Washington County Attorney’s Office, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

A selection of diary entries were released by the Washington County Attorney’s Office on Friday, attesting to a popular YouTuber's abuse of her children.

Ruby Franke, a Utah-based “mommy vlogger,” meticulously chronicled her family life for a large audience—yet her personal writings reveal the disturbing truth of abuse against two of her children, who she believed were under demonic influence.

“I will not feed a demon,” Franke wrote concerning her 12-year-old son in a diary entry.

Franke and her associate were accused of subjecting her children to severe mistreatment, including starvation, forced labor, and physical abuse.

“If you can engage a weak-minded soul in a physical activity of obedience you can begin to break the bond Satan made w/ the weak,” she documented in her journal.

On one occasion, Franke detailed forcibly shaving her son's head after his refusal to work, and his subsequent attempt to flee. She described her son as a “compulsive liar” with a “cold, dead heart.” Franke's daughter was not spared, as she was labeled “manipulative” and subjected to standing in the rain for hours and being doused with “dog wash” water for voicing hunger.

The details stem from a collection of records released by the Washington County Attorney’s Office, including Franke's journals, which portray her religious zealotry and paranoia.

Franke was sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree felony child abuse. At her sentencing, Franke expressed regret, attributing her actions to following misguided counsel.

“For the past four years, I’ve chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion,” she said.

The abuse came to light when Franke's son, bearing signs of malnutrition and injuries, sought help from neighbors, leading to a police intervention. The investigation uncovered Franke's daughter in an empty closet, with police spending hours coaxing her out.

Franke's husband, Kevin, seeking a divorce, was unaware of the abuse, describing the revelations as unbelievable.

“Everything you’re telling me just sounds like a made-up story, like, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he told police. “It sounds like a horror movie.”