Chapter 18 - VIOLETTA’S CHILD BATTERY CASE
Violetta’s lawyer sought dismissal.
Argument:
One slap.
Minor injury.
Family discipline context.
No ongoing danger.
The prosecutor opposed.
The judge allowed the misdemeanor case to proceed.
No criminalization of every bad parenting moment?
Violetta was not parent.
That mattered somewhat.
Still, adults can commit battery against children regardless of relationship.
Then video.
Clear.
Primrose accidentally bumps vase.
Violetta strikes.
No threat from child.
No safety justification.
Violetta eventually entered a negotiated plea rather than force Primrose to testify.
Misdemeanor child battery.
Probation.
Anger-management.
Individual counseling.
Restitution for Primrose’s medical evaluation and therapy expenses attributable to the incident.
No direct contact during initial period.
No unsupervised contact with minors during probation through family events.
No jail beyond booking and processing.
Why no jail?
No prior record.
Minor injury.
Early eventual admission.
Age not elderly but no criminal history.
Plea.
Reasonable.
Some relatives wanted prison.
Some wanted nothing.
The court did neither fantasy.
Then Violetta’s statement.
“I hit a five-year-old because she broke an object.”
No mention of price.
Then:
“I had taught myself that protecting family history gave me permission to control everyone around it.”
Better.
Then:
“The object mattered. The child mattered more.”
Primrose did not hear it live.
She was at school.
May you like
Good.
Children do not need courtrooms for adult accountability.
