Chapter 22 - Ryan’s criminal case
The slap was simpler.
There was video.
A seven-year-old.
No serious injury.
One intentional strike.
Ryan pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of a child under the applicable negotiated charge and the false-filing offense.
Sentence:
Thirty days county custody.
Additional suspended time.
Two years supervised probation.
Parenting intervention.
Individual therapy.
No corporal punishment.
Supervised contact with Lily until family court expanded it.
Restitution for Lily’s counseling costs tied to the wedding incident.
No contact with Emily except through parenting/legal channels.
No decades in prison.
At sentencing Ryan said:
“I hit Lily because she rejected Vanessa in public.”
There.
Then:
“I told myself I was correcting disrespect.”
There.
“I had already taught her that adults could decide which truths she was allowed to know.”
That line stopped me.
The judge asked:
“Why did you tell your daughter her living mother was dead?”
Ryan cried.
“Because I thought if she stopped waiting, the rest of our life could move forward.”
The judge answered:
“Children are not obstacles to adult timelines.”
May you like
Exactly.
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