Lifetime’s ‘Mormon Mother Did Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story,’ directed by Kevin Fair, explores the true story of how this happened Ruby Franke and his business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, turned their lives into a nightmare by abusing and torturing their ex-children. Since the drama film dramatizes various aspects of real events for entertainment purposes, questions are bound to arise about the real-life Jodi – her role in the torture and where she is now.

Jodi Hildebrandt was a Licensed Counselor and Owner of ConneXions Classroom

Jay and Florence (Haynie) Hildebrandt welcomed Jodi Nan Hildebrandt into their world on January 17, 1968, in Arizona. Raised in Tucson, Arizona, with the love and support of her loved ones, she graduated cum laude from Canyon Del Oro High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Brigham Young University in 1996. He then continued his master’s degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. Along with academics, religion was also an important aspect of his life, as he grew up among devout followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1990, when she was in her early 20s, she also participated in the Miss Orem pageant in Utah. By 2005, Jodi became a licensed counselor in Utah, where she moved. At the time, he was working as Program Director at Cirque Lodge. A few years later, he founded a relationship and business consulting organization called ConneXions Classroom in Orem, Utah. In 2012, he served as manager of LifeStar Utah County when his license was compromised for approximately 18 months after reports surfaced that he had disclosed confidential information about one of his former clients between 2008 and 2010.

Over the years, Jodi’s clients at ConneXions Classrooms have claimed that her classes encourage people to cut off all ties with others who have views and opinions different from their own. Therefore, according to his former clients, it is claimed that life coaching service, in a way, does more harm than good. Standing behind these claims, Jodi teamed up with business partner and YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke and launched a ConneXions YouTube channel in 2022 to spread her teachings to more people around the world.

Jodi Hildebrandt Partnered with Ruby Franke and Tortured Ruby Franke’s Children

They also created a joint Instagram account called Moms of Truth. Working together, they were also responsible for keeping Ruby’s two children (a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter) in a room in Jodi’s home and regularly physically torturing them. According to the information obtained, one of the children had to do physical work such as work, staying under the sun for hours in the summer heat, without shoes. When he tried to escape in July 2023, he was caught by two business partners and handcuffed around his wrists and one of his ankles.

After about a month, Ruby’s son finally managed to get out of Jodi’s house through a window. The first thing he did was go to a neighbor and ask for help. According to the information obtained, it was stated that the child was malnourished and had serious sunburns on his body. When police intervened, they learned that Ruby’s 10-year-old daughter was also at home and had been wrongfully detained by her mother and Jodi. Therefore, after finding sufficient evidence of torture at the second woman’s home, the two women were arrested in Washington County, Utah, on August 30, 2023, and charged with multiple counts of aggravated child abuse.

Jodi Hildebrandt Is Incarcerated in a Utah Prison for Her Crimes

Of the six aggravated child abuse charges against her, Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four related to the torture of two of Ruby’s children. According to the plea agreement, Ruby forced or forced her daughter to jump into the cactus several times. At his sentencing in February 2024, he refused to apologize for his actions and told the court he did not want his victims to be prosecuted. He told the court: “I desire (the children) to heal physically and emotionally. One of the reasons I didn’t go to trial was because I didn’t want them to emotionally relive this experience that could have been damaging to them. My hope and prayer is that they heal and move forward to have beautiful lives.”

Following his testimony in court on February 20, 2024, he was sentenced to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison, the maximum penalty for each sex crime under Utah law. As of today, he is expected to serve his sentence at the Utah State Penitentiary in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Read more: Ruby Franke: Where Is the Child Molester Now?