Photo: Visalia Police Department
What she did is unforgivable.
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Apr 19, 2019
Who is Coral Lytle? When you're a mother, one of your main responsibilities is to take care of the children that you bring into this world. You want to keep them happy, healthy, safe and prepared for their life to come. But your responsibilities don't stop there. To be a mother means setting a positive example for your kids, and sometimes people fall way short of the mark. One mother didn't just fall short of the mark, she violated a trust that many find sacred, and her terrible misdeeds didn't stop there. When you find out the way she betrayed her daughters and harmed two other innocents in the process, the hair on the back of your neck will stand on end. Ladies and gentleman, prepare to meet Coral Lytle.
1. What She Did
In October of 2017 police arrested mother Coral Lytle after receiving some pretty deeply unsettling allegations about the so-called happily married business owner. Police who arrived to arrest her revealed that they had received tips that Lytle, then 40, was engaging in an "inappropriate relationship" with a male minor, and that was only the tip of the iceberg. As soon as the police began looking into these allegations, a second male minor (both accusers were under the age of 16) came forward and admitted that he too had engaged in an "inappropriate relationship". Lyle was then arrested for multiple counts of "engaging in lewd acts with a minor."
Both of the boys involved in relationships with Lytle are reported to have been dating her two daughters. Lytle also is accused of providing the teens with easy access to alcohol. One of the boys revealed that he and Lytle had sex three times and that he “felt bad shaking the Defendant’s husband’s hand knowing what he was doing with the Defendant.”
2. The Charges
According to the court records filed in California, where Lytle and the victims live, the state has filed 21 charges against Lytle in total over the span of two filings. On October 31, 2017, the first filing was made, charging her with 12 felonies, 8 of which were in relation to the lewd acts with a minor ten years younger than the defendant. Two other charges of showing pornography to a child were later dropped.
The second filing came in April 3, 2018, and included four counts of “Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor". This was different from the first filing because it places an emphasis on their ages: the victim being under 16 and the defendant being well-over 21, in other words, statutory rape, punishable by up to four years in prison. The state also included for charges for “meeting Minor for Lewd Purposes.”
3. Changing Her Plea
When the time came for Lytle to submit a plea, she initially pled not guilty to every single charge laid down before her. But it didn't stay that way for very long. In March of 2019, she made an agreement where she would plead guilty to at least 12 of the charges and in doing this guarantee that she wouldn't have to spend much time in prison. While this might sound ideal for Lytle, the judge on the case has different feelings. Judge Joseph Kalashian, after hearing about the plea deal on the table, delayed Lytle's sentencing, not feeling it was a correct move on the part of the State. Now Lytle will have to wait until the end of April 2019 to find out whether or not she'll be allowed to reverse her plea.
4. The Divorce
Prior to being brought up on these shocking charges, Lytle was happily married to Eric Lytle. However, just one week after his wife was arrested for her alleged crimes against these two minor boys, Eric decided he was out and filed immediately for a divorce. The ties that bind can often be difficult to sever, and while Eric had no problem quickly taking action against the woman who engaged in lewd activities with the boyfriends of their young daughters. Eric had to file a restraining order against his former wife and they are still fighting over child support for their four children and visitation rights.
5. Her Life Before
Prior to her arrest on these charges, Lytle had no criminal charges for anything to speak of in the state of California or anywhere else. In fact, before her fall from grace, Lytle was a respected member of the community and a business owner in her own right. Lytle used to run a business called "Grovisible", that handled "business services". If it sounds very vague, that's because it is. When she wound up getting arrested her husband took the necessary steps to dissolve her company. Whatever her old life was, it's going to look very different for her from here on out.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. Her work focuses on relationships, pop culture and news. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.