Mother Believes Assemblywoman's Husband Accused Of Abusing Child Got Off Easy
MODESTO (CBS13) — He's married to a local lawmaker, and was accused of assaulting a 4-year-old harshly enough to leave bruises behind.
But tonight, Rod Olsen is off the hook, thanks to a plea deal where his only crime making a loud noise.
The alleged incident happened in a Modesto park,and despite the case coming to a close, the alleged victim's mother says justice was not served.
"He abused and terrified a child," said Ashley Heapy.
She believes Olsen, husband of Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, got away with a crime he committed. She believes he got special treatment after he was accused of grabbing her 4-year-old son at a soccer practice in August hard enough to bruise the child.
"I don't feel like the D.A. didn't anything they are supposed to do," she said. "It's an absolute shame that he's getting away with this."
Instead, as part of a plea deal, the lawmaker's husband pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace by making loud noise.
"He basically got the charge today a high schooler would get for bumping their music too loud going down the road," Heapey said.
Olsen spoke out on Tuesday, admitting that while he did get loud, he never laid hands on anyone.
"It just proves that the facts of the case were not as plain as some people allege," he said. "No way did I touch a child, ever. I walked out on the field to see my son, to see how he was doing after being bullied by this child four or five times."
Olsen will now be required to attend eight weeks of anger management classes he's skeptical about needing and be put on three months probation.
"Do I need it?" he asked. "That's debatable, but I'm open to it. and if that makes me a better father, a better husband, a better person in society, then great."
Olsen is also not allowed to be within 100 feet of that boy.
Despite Olsen's last name, the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office says his relationship to an assemblywoman wasn't a factor, and he was treated the same as any other defendant.
Heapy says she doesn't believe it, and that his sentence won't change anything.
"I absolutely don't think that he's going to gather anything from this, I hope he would, but I don't think he will," she said.
