Where Is Jodi Hildebrandt Now? Her Prison Sentence & More
In 2023, Jodi Hildebrandt was arrested alongside popular YouTuber Ruby Franke in Utah. The case garnered national attention due to Franke’s popularity on social media, where she gave fans an insight into her life with husband Kevin Franke and their six kids.
Things on Franke’s 8 Passengers YouTube channel took a turn when she struck up a friendship with Hildebrandt, a Utah-based counselor who founded a program called ConneXions. Viewers began noticing troubling behavior in Franke’s videos and started expressing concern over her strict parenting styles.
Everything came to a head when one of Franke’s sons, who was 12 years old at the time, escaped from Hildebrandt’ house and received help from a neighbor, who called 911 after witnessing the child’s emaciated body, tape around his legs, and more troubling signs. The call led to an investigation that eventually resulted in Franke and Hildebrandt’s deaths.
With Hildebrandt’s story being explored in the upcoming Netflix documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, scroll down for everything we know about her arrest and what she’s doing today.
Why was Jodi Hildebrandt arrested?
After Franke’s son sought help from Hildebrandt’s neighbor in August 2023, police searched her Utah home and found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter in a similar troubling state. She and Franke were charged with six counts of felony aggravated child abuse.
According to a press release, both defendants were specifically accused of “causing or permitting serious physical injury to the victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm.”
Moms of Truth/Instagram
Franke and her younger children moved into Hildebrandt’s home in May 2023. At the time, the YouTuber and her husband were separated in an effort to save their marriage, per Hildebrandt’s instructions in their ConneXions classes. During their search of Hildebrandt’s home, police found Franke’s journals, where she described the abuse she inflicted upon her two youngest children, which included physical labor in the scorching sun.
In December 2023, Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. Days earlier, Franke also pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse as part of a plea deal, in which she agreed to testify against Hildebrandt. However, she never had to testify after Hildebrandt entered her own guilty plea.
How long is Jodi Hildebrandt’s prison sentence?
Hildebrandt and Franke were both sentenced to four consecutive prison terms that could range from one to 15 years each. The length of the prison sentences will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
The women received their sentences in February 2024. Their prison sentences could range from four to 60 years based on the charges, but Utah law prevents consecutive sentences from exceeding 30 years, so that would be the maximum time they serve, according to Insider.
Where is Jodi Hildebrandt now?
Hildebrandt is currently serving her prison sentence at Utah State Correctional Facility. In December 2026, she will make her first appearance in front of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
“I hope that Jodi serves more time than [the minimum] and I hope that she isn’t out of prison until everybody is completely confident that she’s no longer a risk,” prosecutor Eric Clarke said. “And to get there, she’s going to have to acknowledge that she has done wrong and that you can’t use religion as a means to justify your crazy behavior.”
Clarke said there are telephone conversations that will be provided to the Board of Pardons and Parole which feature Hildebrandt “repeatedly [claiming] that she is the victim and the children are the perpetrators.”
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, Tuesday, December 30, Netflix.
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The 3rd paragraph of the story that begins, "Everything came to a head...", ends with, "The call led to an investigation that eventually resulted in Franke and Hildebrandt’s deaths." Should it have said, "The call led to an investigation that eventually resulted in Franke and Hildebrandt’s arrests."?
It is so hard to be serving time in prison if you are dead.
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I thought that too
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Now you know why the Mormon church is so dangerous. They teach to blindly and obediently follow anyone who professes to getting messages from God. Mormons are ripe pickings for somebody like Jodi Hildebrant.
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Fix typo! typo in the story: The call led to an investigation that eventually resulted in Franke and Hildebrandt’s deaths. (instead of deaths, it should say arrests!).
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I am a faithful, believing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. I have found my faith community to be a very safe place for me and my husband and our four children. I have found the best, most loving people in my life inside my church, it really feels like home, and a place where Jesus is right there beside us. That doesn't mean we won't sometimes be disappointed and even horrified when a member of our church commits a crime... what do you expect out of 17 million people, that no one is going to commit a serious crime? You would be wise to get to know some members instead of engaging in hate speech, and to heed the counsel of Christ in the scriptures to judge not that ye be not judged. We can all make a wise and righteous judgment to the degree that we know that what Ruby and Jodi did was evil and inexcusable, but beyond that, I'm calling out unrighteous judgment. Members are more horrified than anyone that something so terrible could happen in our community. We have always been taught to love and nurture our children, to be faithful spouses, to reach out in service to those in need both in and out of our church, and the preciousness of children and family. There are people who make horrendous choices in every faith tradition and church. You can't blame a whole church for the terrible actions of individual members. We mourn with those who mourn and desire to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and are 100% willing to help Ruby's/Jodi's victims.
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Your negative bias and hate speech is the kind of thing that got innocent church members killed in Grand Blanc. Too many people are willing to throw around hate and invective, and for some reason this has been happening for over 200 years. Did you know that The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the most hated faith group? Did you know that the members of the church have the kindest feelings of any other group toward other churches? Did you know that church members, while also taking care of their own, considered the terrible burden of the Grand Blanc murderer's family, and raised over $300,000 to help them through their trauma? Did you know that people all around the world hope for members to be near them when there is a natural disaster or crisis? Did you know that members of the church are the most Bible studying Christian faith? Did you know that church members give more money and time per capita to charitable causes than any other faith? Did you know that we have many thousands of people join the church every year who never thought they ever would, because they had been scared to death by their own churches and the internet? Did you know that we have over 80,000 young adult men and women who pay their way ($9K-12K) to go share their faith in Jesus Christ for 1 1/2-2 year missions? Come and see, read and pray. We don't ask anyone to join us who has not received guidance about it from God! Learn of Him! Come unto Him! Follow Him! Serve Him!
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