YouTube mom Ruby Franke will be held without bail after being charged with six counts of child abuse – and has now been moved to medical block at a Utah jail.
Franke and business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, were scheduled to appear in court in St George, Utah, on Friday afternoon for a virtual hearing but proceedings were delayed due to technical issues, according to Utah’s Fifth District Court.
The meeting link was made public, inviting over 1,000 users to tune in — with many trolling the hearing by making strange sounds like barking and calling out ‘mama’ in a baby voice.
More than 30 minutes after the hearing was scheduled to start, Utah Courts released a statement saying Franke would not be in attendance, according to KJZZ 14. It is not clear if the hearing continued without being live-streamed.
‘We understand that everyone is having trouble accessing the Franke/Hildebrandt hearing,’ the State Court said on Twitter. ‘We currently have 1,100 people in the hearing and are trying to add more.’
YouTube mom Ruby Franke will be held without bail after being charged with six counts of child abuse – and has now been moved to medical block at a Utah jail
YouTuber mom Ruby Franke (pictured) and business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, were scheduled to appear in court in St George, Utah, on Friday afternoon for a virtual hearing but the proceeding failed to official begin
The popular YouTuber was arrested along with her business partner Hildebrandt last month and charged with six counts of felony child abuse after one of her sons was discovered with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs
Franke, who had been in a holding cell, was moved to the medical block in the jail, according to documents from Purgatory Correctional Facility obtained by KJZZ 14.
Hildebrandt is also being held without bail.
Many community members and local journalists were waiting in anticipation for the hearing to start, before the court announced that it would no longer be happening.
Numerous people had struggled to enter the virtual hearing as the WebEx had reached max capacity.
The popular YouTuber was arrested along with her business partner Hildebrandt last month and charged with six counts of felony child abuse after one of her sons was found by a neighbor with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs.
Franke, 41, last appeared in a court hearing on Thursday via video from a Utah jail where she remains on a no bail hold for the time being.
The Utah mother of six,’ sobbed in court as she appeared for a shelter hearing on Thursday for her four minor children to determine custody.
Speaking to the public courtroom Thursday, the Mormon mom at times broke down as she made shocking claims that one of her minor children sexually abused their sibling and molested several other family members and children in the neighborhood over the years.
The meeting link was made public, inviting over 1,000 users to tune in to the meeting — with many trolling the hearing by making strange sounds like barking and calling out ‘mama’ in a baby voice
Ruby Franke, (left) who ran the now-defunct 8 Passengers channel, was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right) on August 30
Franke’s husband Kevin, wearing a dark suit, sat at the table with his attorney looking straight ahead as his wife made the sickening allegations.
In a surprising courtroom move, an attorney who was sitting in the public viewing area stood up and asked the judge to hear details about the molestation of another child because a mother of one of the alleged victims was in the courtroom.
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The judge denied the request, citing that details of the alleged abuse can be heard at a future time.
The harrowing 911 call that led to arrest of Franke, was released by police, revealing the heart-wrenching moment the neighbor helped her 12-year-old son.
The Good Samaritan raised the alarm when the ’emaciated’ boy turned up on his doorstep with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs after fleeing Jodi Hildebrandt’s nearby home through a window.
In his call to police, the man is heard calmly trying to explain the urgent need for assistance, but becomes overwhelmed by the boy’s condition and struggles through tears to get his words out.
‘I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help,’ the neighbor says, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC.
‘And he’s said he had just come from a neighbor’s house and we know there’s been problems at this neighbor’s house.
‘He is emaciated. He’s got tape around his legs. He’s hungry and he’s thirsty.
‘He has duct tape around each ankle. There’s sores around them. He has them around his wrists as well.
‘This kid has obviously… he’s been detained. He’s obviously covered in wounds.’
Ruby Franke’s Springville, Utah home, is seen on Saturday
The family blew up on social media after beginning to post videos in 2015
The court hearing presided over by Judge Suchada Bazzelle lasted just 30 minutes on Thursday
Husband Kevin is pictured outside of Thursday’s hearing with his attorney Randy Kester
Judge Bazzelle set the next hearing for a September 15 mediation hearing and a September 18th pre-trial hearing
Ruby and husband Kevin Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was later found by cops in a similar condition.
In a statement the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said: ‘The condition of the juvenile was so severe that they were seen by Santa Clara-Irvins EMS and transported to a local area hospital.
‘Information was obtained by police that other juveniles in similar condition may be in a nearby home.
‘Officers arrived at the home and searched the residence, locating another juvenile in a similar physical condition of malnourishment.
‘They were also transported by EMS for hospital treatment’.
