“I knew that they were weird,” says Bonnie Hoellein of her sister Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt, calling the pair’s controversial parenting advice “bullcrap.”
Ruby Franke’s sister is speaking out following Ruby’s arrest on felony abuse charges.
Bonnie Hoellein took to YouTube Wednesday, where she said that she and her family “did not know” about Ruby’s alleged abusive behavior until more recently after reconnecting with her niece Shari.
“We did not know what they were doing,” Hoellein, a fellow Vlogger, said in the video, claiming that she and Ruby’s husband, Kevin Franke, had become estranged from the rest of the family.
“We were cut off,” she continued. “We did not have access to anyone.”
In the video, Hollein made a point of stating how she is different from Ruby and she is not to be blamed for her sister’s alleged misdeeds.
“I am not my sister,” Hollein said. “I am not my sister’s mistakes.”
Hoellein claims that Ruby and Kevin — who were separated at the time of Ruby’s arrest — began shutting themselves off from the family nearly three years ago when Ruby began spending more time with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.
From there, Ruby and Hildebrandt launched the “Moms of Truth” page that offered divisive parenting advice.
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“It was all bullcrap,” Hoellein added. “It was complete indoctrination of this thing that they created. I don’t agree with how extreme they are on everything. I knew that they were weird.”
Hollein said it wasn’t until her family reconnected with Ruby and Kevin’s eldest daughter, Shari, who had begun distancing herself from her mother, that they gleaned what was allegedly going on behind closed doors.
“It was then that we were learning slowly, bits and pieces of more, and that’s where the part of behind the scenes, we did everything that we could,” Hollein said. “We did everything legally that we could do.”
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Ruby’s husband Kevin claims he felt equally blindsided, with his lawyer, Randy S. Kester, telling the Law&Crime’s Sidebar podcast Tuesday that his client had no idea the kids could have been in danger — saying Ruby was emotionally “controlling him because she knew how much he valued their marriage and valued their family and it was his desire to be able to get back with the family and preserve his marriage.” Had Kevin had any inkling of abuse, said Kester, “he would have been down there in two seconds.”
Ruby and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, were both formally charged with six counts of felony aggravated child abuse of Ruby and Kevin’s six children — Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell and Eve — last week. The pair are accused of “a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture; starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life; and causing severe emotional harm” to two children, per CBS News.
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If found guilty, each of the six counts could lead to a prison sentence ranging from one to 15 years, as well as a fine up to $10,000, according to a statement received by NBC News.
Ruby and Hildebrandt were arrested at Hildebrandt’s home last week after one of Ruby’s six children allegedly climbed out of a window and fled to a neighbor’s home asking for help.
The 12-year-old boy appeared “emaciated and malnourished” and had “open wounds and duct tape around the extremities,” according to the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department.
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After police received information that others “in similar condition” may be inside the home, they searched the residence and said they found “another juvenile in a similar physical condition of malnourishment,” Ruby’s 10-year-old daughter, per NBC News.
A subsequent search warrant was issued leading to Ruby’s four minor children being placed with the Department of Child and Family Services.
Neither Ruby nor Hildebrandt have entered pleas to any of the six felony child abuse charges they face. Both women are due back in court on September 21 and are currently being held in a Washington County jail in Utah without bail.
