Chapter 11 - BETHANY’S CHILD-ABUSE TRIAL
The child-abuse case came before the financial case.
I supported that.
Rosie was a person before she was commercial evidence.
The jury did not watch forty-three videos.
The prosecutor selected representative clips.
Happy ones too.
That mattered.
Bethany’s attorney showed Rosie laughing during early sessions.
Wearing a paper crown.
Opening toy boxes.
Dancing in front of the ring light.
“Did Rosie enjoy filming sometimes?” the prosecutor asked me.
“Yes.”
“Did you know about some family videos?”
“Yes.”
“Did you approve commercial distress filming?”
“No.”
The defense wanted the jury to see ambiguity.
There was some.
Then the prosecutor showed the later footage.
Rosie saying:
“No joke.”
Bethany:
“One more.”
Rosie:
“It hurts.”
Bethany:
“It doesn’t.”
The room became different.
Daniel testified.
He did not make himself heroic.
“Why didn’t you tell your brother earlier?”
“I was cowardly.”
Bethany’s lawyer objected? No need.
Daniel continued:
“I thought Bethany was annoying, not dangerous. Then when I realized it was worse, I kept thinking I needed better proof before blowing up the family.”
“Why?”
“Because our family teaches you that if you accuse someone and can’t prove every detail, you’re the problem.”
Accurate.
My father testified under limited immunity? Better no immunity, with own counsel. He invoked Fifth on some points before his plea. So not.
My mother testified after entering a cooperation agreement on fraud-related conduct.
She cried.
The prosecutor asked:
“Did you see marks on Rosie?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell her father?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid he would stop letting us see her.”
That answer hurt more than money.
Not:
I didn’t know.
She knew exactly what mattered.
Access.
Bethany testified in her own defense.
She admitted:
The project.
The commercial goal.
The forged release? She denied knowingly forging at first, claimed “administrative shortcut.” Under cross, evidence crushed that.
She insisted:
“I loved Rosie.”
The prosecutor answered:
“You can love a child and still exploit her.”
No objection could change the truth.
Verdicts:
Guilty of child endangerment.
Guilty of assault causing minor injury.
Guilty of unlawful restraint on two supported incidents.
Guilty of coercive commercial exploitation-related offense.
Acquitted of one aggravated abuse count requiring more severe injury.
Correct.
Rosie had been harmed.
Not mutilated.
No need to inflate.
Sentencing deferred until financial case.
Outside, I did not speak.
Carmen? Different story. No.
Julia drove me home.
At the door she said:
“This is the part where people expect relief.”
“I don’t feel any.”
“Normal.”
Inside, Rosie was building a block tower with Daniel.
She knocked it over herself.
Then laughed.
Daniel froze when the blocks crashed.
Rosie looked at him.
“It’s okay. I wanted it down.”
Daniel smiled.
“Good.”
A tiny sentence.
But it showed the difference.
Something could break because Rosie chose it.
Then my phone rang.
Northstar’s outside counsel.
They had discovered an internal message.
A producer had flagged Bethany six months before the party:
REMOVE THIS CREATOR FROM CHILD-DISTRESS CATEGORY.
The account was not removed.
Someone overrode the flag.
May you like
The corporate side was no longer merely bad paperwork.
Someone had chosen revenue too.
