Ruby Franke pleads guilty to child abuse five months after her malnourished children were found at Utah home of her business partner

Disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke today pleaded guilty to felony child abuse as part of a plea deal four months after her malnourished children were found at the Utah home of her business partner. 

Franke, wearing gray and white jail clothing, pleaded guilty to each of the first three charges individually and on the fourth said: 'With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty.' 

Franke and partner Jodi Hildebrand were arrested earlier this year after one of Franke's six children escaped the home in Ivins, Utah, running to a neighbor's home where he knocked on the door asking for food and water. 

The pair had been running Franke's YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, where she gave parenting advice. 

The plea deal Franke agreed to leaves the sentencing up to the judge and does not rule out prison time. 

Franke insists she was manipulated by Hildebrand, who was also charged earlier this year. 

Her attorneys say Hildebrand's influence created a 'distorted sense of reality'. 

'Ruby Franke is a devoted mother and is also a woman committed to constant improvement,' Winward Law said in a statement. 

Franke initially believed that Hildebrandt 'had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement,' but said that Hildebrandt 'took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous,' Franke's attorneys claim.

Hildebrandt 'systematically isolated Ruby Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke,' the statement said.