CONVICTED child abuser Jodi Hildebrandt was a licensed mental health counselor and ran an online self-improvement program to help families and partnerships before she was sent to prison.
Hildebrandt, who was jailed for abuse that disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke’s children suffered, started her internet education program, ConneXions Classroom in 2012, aiming to provide participants with workbooks and workshops to better themselves.
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Hildebrandt and YouTuber Ruby Franke were arrested on August 30, 2023, after Franke’s emaciated 12-year-old son knocked at a neighbor’s door asking for help.
He had visible wounds around his wrists and ankles that were wrapped in tape.
Franke documented the abuse in her journal, including details of dumping mop water on her son and using a cactus to whip him.
On December 18, 2023, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree felony child abuse.
READ MORE on Jodi Hildebrandt
She took a plea deal and was charged with six counts; two were dropped due to the deal.
On December 27, 2023, Hildebrandt also pleaded guilty to four of six charges of second-degree felony child abuse.
It came just over a week after Franke took the plea deal and agreed to testify against Hildebrandt.
On February 20, 2024, a Utah judge sentenced Franke and Hildebrandt to four to 30 years in the Utah State Prison; the maximum sentence for this type of offense.
Both Franke and Hildebrandt believed the abuse was necessary to teach the children and would allow them to properly repent for their “imagined ‘sins’ and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies,” according to court documents shared by Washington County Utah.
CONNEXIONS CLASSROOM
Franke ran Connexions with Hildebrandt after she deleted her YouTube channel 8 Passengers, referring to her husband and six children, in 2022.
She started the channel in 2015 and gained more than 2 millions followers before her content started sparking controversy in 2020.
In one video, one of Franke’s sons said he was forced to sleep on a beanbag for months as punishment for his prank on a sibling.
In another, Franke said she refused to bring food to her then-6-year-old daughter at school, who had forgotten to pack her lunch that day.
Following the sentencing of Hildebrandt and Franke, their Connexions website appears inactive, taking users to an error message on individual pages despite a homepage screen displaying bundles and workbooks the program once offered.
The classroom provided clients with an “extensive and intensive” set of DVDs, workbooks and workshops available through three program options, according to CBS affiliate KUTV.
She does more harm than good. Someone referred to her as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. I would refer to her as ‘Satan in Saints Clothing….’
Dan, alleged participant of Connexions Classroom
Hildebrandt said that her methodology was based on three core principles: impeccable honesty, rigorous personal responsibility and humility.
She argued that these principles were the pathway to healing destructive behaviors and addictions.
On the “About” page of her company’s website, Hildebrandt claimed that her training sessions were the solution for anyone experiencing feelings of pain toward relationship issues, anxiety, fear, or depression.
She promised her clients that her programs would help them feel change, wholeness, centeredness, empowerment, liberation, freedom, and would lead them to greater interpersonal connections.
Hildebrandt also argued that her program would help if three necessary pieces were in place: the client’s willingness, her team’s thorough education, and the combination of the two to create a connection and support system.
As of September 2023, the program offered three different packages.
The cheapest was an Individual Leadership Training package listed at $795.
It included six individual sessions with a trainer, one workbook, podcasts, access to online trainings, and phone call support.
Disturbing Abuses
Starting in May 2023, disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke journaled about the physical punishments imposed on her children
She appeared to justify the abuse by referring to “Satanic choices” and “the devil’s” influences on her kids’ actions.
Some of the horrific punishments detailed in the journal include:
- Poking her children with cactus needles
- Pouring cold water on the kids
- Whipping with a towel or belt
- Forcing them to stand in the hot sun
- Forceably dunking her son in the pool
- Forcing them to sleep on the ground
- Restricting food
The second package was Team Leadership Training and it was priced at $4,995.
It included six team sessions, group trainings, podcasts, access to online trainings, phone call support and pre and post-assessment surveys.
The third and most expensive package was Company Leadership Training, designed for businesses.
It cost $14,985 and included six team sessions, six manager sessions, six company-wide sessions, and 18 group trainings.
The training also came with podcasts, access to online trainings, phone call support and pre and post-assessment surveys.
Under the website’s “Meet the Business Team” tab, Ruby Franke was listed as a “certified mental fitness trainer.”
Franke was said to provide content centered around “empowering parents and children to live in Truth” to the program’s social media and podcasts.
‘SATAN IN SAINTS CLOTHING’
After enduring Hildebrandt’s intensive program, affected families reviewed her counseling and company.
They aggressively went against her self-proclaimed personal work ethic statement of “compassionate yet direct and clear,” according to the company’s website, reported by KUTV.
Many used the space as a warning to others who wanted to participate, claiming that she used “brainwashing tactics to manipulate you.”
Others used their review as a place to air their grievances and regrets about participating in her services.
Some reviews dated back 10 years and some that were from a month ago, all arguing that Hildebrandt’s counseling was not what they expected.
“I wouldn’t trust this company,” one user wrote on the website six months ago.
“They use brainwashing tactics to manipulate you, they intentionally make you feel bad about yourself and use slander. Please stay away from this company at all costs. They are a scam.”
Someone else who reviewed the program three months ago claimed that Hildebrandt cost him his marriage.
“I would like to leave a review for others as a warning to avoid Jodi Hildebrandt and her teaching and philosophy at all costs. It cost me a marriage and she used a shaming me and others in the group I attended as control,.
“My former wife and I had our issues but it wasn’t until we had individual sessions that these ‘distortions’ she said were there…turned into distortions that cost a marriage and divided a family.”
I wouldn’t trust this company. They use brainwashing tactics to manipulate you, they intentionally make you feel bad about yourself and use slander.
Previous participant of Connexions Classroom
The former participant described that on one occasion he had a billing issue because she took his session from his car with spotty service.
When she tried to charge him, he claimed “she blew up and started yelling and accused me of trying to get more session time that I paid for.”
“There is not one good thing about her or her program,” he wrote. “It should be investigated for fraud and misconduct.
“She does more harm than good. Someone referred to her as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. I would refer to her as “Satan in Saints Clothing….” I will be spending as much effort [as] I can to [warn] people about her own distortion and shame she puts in others,” he concluded.
Another reviewer from only a month ago alleged that Hildebrandt and her team were part of a cult.
“They will ruin your family through mind control,” the person wrote.
“They don’t want you to think for yourself and critically think. They want to shelter you. They are an actual cult. An actual cult.”
Another person claimed that they wanted to learn about their practices in an unbiased way because they were interested in their approach.
“The information shared and spread by these people are disgusting,” they said.
“They are attempting to brainwash their clients. They pretty much believe that their ‘principles’ are better than everyone else’s own personal morals and values.”
The post went on to allege that Hildebrandt “likes to lay blame on others, separate her clients from their family, and rake in multiple therapy sessions by her self-prescribed theory of thought that is baseless.”
Another anonymous reviewer from 10 years ago claimed that Hildebrandt was never recommended by others.
“Several professionals and peers have serious concerns with Jodi Hildebrandt. She has been described as ‘combative’ by her peers. Indeed, in our case where no pornography is involved, Jodi has drawn other erratic and erroneous relationship conclusions,” they wrote.
“Very unprofessional. One highly acclaimed professional informed me Jodi is one of two professionals that would never be recommended to others by their office.”
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