Chapter 13 - Belladonna’s criminal charges
Prosecutors separated conduct.
Against Eira:
Unlawful confinement/endangerment-related charges based on locked dining room.
Child neglect/endangerment theories tied to intentional food restriction.
Harassment/psychological conduct alone was more appropriate for child-welfare/family processes than invented criminal counts.
Against the fabricated threats:
False reporting/communications-related offenses.
Forgery or misuse of authorization documents tied to copied digital signature.
Potential fraud-related charge where she used fabricated threat evidence to seek contractual benefit.
No terrorism charge.
No kidnapping conspiracy.
No pretending anonymous photographs equal attempted abduction.
Then Harlow.
No charge for lawful public surveillance under a legitimate-seeming security assessment, though licensing/compliance reviewed.
Miles Dane:
Cooperated.
No evidence he knew authorization was false.
Damian:
No charge.
Atlas proposal withdrawn.
Good.
Belladonna pleaded not guilty initially.
Her lawyer argued:
The “threat tests” were misguided private-security testing, not fraud.
The dining-room lock was a safety protocol, not confinement.
Food restriction was discipline, not neglect.
The copied signature represented authority she reasonably believed extended to testing.
Those arguments were not absurd enough to dismiss without process.
Then Eira.
Would she testify?
Prosecutors tried to avoid unnecessary courtroom exposure.
Much of confinement evidence existed through:
Door logs.
Staff testimony.
Belladonna’s admissions.
Photos/videos.
May you like
No need make a four-year-old carry case.
Good.
