Fifteen-year-old Aspen Brito had spent the year serving as Jr. Miss Leona Valley and preparing to participate in the Jr. Miss Antelope Valley pageant. Brito’s hard work and dream came true only to be destroyed.

”It feels like a piece of my heart has ripped out. It hurts so much,” Brito said.

According to Brito’s mother, Denise, after the pageant was over the father of one of the contestants obtained a list of the girls’ birth dates and discovered that Aspen was 20 days past the age limit for the Jr. Miss contest.

“A parent, who we have had problems with through the whole process, was upset his daughter didn’t win,” said Denise Brito.

The father immediately went to the pageant officials and demanded that Aspen be stripped of her title.

All contestants must provide a birth certificate when they enter a pageant, which Aspen did when she entered and won the Jr. Miss Leona Valley pageant last year.

As winner of that pageant, Aspen was required to enter the Jr. Miss Antelope Valley pageant.

“They had copies of Aspen’s birth certificate and never once did anyone say anything to us,” Denise Brito said. “They took our money and no one ever said Aspen’s age was questionable.”

The fee to enter the pageant is $200, Brito said.

Rather than give back the crown, the family has decided to seek legal counsel, she added.

Whatever the outcome, what was supposed to be a wonderful and happy occasion is forever marred for Aspen.

“There are no words to describe how I am feeling right now,” Aspen told AV News, her voice filled with emotion.

“I cried all night last night,” she said.

Along with the heartbreak, Aspen said she is embarrassed even though she did nothing wrong.

However, Aspen is not alone in this ordeal. Several of the other contestants who are her close friends also were devastated at the incident.

“We cried together,” Aspen said, adding that she could not understand why someone could be so cruel.

Susie McGuffee, the director of the Jr. Miss Leona Valley Pageant, which Aspen won last year, spoke up for the young lady.

“I am working closely with the family to resolve this issue. I am behind the family 100 percent,” McGuffee said.

But for Aspen, what was supposed to be an exciting time in her life is now filled with pain and bad memories.

“It’s supposed to be for fun and be good for the girls. How could anybody be so hateful and be such a sore loser?” she said.

The father who demanded Aspen give back her crown is a director in a local Little Miss pageant and there are three female directors of the Jr. Miss AV Pageant who asked for the crown back..

“How could a grown adult do that to a 15-year-old girl? How could these ladies do this to a young girl,” Denise Brito said.

Cindy Alcott, one of the directors of the Jr. Miss AV Pageant did not return phone calls.

AV News was unable to contact the father identified by Denise Brito as causing the incident.