Are you sitting down? 'Cause you might need to for this story. Forty-one-year-old Coral Lytle of Tulare County, California, stands accused of having sex with two teenage boys in 2017. But that's not even the most shocking part — the teens, who were freshman in high school at the time, were both dating her own teenage daughters. (WHAT?)
Lytle was arrested back in 2017 and charged with 21 felony sex counts, but was just recently brought before a judge for sentencing.
In a surprising twist, though, Lytle showed up to court Monday only for a Tulare County judge to say he wouldn't be sentencing her just yet — on the grounds that he didn't believe the indicated sentence was appropriate. The suggested sentence included five years of probation, with a six-year suspended prison term; it's unclear what the judge would be recommending when Lytle returns to court on Monday.
In the meantime, however, she now has the right to withdraw her earlier guilty plea.
In case you're wondering how in the world -- and why -- a mom could do such a thing, you aren't the only one who's baffled.
As news of the story spread across social media this week, many users were shocked by the headlines, calling Lytle's actions "disgusting" and "pathetic."
(Sadly, though, there were more "Where were the moms like this when I was in high school?" comments than I could even count.)
"Sick," wrote one Facebook user. "What kind of Mom would do this?"
The answer to that one continues to evade prosecutors, as court documents continue to leak with more of the sordid details of Lytle's alleged crimes.
According to the DA, Lytle provided both boys with alcohol and cigars and would drive to the nearby town of Visalia to meet them for sex.
In one particularly cringe-worthy part of the court documents, one of the victims claims to have had sex with the Tulare mom on three separate occasions, concluding on October 5, 2017. And apparently, it was after that encounter that the teen's conscience caught up with him.
"[Victim] stated this was the last time he had sex with defendant because he felt bad shaking defendant's husband's hand knowing what he was doing with defendant," states the brief, which was obtained by ABC 7.
Oof — yep; that'll do it.
(For the record, Lytle's husband reportedly filed divorce papers just days after her 2017 arrest, so I'm guessing he was blindsided by the news — as anyone would be.)
Although Lytle's fate won't be known until she appears before the judge again, prosecutors are certainly hoping the punishment fits the crime.
"The crimes in this case committed by the defendant involved great cruelty and callousness especially considering the defendant took advantage of a position of trust to molest two boys who she met when they [were in] teenage dating relationships with the defendant's daughters," a Tulare County Deputy District Attorney writes in a recently filed brief.
It's hard to wrap the mind around just what Lytle was thinking at the time, particularly because the victims were just 14 and 15 years old when the alleged assaults took place. But what's even harder to imagine is what kind of a relationship — if any — Lytle could possibly have with her two daughters after their trust has been so severely betrayed.
