More children are being tortured in recent years in light of the large number of cases in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Investigators say more and more children have been subjected to torture in recent years, and they aren’t sure why.

This is a growing problem that has alarmed child advocates both in Utah and across the country. Moreover, many of these cases are eerily similar to two high-profile cases in Utah.

Gavin Peterson’s death in West Haven The abuse and torture of Ruby Franke’s children shocked the nation; But child advocates say stories like theirs have been happening more frequently all over the country in recent years.

It’s been more than a year since Franke’s children were rescued from months of abuse and since their mother and child abuser Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RUBY FRANKE

How have the kids been since then?

“I will say that each of them is doing well, progressing, recovering and succeeding in their own way in many ways,” their father, Kevin Franke, said.

She’s not allowed to say much about how her children are doing, but it’s clear they’re still trying to process the trauma they’ve experienced.

“I truly believe strongly, especially from the interactions and discussions I have had with my own children in the wake of these tragedies, that some things are worse than death. I think torture would definitely be classified as one of them. “This is deliberately prolonging and prolonging impending death, and that’s terrible,” he said.

Kevin Franke said that since his wife’s arrest, he has learned all the tricks the alleged abusers use to hide their crimes from investigators. Moreover, he learns that this is a much bigger problem than many people think.

He said: “I think this type of child abuse is much more common than the average person realizes. I think this type of abuse happens in every neighborhood and every community.”

Data shows that Kevin Franke is right that child torture cases have increased, especially since 2020.

Primary Children’s Hospital Child Abuse Medical Director Dr. “The fact that my team reached 12 cases in such a short period of time tells us that something is happening,” says Antoinette Laskey.

Abuse patients from all over the region are sent to him as the center’s director. Before 2020, such cases were much rarer, he said.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years, and I would say in the first 10 to 15 years of my career, I’ve only had maybe two cases,” Laskey said. “They were very similar to the cases we’re seeing now, but literally over the last five years the numbers seem to be increasing at an unimaginable rate.”

He said this increase is happening across the country and no one knows why.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CHILD ABUSE CASES IN UTAH:

Nationwide, 1,820 children died from abuse and neglect in 2021, according to the CDC. That number increases to 1,990 in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Health.

What particularly bothers Laskey is that all of these cases are so similar, with many of the children experiencing the same abuse that the Franke children suffered.

“They all involve very similar characteristics, such as confinement with ropes or handcuffs, confinement to small spaces such as closets or dog cages,” Laskey said. The vast majority of these involve elements of starvation, sometimes to the point of death.”

They also include flogging, severe psychological harm, excessively forced exercise and extreme isolation.

“Picking up the kids from school, not letting them out of the house. “Literally some of the neighbors don’t even know this child exists,” he said.

Washington District Attorney Eric Clarke said that although he was able to secure convictions for Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, he did not believe their sentences were harsh enough.

She said: “This is not parenting. “This is torture and we all need to help protect children in our communities.”

Clarke is working on a new bill that would give the law more authority when sentencing people convicted of torturing children.

Meanwhile, Kevin Franke said Utahns may need to re-examine child welfare laws because he believes they give too much power to abusive parents.

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