Treatment Not

By Aaron Horth

Rico1 was 17 the first time he was arrested for violence against his mother. It started with a misdemeanor assault, and then a contempt case less than 48 hours later. It culminated with Rico threatening to kill his mother with a knife. But not once, during Rico’s half a dozen cases, did the prosecutor ever try to find out why Rico would seek to kill his mother, his natural protector. The events of Rico’s life were always viewed in a vacuum. It is not normal or natural for a child to want to harm their parents, and so when it happens, we must ask why.

I knew that the Administration of Children’s Services was somehow involved in Rico’s home, but that’s about all I knew. That said, although he never opened up to me about it, I also knew he had at least one adverse childhood experience. Rico’s trauma was palpable since the moment I met him. But I was never able to fully unearth that history; and the prosecutor simply never cared to look.

In addition to Rico’s issues at home, he also struggled with his ability to form relationships and maintain appropriate boundaries with women. The ATI programming he received was part of a combined plea deal that included a conditional discharge for a forcible touching conviction as well. Though the prosecutor knew about these problems with inappropriate sexual behavior, I doubt they ever considered that it might be due to his upbringing and that amorphous trauma that surrounded him.