YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke may be 'kept in isolation for her own safety' as she is moved from Purgatory prison and into new facility just a week into her sentence for child abuse

YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke has been transferred from a county jail to a state prison only a week into her sentence for brutally abusing two of her own children in a 'concentration camp-like setting.'

Franke, 42, along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, was moved from the Purgatory Correctional Facility to the Utah State Correctional Facility after they were sentenced on child abuse charges last Tuesday, according to the The Sun.

She was sentenced to between one to 15 years in prison for each count - up to 60 years in total, but state law means she can only serve a maximum of 30 years.

Franke's exact jail time will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole  after her attorney said she will not appeal and is prepared to serve her time.

Ruby Franke was transferred from the Purgatory Correctional Facility to the Utah State Correctional Facility only a week into her sentence for brutally abusing two of her own children in a 'concentration camp-like setting' 

Franke, who has six children in total, pleaded guilty last year to four counts of child abuse after one of her young children escaped and alerted a neighbor to their suffering 

Franke was moved from the Purgatory Correctional Facility to the Utah State Correctional Facility (pictured) after they were sentenced on child abuse charges last Tuesday

Franke showed signs of remorse during her time at Purgatory Correctional Facility (pictured), also known as the Washington County Jail

Franke, who has six children in total, pleaded guilty last year to four counts of child abuse after one of her young children escaped and alerted a neighbor to their suffering.

During her time spent in the Purgatory Correctional Facility, also known as the Washington County Jail, prosecutors said Franke showed signs of remorse.

The minimum-security county jail houses 400 to 500 people, including detainees from all over Washington County.

About a four-hour drive from the Purgatory jail is the Utah State Prison, which began operations in 2022 and can house up to 3,000 inmates. 

Located five miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport, the 200-arce facility range from minimum security to supermax. 

According to records from the Utah Department of Corrections, several housing sections at the state prison feature floor-to-ceiling windows, providing inmates with the opportunity to 'enjoy natural light and views of the surrounding mountains.'

But experts suggest that Franke's time at the prison could be difficult due to her child abuse convictions.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said that Franke will likely spend a few days in isolation due to the potential danger posed by other inmates. 

'People that are accused of abusing children - they're loathed by the other inmates who will often retaliate against them,' he said. 

'She may have to be kept in isolation just for her own safety, especially given the high-profile nature of the case,' Rahmani added. 

The disgraced YouTube mommy blogger was sentenced to between one to 15 years in prison for each count - up to 60 years in total, but state law means she can only serve a maximum of 30 years 

Before her sentencing, she read out a brief statement in which she said she 'sincerely loved' the children she'd spent years abusing

The Utah State Correctional Facility began operations in 2022 and can house up to 3,000 inmates

The 200-arce prison is five miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport and ranges from minimum security to supermax cells

The criminal 'Momfluencer' became an internet sensation thanks to her YouTube channel 8 Passengers where millions of viewers watched how she and then husband, Kevin Franke, raised, and disciplined, their six children.

But late last year, shocking claims emerged that Franke, a Mormon, had spent years abusing her children. 

Franke was arrested alongside her business partner Hildebrandt and the pair pleaded guilty in late December.

Chief Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum said in a written statement last week that Franke and Hildebrandt's actions amounted to 'some of the worst child abuse' he had seen in nearly 30 years of prosecuting. 

'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. 

'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'.

He added that the children were forced to do manual labor outdoors in the extreme summer heat without shoes or socks. 

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

In court, Franke broke down in tears as she told her ex husband Kevin Franke, who was present in the courtroom, that he was the love of her life.

'I'm sorry to leave you to finish what we both started together. The ending of our marriage is a tragedy and you were wrapped around my heart,' she said.

Franke did not turn to face her ex-husband, who was moved to tears as he sat head bowed behind her in the courtroom. Beside him were Franke's oldest children, Chad and Shari.

She also apologized to her six children for the suffering she had caused them. 

'To my babies, my six little chicks. You are part of me. I can see now that over the past four years I was in a deep undercurrent that led us to danger,' she said.

'I would never have led you to darkness knowingly... I was led to believe that this world is an evil place.'

Franke added: 'I took from you all that was soft and safe and good. I took from you your mother. How terrifying this must have been for you … You are so precious to me … I'm sorry.'

She told Judge Walton: 'I am humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence … I understand this is going to take time.'

Ruby Franke, (left) who ran the now-defunct 8 Passengers channel, was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right) on August 30

The initial arrests occurred in August of last year after Franke's 12-year-old child crawled out of a window in Hildebrandt's home, malnourished and with tape on his ankles. Pictured: Franke with her husband Kevin

Kevin - who has previously demanded Hildebrandt pay for their children's medical treatment - called for them to see significant jail time.

'We trust the judge to sentence them both to 1-15 years for each of the four counts, to run consecutively, and then let the Utah State Board of Pardons decide if that should be shortened or other conditions imposed,' his attorney said in a statement.

Following the sentencing, Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said: 'This is a case about religious extremism. The defendants appear to have fully believed that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to reach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies.

'Hildebrandt regularly stated that God communicated directly with her and gave her directions. Franke accepted Hildebrandt as her leader and followed her instructions and guidance.' 

The prosecutor's note went on to say that while in jail, these last five months, 'Franke has shown considerable remorse for her horrific acts'.

It added: 'Hildebrandt, on the other hand, continues to see herself as the victim. She views the devil, as well as the children, as the perpetrators.

'In a recorded conversation after she pled [sic] guilty, Hildebrandt even compared herself to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in her perceived unjust incarceration.' 

The initial arrests occurred in August of last year after Franke's 12-year-old child crawled out of a window in Hildebrandt's home, malnourished and with tape on his ankles.

He made it to a neighbor's house, where the Good Samaritan proceeded to call 911.

'I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here in my front door asking for help,' said the neighbor on the harrowing 911 call.

'We know there's been problems at this neighbor's house. He's emaciated. He's got tape around his legs. He's hungry and he's thirsty.'

The child accused 'Jodi' of tying him up and using cayenne pepper as well as using honey to treat the wounds caused by the tape. 

He was rushed to a local hospital. Not long after, his 10-year-old sister was found in the same home, also malnourished.

Franke sobbed in a Utah court on Tuesday as she was told she faces up to 30 years in jail for the brutal abuse of two of her own children

Hildebrandt pictured in court in December 2023. She had formerly been a mental health counselor in Utah

Judge John J. Walton accepted Franke's plea agreement in December.

In the plea agreement, Franke admits that she tortured 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.

He was denied food or given very plain meals, and he was isolated from other people without access to books, notebooks or electronics.

After he tried to run away in July, his hands and feet were regularly bound, sometimes with handcuffs.

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.

'He was also told that everything that was being done to him were acts of love,' the agreement states.

Franke 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.

The girl 'was convinced' what her mother said was true, the agreement said.