- Kevin Franke has distanced himself from child-abuse allegations through his lawyer.
- Franke's wife Ruby Franke was arrested last week and charged with six felony child abuse counts.
Kevin Franke distanced himself from the child-abuse allegations his wife Ruby Franke is facing, with his lawyer calling him a "very gentle" person who has never been accused of mistreating his children "or anyone else."
Kevin Franke's lawyer, Randy Kester, appeared on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, defending his client after his wife was charged with child abuse.
The Frankes have six children together. But Kester said Kevin and Ruby had been living separately for 13 months, and that Kevin Franke was "distraught" at hearing about the alleged abuse, and how his family would be impacted.
"He is a good person. He is very gentle," Kester said. "And no one's ever made any allegations that he's ever physically abused those kids, or anyone else."
Ruby Franke was arrested on Wednesday, August 30, alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt. The two, who ran a YouTube channel together, were charged with six felony child abuse counts, with police detailing Franke's 12-year-old son's harrowing escape from Hildebrandt's home.
The child climbed out of a window and sought help from a neighbor, according to a police affidavit that was shared with Insider. He was described in the documents as emaciated and wounded, with duct tape around his ankles.
The arrest followed years of concerns about Franke and her family, which long predated the time that Kester said the two separated. Viewers suggested the Frankes were mistreating their children as long ago as 2020.
Franke, a former professor at Brigham Young University, has remained mostly out of the public eye since the closure of 8 Passengers, the YouTube channel he and Ruby Franke started about their family.
Kevin Franke also appeared for a time on the channel run by Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt, called ConneXions, but not in the past year.
Kester told "Good Morning America" that his client "just wants to do what's best for his kids, get them back, get them under his tutelage and his fathership and protect them."
Kester told Insider in an email that Kevin and Ruby were still married, and that he could not "speak to her plans for divorce, if any."
He also said Kevin was at a September 1 hearing to determine the what would happen to the children, who were taken in by local officials after the arrest. Part of that hearing, he said, was agreement to keep the proceedings confidential to protect the privacy of the children.
Ruby Franke is due in court on Friday, September 8 for a hearing, and has not yet entered a plea. Her attorney LaMar Winward told Insider he had no comment.
Insider has reached out to Kester for further information.