Cathy Marie Bown

Last Friday, my daughters and I sat with some of our closest friends and family to witness the sentencing of Cason John Lee, who was convicted in March 2026 of 7 felony counts of sexual crimes against three children.

I wrote about the trial in a separate post, titled The Rape of Innocence.

If you want to see some of the news coverage, which was small but powerful, I’m attaching a few links. Many news stations have run clips and articles about this case. One such article can be found here. If you want to watch a news clip of the coverage, click here.

I want to say that 78 years in the prison system (48 years in prison, 30 years on extended supervision) doesn’t feel like enough, on the surface.

These victims, and every single person he victimized, myself included, will carry these crimes until the end of our lives. For these girls, the violation was so heinous that the judge felt it necessary to scold Cason Lee from the bench, calling him a “groomer” and “manipulative.”

These words were NOT lies. I watched from the outside as Cason Lee groomed my children, and then their friends, in the early 2010s.

I spoke up. I called the police. I withheld custodial visitations.

I was punished for protecting my children.

I was silenced for speaking out about the likelihood of it happening to his other daughter or to other children that might be in his home.

When you coparent with a dangerous, abusive narcissist, all hell can, and usually does, break loose with every single interaction.

So, no, 78 years will never be enough for what he has done that he wasn’t punished for.

But 78 years is enough for him to die inside the prison system. 78 years ensures he never puts his hands on another child as long as he is alive.

And that kind of peace is worth it. That is enough.

Until Next Time

Cathy Marie