A doctor’s wife says her existence shattered on finding a black cube hidden in her bathroom that ultimately led to her husband being convicted of raping her son.
Justin Rutherford, 36, was convicted of rape of an unconscious victim, rape of a child, sexual abuse of children, and invasion of privacy, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office announced in 2023.
Rutherford’s wife, Stacey, told police that she wasn’t aware of a recording device and had no idea of the sick double life her husband led.
She and her son, Tyler VanScyoc, have now decided to tell their story in a new docuseries on Hulu.
‘For a long time, my ex-husband’s voice was prominent in telling his side of the story, Stacey told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
‘It was always [about] what he was doing, and what was going on with him. And I think it was finally time for us to have a voice. It was a liberating moment’.
A trailer for the docuseries, Betrayal: Under His Eye, revealed an emotional moment in which Stacey recounted the trauma of discovering who her husband really was.
‘I should’ve known,’ she tearfully confessed.
Justin Rutherford was convicted on rape charges for sexually assaulting minors, including his stepson (Rutherford pictured with wife Stacey and stepkids)
An investigation revealed that multiple instances of abuse occurred in the doctor’s upscale Pennsylvania home in Douglassville (pictured)
Stacey Rutherford’s world was turned upside down when her husband was arrested for sex abuse crimes
Rutherford was sentenced to 26 to 70 years for the despicable acts he committed against his stepson and other minors last year.
An additional five to 10 years was later tacked on to his sentence after he was convicted of attempting a murder-for-hire plot against his stepson from prison.
Rutherford was sentenced 26 to 70 years for the despicable acts he committed against minors
The gruesome discovery that led to a shocking investigation into the Pennsylvania doctor’s crimes began in the summer of 2021, when a 13-year-old boy found a black cube plugged into the wall outlet while showering in the posh Douglassville home.
He informed his mother of the mysterious device, who then instructed him to bring the camera home, and they reported the incident to the police.
Investigators located thousands of pictures and videos of guests undressing in the bathroom, including multiple children.
During the investigation, police learned of assaults that occurred inside the home. VanScyoc later reported that his stepfather had begun abusing him at the age of 11.
He told the Philadelphia Inquirer that it was ‘almost healing’, reliving the abuse, adding that sharing his trauma has helped him process it.
VanScyoc first divulged the abuse to an aunt, telling her that his stepfather was molesting him.
Rutherford’s stepson, Tyler VanScyoc, came out about the abuse he suffered since age 11
Stacey Rutherford told ABC that she and her family were living the American dream, until her ex-husband destroyed everything
Two underage boys had also told investigators that they were sexually abused inside Rutherford’s home after he provided them with alcohol and marijuana.
During the investigation, Rutherford fled to Europe for several weeks and was arrested at an airport in Virginia when he returned.
Rutherford had been employed with Tower Health, and a spokesperson announced his termination after he was arrested.
Authorities didn’t believe that Rutherford had assaulted his patients while employed as a physician.
While in custody, he attempted to take out his main accuser, his stepson. Letters to a family friend from prison revealed that Rutherford wanted his stepson to be killed after getting off work and buried in a forest or burned in a barrel, Stacey told ABC News.
Stacey Rutherford and her son, Tyler VanScyoc, are opening up about the devastating way their family was torn apart in a new ABC/Hulu documentary
The new docuseries is available to stream on Hulu and reveals firsthand accounts of the shocking abuse Rutherford perpetuated
The case rattled Rutherford’s wife and family, who had believed him to be a reputable doctor and a respected member of the community.
‘We lived the American dream and he destroyed it,’ Stacey said.
Berks County Supervising Attorney Meg McCallum echoed a similar reaction, telling the outlet: ‘As a community, it is shocking for people to believe that a doctor, a stepfather, a person who we pour our trust in, could do these types of things’.
As a part of his sentence, Rutherford was ordered not to see any of the victims in the case or any minors, including his two biological children with Stacey.
