Chapter 12 - ROMY’S CASE
My brother’s assault case was small compared with the financial case.
It mattered more to me.
Video from two guests showed the slap clearly.
Romy holding the rocking horse.
My brother taking? The prompt says he slaps her; he does not take horse first. Keep accurate.
He leaned down.
Said something partly obscured.
Then struck her.
She fell.
No serious injury.
His lawyer argued he reacted after Romy swung the rocking horse near an expensive gift.
Video did not support that.
She was standing still.
The prosecutor charged misdemeanor assault on a child and a child-endangerment-related offense appropriate to the jurisdiction.
No felony battery invented from one slap without serious injury.
Romy did not testify live.
Her forensic interview and medical documentation were used where allowed.
My brother eventually pleaded no contest to the assault count.
The broader endangerment count was dismissed under agreement.
Sentence:
Probation.
Community service.
Child-safety and anger intervention.
No unsupervised contact with Romy.
No direct contact during an initial protective period.
He also paid her medical costs.
At sentencing he said:
“I was angry at Larkin and took it out on Romy.”
That was the first fully honest sentence I heard from him.
Then:
“The rocking horse reminded me of my father choosing sentiment over business.”
There.
Motive.
Not excuse.
The judge said:
“A five-year-old did not create your disagreement with your father.”
Correct.
Outside, reporters wanted:
Inheritance war turns violent.
I refused.
“My brother struck my daughter. The estate dispute is context. Romy was not a participant.”
May you like
She was five.
That distinction mattered.
