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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that Jodi Hildebrandt has surrendered her mental health counselor license.
Hildebrandt owns Connexions Classroom and ran a YouTube channel for that business with Ruby Franke, a woman who had millions of followers on her now-defunct family YouTube channel "8 Passengers."
Both Hildebrandt and Franke were arrested on Aug. 30 and charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse each after two of Franke's children were found in Hildebrandt's home needing medical attention, charging documents say.
One of Franke's sons went through a window of Hildebrandt's home and went to a neighbor's house asking for food, according to the charges.
The Division of Professional Licensing said it has been working with Hildebrandt's lawyer and the Utah Attorney General's Office to obtain a voluntary surrender of her professional license since the charges were filed so that if she is released, Hildebrandt would not be able to practice.
"Given the heinous abuse allegations, the agency felt that the surrender of the license was the best course of action to protect the safety of Hildebrandt's patients and clients," said Margaret Busse, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce.
Once the charges are resolved, a hearing will be held before the licensing board to decide whether to pursue other disciplinary action related to Hildebrandt's license. At this point, there has been no official finding of unprofessional conduct or illegal conduct, the document surrendering Hildebrandt's license said.
Hildebrandt signed the document on Sunday, and it was approved by the Division of Professional Licensing on Tuesday.
Hildebrandt was scheduled for a hearing on Monday where her custody status was expected to be discussed, but it was canceled after attorneys associated with the case determined they were not ready and asked for it to be continued into October. A new date has not yet been set.
Franke's attorney said at a separate hearing Monday that he expects his client will be incarcerated "for the foreseeable future."
