Parenting Influencer Ruby Franke Faces Child Abuse Charges
Ruby Franke, a well-known parenting influencer who gained fame for her controversial parenting advice, now faces six counts of child abuse. This shocking turn of events stems from a harrowing incident involving a 12-year-old boy who escaped from a nearby home covered in open wounds, seeking help from a neighbor for food and water.
The Alarming Rescue
The 12-year-old boy had narrowly escaped from a nearby home, still bearing duct tape on his ankles, which he had managed to remove after climbing out of a window. Due to his severe malnourishment and deep lacerations from being tied up with rope, he was immediately hospitalized. This incident prompted a deeper investigation, leading to the removal of five other children from the same household and the subsequent arrest of Ruby Franke, a mother of six.
The Path to Controversy
Ruby Franke was the creator behind the 8 Passengers YouTube channel, launched in 2015 during the peak of family vlogging channels’ popularity on the platform. Her content, which showcased her family’s daily life, garnered tens of thousands of views. However, it was her strict parenting style, captured in hundreds of videos over the years, that drew criticism and controversy. Some of her remarks, such as threatening to withhold dinner as a punishment or allowing a child to go hungry for forgetting lunch, raised eyebrows.
The Appeal of Extreme Parenting Techniques
Despite criticism, Ruby Franke’s authoritarian parenting approach resonated with a significant audience. Experts suggest that her success reflects a modern parental anxiety that can lead individuals to seek radical and potentially harmful solutions. For parents struggling with problematic behavior, extreme techniques may appear attractive if they seem to yield results.
The Controversial Turning Point
A turning point in the controversy surrounding Ruby Franke’s parenting style occurred when her teenage son revealed, in a 2020 video, that he had been deprived of his bedroom for seven months as a consequence of playing pranks on a sibling. This revelation led to widespread outrage, petitions, and child protective services being called. The controversy marked the beginning of the end for the 8 Passengers channel, which gradually reduced its video output before being deleted altogether.
The Current Status and Legal Actions
Ruby Franke remains active on social media, but her new venture, ConneXions, with business partner Jodi Nan Hildebrandt, has a significantly smaller audience compared to her previous channel. In August 2022, both women were arrested after the malnourished boy’s escape, and they now face six counts of child abuse. Ruby Franke’s family members have expressed relief and concern for the children involved, acknowledging that a long road to recovery lies ahead. Neither Franke nor Hildebrandt has responded to media requests for comment, and Kevin Franke, Ruby’s husband, has distanced himself from the abuse allegations.
SOURCE: Ref Image from The Independent
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