Betrayal - Far from Over — Bonus | Ashley's Story

Episode Date: August 9, 2023

The Betrayal team checks in with Ashley after she receives disappointing news.   If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at [e-mail].   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, reach out to stopitnow.org  In the UK reach out to stopitnow.org.uk See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from How to Money. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high. And the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right.

Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on. And the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Polk. For years, I was the poster boy of the conversion therapy movement. The ex-gay who married an ex-lesbian and traveled the world telling my story of how I changed my sexuality from gay to straight. You might have heard my story, but you've never heard the real story. John has never been anything that gay, but he really tried hard not.

to be. Listen to Atonement, the John Polk story on the IHeart Radio 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. I'm Andrea Gunning. This is Betrayal Season 2, Bonus Episode 3. We're back with a bonus episode we were not expecting to produce right now. Not for another month at least. Ashley texted us with an urgent update and we wanted to share it with you. My producer Carrie Hartman took the call. So Ash, tell me what news you just received and how it came to you. I received an email letting me know that Jason was being released.

You know, one of the big issues in this podcast has been about how much incarceration, jail time, is given to perpetrators. And it seems to me that this is falling short of the sentence that he was given. Yes. So Jason was sentenced to a year, but with time served, so he'd already served 304 days, I think. So they automatically took that off of his year sentence. And then I don't know for sure, but it seems like he got some type of good behavior reduction in his sentence as well. So it's close to two and a half months sooner than a year.

How is your family dealing with that? And is he going to be in your community again? I mean, we all knew he was only spending a year in there. But I think the actuality of it, and he's going to live less than two miles from me and the children. That's really what scares me. I think we're all just anxious. I know when Jason was out the first time, the hardest part for both you and for Ivea was when she would see him somewhere in public. It would cause terrible anxiety for her. Have you walked her through how to handle that if it happens now? No, I haven't even made space for that.

I just had a thought of seeing him at our grocery store or something. I think I would turn around and walk out and act like I didn't see him. And, you know, that will be a good conversation to have with Avea because she is gaining back so much of her confidence. It's been so amazing these last, you know, two or three months to watch her be confident and stick up for herself. You know, she's in such a good place right now. I almost feel like she's not going to let it pierce her vibe. she's happy, she's getting ready to start her senior year in high school, she's hanging out with friends again,

and, you know, doing all those normal things that a 17-year-old should be doing. And so I just really hope that when the time comes that she sees him, because I think it's inevitable, I hope she has the confidence to look at him straight in the eye and flip him off. You know, something that lets him know that he, He has no power over her anymore. Is there anything you can do to help with your own anxiety in the short term? I'm having some family and a close friend of mine come stay with us for the next week or two,

just because I don't know what his mindset is. I probably never really did know this side of him and I don't know what his limitations are. I try not to live in the future, but hypothetically, we go to court, family court, and they tell him he has no supervised visits with our youngest, just because I don't know what to expect. Jason has had such a poor me attitude about all of this. I've lost my family. I lost my career. I lost my home. Now the only thing that has him tied to our life is our youngest daughter, and I just don't know what he's capable of. I mean, I don't think he'd want to do anything to jeopardize his freedom, but there's crazy people all over the place. What should Jason do? What can he do to make you feel comfortable that you are safe and that your kids are safe and that he will respect your boundaries?

I want him to go away. I want him to move out of the state. His mother lives in another state. I think it's what's best for him. I mean, he still has to live a life. He's still fairly young. And hopefully that life doesn't include meeting somebody with children. I want to pretend that he actually died.

Because he did. The Jason we knew doesn't exist. You and Jason share one daughter, your youngest, who is 10 now. What do you expect in terms of visitation? If I had my way, I would terminate parental rights. But based off of conversations that I've had with my lawyer, I know that that's not an option. Because I'm still so angry and really passionate about everything,

I thought it was best to hire somebody that can take a stance from like a neutral position to decide what was best for our youngest daughter. He'll make recommendations to the family court on what he thinks is appropriate as far as visitation, if any. When do you think you'll feel really safe again? Never. Maybe when our youngest is on her own and she's an adult

and she can make her own adult decisions. You know, so if she chooses to have a relationship, with him at that time, then, you know, she's an adult, but I just don't feel safe. I don't think really anybody should. On Sunday, August 6th, the Victim Notification Network also called Vine, texted Ashley with a message. Jason Lytton was released on 8-623. The release reason is sentence served. In an emergency, call 911.

And after working with Ashley for over a year, Jason is out. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team, email us at Betrayalpod at gmail.com. That's Betrayal P-O-D at Gmail.com. Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group and partnership with I-Hart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fasin. Hosted and produced by me, Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Carrie Hartman,

also produced by Ben Federman, Associate Producer, Kristen Mulcuri. Our IHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Kreinschuk. Audio editing and mixing by Matt Dalvecchio. Trails theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music library provided by Mide Music. And for more podcasts from IHeart, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Joel and Matt from How To Money. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back.

Prices, they're still high. And the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Polk.

For years, I was the poster boy of the conversion therapy movement, the ex-gay who married an ex-lesbian and traveled the world. telling my story of how I changed my sexuality from gay to straight. You might have heard my story, but you've never heard the real story. John has never been anything that gay, but he really tried hard not to be. Listen to Atonement, the John Polk story on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.