Hulu’s ‘Betrayal: A Father’s Secret’ goes inside the disturbing things Utah mom Ashley Lytton learned about her husband Jason
On Sept. 29, 2021, Utah mother Ashley Lytton made a horrifying discovery — one that completely changed her perspective on her decade-long marriage to husband Jason and the family they’d built together.
The mom of three had accidentally stumbled upon a hidden folder containing child sexual abuse material in her husband’s iCloud account, according to ABC News. Earlier that day, Jason had asked Ashley to create a Venmo account for him. But when he changed his mind not long after, calling in what Ashley remembered as a panicky state, Ashley became suspicious and decided to look through his computer files.
Ashley eventually contacted the police, and authorities began uncovering a slew of alarming allegations against Jason.
This case is now the focus of the second season of Hulu’s Betrayal: A Father’s Secret, which premiered on July 30. The three part docuseries from ABC Studios is based on the true-crime podcast series called Betrayal, and features interviews with Ashley, her 15-year-old daughter Avaya (Jason’s stepdaughter), and others who recount the case.
According to ABC News, Ashley and Jason became a couple while she was a single mother raising her two children from a previous relationship. They married four years later and share a young daughter together. The family soon became popular in their hometown of Riverton, Utah.
In a trailer for the series, Ashley recalls the day she made the discovery — and she struggles to describe what she found inside the hidden folder.
Hulu
Ashley Lytton in Hulu’s ‘Betrayal: A Father’s Secret.’
“I don’t think I can say it, I’m sorry,” she says. “I just need a break.”
Ashley contacted Riverton City police, and with their help, lured Jason to a Walmart parking lot in October 2021 under the pretense of discussing matters, ABC News reported. Instead, he was arrested.
According to an arrest affidavit cited by ABC 4 Utah, police found over 1,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material during a search of Jason’s iCloud account and cell phone. The unidentified person who contacted police told them the photos they found appeared to be of girls between the ages of 8 and 15-years-old. Per the affidavit, Jason claimed he “had a problem.”
Jason faced 100 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. But he was ultimately convicted of lesser charges after accepting a plea deal, ABC 4 Utah reported. He pleaded guilty to one of the sexual exploitation charges and the two voyeurism charges.
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The deal sentenced Jason to 329 days in Salt Lake County Jail with credit for time already served, along with two years of supervised probation, according to the outlet. In addition to his sentence, he was ordered to complete a cognitive behavioral program and a mental health evaluation. He was also ordered to abide by Group A Sex Offender conditions, the outlet reported.
According to ABC News, Jason served only 10 months behind bars before returning to the same Riverton, Utah, community where Ashley and her family still live today.
Betrayal: A Father’s Secret is currently streaming on Hulu.
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