Chapter 20 - The charges
Rachel faced charges reflecting:
Child endangerment.
Unlawful restraint or confinement-related conduct.
Medical neglect.
Leaving young children without appropriate supervision.
The exact charging language changed as prosecutors narrowed what they believed they could prove.
No attempted murder.
No torture charge.
No kidnapping theory requiring us to pretend every locked household room automatically fits the most extreme offense.
Jason was investigated for failure-to-protect conduct.
Prosecutors ultimately declined the most serious criminal charges against him.
They did not believe evidence established he knew the children were being physically locked in before the injuries.
That did not end consequences.
Family court had a lower and different focus:
Were the children safe with him now?
At first, the answer was:
Not without supervision.
May you like
That devastated him.
It also made sense.
