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A DISGRACED therapist who was jailed alongside evil YouTube mom Ruby Franke “weaponized” child abuse and destroyed a client’s life, an alleged victim has claimed.
Jodi Hildebrandt allegedly tricked couples into setting sick traps for each other and paying millions of dollars to treat seemingly fabricated addictions as she waged war on sexual sin, according to her victims.
Jodi Hildebrandt, left, and Ruby Franke, right, were both sentenced to up to 30 years in state prison[/caption]
Adam Steed, 41, was responsible for bringing his abuser to justice back in 1997[/caption]
Adam aged 14 with some of his scout troop on a summer camp[/caption]
Hildebrandt is behind bars after she and Franke, a mom of six, each pleaded guilty to four counts of abusing Franke’s kids in December 2023.
The Mormon business partners were both sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
They were caught after Franke’s youngest son escaped Hildebrandt’s house of horrors and begged a neighbor for help in August 2023 – exposing years of horrific child abuse.
While Franke and Hildebrandt worked together on their parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel called ConneXions Classrooms, Hildebrandt also offered counseling sessions.
Now, one of Hildebrandt’s clients, Adam Steed, has revealed his harrowing experience of attending her marriage counselling sessions.
He claimed it led to the breakdown of his relationship – and his life.
Hildebrandt said that Adam “was the most dangerous man she’s ever met in her lifetime,” he claims to The Sun.
Adam accused Hildebrandt of shaming him for being a victim of child sexual abuse and used it to turn his now ex-wife and community against him.
He was abused by a paedo Boy Scout leader at 14 years old – which he bravely spoke to The Sun about years later.
As part of the Mormon Church, Adam sought marriage counselling to help him and his ex-wife navigate the trauma from the abuse.
He was asked by his bishop to see a therapist who Adam believes to be “charismatic” and “very intelligent” – Hildebrandt.
Adam said he “confided” in her on everything he was struggling with and spoke about it at length.
But his life soon began to unravel in front of him.
Adam told The Sun: “Hildebrandt was operating her therapy group and I was sent to it. I’m a victim of sexual abuse – I [didn’t] want some triggering place with predators around me.
“I [wanted] marriage counseling to help us with some of the trauma from from abuse that I felt inside.
“Jodi Hildebrandt act[ed] like it was this fun talk show group where they laughed about ‘men are from Mars and women are from Venus’ kind of mentality.
“Just laughing… and making fun jokes with it. I didn’t realize at the time how prolifically wrong it was.
“The first thing that this therapist would do, and these other groups do, is to teach you that your own point of view is mentally ill, that you have distortion or illusions.
“But they made fun with it [and] won us over, not thinking it was dangerous.
“Then Jodi separates the men from the women, and then we’re at her mercy.”
Jodi Hildebrandt sits in court during her sentencing hearing in February 2024[/caption]
Ruby Franke was once best known for her popular YouTube channel[/caption]
Jodi Hildebrandt’s $5m house of horrors was where Franke’s children were tortured[/caption]
Adam claimed that as Hildebrandt drew couples in, she then would work “to destroy people through covert operations”.
He added: “Neither person, neither vulnerable person, understands until she destroys their marriage and has control.”
Another former client of Hildebrandt, Daniel Choate, supports Adam’s claims, revealing horror details in ID’s docuseries episode The Curious Case of Jodi Hildebrandt.
He said: “There wasn’t any aspect of the human condition that she couldn’t pathologize.”
Hildebrandt’s alleged aim of gaining control was achieved by empowering the women she was counselling – including Adam’s ex-wife – and then encouraging them to sever relations with their husbands, both Adam and Daniel claim.
Adam told The Sun: “Jodi was attracted to women that were younger, that were more attractive, that had positions of power and influence.
Jodi Hildebrandt act[ed] like it was this fun talk show
Adam Steed
“She would get these women to to do unimaginable things to other people, and that’s how she would get her power over them. And that’s just one dimension.”
Daniel reported the same as Steed of Hildebrandt allegedly empowering women to gain control of their husbands by making unreasonable demands over them.
He recalled his wife made a list of demands under the therapist’s instruction that banned him from sleeping in bed with her.
“If I didn’t abide by these rules, she let me know that she was going to take the kids and leave,” Daniel claimed.
Hildebrandt launched ConneXions in 2007, according to her LinkedIn.
In 2012, she was put on probation for 18 months after she was disciplined by Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, according to documents obtained by NBC News.
The therapist faced “unprofessional conduct” claims after she disclosed private information about a patient with Latter Day Saints church leaders and Brigham Young University officials.
The moment a Utah paramedic helped one of Franke’s children[/caption]
Neighbors called 911 after they saw the thin 12-year-old boy had horror wounds on his ankles, wrists, and back[/caption]
Adam revealed to NBC News that he was the former patient involved in the case.
He told The Sun that despite doing work with his dad to protect fellow victims of sexual abuse, “the next thing I know, it was all weaponized against me”.
Adam said he was told because of the work he had done “to help victims,” that became the reason why he was wrongfully depicted by Hildebrandt as being “unstable to be a father”.
He added: “Jodi Hildebrandt coached my ex-wife through this whole process in details of how to manipulate all the legal people to think it was a different story.”
Adam said her “methods” involved learning “everything” about the individuals to then grow “tons of power and control”.
He revealed that he still keeps in contact with Franke’s ex-husband, Kevin – who relayed just what Hildebrandt thinks of him.
Kevin allegedly told Adam that Hildebrandt “has been completely obsessed with you,” adding that Adam was a “family name… a regular name in my family”.
Jodi was attracted to women that were younger, that were more attractive, that had positions of power and influence
Adam Steed
The Sun has tried to approach Kevin’s attorney to confirm or clarify this statement.
Kevin has never been accused of any crimes or involvement in Hildebrandt’s actions.
When child abuse claims first emerged, Kevin told cops that he couldn’t explain what happened when Hildebrandt entered his family’s life, according to an interview released by prosecutors last year.
He said he was first convinced by Ruby and his friends to join ConneXions Classroom as a self-improvement program.
After joining the group, Kevin was shut out of his own home as Franke grew closer to Hildebrandt, he later told police.
Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke were each charged with six counts of felony aggravated child abuse and were sent to prison six months later for up to 30 years.
But Hildebrandt is challenging her conviction, arguing that she didn’t know her rights when she pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse.
She has called her plea agreement “unlawful” and filed a petition for relief on her own behalf on March 24.
Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke are also being federally sued for their role in an alleged “racketeering scheme”.
The plaintiff, Michael Tilleman, says he is a victim of Hildebrandt’s ConneXions “fraudulent” business.
The lawsuit says that Hildebrandt would “prey on individuals in vulnerable positions who were seeking legitimate mental health services”.
She would also allegedly indoctrinate the victims into sustain abuse in their households, according to the suit.
The defendants have not yet filed a response to the suit.
The Sun has approached The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for comment, as well as The Boy Scouts of America and Jodi Hildebrandt’s rep.
Starting in May 2023, disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke journaled about the punishments she 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:
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THE YouTuber who gave a can of Coke to the world’s deadliest tribe is to be held in custody for two weeks as he faces jail.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, risked his life by journeying to North Sentinel Island on Saturday – where unw…
SURROUNDED by turquoise waters and golden sands, the remote North Sentinel Island is incredibly enticing.
But this five-mile-long haven in the Indian Ocean is the one place in the world no tourist should tread.
Outsiders who have landed on the former British colony have been killed by arrows or spears from the mysterious tribe that inhabit this distant land.
Their families don’t get to bury their bodies because it is too dangerous to collect them.
And even if a trespasser does survive, they face a five-year prison sentence for breaking the law by visiting this protected island.
None of that, though, deterred YouTube host Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov from travelling for nine hours in an inflatable boat to try to meet the deadly Sentinelese tribe.
According to the authorities, the 24-year-old American adrenaline junkie evaded patrols by the Indian Navy, landed on the shore last Saturday and blew a whistle to try to attract the indigenous people.
When no one came, he took a sample of sand, before leaving a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as gifts.
It was only on his return to Kurma Dera beach on South Andaman Island that his mission was uncovered and he was arrested.
Polyakov’s adventure has caused outrage because isolated tribes can be killed by infectious diseases brought by foreigners.
Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, a charity that campaigns on behalf of indigenous people said: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic.
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life but they also put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.
“It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out.”
With very little of our planet untouched by tourism, wannabe social media stars are increasingly seeking out-of-reach destinations.
And with the Sentinelese considered by the charity to be “the most isolated indigenous people in the world”, they are a target for influencers.
In 2022 British “dark tourist” Miles Routledge, “who goes to the most extreme places on Earth for fun”, posted a message on Twitter discussing the idea of organising an expedition to North Sentinel.
Polyakov, from North Goldwater, Arizona, is of a similar ilk.
The American had already spent three weeks in Taliban- controlled Afghanistan, posting videos of himself shooting an AKM rifle, playing on abandoned tanks and trying on animal skins in the war-torn country which has the death penalty for various offences including blasphemy.
Last week’s forbidden trip would have required more planning.
Polyakov is said to have visited the Andaman Islands, of which North Sentinel Island is a part, three times since October.
On the first occasion, hotel staff stopped him going out on a kayak.
Then in January he filmed the Jarawa tribe on Baratang Island, reportedly without permission.
It beggars belief someone could be that reckless. This person not only endangered his own life, but put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk
For his latest adventure, the tide and sea conditions were carefully studied before he set off, then GPS was used to navigate his motorised dinghy’s 25-mile route to North Sentinel.
Footage from his Go-Pro camera shows him reaching the beach and calling out.
Andaman police officer Kumar Abhishek said: “He went with a can of Coke and coconut and left these things.
“At most he spent ten to 15 minutes there. He stepped on the sand and returned after waiting.
“He said he wanted to experience adventure and thrill.
“He has shot some videos but the videos are being examined. These are pictures and videos of the island, not the people.”
Fishermen became suspicious about Polyakov and he was arrested after returning to Kurma Dera beach.
Tribal welfare officer Pronob Sircar, who raised the alarm, spoke to Polyakov.
Sircar told The Sun: “He explained that he is crazy and likes adventures. I think he was inspired by John Chau.”
Fellow American Chau was a 26-year-old evangelical Christian, who sailed to North Sentinel Island in 2018 on a mission to bring the word of God to this “heathen” civilisation.
Chau, from Vancouver, Washington, tried to sing religious songs to them.
Warning shots from the skilled Sentinelese hunters failed to deter him — even when one struck his waterproof Bible — then other arrows hit home, killing him
Details of his fate are only known because of the journal he wrote and the recollections of the fishermen who he paid to take him there.
They saw Chau’s body being dragged to the beach and buried in the sand.
In letters to his parents, Chau said: “You guys might think I’m crazy in all this but I think it’s worth it to declare Jesus to these people.
“Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed.”
The authorities considered it too dangerous to recover his remains.
A 2023 documentary, The Mission, which explored his death, made it clear that Chau knew the risks.
The three-mile exclusion zone around North Sentinel was introduced in 1956 by India — which now oversees the islands — to protect the precious Sentinelese way of life.
It is estimated between 50 and 150 people live on North Sentinel Island and their immune systems are unlikely to be able to resist common illnesses such as the flu or a cold.
Locals who strayed too close serve as a warning to others.
In 2006, fishermen Sunder Raj, 48, and Pandit Tiwari, 52, fell asleep after fishing illegally for mud crabs off the island.
They drifted to the shallows where they were attacked and killed by the near-naked tribe.
When a helicopter was dispatched to try to recover their bodies, it also came under a hail of arrows.
The downdraft from the blades exposed the bodies of the men, which had been buried in the sand.
There were rumours that they had been eaten alive because many people falsely believe the Sentinelese are cannibals.
While the brutal attacks on visitors sound barbaric the isolated community have good reason to ward off intruders.
In 1880, British naval officer Maurice Vidal Portman, who was superintendent of the Andaman Island Penal Colony at the end of the 19th Century, brought six Sentinelese back to the capital Port Blair.
The two adults died quickly, so the four children who were with them were sent home.
During the 1960s the Indian government, which took control of Andaman after gaining independence from Britain in 1947, attempted to make contact with the tribes.
They left gifts such as plastic buckets or iron tools on the shore.
In return the Sentinelese warriors fired arrows and spears, with a cameraman hit in the leg.
Even Belgium’s former king Leopold III was shot at when he reportedly attempted to get there in 1974, although he escaped injury.
Indian anthropologist TN Pandit is the only person believed to have made contact with the tribe.
But it took him 25 years to build trust, having first gone there in 1966.
Pandit said in 2018: “If we tried to venture into their territory without respecting their wishes or got too close for comfort, they would turn their backs on us and sit down on their haunches, as if to defecate. That was meant to be an insult.
“If we didn’t pay heed and stop, they would shoot arrows as a last resort.”
Even when Pandit brought over two men from the Onge tribe — Andamanese people who had once shared the island — they were also warned off. No one is welcome.
YouTuber Mykhailo’s trip suggests that no matter how many times the Sentinelese make their feelings clear, the message does not get through.
THE YAIFO: Living in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, they are believed to practise headhunting – keeping enemies’ heads as trophies. But explorer Benedict Allen made contact in the 1980s, later saying they met him with “a terrifying show of strength – an energetic dance featuring bows and arrows”.
THE MOXIHATETEMA: Numbering around 100, they live a nomadic lifestyle in Brazil’s Amazon jungle – often setting up circular settlements in concealed areas. Aerial pictures show them hurling spears at passing aircraft.
THE MASHCO PIRO: At around 750 people, this is believed to be the largest uncontacted tribe in the world, and they are known to fire arrows at intruders. They live in south east Peru, building palm-leaf huts on riverbanks in the dry season for fishing, then heading into the rainforest in the wet months.
THE POLAHI: This group live in the forests of Gorontalo, a province on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. They are deeply spiritual and superstitious. After a family member dies, the tribe buries them then moves to a new settlement – believing that land to then be uninhabitable.
THE AYOREO: Originally a collection of nomadic tribes, these hunter-gatherers now live in settled communities in the Gran Chaco region across Bolivia and Paraguay. Though the majority of their 5,600 population are in contact with the outside world, there are believed to be around 100 living in isolation. They hunt in the forest, grow squashes, beans and melons, and harvest honey.
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