Chapter 9 - My Slap Against a Child
My case involving Colton bothered me more than the cake.
He was twelve.
Yes, he hurt Wren intentionally.
Yes, he mocked her.
No, that did not give me permission to slap him hard enough to knock out a loose tooth.
The prosecutor could have charged me more severely because he was a minor.
Context mattered.
So did my immediate acceptance.
No criminal record.
No continued attack.
The tooth was already near natural loss.
No permanent injury.
I entered a diversion program tied to a misdemeanor child-assault allegation.
Anger-management assessment.
Parenting-boundary course.
Community service.
No unsupervised contact with Colton during the program except through court-approved family circumstances, which nobody requested.
Successful completion would allow dismissal.
I accepted.
One man from my old social circle said:
“You let them make you take parenting classes for defending your kid?”
I answered:
“I defended Wren by picking her up.”
Then:
“I punished Colton because I was angry.”
May you like
He never raised it again.
Accuracy kills mythology quickly.
