Chapter 16 - The Arraignment Hearing on Monday Morning
Monday morning arrived with brilliant autumn sunshine breaking through the glass windows of the Middlesex County courthouse.
Flashbulbs popped outside the courthouse steps as media outlets broke the massive scandal involving former Judge Richard Vance.
Headlines across New England flashed across television screens: “Respected Retired Judge Arraigned on Child Abuse and Endangerment Charges.”
I walked into the courtroom holding Chloe’s hand tightly, flanked by two armed protective officers and my family law attorney.
Richard sat at the defense table wearing a standard orange inmate jumpsuit, looking older, smaller, and utterly defeated.
When he caught my eye across the aisle, his expression flickered with a desperate plea for familial loyalty.
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I looked away instantly, refusing to grant him even an ounce of the sympathy he had routinely denied every innocent victim.
The judge pounded his gavel, calling the courtroom to order and beginning the formal reading of the multi-count criminal indictment.
