YouTuber Ruby Franke, who was arrested for aggravated child abuse Wednesday, once refused to bring her six-year-old daughter lunch to school.
“I just got a text message from Eve’s teacher, and she said that Eve did not pack a lunch today,” the “8 Passengers” mom said in a resurfaced clip posted to TikTok earlier this week.
In the clip from the now-defunct YouTube channel, Franke explained the teacher had asked if she would bring her daughter food because, according to Franke, the little girl had forgotten to pack it.
But, instead of bringing her some food, the mom claimed she wanted to teach her daughter a lesson.
“This happens quite often,” she explained. “Her teacher is uncomfortable with her being hungry and not having lunch, and it would ease her discomfort if I was to come to school with a lunch.”
She furthered that she had told the teacher her daughter was responsible for packing her own lunch in the mornings and she wouldn’t be stopping by to help.
“So the natural outcome is she is just going to have to go hungry,” Franke added.
“My hope is she will be hungry and come home and be like ‘that was really painful being hungry all day, I’ll make sure to always have a lunch with me,'” she continued.
In the comment section of the TikTok video, several parents and teachers slammed the YouTuber for her actions.
“As a teacher, I’d be filing a report if a parent had this reaction to me asking them to fulfill basic needs,” one person wrote.
Ruby Franke arrest: What you need to know
Ruby Franke was a “momfluencer” who had one of YouTube’s biggest channels, “8 Passengers,” which documented her and her husband, Kevin, and their six kids.
Franke was arrested on Aug. 30, 2023, on two counts of aggravated child abuse and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Franke’s arrest came after an emaciated child with duct tape around their extremities escaped and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.
Franke’s sisters released a joint statement saying they did everything they could to protect their nieces and nephews “behind the public scene” and that the arrest “needed to happen.”
Through a lawyer, Franke’s husband denied having any part in the abuse.
Franke in court accused one of her own children of sexually abusing a sibling for years.
YouTube has deleted Franke’s account and banned her from the platform.
“Her kids are going to stop talking to her when they are older,” another added.
“Children cannot learn if they are hungry. Their focus then gets pulled to the fact that they are hungry rather than the lesson being taught,” a third chimed in.
Ironically, the video resurfaced just days before Franke was arrested after an “emaciated” child with duct tape around their hands and ankles fled through a window of Franke’s business partner Jodi Hildebrandt’s house in Ivins, Utah.
Per the police report obtained by Pvnew, the child then arrived at a neighbor’s home to ask for food and water. However, when the Good Samaritan noticed the child had tape around their arms and legs, they called the police.
Police on the scene described the unidentified child’s wounds, neglect and malnourishment to be so “severe” that they transported the victim to the nearby hospital.
Police also discovered another malnourished child when they paid Hildebrandt’s home a visit, per the docs.
Per the report, Franke had filmed a video in Hildebrandt’s home just days before the incident, indicating that the vlogger had “knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment and neglect.”
Hildebrandt, who worked as the vlogger’s ConneXions co-founder and a licensed therapist, was also arrested for suspicion of two counts of aggravated child abuse.
Franke is being held without bail at Washington County Jail, while four of her children are in the temporary care of the Department of Child and Family Services.
She shares kids — Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve — with husband Kevin Franke.
Following news of the arrest, Kevin’s attorney told Pvnew that the grieving father is trying to “keep his children together.”
The couple’s estranged daughter, Shari, also spoke out on Instagram.
“Today has been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served,” Shari wrote.
“We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
