Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story — What Happened (Timeline)
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story — What Happened (Timeline)
Updated: January 9, 2026
Jodi Hildebrandt built a public reputation as a relationship counselor and “truth” coach. Then, in August 2023, a child escaped her home in Ivins, Utah, and the case exploded into one of the most disturbing influencer scandals in recent memory—ultimately ending in guilty pleas and prison time for Hildebrandt and parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke.
Quick summary
- Hildebrandt was a Utah counselor and founder of the ConneXions brand, later heavily involved in online “truth”/parenting content with Ruby Franke.
- On August 30, 2023, one of Franke’s children escaped Hildebrandt’s home and asked a neighbor for help; police later found another child in similar condition.
- Hildebrandt and Franke were charged, later pleaded guilty to multiple counts, and were sentenced on February 20, 2024, to consecutive prison terms (indeterminate 1–15 years per count) with Utah’s consecutive-time cap applying.
- The case resurfaced in late 2025 with Netflix’s documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story.
Video: courtroom coverage & key updates
If you don’t see the video above (some sites block embeds), you can still follow the case through reputable outlets and official case summaries linked later in this post.
More YouTube viewing
Who is Jodi Hildebrandt?
Before the criminal case, Jodi Hildebrandt was widely known in parts of Utah as a counselor and the founder of ConneXions (also styled ConneXions Classroom). Over time, her work blurred into a more public-facing, content-driven “coaching” style—especially once she teamed up with Ruby Franke (the mom behind the former “8 Passengers” family YouTube channel).
The Hildebrandt/Franke partnership was not just professional. Reporting and later documentaries describe an increasingly intense dynamic that isolated Franke from family relationships and moved the center of decision-making into Hildebrandt’s orbit—an important context for understanding how the abuse escalated behind closed doors.
Timeline: what happened (key dates)
| Date | What happened | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2007 | Hildebrandt becomes established in Utah as a counselor and later founds ConneXions. | Sets the credibility foundation that later helped her attract clients and followers. |
| 2012 | Hildebrandt’s counseling license is disciplined/probationed in Utah (widely reported as connected to confidentiality/ethics issues). | Shows that professional red flags existed years before the influencer-era controversy. |
| 2019 | Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke connect; over time their collaboration deepens. | This relationship becomes the bridge between “therapy/coaching” and a mass online audience. |
| 2022 | Franke and Hildebrandt expand parenting/morality messaging online (including “Moms of Truth”). | The content builds a community, authority, and an us-vs-them worldview. |
| May 2023 | According to later reporting and case summaries, the situation in Hildebrandt’s home escalates into severe abuse of Franke’s two youngest children. | This is the period prosecutors say became life-threatening and systematic. |
| August 30, 2023 | A child escapes Hildebrandt’s Ivins, Utah, home and seeks help from a neighbor; authorities respond and arrest Hildebrandt and Franke. | The moment the private reality becomes a criminal case. |
| September 19, 2023 | Utah licensing officials obtain a surrender/limitation arrangement affecting Hildebrandt’s ability to practice while the case is pending. | Shows the parallel “professional accountability” track beyond criminal court. |
| December 18, 2023 | Ruby Franke pleads guilty (as reported by multiple outlets) to reduced counts under a plea agreement framework. | Locks in key admissions without a full trial. |
| December 27, 2023 | Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to multiple counts of aggravated child abuse. | Major turning point: the case will resolve at sentencing rather than trial. |
| February 20, 2024 | Sentencing: both women receive consecutive indeterminate prison terms (1–15 years per count), with Utah’s consecutive sentencing cap applied in practice. | The court imposes the maximum structure available under the plea terms; parole authorities determine actual time served. |
| December 30, 2025 | Netflix releases Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, renewing attention on Hildebrandt’s role and pattern of influence. | The story shifts from “breaking news” to a broader cultural and systems conversation. |
Note: Many details about minors are intentionally kept general here. The court record contains disturbing specifics; most readers don’t need those details to understand what happened and why it matters.
Social proof of the moment the case went mainstream
Courtroom clips and breaking updates spread fast on social platforms during sentencing. Here’s one example from a major legal-news account:
What was proven in court (high level)
Hildebrandt and Franke ultimately admitted guilt through plea agreements that described a pattern of serious abuse against two of Franke’s children. Prosecutors and later official summaries described the abuse as extreme, involving isolation, deprivation, physical restraint, and a worldview that framed the children as “bad” or “in need of harsh correction.”
At sentencing, the judge imposed consecutive prison terms. Under Utah’s indeterminate sentencing system, a parole board (rather than the judge) has major power over how long someone actually stays incarcerated within the minimum/maximum range.
How influence, “life coaching,” and isolation helped it scale
The most unsettling part of this story is not just that abuse happened—it’s how a public brand and “self-improvement” language can camouflage control. The ConneXions/Moms of Truth message emphasized honesty and personal responsibility, but critics and former participants describe a pattern where “truth” became a weapon: if you disagreed, you were labeled dangerous, immoral, or “in distortion.”
In many coercive-control dynamics, isolation does the heavy lifting. When one person becomes the gatekeeper for what’s “real,” who’s “safe,” and who should be cut off, it becomes easier to normalize escalating cruelty inside the bubble—and harder for outsiders to intervene.
Instagram embeds (archival examples from the “Moms of Truth” era)
The account below was part of the public-facing brand associated with Hildebrandt and Franke. If any embedded post displays minors on your site, consider removing it to protect their privacy.
Where are they now?
As of January 2026, Hildebrandt is incarcerated in Utah following the February 2024 sentencing. Ruby Franke is also serving her sentence. Their exact release timelines depend on parole board decisions within the court-ordered ranges.
FAQ
Why do headlines say “4 to 30 years” if it was “1 to 15 years per count”?
Because the judge ordered consecutive sentences across multiple counts. In Utah, each count can be 1–15 years (indeterminate), so stacked counts create a larger overall range, but state law limits how long consecutive terms can be served in many cases. The parole board decides where the actual time served falls within that framework.
Was “Moms of Truth” the same as “8 Passengers”?
No. “8 Passengers” was Ruby Franke’s family vlogging brand. “Moms of Truth” was the later parenting/morality content associated with Franke and Hildebrandt.
Why did this case hit so hard culturally?
It collided three forces: (1) influencer trust, (2) the authority of therapy/coaching language, and (3) the vulnerability of children in monetized family-content ecosystems. It’s also a rare case where the “brand” wasn’t just controversial—it was connected to criminal convictions.