Adam Steed spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about his interactions with Hildebrandt while she was his therapist and marriage counselor beginning in 2008 — interactions that led to Hildebrandt’s suspension from Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) in 2012 after Steed filed a complaint.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not respond to PEOPLE’s inquiry as of press time.
Steed is now breaking his silence in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, saying, “I’m ready to talk about this lady because the world’s ready to see it.”
He adds, “These super sophisticated forms of manipulation that Jodi did just destroyed my life in incredible ways,” adding that Hildebrandt has “a huge body count” of exacerbating people’s problems.
Hildebrandt, he says, “completely controls the relationships [during counseling]. Her doctrine is that she believes that relationships need to die before they can be reborn.”
Hildebrandt and Franke were arrested last Wednesday; both have since been charged with six felony child abuse charges.
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The boy allegedly “appeared to be emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities,” according to the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department’s statement.
Responding officers allegedly soon found Franke’s 10-year-old daughter “in a similar physical condition of malnourishment” inside Hildebrandt’s home. Both children were taken to a local hospital for treatment, and family members have said in recent days the kids are doing OK.
Moms of Truth/ Instagram
“The kids are now safe,” Franke’s sisters Ellie Mecham and Julie Griffiths Deru said in a joint social media statement on Tuesday.
Franke’s oldest daughter Shari also spoke out against her mom hours after her arrest last week.
“Finally,” Shari wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of police outside the family’s home.
“Today has been a big day," Shari wrote on Instagram. “Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
Washington County Sheriff’s Office jail records show Franke and Hildebrandt are still in custody. Both are due in court on Friday. They have not yet entered pleas to the charges they face, and PEOPLE has been unable to contact an attorney for either suspect.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
