Ruby Franke, Jodi Hildebrandt parole hearing scheduled for 2026, here’s what that means

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt — the YouTube vlogger and therapist who pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in December — will have their first parole hearing in December 2026, according to court documents signed Sunday.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole determined both Franke and Hildebrandt would have their original hearing approximately three years after they pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.

While the exact date and time of the hearings will be decided later on, parole officials said they will take place in December of 2026.

In February, both Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced to serve between four and 30 years in state prison. The charges would add up to 60 years (one to 15 years per count), however, Utah law caps consecutive sentences at a maximum of 30 years in prison.

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested and charged in September 2023 after Franke’s child allegedly escaped through the window of a house owned by Hildebrandt. Police say the child had duct tape on their ankles and wrists and was asking a neighbor for food and water.

State prosecutors would later claim that the offenders put Franke’s children in a “concentration camp-like setting,” regularly denied them food and water, and subjected them to “physical torture.”

What to expect from the parole meeting

An original parole meeting in Utah generally consists of one member from the Board of Pardons and Paroles who interviews the offender and reviews the conviction and sentence, the BOP’s website states.

Attorneys and parole officers are allowed to attend, as well as victims who are permitted to give a statement if they so choose.

After the hearing, the board then decides between scheduling the offender’s parole date, terminating the sentence without parole, scheduling a rehearing for later on, or ordering the offender to serve the entire sentence.

The website says it takes two to four weeks for the board to make the decision and notify the offender. This means by January 2027, Franke and Hildebrandt could be given a release date, a follow-up hearing later on, or ordered to serve the full 30 years.

In the meantime, the board ordered Ruby and Hildebrandt to attend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and get a complete mental health evaluation before the hearing.

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