Ruby Franke was a social media star who made viral videos about her six children and perfect-seeming life – until she was jailed for child abuse. Now her eldest daughter Shari is telling her side of the story. The video doorbell footage is blurry, but you can make out the young boy approaching. He has blond hair, his legs are alarmingly skinny, duct tape is strapped to his wrists and ankles, and he is shoeless. In the background, the magnificent Red Mountains rise imperiously over the desert city of Ivins, Utah. The boy rings the bell. His voice is desperate. He asks the neighbour to take him to the police station. The neighbour tells him to take a seat, asks what is going on, then calls the police.
![[Simon Hattenstone]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2018/04/30/Simon_Hattenstone,_L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Neighbour: “I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help and he said he just came from a neighbour’s house. He’s emaciated. He’s got tape around his legs. He’s hungry and he’s thirsty.” The neighbour, a stranger, is so upset that he starts to cry. He says it’s obvious that the boy has been held against his will and has been hurt.
![[Portrait of Shari Franke, whose mother Ruby Franke, a family vlogger, was convicted of child abuse]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7dc4dde05c5adce56d3a9d0ccc3e1154265b5476/0_258_2500_3000/master/2500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Operator: “Do you know his mom’s name?”. Neighbour: “Ruby Franke is his mom’s name.”. Ruby Franke was a hugely successful influencer in the US. More than two million people followed her YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, launched in 2015. The title refers to her six children, her husband, Kevin, and of course herself, the star of the show. It followed the family’s life. We saw the children growing up under their mother and father’s influence – their mother’s primarily. Ruby was glamorous, old-fashioned and a devout follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), AKA the Mormons.
![[Sitting on a sofa next to each other, Jodi Hildebrandt (on left) and Ruby Franke, a mental health counsellor and family vlogger who were found guilty of child abuse]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/31137605fbc70e494ec7be0e2bf1caa3ecdb4dab/0_88_2717_1708/master/2717.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
