In this Dec. 18, 2023 file photo Ruby Franke is seen during a hearing in St. George, Utah.The amount of time Franke spends in jail will be up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
"I was led to believe that this world was an evil place filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abuse," Franke said. Franke's son was physically tortured and "forced to do physical tasks for hours and days at a time," per the plea agreement. He was forced to do outside labor without shoes in the summer heat, standing in direct sunlight for several days resulting in "repeated and serious sunburns with blistered and sloughing skins," the agreement said.Ron Chaffin/St.
Franke and another adult tried to convince the boy that he was "evil and possessed. And that he needed to willingly be obedient to avoid punishments. And that the punishments were necessary to repent," the plea said. "Ruby Franke wants to take responsibility for the harm she has caused to her children and to her entire family. She knows that by pleading guilty and accepting the punishment, she is taking a step in the right direction to be accountable for her actions," Franke's attorneys said in a statement to ABC News in December.Prosecutor Eric Clarke told reporters after the sentencing that he hopes Hildebrandt will serve more time than Franke.