5 key details about Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence

Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence is a four-part true crime docuseries that premiered on Investigation Discovery on Monday, September 1. Viewers can stream the episodes on HBO Max or through platforms like Philo, DirecTV, and Sling Blue. It can also be viewed after purchasing a bundled Hulu and Disney+ subscription for a discounted price.

Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence looks into the case of YouTuber Ruby Franke and her former business partner, counselor Jodi Hildebrandt. They were caught in August 2023 and charged with and pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated child abuse in February 2024, as per CBS News.

Franke was once known for her family-oriented, now-defunct YouTube channel 8 Passengers. Hildebrandt was a counselor and the founder of the ConneXions program, found to be operating under manipulative and dangerous beliefs.

Their practices went far beyond therapy, leading to severe physical and emotional abuse of Franke’s children inside Hildebrandt’s Utah home.

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Some key facts about Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence

1) Franke followed Hildebrandt’s extreme religious ideology

The Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects shared a close friendship (Image via Unsplash)

Ruby Franke was well-known on YouTube for her parenting program 8 Passengers, which pushed a strict and religious home life. When she met Jodi Hildebrandt, the founder of the ConneXions program, it changed her life and the way she raised her kids. What began as a business relationship quickly turned into a very close friendship.

According to People magazine, published on September 1, 2025, Hildebrandt had a long-standing pattern of psychological abuse. Her niece, Jessi, shared that Hildebrandt believed she was fighting Satan through controlling behavior.

“A lot of what she would tell me is, Satan is working through you. Jesus is literally, not figuratively, working through her. And that I should be grateful because she was saving me from Satan,” Jessi said.

This kind of thinking became central in her work with Franke, who adopted Hildebrandt’s ideology, which soon influenced how she treated her children. Together, they created an environment of harsh discipline, disguised as spiritual correction.

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2) ConneXions became a tool for control for Hildebrandt

ConneXions became a platform for the Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects to promote their ideologies (Image via Unsplash)

Jodi Hildebrandt ran a self-help and therapy group called ConneXions, which she presented as a faith-based counseling program. Founded in 2012, the program offered promises to help “flourish” relationships through parental and marital advice, as per People magazine. Ruby Franke not only started to use these methods, but she also helped make them more popular.

Former clients, including Jessi, described the teachings as abusive.

“She focused on the things that brought me the most identity and took them from me,” Jessi said.

This refers to how Hildebrandt banned the children from studying, playing piano, or using makeup. Jessi was even allegedly made to sleep outside on the balcony in freezing temperatures.

ConneXions used spiritual language to justify the abuse, as per the outlet. Franke’s household became a test zone for these teachings. The docuseries presents this through first-hand interviews and expert analysis, showing how religion and therapy were twisted into tools of harm.

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3) Franke’s 12-year-old son’s escape exposed the Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects

Franke’s son’s escape exposed the Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects (Image via Getty)

The horrifying truth of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt’s actions came to light when the former’s 12-year-old son escaped the latter’s Utah home in August 2023. He had been starved, bound, and injured. The boy climbed out of a window and went to a neighbor’s house for help, as per CBS News. The neighbor immediately called 911.

Police discovered another child of Franke, 9-year-old Eve, inside the house in a similar condition, malnourished and physically abused. Authorities found torture tools, including rope, handcuffs, and records of severe punishments like plunging the child’s head into water and dressing wounds with cayenne pepper and honey, as per Associated Press.

These findings led to the immediate arrest of both women. According to prosecutors, the children were subjected to “concentration camp-like” conditions.

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4) A pattern of psychological and physical abuse by the Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects was exposed

The Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects perpetrated psychological and physical abuse (Image via Unsplash)

The abuse was not limited to physical violence. The docuseries explores the psychological warfare used by Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke. Jessi Hildebrandt, who lived with Jodi in their teens, was allegedly forced to accept that they were a sinner beyond repair, as per People magazine.

“I believed all of this so fully and thoroughly that I deserved this, that God was testing me. And if I can just get through this, then I’ll be a good righteous Mormon child,” they said.

Jessi was reportedly forced to run for hours, duct-taped across the mouth, and limited to seven-minute showers. Even tampons were forbidden, with Hildebrandt accusing Jessi of being a s*x addict.

The abuse was perpetrated by making the victims feel guilty for their pain. Franke used these same methods in her home, punishing her children harshly and cutting them off from their father and siblings, as per the outlet.

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5) The Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects were convicted on multiple counts of child abuse

The Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence subjects were convicted on four counts of child abuse (Image via Unsplash)

After their arrest, both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse. In early 2024, they were each sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, meaning they could spend up to 30 years in prison, as per CBS News.

“With Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence, ID continues to do what we do best—go beyond the headlines to expose the deeper truths behind cultural flashpoints... this docuseries peels back the layers of that relationship... to explore the broader implications of family vlogging and the devastating impact of family abuse,” said Jason Sarlanis, President of Investigation Discovery.

Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence explores the larger danger posed by influencers misusing their platform and the risks of unregulated self-help programs.

The thought that Jodi could be released one day still haunts Jessi.

“The idea that she could somehow get herself out of this is terrifying to me,” they said to People magazine.

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Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence is now streaming on HBO Max, Investigation Discovery, and platforms like Philo, DirecTV, and Sling Blue.