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The former husband of convicted child abuser Ruby Franke says he believes she was a part of a sect with her business partner.
During an interview with the Washington County Attorney’s Office, Kevin Franke, Ruby’s husband, labeled his wife’s experience as being involved in a “religious cult” with her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt. He also mentioned that he found it peculiar that the pair shared a bed.
“They started sleeping in the same bed, then [Ruby] started having, like, trances and stuff,” he said.
Kevin also said his ex joined an organization called “ConneXions” after forming a close relationship with Hildebrand. Ruby Franke then, according to Kevin, began talking about seeing and talking to Jesus.
“I would say it was probably around September where she believed that she was going to heaven and seeing God and Jesus and talking with them.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested in August after one of Hildebrandt’s neighbors called police to report that a child knocked on their door, asking for food and water.
“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 neighbor’s house and you know, there’s been problems at this neighbor’s house,” the neighbor told the dispatcher.
“He’s emaciated, he’s got tape around his legs, he’s hungry and he’s thirsty.”
Officers went to Hildebrandt’s home and encountered another child, a 10-year-old girl, who was taken for treatment and deemed malnourished by medical professionals.
Hildebrandt directly cared for the children, but police said Franke was aware of the abuse as she filmed a YouTube video in Hildebrandt’s basement two days before the incident.
Both were subsequently convicted of child abuse. Franke was sentenced to up to 32 years in prison, while Hildebrandt was sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars.
Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke told Law&Crime that Franke was Hildebrandt’s “blind follower,” but said he didn’t feel like the relationship was romantic.
“I see Ruby as a religious acolyte, a blind follower of Jodi,” he said. “Initially, we were like, ‘What is this relationship? Is there more there than a business or friendship?’ I don’t think there was.”
“I think this is two people where Jodi is saying, ‘Hey, I had a dream last night from God and this is what we need to do,’ and Ruby was to a point in her life that she had separated herself from her husband, her extended family, her adult children… she was completely isolated.”
The information surfaced after prosecutors released a trove of records related to the case, including copies of Franke’s journal and calls she made to people while behind bars between August and December.
In one conversation in August, Franke asked her husband whether her case was getting attention.
“Are we in the news?” Franke asked.
Her husband, Kevin, responded, “It sounds like that at least you’re in the news. I don’t know about me.”
“This is a witch hunt!” Franke responded. “’The devil has been after me for years.”
“Adults have a really hard time understanding that children can be full of evil, and what that takes to fight it,” Franke can be heard telling Kevin that same day, according to the audio obtained by Law&Crime.
Ruby Franke ultimately apologized to Kevin and their children during her sentencing hearing.
“For the past four years, I’ve chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion,” she said.
“My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me.”
[Feature Photo: Franke and Hildebrandt/Instagram]
