Chapter 12 - THE CRIMINAL CASE
Prosecutors reviewed whether Michael’s conduct met criminal child-endangerment standards.
The washing-machine incident was the strongest.
Short duration.
No physical injury.
Machine disabled.
But child age and closed appliance confinement mattered.
Michael entered a negotiated disposition involving:
probation,
parenting intervention,
compliance with family-court orders,
and a child-endangerment-related plea appropriate to the jurisdiction.
No extreme prison fantasy.
The court did not treat absence of injury as proof of harmlessness.
It also did not pretend the machine ever operated.
At sentencing Michael said:
“I thought unplugged meant safe.”
The judge answered:
“It meant the appliance could not start.”
Pause.
“That is not the same as the situation being safe for a two-year-old.”
Michael nodded.
Then:
“I wanted him to be afraid of the machine.”
The judge asked:
“Was he?”
“Yes.”
“Then you achieved what you intended.”
May you like
Michael looked down.
That sentence destroyed the last easy excuse.
