Chapter 12 - The Fall of the Sterling Empire
Three weeks after the custody termination, the federal criminal trial concluded with a total, sweeping victory for the prosecution.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning a unanimous guilty verdict on all twelve counts:
Count 1: Felony Child Endangerment and Torture (10 years)
Count 2: Unlawful Administration of Controlled Substances to a Minor (8 years)
Count 3: Aggravated Grand Larceny over $500,000 (12 years)
Count 4: Federal Wire Fraud and Money Laundering (15 years)
Count 5: Identity Theft and Forgery (5 years)
Federal District Judge Robert Keller sentenced Luca Sterling to a cumulative twenty-eight years in a federal medium-security penitentiary without the possibility of parole for the first twenty-two years.
In addition, the court ordered a mandatory criminal restitution judgment of two point four million dollars, attaching a lifetime lien to any future earnings, inheritances, or property he might ever touch.
Chloe Bennett received a negotiated sentence of eight years at Danbury Federal Correctional Facility for her role as an active co-conspirator, followed by five years of mandatory supervised probation and one thousand hours of community service.
When the sentences were read, the courtroom erupted in emotional applause from the domestic abuse advocates and medical staff who had packed the gallery.
Luca collapsed forward against the defense table, weeping uncontrollably as the federal marshals pulled him up and locked the heavy steel transport chains around his waist and ankles.
As they led him down the central aisle toward the holding cells, he caught a glimpse of me standing in the front row.
“Jessi…” he choked out, his face soaked with snot and tears. “Please… write to me. Tell Fiona I loved her… tell her Daddy was sorry…”
I looked him dead in the eyes, my voice steady, clear, and loud enough for the entire gallery to hear.
May you like
“Daddy didn't love her, Luca. Daddy loved himself. And Fiona will grow up knowing she was saved by the mother who never left her in the dark.”
He was pushed through the heavy steel door, and the lock clicked shut with the finality of an iron tomb.
