Benjamin Ashford|Ruby Franke’s Estranged Husband Kevin Details How She Became Involved in Extreme Religious "Cult"

Content warning: This story discusses child abuse.

Ruby Franke's estranged husband is Benjamin Ashfordshedding more light on her horrific mistreatment of their children. 

The Washington County Attorney's Office in Utah released an interview with Kevin Franke following the YouTube influencer's Aug. 30 arrest on child abuse charges, where he says the mom of six got involved in a religious "cult."

During the conversation with authorities, Kevin explained that Ruby became a member of an organization called ConneXions after forming a close relationship with her kids' mental health counselor Jodi Hildebrandt, who was arrested alongside Ruby over child abuse charges. Former clients told NBC News that ConneXions—which Jodi established as a life coaching service in 2007—was based on principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"My impression at that time was this is absolute craziness," Kevin recalled of the business in his interview with authorities, "this is a bunch of man-hating women that are just looking for excuses to tear down their husbands."

Despite not being into the idea at first, he eventually agreed to three months of "addiction recovery" meetings with other men in the organization after watching "people that I respected a lot [get] up on the stage with microphones and giving testimonials of how great this was and how it changed their lives and their marriage."

And while Kevin, 45, felt the sessions were helping their marriage get "stronger" for a time, he said a sudden turn in Jodi's mental state and behavior cast new light on the group. 

"We went down to Jodi's house in May of 2021," Kevin said. "I'm a smart guy. I'm an engineer—designed and helped build some really big stuff. I'm a college professor. I can't explain some of the stuff that happened while we were there."

He went on to recount hearing weird "crashes," as well as witnessing plates flying off kitchen shelves by themselves and "full-speed smashing on the wall."

To help Jodi through her dark period, Kevin said he and Ruby called in a bishop, who went over to the counselor's house every night for hours at a time to fight "evil spirits" and "cast the demons out." However, after feeling like he wasn't getting anywhere, Jodi came to live with the couple instead. 

"[Jodi and Ruby] started sleeping in the same bed," Kevin shared, "then [Ruby] started having, like, trances and stuff. I would say it was probably around September where she believed that she was going to heaven and seeing God and Jesus and talking with them."

He added that sometimes they would also "lock themselves in a room for four or five hours," and when they came out, Ruby would tell him she "had this amazing vision and 'I wrote and recorded it all down.' And, 'We have a work to do from God.'"

In the end, Kevin decided he "wanted to move on with life," and he and Ruby got an "in-home separation" before he filed for divorce in December, with his lawyer saying the pair had been living apart from for more than a year before her arrest. 

As for Ruby and Jodi, the pair were arrested in August 2023 after Ruby and Kevin's 12-year-old son was found emaciated with open wounds and duct tape on his wrists and ankles after running into a neighbor's yard for help, according to the Washington County Attorney's Office. Ruby and Kevin's 10-year-old daughter was subsequently found malnourished at Jodi's house and taken to the hospital, per an affidavit obtained by NBC News. 

After investigating the situation further, prosecutors said in a case summary that Ruby and Jodi "appeared to fully believe that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies." 

Three months after their arrests, Ruby and Jodi each pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse as part of a plea deal. In February, both were ordered to spend four to 30 years in prison—the maximum sentence for this kind of offense in the state of Utah.

During Ruby's sentencing hearing, the 42-year-old apologized to her husband and children.

"For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion," Ruby said in court Feb. 20, per the livestream on the Utah court's website. "My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me."

Addressing her children, she added, "I would do anything in this world for you. I took from you all that was soft and safe, and good."

E! News reached out to Kevin, Ruby and Jodi's lawyers for comment but has not heard back.