The new Netflix documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story delves into one of the most disturbing true crime cases in recent memory, centred on a family therapist from Utah whose influence led to horrific child abuse.
From Trusted Counsellor to Convicted Abuser
The film details how Jodi Hildebrandt, a licensed clinical mental health counsellor and founder of the life-coaching business ConneXions, used her standing within the Mormon (LDS) church community to gain the trust of YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke. Franke, a mother of six, documented her family life on the popular channel 8 Passengers.
Hildebrandt became obsessed with 'correcting' Franke's household. This toxic dynamic culminated in August 2023, when one of Franke's sons escaped from Hildebrandt's home in Ivins, Utah. Security footage showed the emaciated boy pleading with a neighbour for food and water and asking to be taken to the police.
A statement from the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department revealed the child had "open wounds and duct tape around his extremities". His younger sister was also found imprisoned in the home.
Legal Reckoning and Prison Sentences
Both women were swiftly arrested. In February 2024, following guilty pleas, Jodi Hildebrandt was convicted on four counts of aggravated child abuse. She received four consecutive prison sentences of one to 15 years.
Ruby Franke received an identical sentence. Both women are currently incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, though held in separate wings. Their first parole hearings are scheduled for December 2026.
In 2024, the Utah Department of Commerce's Division of Professional Licensing permanently revoked Hildebrandt's clinical mental health counselling licence.
A Story of Manipulation and Coercive Control
Director Skye Borgman told Netflix's Tudum that the boy's escape from Hildebrandt's house, not his mother's, was a "simple and most diabolical" part of the story. The documentary features former clients from the LDS community who describe how Hildebrandt manipulated them.
"She used this intersection of trust and power and harm to really obscure their own sense of self and family and religion," Borgman explained. "It can happen to pretty much anybody."
The case has spawned several media depictions, including a Lifetime movie and an Investigation Discovery series. The Netflix film also explores how Franke began to distance herself from Hildebrandt after their arrest, a move Borgman suggests was partly a form of self-preservation ahead of sentencing.
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is streaming now on Netflix, serving as a stark warning about the dangers of coercive control and abuse hidden in plain sight.
