The Law Wasn’t on Parents’ Side

Medema pleaded guilty to Endangering the Welfare of the Minor in the 1st Degree, a class D felony under Arizona law, on October 7, 2013. Although she could have gotten as many as six years in prison if it had gone to trial, she would have walked away scott-free if a jury found her not guilty. Even if she had been found guilty at trial, she would only have had to serve one year of the six-year sentence. All of this despite what Raylee, shown here in the hospital, had suffered. 

And it gets even worse, since under Act 346, a first-time offender can get her felony expunged at the end of her probation. The weakness in the criminal law meant that abusers had a big loophole they could exploit.