Ruby Franke abused her children for years. Her eldest son, Chad, just shared a family update.

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of child abuse

The world watched on in horror as the true depth of Ruby Franke's crimes against her children came to light.

For years, the Utah-based family vlogger shared videos about her family life and children. In August 2023, she was arrested and, in February 2024, she was sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars for child abuse.

Details of the abuse have since been heard in court — withheld food and water, threats, and physical wounds just scrape the surface.

After her son unsuccessfully tried to run away from home, Franke bound his hands and feet with handcuffs and ropes.

Eventually, her 12-year-old managed to escape the compound. He sought refuge at a neighbour's house, begging for food and water, where the police were called.

Prior to her arrest, Franke had grown close to her business partner, therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. In 2022, Hildebrandt moved into the Franke's home and the women continued this depraved method of parenting.

Hildebrandt was also charged with child abuse, and later sued by Ruby Franke's ex-husband, Kevin Franke.

Kevin had been forced to leave the house after Hildebrandt moved in.

Now, Franke's crimes have been thrust back into the spotlight due to a new docu-series, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, now streaming on Disney+.

It features behind-the-scenes footage from the vlogs, as well as in-depth interviews with Ruby and Kevin's two eldest children, Shari, 21, and Chad, 20.

Watch: Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke | Official Trailer | Hulu

Following its release, Chad recently asked his Snapchat followers what they thought of the series, to which one replied: "I think it shows how your dad was never the problem and that he was brainwashed. All he wanted was his family back."

The 20-year-old agreed, replying: "Thank you, I hope everyone will get it."

Kevin Franke has come under fire for his association with Ruby during the period of her abuse, though he claims he never knew about it.

Chad went on to defend his dad further, saying that "people don't realise how good Jodi [Hildebrandt] was at manipulating".

In the docuseries, both Chad and his older sister Shari spoke at length about the abuse their mum inflicted on her eldest son. They said punishments would often stem from the teenager not wanting to listen to adults.

"She would spank, whip, take the belt out and whip my butt. Pull down my pants, whip me," Chad said in his interview, adding that there were times his mum "blew up off camera".

In her own interview, Shari said she would "always feel bad" when her younger brother got into trouble.

"He'd get a bloody nose and I'd bring him toilet paper and didn't really know what to do," shared the 21-year-old, adding that once she had to help Chad "clean [his] blood off the walls".

Kevin, who also appears in the docuseries, recently gave an exclusive interview to PEOPLE where he confirmed he is still working through his divorce with Ruby.

"We're trying to reach a settlement. It's been a long process, well over a year, but it's ongoing. We're close."

Kevin also shared more details about Hildebrandt, claiming she "had [him] break all of [his] friendships and relationships" until he was left alone.

"Jodi insisted that we subject ourselves to pain and discomfort," he said. "Pain and discomfort is what would change us, make us stronger."

When asked why he submitted to Hildebrandt, Kevin said: "She gets her hooks into you and slowly begins to indoctrinate you. So when that was suggested to me after all of that indoctrinating and conditioning, at the time, it seemed like, 'Oh, you're right. Okay.'"

While Kevin, Shari and Chad have been outspoken about Ruby, Franke's youngest children didn't appear in the docuseries, and have remained mostly out of the public eye since the arrest. Here's everything we know about the family now.

Listen to The Quicky discuss where Kevin Franke is now. Post continues below.

Where are Ruby Franke's kids now?

Where are Ruby Franke's youngest kids now?

After her arrest, Ruby Franke's four youngest children were taken into custody by the Division of Child and Family Services, as per The Salt Lake Tribune.

While they have stayed mostly out of the public eye, two of the girls did share statements via a letter read by their dad.

Franke's 11-year-old daughter said it took her years to realise she was uncomfortable with her life being shared online.

"I felt 'happy,' but I really wasn't. When I started getting older, I realised the YouTube channel had ruined my childhood," she said in the February 2025 letter, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

"But at least I got some money, right? Oh, right, I actually didn't, because my mum withdrew all of it in 2023. I worked hard for that money. I acted like someone I wasn't in front of the camera, and I earned that money. But I feel like my mum used me for money."

The 11-year-old continued, saying she was stuck with "the trauma of YouTube".

"Even now, I can barely make friends, because my whole life I was the centre of the attention," she said. "But now, without even realising it, I seek attention from others, or I feel like they don't like me."

Her 16-year-old sister shared a similar sentiment, saying Franke stole years' worth of the savings her mum promised as "compensation" for exploiting her childhood for content.

The girls made their statements to Utah's House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee, in support of a bill that could protect children financially when their parents feature them in their influencer content.

"You're selling your life, your privacy, your body and stories to the entire world. And as a child, you're involuntarily giving up all of that. You're selling your childhood," the 16-year-old said.

"Though there is no amount of money that can make up for that loss, the least that can be done now is making sure the child is getting paid for her work and has the right to remove it and walk away if she wants to."

Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke. Image: Instagram/@connexionscoaching.

According to KUTV, the two youngest children have reportedly "undergone medical care and have been subjected to psychological assessments and ongoing mental health treatment".

Franke's sisters, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, also made reference to the children in a public statement following Ruby's arrest.

They said for the last three years they've kept quiet on the matter, but behind closed doors were trying to "make sure the kids were safe".

"Ruby was arrested which needed to happen. Jodi was arrested which needed to happen. The kids are now safe, which is the number one priority."

Since divorcing his wife, Kevin has made a custody filing for his four youngest children, per the Salt Lake Tribune.

However, the last update on the sealed case was in February 2024, when it was still ongoing. "(Kevin) is making an effort to rebuild and bridge these relationships rather than sling mud and point fingers," his lawyer, Randy Kester, told Today. "He is focused on doing what is best for his kids."

Where is Shari Franke now?

Shari Franke. Image: Instagram/@sharilfranke

Shari Franke, 21, is the eldest daughter of Ruby Franke and Kevin Franke. She is currently getting her pre-law in English at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.

"Shari is a senior from Springville, UT. She enjoys researching electoral autocracies, and is working specifically on opposition coalitions and transitions from authoritarian regimes," as per the official BYU website.

At the end of 2024, Shari announced she was engaged. The university student posted a photo of her ring to Instagram, without any photos of her partner.

"I'm excited to share that I'm engaged! However, for me, this is the end of me sharing my private life," she wrote in the caption. "I've had my voice and agency taken for so long, and now, I'm putting my foot down. I'm not going to talk about my wedding, future husband, or future kids.

"I'll continue to advocate for kids who didn't have a voice (so you'll still be seeing me, don't worry) but this is closure for me. I'm moving on with my life, and that's true freedom and joy ❤️."

Since her mother was charged, Shari has been the most outspoken of her siblings about their childhood. Along with her father, she called on Utah lawmakers to pass legislation that would reform the family vlogging industry and protect child influencers.

Watch: Shari Franke speaks to Utah lawmakers about the dangers of family vlogs. Post continues after video.

Speaking to the Business and Labor Interim Committee, Shari said "family vlogging ruined my innocence", and claimed there was "no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger".

"If I could go back and do it all again, I'd rather have an empty bank account now and not have my childhood plastered all over the internet," she said. "No amount of money I received has made what I've experienced worth it."

That same month, Shari criticised a Lifetime film that was made about their family. On her Instagram stories, the eldest child claimed that she and her siblings were not contacted about the film and were not receiving any of the profits.

"This movie is trash, and only hurts my siblings more," she said. "Please do not support this movie."

In January 2024, Shari released a memoir where she shared further details about what unfolded in, what she called, the "house of lies".

One of the biggest revelations revolved around her mum's relationship with Hildebrandt.

In the memoir, called The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, she wrote that her room was given to the therapist, ahead of her move to college. She was forced to sleep on the sofa in the interim.

When Hildebrandt started experiencing "demonic night terrors", Shari claimed that her mother started to sleep in the same room as her business partner. The eldest daughter then alleged she snuck back into her bedroom and found candles and massage oils.

"The room was bathed in the soft glow of candles," she wrote. "The air was heavy with the scent of lavender and vanilla wafting form the massage oils on the dresser.

"I quickly grabbed what I needed and got the hell out of there, feeling like I had just walked into someone else's honeymoon suite. The only thing missing was rose petals on the bed."

Shari said that her father Kevin was "oblivious" to what his wife was doing, adding that Franke and Hildebrandt "condemned queerness very publicly" while "embodying it privately. In my room. On my bed, most likely".

Read more about Shari Franke's memoir here. 

Chad Franke. Image: Instagram

Where is Chad Franke now?

Chad is Ruby Franke and Kevin Franke's eldest son. In July 2024, he started real estate school, and he also makes video content for Twitch and Snapchat. While he hasn't been as vocal as his older sister Shari about his childhood, Chad has made some remarks about his mother.

On the one-year anniversary of Franke and Hildebrandt's arrests, Chad posted on Snapchat "Happy Prisonversary" with a photo of his mother before her arrest.

The teenager also posted a sarcastic video referencing Franke in June 2024. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chad Franke (@chadwfranke)

The video had text which read: "GOT A TATTOO OF MY MUM FOR THE SUMMER", then showed Chad wiping off the post-tattoo lotion to reveal nothing on his forearm.

When asked by one follower if he would post photos of his younger siblings on social media, Chad declined — citing their privacy.

"No, I'm sorry. They'll never be on social media again."

Where is Kevin Franke now?

Kevin Franke has been separated from Ruby Franke since 2022, and officially filed for divorce in November 2023.

In April 2024, the father-of-six sued Hildebrandt for negligence and causing intentional emotional harm, as per KSL.

Kevin had previously asked the court for restitution to finance his children's "ongoing" mental and physical treatments.

His lawsuit claimed that the children were "indoctrinated" by the therapist, and told their punishments were "necessary" to help them repent. It claimed the kids were told "repeatedly" that they were "evil and possessed", causing "severe emotional harm".

Kevin claimed he had been accessing professional therapy and coordinating with the children's treatment providers, to gain an understanding of their "conditions and needs", to help them heal.

Hildebrandt was subsequently restrained from selling her home in order to fund it.

She was later allowed to sell it, on the condition that she put $100,000 in a special bank account when the property sold, to be given to the Franke family.

Kevin Franke and Ruby Franke. Image: YouTube/8 Passengers

Three months after filing the lawsuit, Kevin addressed a legislative panel to advocate for reforms to child welfare law. Here, he read a joint statement by him and his eldest daughter, Shari Franke.

Kevin said that Hildebrandt, a licensed therapist, "knew the Utah child welfare system like the back of her hand," and "masterfully coached Ruby in navigating the child welfare loopholes".

"In a nutshell, all they had to do was 1) keep the children isolated from the world; 2) ignore the phone calls from (the Division of Child and Family Services); and, 3) not answer the door when DCFS and/or police knocked," he said.

As a result of the isolation, Kevin claimed that the government was unable to gather sufficient evidence and were, therefore, unable to intervene.

"Laws need to change," he told the panel, suggesting that reports by multiple individuals should be "considered sufficient merit" to place children in temporary protective custody, strengthen laws around emotional abuse, and clarify laws regarding child abandonment.

In February 2025, he addressed Utah lawmakers saying he wished he had never let Franke put their children's lives online.

"Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day," he told the House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

"If we, as adults, cannot understand the emotional and psychological impacts of sharing our lives to millions of strangers online, how can we expect our children to understand them?"

If you or anyone you know needs expert help, please contact Bravehearts — an organisation providing support to victims of child abuse. If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, you can get advice from the Child Abuse Protection Hotline (1800 688 009) or the 24-Hour Child Abuse Report Line (131 478).

Feature Image: Instagram/@moms_of_truth/Hulu

This article was originally published in February 2024, and has sincde been updated.