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YouTuber Ruby Franke Denies Doing "Naughty Things" in Jail Phone Call to Husband Kevin Franke
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Date:2025-04-13 15:07:01
Content warning: This story discusses child abuse.
Prosecutors have shared more insight into Ruby Franke's mindset following her arrest.
The Washington County Attorney's Office in Utah has released a jailhouse conversation between the former YouTuber and her estranged husband Kevin Franke, in which she blamed the devil for her Aug. 30 arrest over child abuse charges.
In the phone call—which took place just two days after Ruby and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were taken into custody—Ruby told her husband, "The most upsetting thing is that I am completely misunderstood."
"Satan has taken everything away from me that I love," the 42-year-old said Sept. 1 in the call from Purgatory Correctional Facility. "And I'm a good woman. I don't do naughty things. I don't do naughty things. I'm a really good girl."
The mom of six also told Kevin that she would stay away from their kids if she were acquitted. However, Kevin predicted she would likely have legal restrictions placed on her access to the children until they reached the age of 18.
"I figured such. God told me," she said. "God told me when I was driving before I called you."
"The Spirit said, ‘Your children are gonna be removed,'" she continued. "And I just cried out loud. I'm like, ‘No, I'm not done. I'm not ready.' And God told me I'm done."
Kevin can be heard telling her at that time, "I'm committed to our family. I'm committed to you and our marriage, no matter what happens. I will be here to support you in any way that I can."
He has since filed for divorce from Ruby, with his lawyer saying the pair had been living apart from for more than a year before her arrest.
E! News has reached out to lawyers for Ruby, Kevin and Jodi for comment on the phone call but has not heard back.
Ruby—who ran the 8 Passengers YouTube channel—was sentenced Feb. 20 to four to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. Following her sentencing, her lawyer made it clear she had no intention of appealing the sentence.
The family vlogger was originally arrested over aggravated child abuse charges in August when Utah police received a report of a starving child and investigated the allegations, the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said in a press release.
Authorities determined the child was in "severe" condition, looked "emaciated and malnourished" and had "open wounds and duct tape around the extremities."
During her hearing, Ruby apologized to her children and husband.
"For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion," Ruby said in court, per the livestream on the Utah court's website. "My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me."
"I believed dark was light and right was wrong," she added while addressing her kids. "I would do anything in this world for you. I took from you all that was soft and safe, and good."
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