"The first witness the people are calling to the stand is Macy Kingsley." Jared's voice filled the quiet courtroom.
Today we were at the grand jury's hearing. The purpose of it today was to get the grand jury to see evidence and hear the victim's testimony. Aside from that. Conrad and the school counselor were also going to be called to the stand. We hoped that after the grand jury heard every last word they would decide that the school was at fault and that the victims deserved their day in court to get justice for what they were put through.
After a rough couple of months, our case was solid and we were positive that the girls would get their day in court. That didn't help with the nerves though, I woke up today and all I wanted to do was throw up. This was the first time I was going to see Connery's family since the charity ball. And there were no surprises when I walked into the courtroom with Jared, just as I imagined it in my head, Victoria shot daggers at me. If looks could only kill. Connery was sitting beside her but I avoided all eye contact.
Last night might've been the last straw for him but deep down I hoped that he would just open his eyes to what was sitting right in front of him. If the bruises around my neck didn't speak enough volumes for him to at least question what was happening, I didn't know what would. Did I have to get raped as well? Or did I have to be buried six feet underground? Was that was what it was going to take for him to finally believe what was in front of him all this time?
Once Macy took the stand Jared proceeded with the hearing. "Can you please state your name and last name for the court?"
Macy nods. "Macy Kingsley,"
"Macy, can you tell the ladies and gentlemen for the jury what happened to you on the night of August 18th?" Jared asks.
Macy takes a deep breath. "On the night of August 18th, I was raped by Tommy Scott and four other guys at the Alpha Betta Gamma house."
From where we were sitting you could already see Macy Struggling to keep her composure, her eyes began to water. "Can you describe for the ladies and gentlemen for the jury the events that led to that night?"
"My friend Natalie wanted to go out to AJ's that night to see the Lakers game with our friend Lucas. I didn't want to go out that night, but my friends insisted so I gave in. I should've stayed in my dorm." Macy pauses as a tear falls down her right cheek. "It was during the second quarter of the game when Natalie introduced me to Tommy Scott. I didn't know most of the people there so she just wanted me to have someone to talk to while she flirted with one of the guys from the team. After four drinks we hit it off pretty well and by the end of half time he invited me over to the frat house."
"What happened next Macy?" Jared asks.
Macy stayed silent for a few seconds before answering Jared's question. "We got into his car, he drives a blue mustang, and we drove over to the frat house. It was empty when we got there. He then leads me up to his room and we started to kiss. I pushed him away once he started going too fast. It was my first time and I didn't feel ready."
"Did he stop Macy?" Macy shakes her head and more tears stream down her cheeks.
"He ignored me and started pulling up my skirt."
"Did you say no?" Jared asks and Macy nods.
This time her response was a little louder. "Yes, many times. He didn't listen, he just kept going."
"How do the four other boys fit into the picture?"
"After he pulled up my skirt and had already unbuttoned my blouse he said she's ready for you boys. That's when the four other boys walked in. It all happened too quickly because before I had time to think about what was happening they were on top of me."
"And then what happened?"
"I tried to scream, but Tommy forced my mouth open and the other four took turns. Both in the front and back. It hurt so much, but they didn't care. They just laughed and high five each other. I froze and I looked at the posters on the ceiling until it was all over."
"What happened when you reported your rape to campus security? Why do you think the administration failed you?"
"After I reported my rape to campus security I met with Chancellor Scott." Macy looked Conrad straight into his eyes and you could see the hatred behind her eyes. "He asked me all these questions that had nothing to do with the rape. Chancellor Scott wanted to know about my family, grades, and if I had had any other hookups gone wrong."
"I have no further questions for our first witness." Jared pauses. "The People call their second witness, Emily Cohen."
Macy stepped off the stand and Emily took her place in the stand. "Can you please state your name and last name for the court?"
"Emily Cohen,"
"Emily, can you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury the reason as to why you're here this morning?"
Emily nods and takes a deep breath before answering. "I was raped by Tommy Scott a year ago during rush week on my first semester as a freshman."
"Can you please describe the events that led to that night?"
"I was rushing the Kappa Kappa Delta house that week. On the night of my assault, we were at a party that the Alpha Beta Gamma frat house was throwing. One of the girls from the sorority introduced me to Tommy." Emily pauses. "He was sweet at first, he offered me a drink and we hit it off pretty well. We played beer pong with his friends but right before midnight, he suggested that we go up to his room. He said that he just wanted to talk, I was stupid for thinking those were his only intentions."
"What happened once you went up to his room Emily?" Jared asks. Emily looks down and takes a minute before answering. "You can take your time Emily."
"When we went up to his room, we sat on the edge of his bed. We didn't do anything but talk at first, but it escalated after. It felt nice when he kissed me. Back home, I wasn't the typical girl boys went after. So it felt nice to feel wanted by someone else for one. But right after he kissed me, he shoved his hands down my jeans. I didn't want it, I tried to push him off."
"Did you tell him to stop Emily? Did you say no?"
"I did, but he wouldn't listen." Tears began streaming down Emily's face. "He slapped me, grabbed my hands, and put them above my head. Then he unzipped his pants and the bastard dared to tell me that I wanted it."
"Did you scream for help?"
"I did, but with all of the noise downstairs nobody could hear me." Emily pauses. "After he unzipped his pants, he went inside me and raped me."
"After your assault, did you report it? Did you tell anyone about it?"
"No," Emily says as she wipes off the tears that covered her cheeks. "When Tommy was done, I walked back downstairs and blended in with the crowd. The only thing I could think of was drinking to forget it ever happened."
"Did you forget Emily?" Emily shakes her head.
"A month after the assault, I reported it to campus security. They responded that I was too late to report it. And just like Macy, Chancellor Scott asked if I had had other hookups gone wrong."
"How did you end up in the institution?"
"A week after I reported the assault, I was at a party and Tommy showed up with a couple of friends I hadn't seen before. I tried to avoid him but when I went upstairs to the bathroom, he cornered me with his friends. They got physical with me and Tommy threatened to kill me if I ever filed a report against him with the police." Emily pauses. "I didn't know what to do, I just wanted the pain to end, I was so scared, so I took some sleeping pills with alcohol. Campus security showed up when one of the girls found me lying on the bathroom floor. I started screaming and they took me out of the house in a straight jacket in front of everyone. After that, they forced me to commit myself."
"What did the school do with Tommy Scott? Yours wasn't the first complaint filed against him." Jared pauses. "As you can all see here, I have a stack of more than fifteen complaints against the same student. All stating that they were harassed or assaulted by the same student."
"They did nothing, I'm not surprised though. It's easy to get away with things when your dad is the Chancellor of the school." Emily says looking straight at Conrad. "Tommy Scott will be graduating with honors next spring and he will be attending Brown in the fall."
I took a brief look at where Conrad was sitting with Connery and Victoria. Victoria and Connery looked uncomfortable, you could tell that deep down somehow they knew that everything that was being said was true. "Do you feel that the school looked out for you?"
Emily shakes her head. "I was raped on their campus, campus security didn't believe me and I was advised to forget my assault ever happened by their counselor. When I hit rock bottom they said I was crazy and they had me committed to make me go away."
Jared began to walk away from where Emily was sitting but she spoke before getting down from the stand. "Please don't let them get away for what they did to me, what they did to us, and every single girl that is named in every single one of those reports."
After Emily finished testifying a short recess was called. We all walked out of the courtroom and into the big hallway. "What comes now?" Emily asks.
"We'll move for an indictment against the school and hope that with that they finally stop protecting Tommy." Both of the girls nod. "If anything else happens I will let you guys know."
With that Emily and Macy walked away. "What's your feel on the jury?" I ask.
"They believe the girls," Jared replies and I feel a sense of relief. Throughout the girl's testimony, I could tell that the jury felt sympathetic towards them but that's the thing. Even if a jury feels sympathy towards the victim that doesn't necessarily mean that they believe them or whether they will rule in their favor.
"That's the easy part isn't it?" I ask Jared.
"Yes, but now comes the fun part," Jared says and I look at him a little confused. "By now the school must be in a frenzy. Emergency meetings, covering up even more evidence."
"You're smelling the blood in the water?" I give Jared a smirk.
"Aren't you?" He replies.
As we begin to walk away Victoria's voice makes us turn around. "How dare you? How dare you try to destroy and bury my family?"
I could see the anger and hurt behind her eyes. This has been a long time coming. Connery was trying to grab his mom from causing a scene but she wasn't budging. "We opened the doors of our home to you. You ate at our table and this is how you repay us?"
"I'm sorry Victoria about the way things were handled, I should've come to you once I found out about what was happening." I pause. "What I won't apologize is for doing what's right Victoria. Tommy is a rapist and Conrad is just as bad as him for covering up for him."
Before I knew it Victoria's right hand connected with my left cheek. I winced in pain and I instantly grabbed my cheek. "Try that one more time Mrs. Scott and I will have you reprimanded. Have a little more self-respect."
"Listen to me Everest," Victoria says. "I will not let you dirty the name of my family and destroy what took us years to build."
I looked at Connery and he had nothing to say. His face was neutral, he showed no emotion towards the way his mom was acting towards me. "Mom, leave it. Let's just go."
"Everest, are you okay?" Jared asks.
"I'm not, but I will. Don't worry." I reply.
The short recess lasted about an hour and before we knew it we were already back in court. The first witness called to testify was the head of campus security. "Can you please state your name and last name for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury?'
"Robert Sanders, head of campus security at BGU."
"Mr. Sanders, is it true that you told Owen García that what he had done to the student Alison Myers one of our victims that was also raped by Tommy and his friend Owen that what he had done to her that night wasn't rape?" Jared asked and Sanders nodded.
"Alison never filed a formal complaint, she texted him the next day."
"After you told Owen to text her, is that correct?"
"Yes, but I didn't tell her to text him back. I figured that if she texted him back as if nothing ever happened nothing happened that night. If she in fact was raped, she would've come to me and filed charges." Sanders pauses. "My door is always open."
"Just like you did with Charlotte Davis?" Jared asks. "Her clothes were torn off and she was hysterical when she came to you to report her assault and you gave her the ok to shower. What did you figure then Mr. Sander? That she had torn off the clothes herself?"
"Look, you should see what this place looks like on Friday morning after all of the frat parties on Thursday's. These kids are away from home for the first time, they have the freedom to do whatever they want to do. They're all out of control." Sanders says as his gaze is set on the jury. "Do you really think I should turn in a guy every time a girl puts out and doesn't get flowers the next day?"
My mouth instantly drops. Sanders dug BGU it's own grave. Is he downplaying rape on record? "No further questions Mr. Sanders, you can step off the stand."
You should've seen the look on Conrad's face, I wonder how he was planning on getting out of this one. "The people call their next witness, Sandra Wilson."
"Can you please state your name and last name for the ladies and gentlemen of the jury?"
"Sandra Wilson, BGU's mental health counselor."
"Mrs. Wilson, as the school's mental health counselor, you advised Emily Cohen to not go through with her disciplinary hearing? Is that correct?"
"Yes," Sandra pauses. "She was depressed and anxious about being in the same room with her attacker. I wasn't going to sugar coat it. What I told her was no lie. After facing their attacker, that leads many victims to feelings of re-victimization."
"Is it possible that maybe she was depressed from the lack of support from the school that was supposed to look out for her?"
"I just don't want to see these girls hurt over again."
"Or raped?"
"Of course not, I care about my students."
"After seeing dozens of complaints of girls who were harassed and assaulted in that house by the same student, did you ever think about warning incoming freshman girls about him and what goes on in that house?"
"That's not my job counselor." That's not your job?
"That's not your job Mrs. Wilson? Then what is?"
Mrs. Wilson stayed silent. As she should for that poor excuse she just gave. "Did you ever report to the administration the problems that were going on in that house, specifically with that student?"
"Yes, I did." Mrs. Wilson said getting defensive.
"What was the school's response, Mrs. Wilson?"
"Chancellor Scott told me that the Alpha Betta Gamma alumni were on the board and that we couldn't taint the distinguished history the frat house had with false accusations. Chancellor Scott told me that I needed to keep things in perspective." That little piece of shit.
After Sandra got down from the stand, Jared called Chancellor Scott to the stand. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I want to present to you exhibit A."
Jared held a t-shirt distributed by the Alpha Betta Gamma house. It had a picture of a girl tied up and the writing on the shirt was No means Yes!
"Chancellor Scott, you approve of the distribution of such offensive messages around your campus? Is that correct?"
"Yes, I do," Conrad replies. "I don't approve but the students at BGU have the right of free speech. It's written in the First Amendment of the Constitution counselor."
"I don't need a reminder of the rights written in our Constitution Mr. Scott." Jared fires. "Here we have another t-shirt, Exhibit B. Same design. Rush Alpha Beta Gamma we don't take no for an answer. We have evidence that you received multiple complaints from students on campus yet you didn't do anything about it."
"At BGU we don't ban t-shirt slogans despite how offensive we may find them. Counselor, our students chose BGU for a reason. At our school, they have the liberty to express themselves."
"How many sexual assault complaints have you received in the last few years, Chancellor Scott?" Conrad almost choked before answering Jared's question.
"I don't recall," Conrad replies.
"You don't recall, the number you are looking for is twenty-five," Jared says. "Did you know that other schools with the same amount of admitted students their numbers of sexual crimes is doubled even tripled?"
"Seeing those low numbers prove that our safety measures are working effectively counselor." Conrad replies and Jared chuckles.
"Or maybe that just proves that you have thrown out countless complaints to make your problems go away," Jared says and Conrad's expression went numb. "You have made a lot of enemies Mr. Scott, the files on that table are only a few of the hundreds of complaints we found stashed away."
"That's not true Counselor, you must be mistaken."
"Did you or did you not ever read complaints and charges of sexual assault on your campus Mr. Scott? It's a yes or no answer."
"We are required by the Cleary Act to disclose any sexual assault charges that an employee on our campus becomes aware of."
"Yes or no Mr. Scott?" Jared spits.
"No," Conrad replies.
"Are you adept at dissembling Mr. Scott.?"
"No means no!" Conrad replies raising his voice, losing all composure.
And that's how you bury someone on the stand. Let the games begin.