The “power” and “public image” of disgraced Utah parenting blogger and mom of six Ruby Franke, who is facing up to 30 years in prison for child abuse, allowed her crimes against her children to go “unchecked,” according to a criminal defense attorney.

Franke, 43, and Jodi Hildebrandt, a 55-year-old mother of two, ran a joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel called ConneXions Classrooms before they were arrested and pleaded guilty to four of six counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse in a St. George courtroom in December 2023.

“Cases of child abuse are unfortunately familiar, but this one stands out for how power, public image and systemic failures allowed it to go on unchecked,” Jamie E. Wright, a Los Angeles millennial trial attorney and founder/CEO of the Wright Law Firm, told Fox News Digital. “Over the years, Franke built up an online persona as the perfect mom, giving parenting advice to millions. But behind the carefully constructed smiles was a darker truth — a world of starvation, isolation and brutal punishment.”

Wright added that the Franke/Hildebrandt case is “a sobering reminder that social media can mask dysfunction with a gleaming facade.”

The demise of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt ended with the pals and business partners in prison.

“Franke wasn’t just another influencer; she was a sort of moral authority,” Wright said. “Her fall has sparked a conversation about how child welfare regulations should apply to content creators, and what ethical obligations content creators have to the subjects of their work. How do we protect children in digital media How do we ensure that they’re protected and that their rights and privacy are protected?”

Franke and Hildebrandt were both sentenced to serve four consecutive terms between a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 60 years in prison.

Ruby Franke spoke publicly for the first time at her sentencing hearing last year.

Movie poster for “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.” (Hulu)

“For the past four years, I’ve chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion,” a teary Franke said in a statement at the time. “My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me. I was led to believe this world was an evil place, filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect, children who need abuse.” 

She continued: “To my babies, my six little chicks, you are part of me,” she continued. “I was the momma duck who was consistently waddling you to safety. … In the past four years, I was consistently leading you to danger.”

The case has prompted discussions about how parenting and lifestyle blogs often present only a sliver of a person’s or family’s reality, as well as children’s rights to their own privacy if their parent is a social media star.