Chapter 21 - Elena is sentenced
The judge considered:
No prior criminal record.
Repeated conduct over many months.
Abuse of family trust.
Forgery.
Significant financial loss.
Attempt to recover evidence with crowbar.
No physical injury at cabin.
Plea and partial restitution.
Sentence:
Thirty months imprisonment, with ten suspended.
Twenty months to serve.
Two years probation.
Restitution schedule.
No fiduciary or financial-management role involving minors during probation.
No contact with Sophie while incarcerated.
Future contact afterward only if I consented and therapist believed appropriate.
Could a criminal judge permanently erase aunt relationship?
No.
That remained family decision.
Then Elena spoke.
“I loved Sophie.”
I believed her.
That was part of the horror.
She added:
“I kept telling myself I was borrowing.”
The judge said:
“Borrowing requires permission.”
Simple.
Then:
“I was going to put it back.”
May you like
Perhaps she believed that at first.
She did not.
