Genealogy, Justice, and a Mugshot: How One Redditor Ensured a Predator’s Legacy Would Never Be Whitewashed
Let’s face it—family trees are usually a gentle stroll through sepia-toned photographs, tales of Great Aunt Edna’s epic pie contest win, and the occasional “oops, we’re related to a pirate!” revelation. But sometimes, the skeletons in the closet aren’t quirky—they’re criminal. And, as one Redditor on r/PettyRevenge showed, sometimes the only justice you get is the justice you make yourself.
This is the story of how one woman, betrayed by both a monstrous father and a failed legal system, decided that if the present wouldn’t hold her abuser accountable, the future certainly would.
When Justice Fails, Petty Revenge Steps Up
Our heroine (u/TheForgottenDaughter) begins her saga with a trigger warning, and for good reason. Her “sperm donor” (as she bluntly puts it—don’t worry, she clarifies later that he’s her biological father, not the father of her children) was exposed as a serial predator, secretly filming children and adults in the family bathroom and hoarding a sickening stash of CP. The evidence was irrefutable. Yet, after years of delays and a prosecutor swap, he got a deal that left him with minor charges and, disgustingly, no place on any registry.
It’s the kind of ugly justice fail that leaves you questioning not just the system, but humanity itself. And the community agreed—u/AussieGirl27 was floored: “That is so fucked!!! I am so sorry for you and the victims.” Others, like u/CoderJoe1, wished the exposure could’ve been immediate: “He deserves to have all of that info uploaded someplace very public right away. The delayed reveal only reduces his suffering and allows him to continue manipulating people.”
But as OP explained, the small-town gossip mill is already humming, and those who want to believe his innocence will keep doing so—no matter what comes out. “The living choose to be blind and let emotion cloud facts when it comes to family they refuse to see the sins of,” she reflected, echoing the frustration so many victims feel when abusers are shielded by willful ignorance.
The Genealogy Gambit: Turning Ancestry.com Into a Time Capsule of Truth
Here’s where the story pivots from tragic to masterful. You see, OP is a genealogy buff—armed with a premium Ancestry account and a determination to rewrite the narrative her father sought to control. If you’ve never lost a weekend tumbling down your family tree, you might not know: living relatives’ details are private on Ancestry, but once someone is marked deceased, their profile opens up to future researchers.
So, what does she do? She makes his mugshot the one and only photo. She uploads the article detailing his arrest. And—after discovering she can access the damning court documents online—she adds his initial charges, sentencing, and a list of evidence for good measure. No glowing family summaries, no whitewashed eulogies. Only the truth, preserved for generations.
As u/kaerahis quipped, “Here I thought this was going to be a story about giving someone a terrible Epitaph. You go girl!” And go she did.
The Community Reacts: Applause, Outrage, and Dark Humor
Reddit was, predictably, both horrified and impressed. Some, like u/paintedlotusyt, took the idea further: “If you have the money to rent a billboard in your town, you can have his mug shot pasted up there.” Others, like u/Wide_Comment3081, wondered if OP considered more immediate (and digestive) forms of retribution: “Have you considered putting laxatives in all his food?”
But it wasn’t all jokes and vigilante dreams. Many commenters, like u/curiouscatfarmer, lamented the broader injustice: “I do hope something comes out publicly to ruin his reputation that the delusional people who defend him can't ignore. He should be in prison. I'm so sorry you have to be related to someone like that.”
On the technical side, a mini-debate about Ancestry’s privacy settings broke out. Could OP just mark him as dead now? As u/PhDTARDIS and u/ratscabs pointed out, you can mark others as deceased in your tree (and OP’s father is “dead” to her anyway!), but OP chose to let the official process take its course.
And then there were the hard truths—like u/Nihelus, a former deputy, who grimly admitted: “Both the crime and how it was handled… is common. I lost a lot of faith in our justice system and how it worked that day. The next nine years before I quit only solidified that feeling.”
Legacy, Reputation, and a Mugshot for the Ages
For OP, the real satisfaction isn’t about direct confrontation or public spectacle—it’s about denying her abuser the legacy he so desperately craves. “Reputation and respect mean everything to him,” she wrote. “Most people don't know what he did, and if they know the accusations they have been sweet talked into thinking he didn't do it. But future people will.”
No amount of manipulation, charm, or family denial will erase the digital trail she’s created. The next time someone digs up her father’s name in a genealogy search, they’ll find not a pillar of the community, but a criminal whose “sins of the father” have finally caught up with him—at least in the historical record.
As u/TheForgottenDaughter put it: “His legacy will be the crimes he committed. The loved ones he hurt. Including his kids. Future generations will know who he was. And that brings me... a small amount of peace.”
What Would You Do?
Stories like this remind us that sometimes, justice isn’t a matter of courts or convictions—it’s the stories we tell and the records we keep. Have you ever used genealogy (or a little online sleuthing) for revenge or justice? Would you take OP’s route—or go bigger, like the billboard dreamers in the comments?
Share your thoughts below—because legacies aren’t just built by the living, but by those who refuse to let the truth die.
Original Reddit Post: Future Generations Will Know Who He Was