Jess Battison
Parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke has now accused her own children of abuse as she faces six counts of felony child abuse charges.
The mum-of-six first rose to fame with her ‘8 Passengers’ YouTube channel, documenting life with her family and children; Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve.
However, the channel was shut down earlier this year and on 30 August, Franke was arrested in Ivins, Utah, after officials said they discovered a malnourished child with visible injuries.
The former YouTuber's business partner Jodi Hildebrandt was also arrested on similar charges.
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Following a search of the house, her four minor children were placed in the care of the Department of Child and Family Services.
Via video call from jail, the mom-of-six appeared in court for a shelter hearing for the four minors, the Daily Mail reports.
Franke then went on to make shocking claims against one of her children.
The 41-year-old went into horrific detail of how one of them allegedly abused other children.
The YouTuber claims one of her children started looking at pornography when they were just three-years-old.
Franke also claims her child had sexually abused a younger sibling for years. She further claimed that the two of them eventually began abusing other children.
She alleged that back in May, her child admitted sexually abusing 20 people – extending to cousins and neighbours.
However, Franke provided no proof to back them up - also claiming that her two children played a 'patting game' with one another but didn't go into further detail.
Judge Bazzelle then said this alleged abusive child ‘will need to be placed in a home with no other children’.
An attorney in the public viewing area stood up to ask the judge to hear details surrounding the molestation of another child because a mother of an alleged victim was present.
But the judge denied this, reportedly saying that details of the alleged abuse can be heard at a future time.
According to a statement from the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, officials received a report of a child in need of assistance on 30 August.
The statement described the child as being 'emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities'.
The child was taken to a local hospital, while officials found another malnourished child in a nearby home who was also taken to hospital.
According to an affidavit filed by an officer of the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, Franke's 12-year-old son had climbed out of a window and run to a neighbor's house to ask for food and water.
The document says the neighbor called law enforcement after seeing duct tape on the child's ankles and wrists.
Franke has been denied bail and Judge Bazelle set the next hearing for a 15 September mediation hearing.