The estranged husband of disgraced ‘mommy blogger’ Ruby Franke says he lives with ‘regret’ every day over the abuse perpetrated on their children. 

Utah’s legislature had an alarming warning about the perils of online family vlogging from Kevin Franke this week. He highlighted how his family’s YouTube channel, ‘8 Passengers’, with a vast following of over two million subscribers, played a significant role in tearing his family apart.

‘Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day,’ he said. 

The father-of-six spoke almost a year since his wife was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the brutal abuse of their children. 

‘Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,’ he said. 

‘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?’  

Kevin made the remarks to the Utah House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee in support of the HB322 bill, which would provide financial assurances to children being used for online content. 

The legislation would require content creators that make over $150,000 a year to put aside 15 percent of their income for their children. 

Kevin Franke, the husband of disgraced ‘mommy blogger’ Ruby Franke, told the Utah legislature this week that he lives with ‘regret’ every day over the abuse perpetrated on their children 

The father-of-six spoke almost a year since his wife was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the brutal abuse of their children

The bill would also give children the opportunity to have the content that they appeared in to be removed from the internet once they are adults, which Kevin said he supported. 

‘(HB322 is) a great first step towards protecting child influencers here in the state of Utah, and there is much more to do in the future,’ he said. 

Kevin and Ruby had separated before her arrest in August 2023, and he was never charged with any crimes related to the abuse of their children. 

At the hearing in Utah’s legislature this week, he said he has ‘my own story and journey to share when I’m ready,’ but added: ‘Obviously now is neither the time nor the place to do that.’ 

Kevin often appeared in his wife’s videos before the YouTube account ended in 2022 and they separated, and Ruby went on to partner with Jodi Hildebrandt on a self-improvement program. 

Hildebrandt was also convicted alongside Ruby in early 2024, after one of Ruby’s children escaped her house of horrors and a neighbor found them emaciated with severe injuries. 

Kevin and Ruby had separated before her arrest in August 2023, and he was never charged with any crimes related to the abuse of their children

Ruby was arrested in August 2023 after the shocking abuse of her children came to light 

Ruby went on to partner with Jodi Hildebrandt (pictured) on a self-improvement program in 2022, before Hildebrandt was also charged with child abuse alongside Ruby 

Ruby’s child is seen moments after escaping her house of horrors and being discovered emaciated and injured by a neighbor in August 2023 

At the hearing on Tuesday, Kevin also read statements that two of his daughters, now ages 16 and 11, prepared in support of the bill. 

The 16-year-old said in her statement that if the bill had been law when she was appearing in her mother’s content, ‘my mom would not have been able to withdraw all of my savings I had from doing YouTube. 

‘This bill will prevent other kids from having to go through the pain of realizing that the compensation for years’ worth of time and effort is suddenly gone.

‘As kids, you don’t realize what you’re subjected to, really… 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. 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.’ 

The 11-year-old said that when she was appearing on the ‘8 Passengers’ YouTube account, ‘I thought nothing was wrong. 

‘I felt “happy,” but I really wasn’t,’ the statement continued. 

Ruby Franke, seen in the moment she learned she was sentenced to 30 years in prison, once commanded a YouTube subscriber following of over two million people 

‘When I started getting older, I realized the YouTube channel had ruined my childhood. But at least I got some money, right? Oh, right, I actually didn’t, because my mom 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 mom used me for money.’ 

She concluded that she is now ‘stuck with the trauma of YouTube’, and said ‘even now, I can barely make friends, because my whole life I was the center of the attention. 

‘But now, without even realizing it, I seek attention from others, or I feel like they don’t like me. Then those people think I’m mean.’ 

At the end of the hearing, HB322 was approved by the committee, and now goes to the full Utah House for consideration. 

The children told police they were tied up and subjected to cayenne pepper as punishments 

Franke and Hildebrandt first caught the attention of authorities when police rescued two of Franke’s severely malnourished and neglected children from Hildebrandt’s home.

Investigators later learned that the children were forced to do manual labor, had food kept from them, and had their hands and feet bound.

The kids were told they were evil and had to be punished, according to authorities.

‘For over three months, the two children, ages 9 and 11-12, were held by their mother and her business partner in a concentration-camp setting,’ Chief Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum said in a written statement.

‘They were regularly denied food, water, beds to sleep in, and virtually all forms of entertainment. They were also prohibited from interacting with others and were hidden in the home when people came to visit.

‘They were beaten, and the 12-year-old was bound hand and foot after he attempted to run away,’ he added.

After the horror abuse was uncovered, four of Franke’s minor children were immediately placed in protective custody. 

Footage shows the moment the 12-year-old boy manages to escape Franke’s house and goes to his neighbors house for help

Franke later accepted a plea agreement, wherein she admitted to torturing her son from May 22 through August 30 by forcing him into hours of physical tasks, summer work outdoors without adequate water and ‘repeated and serious sunburns’ that blistered.

Franke also admitted to kicking her son while wearing boots, holding his head under water and smothering his mouth and nose with her hands, according to the plea agreement.

She also acknowledged similarly abusing her nine-year-old daughter by forcing her to work outside, run on dirt roads barefoot, and go without food and water.

‘She was also repeatedly told she was evil and possessed, the punishments were necessary for her to be obedient and repent, and these things were being done to her in order to help her,’ the plea agreement said.

They are currently serving four consecutive terms between a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison.