Kevin Franke, the husband of YouTuber Ruby Franke, played no role in the alleged abuse of their children, his lawyer claims.
“He’s a very gentle guy, and no one’s ever made any allegations that he’s ever physically abused those kids or anyone else,” Randy S. Kester alleged during a “Good Morning America” interview Wednesday.
“He just wants to do what’s best for his kids and get them back, get them under his tutelage and his fathership and protect them.”
The attorney went on to call Kevin, 44, a “good person” left “distraught” by the allegations against his 41-year-old wife.
Kester has yet to respond to Pvnew’s request for comment.
Ruby was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse last week, along with her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt. The duo were later charged with four additional counts.
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.
At the time, Kester told Pvnew that Kevin’s “urgent focus is simply to keep” Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve “together under his fatherly care.”
The lawyer confirmed to us the following day that Kevin and Ruby are legally still a couple, with Kester “not at liberty to respond about the topic of divorce.”
Ruby, whose lawyer has declined to comment, is scheduled to make a court appearance on Friday.
The “8 Passengers” YouTuber’s three sisters have all spoken out against her, with Ruby and Franke’s eldest daughter also providing an Instagram statement.
“Today has been a big day,” Shari told her followers. “Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
Ellie Mecham, Bonnie Hoellein and Julie Deru, for their part, admitted to keeping “quiet” about Ruby for years “for the sake of the children.”
Hoellein later clarified that they did “as much as [they] could” to support the little ones.
Similarly, the Franke family’s neighbors anonymously spoke out against Ruby, saying they breathed “a collective sigh of relief” after her arrest.
