Jodi Nan Hildebrandt (born January 17, 1968) is an American convicted child abuser, former counselor, retired businesswoman, and YouTuber. On August 30, 2023, Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke were arrested in Washington County, Utah, and charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse of two of Franke's children under Utah law, four counts to which she pled guilty. She was sentenced to serve between four and thirty[a] years in prison on February 20, 2024.[1]
Jodi Hildebrandt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jodi Nan Hildebrandt January 17, 1968[3] |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Occupation(s) | Counselor, former YouTuber |
| Spouse |
Brenten C. Pugh
(m. 1999; div. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Conviction(s) | Aggravated child abuse (4 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | 4 to 30 years imprisonment[a] |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2 |
| Date | 2020–2023 |
Date apprehended | August 30, 2023 |
Early life
editJodi Hildebrandt was born to Jay & Florence (Haynie) Hildebrandt on January 17, 1968 in Arizona. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona and attended Canyon Del Oro High School.[5]
Jodi was brought up by devout followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and her father was an Air Force Pilot.[6]
She participated in the Miss Orem pageant in Utah in 1990.[7]
Counselor
editHildebrandt was a Utah licensed counselor from 2005.[8][9] In 2012, she was the director of LifeStar Utah County, a franchisee of a national company based in Utah that specialized in pornography addiction and sexual addiction.[10]
ConneXions
editIn 2007, Hildebrandt founded the relationship and business counseling business Connexions (styled ConneXions) in Orem, Utah.[11]
In 2012, Hildebrandt's license was put on probation for 18 months after she "disclosed sensitive confidential information" of a former client to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Brigham Young University between 2008 and 2010, according to Utah Department of Commerce's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing documents.[8][9] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that Hildebrandt was no longer on their Family Services' referral list due to the case.[10]
Hildebrandt was a business partner of family YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke,[8] launching a YouTube channel together called ConneXions in 2022,[12] and creating a joint Instagram account called Moms of Truth,[12] offering parenting classes.[13]
On August 30, 2023, Hildebrandt was arrested in Washington County, Utah, and charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse. She surrendered her license as a counselor pending resolution of the court case and a disciplinary investigation.[14][15] After the arrest of Hildebrandt and Franke, YouTube banned both from the platform.[16] After pleading guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse,[17] she was sentenced in 2024 to four terms of one to 15 years consecutively, the maximum for each count under Utah law.[18]
Hildebrandt was later sued by Kevin Franke over the child abuse she committed on his kids and for ruining his family.[19]
Adaptation
editJodi Hildebrandt appeared in the Lifetime film Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story portrayed by Heather Locklear.[20]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Each of the four counts Hildebrandt was convicted on carried a term of 1 to 15 years' imprisonment, which were ordered to be served consecutively. The minimum amount of time Hildebrandt must serve is therefore 4 years, and, absent any superseding legislation, the maximum amount of time would be 60 years; however, the Utah Code dictates that the time served by a defendant upon whom consecutive sentences (except those of life imprisonment or the death penalty) are imposed must not exceed 30 years.[1][2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke sentenced to 4 consecutive terms in prison". Deseret News. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Utah Code Section 76-3-401". le.utah.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010". ancestry.com. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- ^ "Does Jodi Hildebrandt have kids? All about her ex husband and family life amid ongoing trial". msn.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Canyon Del Oro High School Yearbook, 1984". Classmates.com.
- ^ "Jay Dustin Hildebrandt, 1932-2016". Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Orem Hopefuls Prepare for Pageant". Utah Digital Newspapers.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Rebecca. "A former client of Jodi Hildebrandt says his family and life were 'destroyed' after she spilled details of his sessions to the Mormon Church". Business Insider.
- ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20210118185629/https://dopl.utah.gov/orders/2012-32_SO_2012-01-27.pdf
- ^ a b May, Heather. "Porn therapist disciplined for telling church, BYU about man". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ Turner, Jared (September 8, 2023). "YouTuber, business partner charged with child abuse suffer apparent 'medical issues' in jail". KUTV.
- ^ a b Bubalo, Mattea (September 9, 2023). "Ruby Franke and 8 passengers: The rise and fall of a parenting influencer". BBC News. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- ^ Ables, Kelsey; Bellware, Kim (September 1, 2023). "What to know about Ruby Franke, parenting YouTuber charged with child abuse". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ "YouTube mom Ruby Franke to plead guilty in child abuse case, attorney says". ABC News.
- ^ "Jodi Hildebrandt agrees to give up counseling license amid child abuse charges". Deseret News. January 31, 2024.
- ^ Wood, Tom (September 14, 2023). "YouTube removes all Ruby Franke content and threatens to ban anyone who re-uploads any". Unilad. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Jodi Hildebrandt: YouTuber Ruby Franke's business partner pleads guilty". BBC News. December 28, 2023.
- ^ "Ruby Franke: Parenting advice YouTuber given maximum sentence for child abuse". BBC News. February 20, 2024.
- ^ El-Bawab, Nadine (April 12, 2024). "Ruby Franke's husband sues her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt over child abuse". ABC News. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ Picotti, Tyler (October 3, 2024). "The Story of Ruby Franke's Chilling Spiral from Popular "Momfluencer" to Convicted Felon". Biography. Retrieved October 27, 2024.