June 1, 2023 • 31 mins
Chaos ensues once Ashley’s husband is arrested, and the news becomes public. As a mother of three, she is left to pick up the pieces for her family. We learn the range of penalties on the table are not what we expect them to be.
If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com.
To report a case of child sexual exploitation, call The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline at 1-800-THE-LOST
If you or someone you know is worried about their sexual thoughts and feelings towards children, find help at stopitnow.org
Where to Find Jessica Baum and her book Anxiously Attached: www.jessicabaumlmhc.com/anxiously-attached
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Topics featured in this episode may be disturbing to some listeners.
Please take care while listening.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I want to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
I'm grateful to all that have shown me love and compassion.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
And show that this is the end of my.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Story and this doesn't have to define me the rest
of my life.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Four.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, Episode three Ruins.
Reports of Jason Litton's arrests were all over the local
news and on Facebook pages. Aveya, Ashley's oldest daughter and
a victim, found out when her friend's mother asked her
if anyone else had been videotaped in the house. Ashley's
(00:59):
fifteen year old son would stoic and refused to discuss it.
She tried to explain what happened to her youngest, but
it was a lot for a nine year old to understand.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
The way that Ashley said was like daddy is in trouble.
He's in jail for doing something he wasn't supposed to do,
and she just went off the rails, like asking all
of these questions, like am I going to see him again?
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Is he going to be gone forever.
Speaker 6 (01:23):
How do you explain this to a nine year old?
Her dad was taken away.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Her kids lost their dad, and she lost her husband.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
It's like he died.
Speaker 6 (01:33):
He was like my security blanket. He didn't do much
for me but make me feel safe and make me
feel just he was there, and I don't know, I
just I just really really missed my life.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
In the aftermath, Ashley was just trying to hold on
and leaned on her best friend Emmy for support.
Speaker 8 (01:53):
In an instant, he was gone. I still dream about it.
I still hear her. I still dream of holding her,
but to have to sit there and listen to that,
and no, there was absolutely nothing I could do to
make her feel better, to change things. There was nothing
(02:14):
I could do.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
During their marriage, Ashley recognized that things weren't normal, but
there's only so much you can do for a person.
Speaker 9 (02:22):
I had told myself that there was a mental illness
going on, and he wouldn't go see anybody for it.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Clearly Jason was dealing with something, but his poor behavior
had existed for most of his adult life. Jason had
made appalling choices at times, but Ashley always gave him
the benefit of the doubt. Candace Holden and her husband
Jeff were good friends with Ashley and Jason. She shares
a very awkward encounter some years back, and Candace just
(02:51):
had a baby girl that you might hear in the background.
Speaker 10 (02:54):
My husband was playing football for us in my Pro
Football League and tour his ACL and partially towards he
had surgery on it. And it was a couple weeks
after his surgery that we drove to Salt Lake and
we were saying the night at Jason and Ashley's. They
had us in the basement and Jeff had like a
brand new bottle of pain pills with him. I want
(03:17):
to say that he had pulled it out to take
one when we were upstairs, so that's how I feel.
Jason knew that the bottle was with us, but we
went downstairs with it and we went to bed. The
next morning, half the bottle was gone. I went to
Ashley and she was like, no, no, he wouldn't. We
(03:37):
didn't need her to validate that. I just felt bad
that she believed his side so strongly. Jeff was frustrated,
so he went to Jason. He absolutely denied it, but
it didn't change the fact that literally half the bottle
was gone. In my opinion, when Jason would lie pres
(03:58):
surely about something big, he get like overly emotional. You know,
he's on the verge of crying. Just kind of like
a little kid that gets in trouble and they start
crying because you don't believe them and they know they're busted,
but they're going to, you know, get upset because they
want you to believe them. That was always kind of
a red slade to me, like you're over doing this
innocence thing, which is just making me think that you're
(04:19):
more guilty.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Candace also recalls Jason's work ethic from his twenties.
Speaker 10 (04:26):
My husband got him a job at the company that
he worked at, and they would car pull together and
he was constantly calling in sick or My husband was
going next door and knocking on the door to essentially
get him up in the morning to go to work.
And I just felt like, Ashley, could you know, have
somebody more self motivated in her life.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
We've all been there.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
We've heard our friends talk about relationships or their marriages
and deep down you feel like they deserve better. Until
they come to that realization themselves.
Speaker 7 (04:58):
There isn't much you can do. But I spoke with.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Jessica Baum, who has been working with Ashley over the
past couple of months to help her learn more about herself.
Jessica is the author of Anxiously Attached, Becoming More Secure
in Life and Love.
Speaker 11 (05:13):
I'm a psychotherapist with a license in mental health counseling
and I have a private practice. We work on family
systems issues, trauma, addiction, and couples.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Jessica also specializes in attachment styles what draws us towards
and keeps us with another person, And like many of
our traits, those tendencies are established in childhood.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
It appears that she has a lot of childhood trauma.
Speaker 11 (05:38):
Her dad was pretty overwhelmed and her mom was pretty sick,
so she played different roles in her family system. She
also was parentified and took care of her mom and
took a caretaking role, and she also had a role
of acting out to get her needs met. But none
of them were like really truly attuning to her needs
and seeing her in a healthy way. So I think
as soon as she was able to escape into her
(05:59):
first relationship, I'm sure that gave her a relief, and
much of her childhood was kind of escaping some of
what she wasn't ready to deal with or what was
really going on for her. So she adapted in many
different ways, and one of those ways was through relationships
and finding some relief initially through her relationships, which then
turned into really unhealthy patterns and strategies and a kind
(06:22):
of a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Her first boyfriend, Matt, had been a kind of protector
when Ashley was at school. He made sure she had
a good school lunch every day, and he was her
happy place outside of home. Then he descended into addiction
and the relationship descended into chaos.
Speaker 11 (06:40):
But in the beginning, it does provide her a sanctuary
or relief from her underlying core grief or wounds or
unmet needs.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
And Jason was a person when Ashley had two small
children and was on her own. Her family said as
much when he first came into their lives.
Speaker 7 (06:58):
I love Jason.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
You could just see how nice and kind he.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Was to her.
Speaker 8 (07:03):
I thought, Wow, she's found a good guy.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
It was like night chiming armor. I was like, here's
this normal dude that wants to be with me.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Ashley's husband had stolen prescription pills from her friend lied
to his employer stayed alone in their bedroom for days
on end. Sure, all of these were red flags adjacent
had problems, but they weren't deal breakers.
Speaker 7 (07:27):
They couldn't be.
Speaker 11 (07:28):
Even if our intuition or gut says this could be true,
or there might be some truth to that, there's a
very strong part of us that doesn't want to believe
something might be wrong for many reasons. I can tell you,
For Ashley, a lot of her own denial, even if
underneath it there was an undercurrent of maybe something's wrong.
Is that if there is something wrong, her whole world
(07:49):
would chatter. And so in this world that she created
for her family and what she loved about her world
was very contingent on who he was when he came
into the relationship and what he did for her and
the safety that he provided for her.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
Out of all the possibilities of what might.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Be going on with him, Jason viewing child pornography and
videotaping their daughter never crossed her mind. It just doesn't
enter the realm of possibility.
Speaker 9 (08:19):
Not effort when I had effort ever even considered anything
like this.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Evea had an order of protection against him, so he
went to live with a relative, but that wasn't nearly
enough to make her feel safe.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
So this is the Veya's room. I don't like coming
in here, and I avoided it for a long time
because of how hard it was.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Ashley's home has a great layout for teenagers. The lower
floor has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a den area,
so the older kids feel like they have a little privacy.
She showed me exactly how Jason violated it, just for reference.
Her bedrooms almost in the basement, so her bedroom is
like an negress window.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
And he would stand outside of this window and film her.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
He told Ashley the reason he was going outdoors at
night was because he discovered a new stargazing.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
App I just chalked it up as like another weird
thing that he was in. But he was so believable,
like he was dung ho about stars, and he was
telling the kids about this solar system and this star
pattern and showing them things like That's how manipulative he was.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Seeing the layout of the house made the secret taping
seem even more insidious.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
I don't understand. Our backyard is mud and bagpool. I
avoided it all costs. The only time I was back
there this year was to spray off my air conditioner,
make sure no weeds were grown around her.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Ashley tried to make the room feel more secure by
installing a frosted window so you can't see through it.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Then I'd have like a lock on it and everything,
because I wanted her to feel safe. I wanted her
to know that nobody's going to get in here. But
she still just couldn't deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Ashley's sister Anna, I mean, I think she left pretty
soon after we found out the extent of the videos.
Speaker 7 (10:29):
Is it hard being in here?
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
It is.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
It makes me cry because I miss her so much.
I just miss her.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I mentioned Ashley's first love, Matt. They were together all
through high school until she was in her early twenties.
She ultimately took their two kids and left him because
of his drug addiction. Matt is clean now, and while
they visits Ashley's house often, she moved it with Matt
full time.
Speaker 7 (10:58):
Theyah was afraid to sleep at ashe after she learned
what Jason had done.
Speaker 12 (11:03):
He robbed them of stability, of structure of trust. I'm
so mad at him for that, and I hope one
day she could feel safe with my sister again.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
One of the moms, she's my friend. She reached out
to me asking if any of their kids were a
part of it, which really sucked because I still like
super in shock. This particular person called and we met
for coffee. I was so embarrassed and I couldn't go
into the coffee shop, so we stayed in her car
and top.
Speaker 7 (11:38):
The rumor mill was working over time.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
She's like the girls told me that there was a
camera in the shower, because all Bea and her friends
would come to our house and get ready and have
fun and they'd shower, you know, And so I was like, no,
there's not a camera. I asked the detective, and he
said that if they would have had any inclination that
those videos were recorded in any other fashion, they would
(12:05):
have taken everything that can connect to the internet.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But neighbors and other parents still didn't want to send
their children to play or hang out at Ashley's house.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
It was humiliating.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
My house was the hangout house. I don't really have
alcohol in my home, so I think everyone's family just
felt comfortable with all their kids here, so they don't
come here anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Her home wasn't a safe place anymore, and Ashley didn't
feel safe going out.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
I couldn't go in public, Like even going to the
grocery store, the gas station anywhere is super super hard.
I think it's because I don't want to see people
that we knew together.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Ashley didn't want to explain what happened. Did you know
what he was doing? Are you getting divorced?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
She had not committed a sin against children, she had
not broken the law, she had not destroyed their family,
but she felt like she wore a scarlet letter.
Speaker 9 (13:06):
Anyway, when you have everything that makes you a human
taken away from you, you are left with the real stuff.
All of those different pieces were crumbling, and I just
was running around trying to pick them up, pick up
the pieces of our life that we show to our families,
(13:27):
or to our neighbors, or to our community, or to
this And I just kept trying to pick them up,
and I was trying to keep them together when it
was completely broken.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
While everything was crumbling, Jason was sending the children letters
from jail. Ashley protected the kids from reading them. She
thought it would only compound the trauma at the time.
Now that significant time has passed and she's talked with
her kids, she feels it's important to share how much
Jason disassociated his criminal behavior from his role as a parent.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Here are a few exams.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
To his son, Hay stud I hope everything is going
good and you're kicking button football into a veya. I
hope you're doing good and having an awesome day. I
hope soccer is going well. Always stay my proud, confident,
beautiful daughter. His words reeked of tone, deaf denial. He
(14:24):
wrote as if he were on a business trip. Jason
stopped writing to his two step children. He continues to
write his biological daughter. After making sure the letters are appropriate,
Ashley lets her daughter read them.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Eventually, Jason's absence.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
From the house set in and Ashley needed to move
the family forward.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
Had them stay on for two weeks, and finally it
was like, listen, guys, you can run away from this
for the rest of our lives, or we can just
confront it and just get these first few days over it,
and I'll go back to work.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You guys go back to school.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Abay cannot do it.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Jason was charged with ten counts of sexual exploitation of
a minor, a second degree felony, for the thousand plus
child sexual abuse images that he had in his possession.
They included children as young as seven years old. He
was also charged with two counts of voyeurism for secretly
recording Aveya. When Ashley reflected on it, she realized that
(15:28):
Jason had treated Avea differently than her other children.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
He was always mean to her, Like I thought, maybe
he was just being concerned or maybe even a stern parent,
But looking back now, it was just mean.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Ashley's father, John, recalled tension when he came to pick
up the kids at the house.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
When I got to the throw, he was just screaming
an avaya and.
Speaker 9 (15:53):
I walked in.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
As soon as I walked in, he pushed right up.
Speaker 8 (15:56):
And we did talk about that one time, and I said,
yelling and screamers are going to get you anywhere.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Thirty days after Jason was arrested, he was released. Yes,
there would be rules and restrictions, but he would be
out in the community and he would be free until
his case went to trial. It would take more than
a year before he was back in a courtroom to
face justice.
Speaker 6 (16:23):
They just gave him some stipulations like you can't have
a smartphone, no computer, no internets, nothing.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Ashley had so many questions she had never been able
to ask.
Speaker 9 (16:35):
Jason after he got out, he was saying with his grandpa,
and I'd went over there that morning to take him
his clothes and things like that, and asked him all
of those really yucky questions, like if you masturbate too
our daughter, why did you save those photos? And he
sweared it wasn't sexual.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Ashley made sure he had in a non smartphone. She
tried to help him find a job. It's hard to
understand why she felt obligated to help him. If anyone
tells you that leaving and grieving a toxic relationship is
easy and straightforward, they'd.
Speaker 7 (17:12):
Probably never been in one.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
During one of Jessica and Ashley's therapy sessions, which they
gave us permission to record and share, jess was able
to glean some insight into Ashley's mindset at the.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
Time when he went to gel I started trying to reconcile,
like understand it, because at that point I knew he
had recorded her, But what I thought was that he
had recorded her doing everything, you know, doing homework, getting
ready whatever, trying to catch her like vaping or smoking
(17:44):
pod or you know, being inappropriate boys or whatever, you know,
And that's what I had assumed, and I still thought
it was weird, but I thought it was like part
of maybe his psychotic break or whatever.
Speaker 11 (17:56):
Well, I'm sure part of your psyche wanted to believe it,
and there's a part of him that probably was in
denial of the seriousness as well. I mean, it's hard
to get paid on the head with something like that.
You know, you want to assume the best, even though
it's kind of glaring.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
Yeah, Like right when he got out of JEL.
Speaker 11 (18:15):
His behavior started to change for the better.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Yeah, it was everything I wanted it to be.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
But the weight of everything, any indication that what her
husband did was not so bad was a straw she
grasped was.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
De number four and he had the discovery from his lawyer,
and I was like, oh, I'd really like to read that,
and he's like, oh, no, that's it, and I was like, no,
I want to read this. So he got it out
and I start reading through it, and then I realized
that he's trying to get me to like rush over
these couple of pages, and so I like ripped it
(18:53):
out of his hand. And it was the pages that
detailed his voyorism on a band. That's when I realized
he had lied. I started reading in detail that each
one of the times that he had filmed her was premeditated,
so he would have to know when she was showering
or changing, and then he would sneak outside while around
(19:16):
the back and film her through her window.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
There was no denying the truth. This was evidence, an
illegal document. It proved that the only reason forever filming
a Veya was to catch her without clothes on.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
That's when it snapped, and I was like, this is it.
I told Jason to quit calling me, and he quit
telling me he loved me, and that I didn't want
to see him anymore.
Speaker 11 (19:45):
There was this other part of you that just got
woken up that you haven't really put a voice to.
You haven't completely integrated the full picture yet with and
I assume after that you got angry. Yeah, so there
must have been a registering of the whole truth when
your psyche was really able to kind of allow you
to understand the gravity of his behavior.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Once Ashley crossed the bridge and saw Jason clearly, she
accepted that his crimes were what they looked like, depraved
personal and involved her beloved daughter, she would divorce him.
Her only focus was healing and justice for a VEA.
(20:38):
Just about one year after the Litton family was shattered, Ashley, Jason,
and their respective families sat in a Salt Lake County courtroom.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Okay, well, courts reviewed the pre sentenced report, the psychosexual exam,
and there were many many letters that were submitted book
on behalf of mister Littman on behalf of the biggest
stim and other family members. So that I've read all
of that, is anyone going to be addressing the court directly?
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Mister seventy?
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (21:03):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Are they the big tim least?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Okay? Are they president in the court or?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
This was not a trial, It was a sentencing hearing.
Jason had cut a plea deal with the District Attorney's
office and was pleading guilty to a reduce charge of
one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in two
counts of voyeurism. A matter of guilt was settled. This
hearing was about justice. Ashley watched nervously from the gallery.
(21:30):
A vs At besider Prosecutor Sam Sutton, the third prosecutor
assigned to the case, addressed the judge from the.
Speaker 13 (21:38):
States perspective, this is very personal concerning the practically, Certainly,
your honor has seen plenty of other cases involving sexual
explication of a minor child, child sexual abuse material cases
that usually in those cases we asked for some some
midpoint of jail, child or to pay something like that.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
In other words, and most these cases they asked for
four to six months of jail time. That's pretty standard
for someone engaging in this crime.
Speaker 13 (22:07):
This pudge one count therefore for many others in the charge,
and a fair amount of child sexual useriuscounting this posession.
Couple that with the behavior to work his stepdaughter, and.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
From the state's respective that's about supposing.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Hanazon as the case gets without actually being Hanaza.
Speaker 13 (22:24):
Even though they are classafe wayers. From the state's perspective,
they are thinking of a pattern of behavior that is
greater than the sum of the partners that they have.
And for that reason, I am very streaking as they
asked me for a maximum jail term here, and I'd
guess the drown a concidit you in put the big tenant.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
For a county of sixteen Jason, he argued, should receive
the maximum a full year because of what he had
done to Aveya. You're about to hear from Aveah for
the first time. She decided to address the court at
jason sentencing hearing. Both Ashley and Eveya gave us consent
to use her voice and her name her words. Sponsored
(23:00):
therapist also supported her decision to participate.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So just tell me your names and what you want
me to know. My name is Ashley Letton.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
I am Jason's son, the ex wife, and this is
my daughter. This is a faith and she's asked to
be here and would like to address the work. I
do want you to pay attention to what she's wearing today.
She didn't wear a sweatshirt and so what pants to
be disrespectable, but rather because she didn't feel like she
(23:33):
was saying wearing anything.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I don't want him looking at me. I don't want
him seeing me. I don't want nothing.
Speaker 14 (23:41):
He completely ruined my family with our lives.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
He ruined me.
Speaker 14 (23:48):
I'm mentally not the same, dropped out the soccer doing
that in school.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Got to God. God wants to tell you.
Speaker 14 (23:58):
I have extremingnxiety now extreme anxiety where if I am
driving and I just somehow see him in his car,
I call my mom because he's in the same area.
He drives in those same roads as me every single day.
A depression.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I have pecause he's really bad.
Speaker 14 (24:17):
I can't I can't sit in class because my anxiety
is so bad.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So all I'm asking for you today is to give him.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I would want him to be in prison.
Speaker 14 (24:29):
I never want him look at another child and the
way before.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Even even before I even knew, because he was rude
to me. He was here with me, treated me, treated
me so poorly. Me and my mother say things to
me like I'm a terrible kid, and take my.
Speaker 14 (24:49):
Phone and go through it and go through my privacy
like my room.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
It was.
Speaker 14 (24:56):
It was unfair and it's rude, and I don't want
any other child there.
Speaker 6 (25:00):
Go through that.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Ever, I'm asking for.
Speaker 14 (25:03):
You to send a heaven.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Aveya's plea to the court was devastating. All of the stress, sadness,
and anger over what he had done poured out of her.
Even Judge Metler seemed moved.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
I'm sorry this happened. I wish I could make it better.
I can't. But a venue in particular should feel really
proud of yourself.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
I think it's a very brief thing to report these
kinds of things, to stay committed to the criminal justices
and process, to show up in court, and to speak
to the judge.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
You're very right, Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Jason's public defender made an impassioned plea for his freedom.
Speaker 15 (25:50):
I would argue, Judge first and foremost that mister Lytton
is absolutely jact lee, sorrowful, remorseful for his conduct. I
think he's demonstrated that by taking full accountability, full acceptance
(26:12):
of responsibility for his misconduct. Judge, I understand the name victims.
I mean for lack of ptterwords crushing sorrow, crushing anger
about this misconduct that mister Lynton engaged in.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
My client fully understands.
Speaker 15 (26:36):
Where they are coming from and why they would never
want to see him again ever in society.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
He was suffering from a severe depression.
Speaker 15 (26:45):
Yes, he did receive adderall and some prozac, and perhaps
that wasn't the best indicated.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Medication for his condition.
Speaker 15 (26:54):
He has engaged in community based and community supported counseling
groups to help address that.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
He has a long.
Speaker 15 (27:02):
Way to go with regard to the specialized psychosexual treatment.
But doctor Rory and the AP and p P s
our writer reached the same conclusion that he is appropriate
and suitable for community based treatment.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
The takeaway is that the psychologist who had evaluated Jason,
the agency that writes the recommended treatment plan advised court
ordered intensive treatment for Jason, but not incarceration. After his
public defender spoke, Jason addressed the judge, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
For the pain in her I've caused my family.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Day goes by.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I don't think about her. I've caused them, My heart
an exclusion.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
There was something I could say or do to fix this.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
I want to say sorry to Abata for destroying her
safe place in her life. I failed her as a
father and abused love and trust she had to me.
What I did to her was despicable, despicable and shameful.
I want to say sorry to Ashley for the pain
and suffering I've caused her. I flipped her whole world
(28:14):
around and destroyed her family in the process. I feel
her as a husband and taken away the trust she
had in others. I also want to apologize to the
kids and the pictures I looked at. I know that
they have suffered a huge amount of use and pain.
They have lived a life of fear and suffering, and
(28:37):
I played a part in that with my actions to
all of you. I'm so sorry. I've heard so many
friends and family with my actions. This is this whole situation.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Is my fault, and my faul alone.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
My recovery is also very important to me. I look
forward to the programs and all other help.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
I will be fortunate to have. I want to ensure
that nothing like this ever happens again.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Jason also touted the support groups he had joined and
his renewed dedication to the church. Judge Metler took everything
into consideration and rendered her decision.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Okay, well, thank you everyone for your input. Been thinking
about this for a while. This is a tough one
and that court makes decisions concerning sensing.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
The court really is balancing ways in.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Which the victim can be made wold, which frankly is
pretty unusual, and the victim can truly be able.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Rehabilitating that defendant is an important factor.
Speaker 10 (29:38):
And then, of course.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Passion would Avea and Ashley get justice, would Jason be
put behind bars?
Speaker 7 (29:46):
That's next time on betrayal.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
For the Crown of sexual exploitation of minor, second refellony and.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Crispinel I also visit Vea and Ashley at home to
find out what has happened since that day.
Speaker 8 (29:56):
I'd been laying in bed some nights and I'd just
sit there thinking, like someone's looking, someone's creeping.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Can you get that feeling?
Speaker 7 (30:03):
And later on this season of Betrayal, I.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Saw FBI on their vests and he's like, Mandy, I'm
not gonna sugarcoat anything.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
We'll meet more women confronted with shocking revelations about the
men they married. My dad was like, let's think about
this because if he goes to jail, you're gonna lose
all of your benefits, Like I give a block. If
you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team,
email us at Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That's
(30:33):
Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. To report a case
of child sexual exploitation, called the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children's cyber tip line at one eight hundred
the Lost.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
If you or someone you.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Know is worried about their sexual thoughts and feelings towards children,
reach out to Stop it Now dot org.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
In the United Kingdom, go to.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Stop it Now dot org dot UK. These organizations can help.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
We're grateful for your One.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Way to show support is by subscribing to our show
on Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to rate and review Betrayal.
Five star reviews go a long way. A big thank
you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group and
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by
Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me
(31:22):
Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Kerry Hartman, also produced
by Ben Fetterman, Associate producer Kristin Melcuririe. Our iHeart team
is Ali Perry and Jessica Krinchech. Special thanks to our
talent Ashley Litton, psychotherapist Jessica Baum and production assistant Tesa Shields.
Audio editing and mixing by Matt Alvecchio. A traials theme
(31:44):
composed by Oliver Bains. Music library provided by my Music
And For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Topics featured in this episode may be disturbing to some listeners.
Please take care while listening.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I want to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
I'm grateful to all that have shown me love and compassion.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
And show that this is the end of my.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Story and this doesn't have to define me the rest
of my life.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Four.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, Episode three Ruins.
Reports of Jason Litton's arrests were all over the local
news and on Facebook pages. Aveya, Ashley's oldest daughter and
a victim, found out when her friend's mother asked her
if anyone else had been videotaped in the house. Ashley's
(00:59):
fifteen year old son would stoic and refused to discuss it.
She tried to explain what happened to her youngest, but
it was a lot for a nine year old to understand.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
The way that Ashley said was like daddy is in trouble.
He's in jail for doing something he wasn't supposed to do,
and she just went off the rails, like asking all
of these questions, like am I going to see him again?
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Is he going to be gone forever.
Speaker 6 (01:23):
How do you explain this to a nine year old?
Her dad was taken away.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Her kids lost their dad, and she lost her husband.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
It's like he died.
Speaker 6 (01:33):
He was like my security blanket. He didn't do much
for me but make me feel safe and make me
feel just he was there, and I don't know, I
just I just really really missed my life.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
In the aftermath, Ashley was just trying to hold on
and leaned on her best friend Emmy for support.
Speaker 8 (01:53):
In an instant, he was gone. I still dream about it.
I still hear her. I still dream of holding her,
but to have to sit there and listen to that,
and no, there was absolutely nothing I could do to
make her feel better, to change things. There was nothing
(02:14):
I could do.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
During their marriage, Ashley recognized that things weren't normal, but
there's only so much you can do for a person.
Speaker 9 (02:22):
I had told myself that there was a mental illness
going on, and he wouldn't go see anybody for it.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Clearly Jason was dealing with something, but his poor behavior
had existed for most of his adult life. Jason had
made appalling choices at times, but Ashley always gave him
the benefit of the doubt. Candace Holden and her husband
Jeff were good friends with Ashley and Jason. She shares
a very awkward encounter some years back, and Candace just
(02:51):
had a baby girl that you might hear in the background.
Speaker 10 (02:54):
My husband was playing football for us in my Pro
Football League and tour his ACL and partially towards he
had surgery on it. And it was a couple weeks
after his surgery that we drove to Salt Lake and
we were saying the night at Jason and Ashley's. They
had us in the basement and Jeff had like a
brand new bottle of pain pills with him. I want
(03:17):
to say that he had pulled it out to take
one when we were upstairs, so that's how I feel.
Jason knew that the bottle was with us, but we
went downstairs with it and we went to bed. The
next morning, half the bottle was gone. I went to
Ashley and she was like, no, no, he wouldn't. We
(03:37):
didn't need her to validate that. I just felt bad
that she believed his side so strongly. Jeff was frustrated,
so he went to Jason. He absolutely denied it, but
it didn't change the fact that literally half the bottle
was gone. In my opinion, when Jason would lie pres
(03:58):
surely about something big, he get like overly emotional. You know,
he's on the verge of crying. Just kind of like
a little kid that gets in trouble and they start
crying because you don't believe them and they know they're busted,
but they're going to, you know, get upset because they
want you to believe them. That was always kind of
a red slade to me, like you're over doing this
innocence thing, which is just making me think that you're
(04:19):
more guilty.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Candace also recalls Jason's work ethic from his twenties.
Speaker 10 (04:26):
My husband got him a job at the company that
he worked at, and they would car pull together and
he was constantly calling in sick or My husband was
going next door and knocking on the door to essentially
get him up in the morning to go to work.
And I just felt like, Ashley, could you know, have
somebody more self motivated in her life.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
We've all been there.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
We've heard our friends talk about relationships or their marriages
and deep down you feel like they deserve better. Until
they come to that realization themselves.
Speaker 7 (04:58):
There isn't much you can do. But I spoke with.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Jessica Baum, who has been working with Ashley over the
past couple of months to help her learn more about herself.
Jessica is the author of Anxiously Attached, Becoming More Secure
in Life and Love.
Speaker 11 (05:13):
I'm a psychotherapist with a license in mental health counseling
and I have a private practice. We work on family
systems issues, trauma, addiction, and couples.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Jessica also specializes in attachment styles what draws us towards
and keeps us with another person, And like many of
our traits, those tendencies are established in childhood.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
It appears that she has a lot of childhood trauma.
Speaker 11 (05:38):
Her dad was pretty overwhelmed and her mom was pretty sick,
so she played different roles in her family system. She
also was parentified and took care of her mom and
took a caretaking role, and she also had a role
of acting out to get her needs met. But none
of them were like really truly attuning to her needs
and seeing her in a healthy way. So I think
as soon as she was able to escape into her
(05:59):
first relationship, I'm sure that gave her a relief, and
much of her childhood was kind of escaping some of
what she wasn't ready to deal with or what was
really going on for her. So she adapted in many
different ways, and one of those ways was through relationships
and finding some relief initially through her relationships, which then
turned into really unhealthy patterns and strategies and a kind
(06:22):
of a nightmare.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Her first boyfriend, Matt, had been a kind of protector
when Ashley was at school. He made sure she had
a good school lunch every day, and he was her
happy place outside of home. Then he descended into addiction
and the relationship descended into chaos.
Speaker 11 (06:40):
But in the beginning, it does provide her a sanctuary
or relief from her underlying core grief or wounds or
unmet needs.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
And Jason was a person when Ashley had two small
children and was on her own. Her family said as
much when he first came into their lives.
Speaker 7 (06:58):
I love Jason.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
You could just see how nice and kind he.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Was to her.
Speaker 8 (07:03):
I thought, Wow, she's found a good guy.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
It was like night chiming armor. I was like, here's
this normal dude that wants to be with me.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Ashley's husband had stolen prescription pills from her friend lied
to his employer stayed alone in their bedroom for days
on end. Sure, all of these were red flags adjacent
had problems, but they weren't deal breakers.
Speaker 7 (07:27):
They couldn't be.
Speaker 11 (07:28):
Even if our intuition or gut says this could be true,
or there might be some truth to that, there's a
very strong part of us that doesn't want to believe
something might be wrong for many reasons. I can tell you,
For Ashley, a lot of her own denial, even if
underneath it there was an undercurrent of maybe something's wrong.
Is that if there is something wrong, her whole world
(07:49):
would chatter. And so in this world that she created
for her family and what she loved about her world
was very contingent on who he was when he came
into the relationship and what he did for her and
the safety that he provided for her.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
Out of all the possibilities of what might.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Be going on with him, Jason viewing child pornography and
videotaping their daughter never crossed her mind. It just doesn't
enter the realm of possibility.
Speaker 9 (08:19):
Not effort when I had effort ever even considered anything
like this.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Evea had an order of protection against him, so he
went to live with a relative, but that wasn't nearly
enough to make her feel safe.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
So this is the Veya's room. I don't like coming
in here, and I avoided it for a long time
because of how hard it was.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Ashley's home has a great layout for teenagers. The lower
floor has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a den area,
so the older kids feel like they have a little privacy.
She showed me exactly how Jason violated it, just for reference.
Her bedrooms almost in the basement, so her bedroom is
like an negress window.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
And he would stand outside of this window and film her.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
He told Ashley the reason he was going outdoors at
night was because he discovered a new stargazing.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
App I just chalked it up as like another weird
thing that he was in. But he was so believable,
like he was dung ho about stars, and he was
telling the kids about this solar system and this star
pattern and showing them things like That's how manipulative he was.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Seeing the layout of the house made the secret taping
seem even more insidious.
Speaker 6 (09:47):
I don't understand. Our backyard is mud and bagpool. I
avoided it all costs. The only time I was back
there this year was to spray off my air conditioner,
make sure no weeds were grown around her.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Ashley tried to make the room feel more secure by
installing a frosted window so you can't see through it.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Then I'd have like a lock on it and everything,
because I wanted her to feel safe. I wanted her
to know that nobody's going to get in here. But
she still just couldn't deal with it.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Ashley's sister Anna, I mean, I think she left pretty
soon after we found out the extent of the videos.
Speaker 7 (10:29):
Is it hard being in here?
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
It is.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
It makes me cry because I miss her so much.
I just miss her.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I mentioned Ashley's first love, Matt. They were together all
through high school until she was in her early twenties.
She ultimately took their two kids and left him because
of his drug addiction. Matt is clean now, and while
they visits Ashley's house often, she moved it with Matt
full time.
Speaker 7 (10:58):
Theyah was afraid to sleep at ashe after she learned
what Jason had done.
Speaker 12 (11:03):
He robbed them of stability, of structure of trust. I'm
so mad at him for that, and I hope one
day she could feel safe with my sister again.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
One of the moms, she's my friend. She reached out
to me asking if any of their kids were a
part of it, which really sucked because I still like
super in shock. This particular person called and we met
for coffee. I was so embarrassed and I couldn't go
into the coffee shop, so we stayed in her car
and top.
Speaker 7 (11:38):
The rumor mill was working over time.
Speaker 6 (11:41):
She's like the girls told me that there was a
camera in the shower, because all Bea and her friends
would come to our house and get ready and have
fun and they'd shower, you know, And so I was like, no,
there's not a camera. I asked the detective, and he
said that if they would have had any inclination that
those videos were recorded in any other fashion, they would
(12:05):
have taken everything that can connect to the internet.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But neighbors and other parents still didn't want to send
their children to play or hang out at Ashley's house.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
It was humiliating.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
My house was the hangout house. I don't really have
alcohol in my home, so I think everyone's family just
felt comfortable with all their kids here, so they don't
come here anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Her home wasn't a safe place anymore, and Ashley didn't
feel safe going out.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
I couldn't go in public, Like even going to the
grocery store, the gas station anywhere is super super hard.
I think it's because I don't want to see people
that we knew together.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Ashley didn't want to explain what happened. Did you know
what he was doing? Are you getting divorced?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
She had not committed a sin against children, she had
not broken the law, she had not destroyed their family,
but she felt like she wore a scarlet letter.
Speaker 9 (13:06):
Anyway, when you have everything that makes you a human
taken away from you, you are left with the real stuff.
All of those different pieces were crumbling, and I just
was running around trying to pick them up, pick up
the pieces of our life that we show to our families,
(13:27):
or to our neighbors, or to our community, or to
this And I just kept trying to pick them up,
and I was trying to keep them together when it
was completely broken.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
While everything was crumbling, Jason was sending the children letters
from jail. Ashley protected the kids from reading them. She
thought it would only compound the trauma at the time.
Now that significant time has passed and she's talked with
her kids, she feels it's important to share how much
Jason disassociated his criminal behavior from his role as a parent.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Here are a few exams.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
To his son, Hay stud I hope everything is going
good and you're kicking button football into a veya. I
hope you're doing good and having an awesome day. I
hope soccer is going well. Always stay my proud, confident,
beautiful daughter. His words reeked of tone, deaf denial. He
(14:24):
wrote as if he were on a business trip. Jason
stopped writing to his two step children. He continues to
write his biological daughter. After making sure the letters are appropriate,
Ashley lets her daughter read them.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Eventually, Jason's absence.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
From the house set in and Ashley needed to move
the family forward.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
Had them stay on for two weeks, and finally it
was like, listen, guys, you can run away from this
for the rest of our lives, or we can just
confront it and just get these first few days over it,
and I'll go back to work.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
You guys go back to school.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Abay cannot do it.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Jason was charged with ten counts of sexual exploitation of
a minor, a second degree felony, for the thousand plus
child sexual abuse images that he had in his possession.
They included children as young as seven years old. He
was also charged with two counts of voyeurism for secretly
recording Aveya. When Ashley reflected on it, she realized that
(15:28):
Jason had treated Avea differently than her other children.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
He was always mean to her, Like I thought, maybe
he was just being concerned or maybe even a stern parent,
But looking back now, it was just mean.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Ashley's father, John, recalled tension when he came to pick
up the kids at the house.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
When I got to the throw, he was just screaming
an avaya and.
Speaker 9 (15:53):
I walked in.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
As soon as I walked in, he pushed right up.
Speaker 8 (15:56):
And we did talk about that one time, and I said,
yelling and screamers are going to get you anywhere.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Thirty days after Jason was arrested, he was released. Yes,
there would be rules and restrictions, but he would be
out in the community and he would be free until
his case went to trial. It would take more than
a year before he was back in a courtroom to
face justice.
Speaker 6 (16:23):
They just gave him some stipulations like you can't have
a smartphone, no computer, no internets, nothing.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Ashley had so many questions she had never been able
to ask.
Speaker 9 (16:35):
Jason after he got out, he was saying with his grandpa,
and I'd went over there that morning to take him
his clothes and things like that, and asked him all
of those really yucky questions, like if you masturbate too
our daughter, why did you save those photos? And he
sweared it wasn't sexual.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Ashley made sure he had in a non smartphone. She
tried to help him find a job. It's hard to
understand why she felt obligated to help him. If anyone
tells you that leaving and grieving a toxic relationship is
easy and straightforward, they'd.
Speaker 7 (17:12):
Probably never been in one.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
During one of Jessica and Ashley's therapy sessions, which they
gave us permission to record and share, jess was able
to glean some insight into Ashley's mindset at the.
Speaker 6 (17:23):
Time when he went to gel I started trying to reconcile,
like understand it, because at that point I knew he
had recorded her, But what I thought was that he
had recorded her doing everything, you know, doing homework, getting
ready whatever, trying to catch her like vaping or smoking
(17:44):
pod or you know, being inappropriate boys or whatever, you know,
And that's what I had assumed, and I still thought
it was weird, but I thought it was like part
of maybe his psychotic break or whatever.
Speaker 11 (17:56):
Well, I'm sure part of your psyche wanted to believe it,
and there's a part of him that probably was in
denial of the seriousness as well. I mean, it's hard
to get paid on the head with something like that.
You know, you want to assume the best, even though
it's kind of glaring.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
Yeah, Like right when he got out of JEL.
Speaker 11 (18:15):
His behavior started to change for the better.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
Yeah, it was everything I wanted it to be.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
But the weight of everything, any indication that what her
husband did was not so bad was a straw she
grasped was.
Speaker 9 (18:30):
De number four and he had the discovery from his lawyer,
and I was like, oh, I'd really like to read that,
and he's like, oh, no, that's it, and I was like, no,
I want to read this. So he got it out
and I start reading through it, and then I realized
that he's trying to get me to like rush over
these couple of pages, and so I like ripped it
(18:53):
out of his hand. And it was the pages that
detailed his voyorism on a band. That's when I realized
he had lied. I started reading in detail that each
one of the times that he had filmed her was premeditated,
so he would have to know when she was showering
or changing, and then he would sneak outside while around
(19:16):
the back and film her through her window.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
There was no denying the truth. This was evidence, an
illegal document. It proved that the only reason forever filming
a Veya was to catch her without clothes on.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
That's when it snapped, and I was like, this is it.
I told Jason to quit calling me, and he quit
telling me he loved me, and that I didn't want
to see him anymore.
Speaker 11 (19:45):
There was this other part of you that just got
woken up that you haven't really put a voice to.
You haven't completely integrated the full picture yet with and
I assume after that you got angry. Yeah, so there
must have been a registering of the whole truth when
your psyche was really able to kind of allow you
to understand the gravity of his behavior.
Speaker 6 (20:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Once Ashley crossed the bridge and saw Jason clearly, she
accepted that his crimes were what they looked like, depraved
personal and involved her beloved daughter, she would divorce him.
Her only focus was healing and justice for a VEA.
(20:38):
Just about one year after the Litton family was shattered, Ashley, Jason,
and their respective families sat in a Salt Lake County courtroom.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Okay, well, courts reviewed the pre sentenced report, the psychosexual exam,
and there were many many letters that were submitted book
on behalf of mister Littman on behalf of the biggest
stim and other family members. So that I've read all
of that, is anyone going to be addressing the court directly?
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Mister seventy?
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (21:03):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Are they the big tim least?
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Okay? Are they president in the court or?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
This was not a trial, It was a sentencing hearing.
Jason had cut a plea deal with the District Attorney's
office and was pleading guilty to a reduce charge of
one count of sexual exploitation of a minor in two
counts of voyeurism. A matter of guilt was settled. This
hearing was about justice. Ashley watched nervously from the gallery.
(21:30):
A vs At besider Prosecutor Sam Sutton, the third prosecutor
assigned to the case, addressed the judge from the.
Speaker 13 (21:38):
States perspective, this is very personal concerning the practically, Certainly,
your honor has seen plenty of other cases involving sexual
explication of a minor child, child sexual abuse material cases
that usually in those cases we asked for some some
midpoint of jail, child or to pay something like that.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
In other words, and most these cases they asked for
four to six months of jail time. That's pretty standard
for someone engaging in this crime.
Speaker 13 (22:07):
This pudge one count therefore for many others in the charge,
and a fair amount of child sexual useriuscounting this posession.
Couple that with the behavior to work his stepdaughter, and.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
From the state's respective that's about supposing.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Hanazon as the case gets without actually being Hanaza.
Speaker 13 (22:24):
Even though they are classafe wayers. From the state's perspective,
they are thinking of a pattern of behavior that is
greater than the sum of the partners that they have.
And for that reason, I am very streaking as they
asked me for a maximum jail term here, and I'd
guess the drown a concidit you in put the big tenant.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
For a county of sixteen Jason, he argued, should receive
the maximum a full year because of what he had
done to Aveya. You're about to hear from Aveah for
the first time. She decided to address the court at
jason sentencing hearing. Both Ashley and Eveya gave us consent
to use her voice and her name her words. Sponsored
(23:00):
therapist also supported her decision to participate.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
So just tell me your names and what you want
me to know. My name is Ashley Letton.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
I am Jason's son, the ex wife, and this is
my daughter. This is a faith and she's asked to
be here and would like to address the work. I
do want you to pay attention to what she's wearing today.
She didn't wear a sweatshirt and so what pants to
be disrespectable, but rather because she didn't feel like she
(23:33):
was saying wearing anything.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I don't want him looking at me. I don't want
him seeing me. I don't want nothing.
Speaker 14 (23:41):
He completely ruined my family with our lives.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
He ruined me.
Speaker 14 (23:48):
I'm mentally not the same, dropped out the soccer doing
that in school.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Got to God. God wants to tell you.
Speaker 14 (23:58):
I have extremingnxiety now extreme anxiety where if I am
driving and I just somehow see him in his car,
I call my mom because he's in the same area.
He drives in those same roads as me every single day.
A depression.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I have pecause he's really bad.
Speaker 14 (24:17):
I can't I can't sit in class because my anxiety
is so bad.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So all I'm asking for you today is to give him.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
I would want him to be in prison.
Speaker 14 (24:29):
I never want him look at another child and the
way before.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Even even before I even knew, because he was rude
to me. He was here with me, treated me, treated
me so poorly. Me and my mother say things to
me like I'm a terrible kid, and take my.
Speaker 14 (24:49):
Phone and go through it and go through my privacy
like my room.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
It was.
Speaker 14 (24:56):
It was unfair and it's rude, and I don't want
any other child there.
Speaker 6 (25:00):
Go through that.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Ever, I'm asking for.
Speaker 14 (25:03):
You to send a heaven.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Aveya's plea to the court was devastating. All of the stress, sadness,
and anger over what he had done poured out of her.
Even Judge Metler seemed moved.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
I'm sorry this happened. I wish I could make it better.
I can't. But a venue in particular should feel really
proud of yourself.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
I think it's a very brief thing to report these
kinds of things, to stay committed to the criminal justices
and process, to show up in court, and to speak
to the judge.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
You're very right, Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Jason's public defender made an impassioned plea for his freedom.
Speaker 15 (25:50):
I would argue, Judge first and foremost that mister Lytton
is absolutely jact lee, sorrowful, remorseful for his conduct. I
think he's demonstrated that by taking full accountability, full acceptance
(26:12):
of responsibility for his misconduct. Judge, I understand the name victims.
I mean for lack of ptterwords crushing sorrow, crushing anger
about this misconduct that mister Lynton engaged in.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
My client fully understands.
Speaker 15 (26:36):
Where they are coming from and why they would never
want to see him again ever in society.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
He was suffering from a severe depression.
Speaker 15 (26:45):
Yes, he did receive adderall and some prozac, and perhaps
that wasn't the best indicated.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Medication for his condition.
Speaker 15 (26:54):
He has engaged in community based and community supported counseling
groups to help address that.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
He has a long.
Speaker 15 (27:02):
Way to go with regard to the specialized psychosexual treatment.
But doctor Rory and the AP and p P s
our writer reached the same conclusion that he is appropriate
and suitable for community based treatment.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
The takeaway is that the psychologist who had evaluated Jason,
the agency that writes the recommended treatment plan advised court
ordered intensive treatment for Jason, but not incarceration. After his
public defender spoke, Jason addressed the judge, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
For the pain in her I've caused my family.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Day goes by.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I don't think about her. I've caused them, My heart
an exclusion.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
There was something I could say or do to fix this.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
I want to say sorry to Abata for destroying her
safe place in her life. I failed her as a
father and abused love and trust she had to me.
What I did to her was despicable, despicable and shameful.
I want to say sorry to Ashley for the pain
and suffering I've caused her. I flipped her whole world
(28:14):
around and destroyed her family in the process. I feel
her as a husband and taken away the trust she
had in others. I also want to apologize to the
kids and the pictures I looked at. I know that
they have suffered a huge amount of use and pain.
They have lived a life of fear and suffering, and
(28:37):
I played a part in that with my actions to
all of you. I'm so sorry. I've heard so many
friends and family with my actions. This is this whole situation.
Speaker 6 (28:48):
Is my fault, and my faul alone.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
My recovery is also very important to me. I look
forward to the programs and all other help.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
I will be fortunate to have. I want to ensure
that nothing like this ever happens again.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Jason also touted the support groups he had joined and
his renewed dedication to the church. Judge Metler took everything
into consideration and rendered her decision.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Okay, well, thank you everyone for your input. Been thinking
about this for a while. This is a tough one
and that court makes decisions concerning sensing.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
The court really is balancing ways in.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Which the victim can be made wold, which frankly is
pretty unusual, and the victim can truly be able.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Rehabilitating that defendant is an important factor.
Speaker 10 (29:38):
And then, of course.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Passion would Avea and Ashley get justice, would Jason be
put behind bars?
Speaker 7 (29:46):
That's next time on betrayal.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
For the Crown of sexual exploitation of minor, second refellony and.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Crispinel I also visit Vea and Ashley at home to
find out what has happened since that day.
Speaker 8 (29:56):
I'd been laying in bed some nights and I'd just
sit there thinking, like someone's looking, someone's creeping.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Can you get that feeling?
Speaker 7 (30:03):
And later on this season of Betrayal, I.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Saw FBI on their vests and he's like, Mandy, I'm
not gonna sugarcoat anything.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
We'll meet more women confronted with shocking revelations about the
men they married. My dad was like, let's think about
this because if he goes to jail, you're gonna lose
all of your benefits, Like I give a block. If
you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team,
email us at Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. That's
(30:33):
Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com. To report a case
of child sexual exploitation, called the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children's cyber tip line at one eight hundred
the Lost.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
If you or someone you.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Know is worried about their sexual thoughts and feelings towards children,
reach out to Stop it Now dot org.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
In the United Kingdom, go to.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Stop it Now dot org dot UK. These organizations can help.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
We're grateful for your One.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Way to show support is by subscribing to our show
on Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to rate and review Betrayal.
Five star reviews go a long way. A big thank
you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group and
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by
Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, hosted and produced by me
(31:22):
Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Kerry Hartman, also produced
by Ben Fetterman, Associate producer Kristin Melcuririe. Our iHeart team
is Ali Perry and Jessica Krinchech. Special thanks to our
talent Ashley Litton, psychotherapist Jessica Baum and production assistant Tesa Shields.
Audio editing and mixing by Matt Alvecchio. A traials theme
(31:44):
composed by Oliver Bains. Music library provided by my Music
And For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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