Update from Season 3 | BONUS | Stacey and Tyler’s Story

Summary

Betrayal Season 5

BONUS Episode: Update from Season 3 | Stacey and Tyler’s Story
Host: Carrie Hartman (Senior Producer)
Date: April 16, 2026

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Overview

This bonus episode delivers a significant update on the story of Stacey Rutherford and her son Tyler, first shared in depth in Season 3. The episode revisits the aftermath of Stacey’s husband Justin’s convictions for sexually abusing Tyler and another child, and his subsequent criminal charges. While many would expect closure following Justin’s lengthy prison sentence, Stacey shares the ongoing struggle her family endures—specifically, Justin’s attempt to sue Tyler from prison for defamation. The episode is a candid and moving look at the persistence of victimization, the limitations of the justice system, and the ongoing journey toward healing in the face of repeated trauma.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Aftermath of Justin’s Convictions

• Recap of Criminal Convictions: Justin pled guilty twice to sexually assaulting Tyler and another child, as well as to voyeurism and a murder-for-hire plot.
• Expectation of Closure:
  • Carrie Hartman remarks:

    “It seems like with that sentence that he received, that should have been the end of it... But that's not how it's gone.” (02:54)

2. New Legal Battle: Civil Lawsuit for Defamation

• Justin's Civil Suit:
  • In August 2025, Tyler was served with a civil lawsuit: Justin, acting as his own attorney, sued Tyler for defamation after Tyler publicly called him a child rapist and predator.
  • Justin’s claims: He was “illegally detained, illegally charged, and coerced” into accepting a plea, thus denying the labels Tyler applied to him.
  • Stacey’s reaction:

    “All it is is him spiraling and realizing that he no longer has control over Tyler, at least for me.” (05:17)

• Manipulation Through the Legal System:
  • The civil suit included a personal letter from Justin to Tyler, inviting Tyler to visit him in prison, despite a no-contact order.
  • Prison response: Although the letter was inappropriate, Justin “has the right to civilly sue anyone,” and the boundaries between his civil action and personal contact were not recognized by the prison. (04:12–05:11)

3. Lasting Aggression and Lack of Remorse

• No Remorse from Justin:
  • Justin continues to deflect blame, referencing lost reputation and medical license as things “taken” from him by Tyler, never accepting responsibility for his actions.
  • Stacey expresses disbelief at Justin’s attempts to seek absolution (e.g., a baptism invitation):

    “There's no way you found God the way that you say you found God... You lost these things because you were a pedophile. You lost these things because you raped children. So the fact that you still find blame is [in] a child? There's no remorse.” (06:10–06:41)

4. Navigating the Civil Legal Process

• Necessity of Legal Response:
  • Tyler initially did not want to respond, but Stacey insists:

    “If you don't respond to it, Tyler, he could potentially win because you don't bring forth any evidence...” (07:05)

  • Their lawyer compiled hundreds of pages of documentation showing Justin’s criminal guilt, including plea and sentencing transcripts. (07:53)
• Challenges in Judicial Communication:
  • The criminal and civil courts do not automatically share information; the civil judge may not know Justin’s criminal history.

5. Outcome and Ongoing Fear

• Lawsuit Outcome:
  • After months of legal back-and-forth, the judge dismissed the suit "without leave to amend"—Justin cannot refile. (09:34)
• Lingering Threat:
  • Stacey is certain Justin will continue seeking ways to harass them legally:

    “I don't think he cares anymore... What are they gonna do? I think he's just throwing things at the wall and just hoping that something sticks eventually.” (09:55)

  • The constant uncertainty takes a psychological toll:

    “Is this really the rest of my life? Constantly looking over my shoulder, seeing what's he going to do to me next?... He can continue to victimize Tyler from a prison cell.” (10:42)

  • The system, Stacey notes, allows for continued victimization:

    “My son will forever be punished for using his voice. And what we're saying to other victims is it never really ends.” (10:50)

6. Hope, Victory, and Small Consolations

• Silver Lining:
  • Justin’s ongoing legal aggression will likely undermine his chances at parole, as the board will see his lack of remorse:

    “The more you do these kinds of things, the less remorseful you look and the less likely the parole board is to grant your parole.” (11:10)

• Feeling of Small Victory:
  • Stacey and Tyler take solace in their recent win:

    “Tyler and I kind of celebrated a little bit, and we're just hoping that maybe this will shut him up and he'll leave him alone.” (11:39)

  • Stacey’s resilience:

    “That's okay, because we beat it once, we'll beat it again.” (12:05)

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Memorable Quotes & Speaker Attribution

• On Justin’s litigiousness:

  “He’s going to be the guy in the law library every single day.”
  — Carrie Hartman recalling Stacey’s sister, (03:49)

• On Justin’s manipulations:

  “He asked Tyler to come see him... In his sentence, he was not allowed to have contact with Tyler. So I immediately called the prison.”
  — Stacey Rutherford, (04:20)

• On loss and blame:

  “You lost these things because you were a pedophile. You lost these things because you raped children. So the fact that you still find blame is a child. There's no remorse.”
  — Stacey Rutherford, (06:29)

• On the persistence of victimization:

  “He can continue to victimize Tyler from a prison cell. My son will forever be punished for using his voice. And what we're saying to other victims is it never really ends.”
  — Stacey Rutherford, (10:42)

• On hope and resilience:

  “We beat it once, we'll beat it again.”
  — Stacey Rutherford, (12:05)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:07 | Carrie introduces the update with Stacey Rutherford | | 03:13 | Stacey describes the civil lawsuit initiated by Justin | | 04:12 | Details about Justin's manipulations and personal letter | | 06:10 | Stacey explains Justin’s lack of remorse | | 07:05 | Discussion of the necessity to respond to the lawsuit | | 07:53 | Gathering of legal evidence and complications in court | | 08:57 | The lawsuit process and timeline | | 09:34 | Judge's final ruling—case dismissed | | 10:42 | Stacey on ongoing victimization and its impact | | 11:10 | Parole implications of Justin's actions | | 11:39 | Stacey and Tyler celebrate the small victory | | 12:05 | Stacey concludes with a message of resilience |

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is frank, emotional, and unflinching, balancing moments of outrage with weary optimism. Stacey’s determination and Tyler’s resilience shine through, offering a message of perseverance while also honestly depicting the lingering pain and bureaucracy survivors often face. The episode underscores how abusers can weaponize the legal system to exert control even from behind bars, and that for many survivors, justice is only part of the journey—the fight for peace and normalcy continues.

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For additional resources, connect with the Betrayal team at [e-mail] or join the community on Substack.

Transcript

[Carrie Hartman]

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[Carrie Hartman]

Hi, I'm Carrie Hartman, a senior producer on Betrayal. If you've been following the podcast, you know the stories we tell don't end when the episodes do. People, people's lives keep moving forward. And sometimes we like to check back in. Recently, I had the chance to talk with Stacey Rutherford. In season three, Stacy and her son Tyler shared the harrowing story of her husband's sexual abuse of Tyler. It's one of the most chilling cases we've covered, and there've been some recent developments. Here's My conversation with Stacey. We all know everybody who listened to your season that Justin pled guilty not once but twice to sexual assault of Tyler and another child. He also pled guilty for voyeurism, and eventually he also pled guilty for a murder for hire scheme. And it seems like with that sentence that he received, that should have been the end of it. You should have walked out those doors that day. He would do decades in prison. This would be over. But that's not how it's gone.

[Stacey Rutherford]

No.

[Carrie Hartman]

What's happened?

[Stacey Rutherford]

So in August of last year, 2025, Tyler was served with civil suit. Justin was suing him for defamation of character. Tyler had called him a child rapist and a child predator. And Justin's response was that he was illegally detained, illegally charged, and that he was coerced into signing the plea deal. So he's not these things that Tyler is saying he is because he's illegally detained for these things.

[Carrie Hartman]

I'm just reminded of your sister after Justin was sentenced. I'll never forget this. She said he's going to be the guy in the law library every single day.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Yeah.

[Carrie Hartman]

Trying to devise scheme, come up with any possible way.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Yeah. I remember her saying, they'll know him well in there. You know, Justin is his own attorney. He's filing on behalf of himself. So he was the one that actually filled out the paperwork, had it delivered to the house, and it came from Justin. So it did not come from a lawyer, but he serves him with the lawsuit papers, and then he put a private letter on the front of it. And that's what I was really upset about, because in that letter, he asked Tyler to come see him and said, if you would like to come see me and discuss this matter in person, I can get you put on my list in the prison to come talk to me about this. In his sentence, he was not allowed to have contact with Tyler. So I immediately called the prison and said, I have this mail that he contacted Tyler and I was told that it is his right to civilly sue anyone and that basically that did not cross over because he was acting as his lawyer.

[Carrie Hartman]

So really, did you think the lawsuit was like a cover to get a personal letter to Tyler?

[Stacey Rutherford]

Absolutely. All it is is him spiraling and realizing that he no longer has control over Tyler, at least for me.

[Carrie Hartman]

What really sticks out is there's absolutely no remorse of any kind. It's almost like he is doubling down on everything.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Yeah. And what I find really comical is the last time I heard from him was well over a year Ago, he had sent a letter, and in the letter, he talked about that he was being baptized on Easter and that he would really love for me to come and see him be baptized. And all I can think of is, like, there's no way you found God the way that you say you found God, you know, and to be baptized and to repent of your sins, because if you were truly owning what you did to him, this lawsuit wouldn't be happening. He kept bringing up his reputation and his. His medical license was stripped, and Tyler took all these things from him. And I'm like, you're so not remorseful for any of this because you still are placing blame on him for you losing these things. You lost these things because you were a pedophile. You lost these things because you raped children. So the fact that you still find blame is a child. There's no remorse.

[Carrie Hartman]

It's infuriating, because even though it's like a BS lawsuit that's completely ridiculous and really doesn't have a basis in fact, doesn't Tyler still have to respond to it? I mean, just because you get a lawsuit, you can't just go, oh, I'm not going to respond to that.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Tyler at first was like, d. I'm just going to ignore it. I don't care. I'm not responding to that crap. That's stupid. And I was like, no, if you don't respond to it, Tyler, he could potentially win because you don't bring forth any evidence to prove why you were saying those things. Just because we know that it's meritless doesn't mean that the court system knows it is.

[Carrie Hartman]

Right. You can't assume anything. Justin was prosecuted in criminal court. That's where his entire case was heard. But he filed a lawsuit going after Tyler for defamation in civil court. And chances are that the judge deciding the civil case doesn't know who Justin Rutherford is or what crimes he's been convicted of already. We can't assume that those two branches talk to each other.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Right. They don't know that he's sitting in prison for those charges. They don't know the extent of the case. When you first get that paperwork, you have 20 days to respond. So we were scrambling, Right. When we finally obtained a lawyer, I want to say it was like, 270 pages that Tyler's lawyer brought in. All the charges, all the sentencings. You know, a transcript of them asking him, do you understand the charges and the sentencing and everything like that?

[Carrie Hartman]

Yeah. They ask you, have you been coerced to take this Plea or right? Isn't that part of the questioning?

[Stacey Rutherford]

They don't just ask it once. They ask it multiple times throughout that court session of sentencing and everything. You know, did anyone coerce you into this? Have you been explained all your rights? Is there anything we can explain further to you? Do you have any questions? It's like, over and over and over, they make sure that these people understand.

[Carrie Hartman]

Right? So from the time that Tyler was first served last summer, how long did it take for the judge to rule, and what was the ruling?

[Stacey Rutherford]

It was months of going back and forth with him filing first, then our lawyer responding, then they give Justin the opportunity to respond to our response, and then they give Tyler's attorney a response to response to his response. I mean, it's just you. It's just all this back and forth, and then the first of the year, the judge said that he was going to make his decision and then let Everybody know by the 20th of February. And just last week, the final document was signed for it to be dropped.

[Carrie Hartman]

When you say it was dropped, what do you mean by that?

[Stacey Rutherford]

It is dismissed without leave to amend. So what that means is he cannot refile the case against Tyler.

[Carrie Hartman]

Do you think that he's gonna give up now and just say, okay, I got thrown out. I didn't get anywhere with this? Do you feel like you've hit the end?

[Stacey Rutherford]

No. I know enough about him to know that he always is kind of like trying to be one step ahead of the game. So I believe the next thing's coming. I don't think he cares anymore, because I think he thinks, what does he have to lose in there? What are they gonna do? I think he's just throwing things at the wall and just hoping that something sticks eventually. I'm not concerned at all that they're going to find some error and that he was illegally detained and he'll be back out? There's no way. I'm not worried about that. The only thing I'm concerned with is just that I just feel like this is just like a crusade for him to make Tyler pay.

[Carrie Hartman]

It makes it really hard for your son to move on when you don't know when that next letter disguised as a legal document is coming.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Tyler said to me after the paperwork came, like, is this really the rest of my life? Constantly looking over my shoulder, seeing what's he going to do to me next? And it's frustrating because it's like he can continue to victimize Tyler from a prison cell. My son will forever be punished for using his voice. And what we're saying to other victims is it never really ends.

[Carrie Hartman]

Wow. That's really. That's the bottom line.

[Stacey Rutherford]

The only good thing in this is when he goes up for parole. So at 27 years or whatever, the more you do these kinds of things, the less remorseful you look and the less likely the parole board is to grant your parole.

[Carrie Hartman]

It's an interesting point.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Yeah, definitely. So far. You know, we feel like we had a little bit of victory last week. Tyler and I kind of celebrated a little bit, and we're just hoping that maybe this will shut him up and he'll leave him alone.

[Carrie Hartman]

Wow. Stacy, I'm really sorry, but I'm happy that things worked out the way that they did, and I think that's what's going to continue to happen, because justice was served.

[Stacey Rutherford]

Yeah.

[Carrie Hartman]

And I think you're in the right. You've done everything that you're supposed to do, Right? So I hope it doesn't happen again. But I agree with you that it probably will.

[Stacey Rutherford]

It probably will. That's okay, because we beat it once, we'll beat it again.

[Doug]

And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Comedic Bystander]

Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Married Person]

Oh, no.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Representative]

We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.

[Married Person]

We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Comedic Bystander]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Representative]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Liberty Mutual Chant]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Carrie Hartman]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Representative]

Guaranteed Human.