‘How do you say that about a 2-year-old?’ Amid scandal, parents reckon with the politics of shame Read more
She said she had read about the case online. “It really broke my heart,” she said. “I didn’t know what this meant. I just felt so terrible about it.”
Lily was very upset by her father’s actions. She tried to comfort her mum by telling her that he would be punished. “He’s a good dad, he’s a good husband, he’s the person who raised me,” she said. “I don’t want him to go to prison for something he didn’t do.”
Lily’s father and brother were also called to testify, before the judge.
“The whole thing just made me angry,” she said. “I didn’t realise how hard it would be to put up with it for four months. Now, I just feel so sad.”
Speaking over the phone from the States, Lily’s mum said: “Lily knows it was a mistake … But it doesn’t help her to know it’s not the right way.”
A jury found her husband guilty of five counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of assault, but he was acquitted of a sixth charge of indecent assault. The judge agreed that Lily’s allegations of physical abuse were credible.
The maximum sentence was 12 years.
The maximum punishment for indecent assault in New York is seven years.
In July, her husband pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. He admitted having sex with Lily and said his crimes were “unfortunately beyond his control”.
Lily made a public statement to the court, expressing her love and appreciation for her husband and the rest of the family.
“I hope their family is okay,” she said. “I hope the whole family is strong and that they can get through this.”
Lily was born in New York and grew up in a close-knit family. Her father is a US