Chapter 20 - THE ASSAULT CASE
The district attorney offered me diversion for the first slap.
Simple assault.
No serious injury.
No prior record.
Video showed context but not legal justification.
I accepted responsibility.
Anger-management course.
Community service.
No conviction after successful completion under the agreement.
Some friends said:
“You shouldn’t have taken any deal. Ashley deserved it.”
No.
I did not want Noah learning that “deserved it” turned hitting into virtue.
Ashley’s attempted slap was documented.
No separate charge pursued.
The second slap complicated things, but the full video and mutual escalation were considered.
The legal outcome was boring.
Good.
I apologized to Ashley for striking her.
One sentence.
No “but.”
“I should not have hit you.”
She answered:
“Then pay Emma’s camp.”
May you like
That told me where she still was.
I ended the conversation.
