child abuse for "causing or permitting serious physical injury to the [two juvenile] victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture; (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life; and (3) causing severe emotional harm," according to the Washington County District Attorney's Office.

Franke's daughter, Shari Franke, posted a photo to her Instagram Stories on Thursday that showed a police car parked on a suburban street with the caption "Finally." In another Instagram Story that followed, Shari shared a statement.

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"Hi all. Today has been a big day," she wrote. "Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up. Kids are safe, but there's a long road ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy."

Both women are currently in custody at the Washington County Jail in Hurricane, Utah.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.