Ex-Jaguar, wife admit to abuse

Ex-Jaguar, wife admit to abuse

By Paul Pinkham,

The Times-Union

Former Jaguar Rich Tylski was placed in a pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders and his wife got two years of probation after both admitted in court Thursday that they abused their adopted daughter.

Tylski, 37, who played guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1996 through 1999, read a terse statement saying he spanked the girl with a belt beyond the scope of proper discipline in 2006 in their Mandarin home. He will be in the pretrial intervention program, run by the State Attorney's Office, for at least six months or until he completes anger and parenting classes, prosecutors said.

Jane Tylski, 38, told Circuit Judge John Merrett she "maliciously punished" the child, now 8, by striking her and bending her fingers back from 2003 to 2006. She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated child abuse.

She will face the same requirements as her husband under terms of her probation and will be required to pay $12,500 into an educational savings account to be set up for the girl. Her lawyer said he has the money in a trust fund.

The Tylskis and their lawyers left the courthouse down a back staircase and didn't comment. But a family friend said the allegations are untrue and the couple admitted to the charges only because they feared going to prison and losing their three sons.

"They had to acquiesce. They had no choice," said Nancy Bennett of Mandarin. "If they were truly so horrible, why did they [prosecutors] let them off? ... It was the only way they could get out of it gracefully."

Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said the case was difficult factually and the family wanted closure for the girl. The girl's new adopted parents said they believe the Tylskis deserved prison time, but were satisfied with their admissions in court.

"They did not probably today get everything they deserved, but ... what we wanted all along is for them to admit what they did," the girl's mother said. "Now the whole community knows that that little girl told the truth."

The Times-Union doesn't identify juvenile victims of abuse and is not identifying the girl's parents because they have the same last name.

Rich Tylski began his National Football League career with the Jaguars, then played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers before retiring after the 2004 season. The organization All Pro Dad, designed to help men become better fathers, listed him as one of its NFL spokesman in 2004.

He told police his daughter fell down the stairs when she showed up at the hospital with a broken femur in 2006, the incident that prompted the child abuse investigation. Detectives also found a scar on her forehead and mangled fingers, including one permanently deformed from being bent back.

Ultimately the girl was removed from the Tylskis' home and placed with a new family. Her new mother described a loving, active child who loves music and family activities.

"The Tylskis' loss is our gain," her mother said. "She is an essential part of our family, and we can't remember life without her."

paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4107