In the criminal justice system
the people are represented
by two separate yet equally important groups:
The police, who investigate crime
and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
See you later, Louie.
Yeah.
Catch you tomorrow.
You don't even give a damn, do you?
Do you?
What do you want me to do about it, huh Maggie?
Like I got a lot of control over your life.
I'm not going back there.
Where you going to go, huh?
Oh...
thanks for the invitation.
You just can't start flopping all over the place.
That's not what I'm talking about.
All right, look, let's get out of here
and we'll figure something out, all right?
Oh... so you can just dump me on the street?
Maggie...
you just...
Or maybe I'll just go away and die, huh?
Maggie!
How about I do everybody else a favor
and blow it off right here!
Or maybe I'll just do everybody else!
Maggie...
Give me the gun.
Why?
Fine.
Do whatever the hell you want.
Now, don't you go!
MAN: Look out!
Why did your girlfriend try to kill you, Danny?
She wasn't trying to kill me, man.
The gun just went off. It was an accident.
You were arguing.
Nine people saw her shoot at you.
She was drunk, man. She didn't...
Hey, her eyeballs are going through the ceiling.
That ain't drunk.
Danny...
unlicensed gun.
Criminal possession three or four.
Felony or misdemeanor.
Maybe she took a little meth.
What's a little?
I don't know.
Five or six hits.
Your treat?
I don't know where she could have got it.
This better be the truth.
Boyfriend said she did six hits of meth.
Only I.D. we found.
LOGAN: Corson, Maggie.
Issued at Haven House.
Catholic drug rehab center.
Maggie?
I've got nowhere to go.
Captioning sponsored by NBC/UNIVERSAL
Look, this is ridiculous. She's 16. She was stoned.
If you want to arrest somebody, arrest the creep she was with.
That's already been done. Now listen, as for Maggie
accident or not, she still has to be arraigned.
And after that I can I take her back to Haven House?
That's up to the judge.
Oh, look, it was a relapse.
It happens. I mean, she is an addict.
She's making a difficult transition.
No one is doubting you. You're just telling
the wrong people. She's got to be arraigned.
Great.
Are you really a...?
A nun?
Yes, Detective, I am.
So, I guess I would call you "sister."
Call me whatever you want.
Sister?
Has somebody called Maggie's parents?
She ran away from home three years ago.
I doubt she's homesick. Anyway, she's been
in our custody for a year.
She's our responsibility.
I thought nuns had curfews.
That went out with the penguin suit.
Maggie, when you're arraigned
you'll either be placed in a juvenile ward
or back at Haven House.
Chances are, you'll get a compassionate judge
and you can go back to the house.
Maggie?
Get her out of here!
I don't want her near me.
Maggie...
Please get her out!
Let's go have a talk.
Maggie, what's the problem?
It doesn't have to leave this room.
Maggie?
Last night we were in the shower.
You and who?
Sister Bettina.
All right, why were you in the shower?
I was sick.
She said I'd feel better if I had a hot shower.
Mm-hmm. Okay.
And what happened then?
She, uh...
she had her hands on me.
She put her hands all over me.
Okay, okay. All right.
CERRETA: but she gave meeasy,
the whole play-by-play-- the what, where how--
everything Sister Bettina did to her.
You ask the nun about it?
We didn't give her the specifics, but as far as Maggie
being flipped out, she says she doesn't know why.
You think this girl was credible?
She seemed really frightened about going back.
Hey, man, she's a meth head.
You know, this could be a fabrication.
Could be she wanted to be kicked out.
But if she wants out, there are better
ways to go than a molest charge.
She's young, she's speeding. Who says she needs easy choices?
Meaning?
Come on, this is the first time
we seen a false accusation on a molest and a rape charge?
But there's also the other side, Mike.
Where is the girl now?
Manhattan Psychiatric.
The D.A. dropped her down to
criminal possession four and a gun charge.
Has she talked to anyone else about the molest?
Only her roommate. We have a call in
to the executive director of Haven House.
Let's see if we can't dodge
the inevitable uproar on this one, okay?
MAN: the first I heard about this.
Maggie's roommate, Maria Barragan,
brought it to my attention.
I sent for Maggie, but she had already disappeared.
Did you have a chance to speak to Sister Bettina?
This morning, after she got back from the hospital.
She's pretty stunned.
What's your take on this?
I wish I had one.
Maggie Corson can be quite...
Lacking in the credibility department?
Look, all of these kids have been on the street.
Survival became a lot more important than honesty
some time ago for most of them.
So your first instinct on this would be that Maggie's lying.
If Maria hadn't seen them, I would have to say
it sounds incredible, given Sister Bettina's reputation.
Wait a minute.
Maria is the roommate.
She saw Sister Bettina and Maggie together?
She said she saw them in the shower.
I guess it was around 1:00.
Maggie puked all over herself.
Sister B. showed up and took her to the can.
Mm-hmm. Did you follow them?
No, I just waited
but, like, Maggie wasn't coming back.
I got worried, so I went looking.
I heard the water running in the shower
and I saw Sister B. touching and kissing Maggie.
Now, where, uh...?
Where, exactly, did she kiss her?
On her face and on her shoulder.
Was Maggie dressed or undressed?
Undressed.
And Sister Bettina?
She had on this blue bathrobe.
Did you see anything else?
No. I went back to my room
and pretended I was asleep
and Maggie came back by herself.
She was crying.
She said Sister B. messed with her.
What exactly did she say?
She said Sister B. put her fingers... you know.
She was wigged out.
She didn't want me to tell anybody.
But you told Mr. Powell.
Sister B. is a freak.
She shouldn't be pulling that crap.
All right, Maria, let's get specific.
You said you got worried
when Sister Bettina took Maggie to the bathroom.
Why was that?
She'd come on to me before.
She put her hand on my leg, you know,
and she said she loved me.
She was always saying she loves me.
That's what I mean-- she's a freak.
Obviously, Maria's mixed up.
She says she's pretty sure of what she saw.
Maria practically grew up on Times Square.
I mean there, somebody touches you, it only means one thing.
She's been with us for only three months.
She hasn't had time to rearrange her thinking.
This "hugs, not drugs"-- do you take that literally?
I mean, do you have any physical interaction
with these girls?
It's just a figure of speech.
And you'd be surprised how far the proper amount of affection
will go with these kids.
Maria nay have her signals crossed,
but that still leaves Maggie.
That one I can't figure out.
I always got along well with Maggie.
I don't know what happened.
Maybe she's working something out.
Maybe she thinks I let her down.
But you don't deny being in the shower with her that night?
She had stomach flu
and she'd thrown up all over herself.
I helped her wash up.
With a shower at 1:00 in the morning?
A sponge bath would be less suspicious?
LOGAN: I may be wrong. I just don't think she did it.
You think clergy can't trip over their vows?
It happens. I read the same news reports you do.
I just don't think this is one of those cases.
You got to admit, Phil, it's not the usual profile.
Just because it's female on female and it's rare
doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Yeah, I know-- anybody's capable of anything.
That's rule number one.
Look, I'm just saying this:
If I was to take odds on this...
An ex-altar boy wagering?
I confess.
We used to lift the wine once in a while.
Not us-- wafers, unblessed.
OLIVET: Have you ever been afraid
of Sister Bettina?
Afraid? No.
Before the night in the shower
did you ever feel she was interested in you in a sexual way?
No.
I thought she was just being nice to me.
But...?
I guess I didn't pick up on it.
I thought she was different.
Different than...?
Everybody.
Everybody who uses you.
The night that Sister Bettina touched you
you were very sick, weren't you?
You had the flu?
Mm-hmm.
Did you have any bad dreams?
Are you saying
maybe I hallucinated the whole thing?
I know what she did to me.
I know how she made me feel.
And how is that?
When things happen to you on the street
you expect it, you know?
But if it happens to you at Haven House...
I was supposed to be safe there.
I really trusted her, you know?
I know she did it.
I know how it feels.
Why? Has it happened to you before?
For three and a half years.
Sometimes twice a week.
I was eight when it started.
My mother never believed me.
"No husband of mine would ever do that," she said.
"He loves you.
He's your stepfather."
OLIVET: It's not about sex.
It's about trust and betrayal.
She was betrayed by her stepfather, and then she was
betrayed one step further by a mother who refused to hear her.
So Sister Bettina is what-- a kind of surrogate mother?
Maggie was trying to rebuild. Sister Bettina had become
a figure she was starting to trust.
This thing blew apart her whole world.
You don't think her story could have been rehearsed?
I think this girl was blindsided
by someone she never even perceived as a threat,
either emotionally or genderwise.
There's a lot of pain there.
I don't think it's an act.
Great.
So we move on a nun.
I'll get a warrant.
Does Sister Bettina
have anything else in storage in the building?
Aside from her office, no.
I keep thinking
I'll get struck by lightning doing this.
SISTER: She should be allowed to be here.
I don't know why she's being treated like a criminal.
I'm sure she understands these men are just doing their job.
Sister Bettina
has always been above reproach.
What exactly are you guys looking for?
A lot of people in molestation cases
they keep diaries, might have photographs
you never know.
Sometimes they save something
from the encounter as a sort of a souvenir.
Phil.
"M. Corson."
Vomit?
CERRETA: She said she was sick that night.
Matching set.
We showed Maggie these garments. She identified them
as the ones she was wearing last Monday night.
Sister Bettina may have kept them as an encounter trophy.
Or she simply intended to get them washed.
There's a laundry hamper in the shower room.
She could just as well have left them there.
Whatever you want to read into it, it's subjective evidence.
It's still a nun's word against the say-so of two street kids.
What, too bad they're not seniors at Riverdale?
Well, what about this Sister Bettina?
Anything there?
She grew up in... Hollis.
Joined a convent at age 20.
She's been at Haven House for eight years.
Eight years supervising teenage girls?
If she does have a predilection
this might not be her first time.
POWELL: I never heard a complaint about her.
Never heard a rumor, either.
You worked with her for how long?
I've been here six years.
Anybody ever complain to the archdiocese?
Had that happened
I would have heard about it.
You're not the clergy.
No, but 70% of our funds come from the church.
Wait a minute. That should give them
more incentive to bury a thing like this.
Not for Bettina.
Why not?
Sister Bettina aligns herself
with what the church calls non-traditional nuns--
outfits like the women's ordination movement
women as priests, birth control.
If the church had a reason to get rid of her
I'm sure they would have.
How about on the outside?
You know anything about her private life?
No, I have no idea.
You ever meet any of her friends?
Well, at fund-raisers.
There was a woman--
um... Anne Houston.
She worked at the Queens Family Shelter.
I think they still talk, like, every other day.
You ever read Catcher in the Rye?
Save the children-- that's Tina.
Have you ever heard any gossip
or complaints about her?
You mean, why would a normal woman
choose to live in a community of nuns?
We've talked about her vows,
we've talked about sex.
Tina always said she redirects her energy into her work.
Did she get along with the kids?
Did you ever see any misunderstandings?
Maybe an incident of some kind?
Look, she ran day care for three years.
Everybody loved her.
You want testimonials?
There will be a line around this block.
Everybody knows these charges are crap.
Why did she leave?
She was on loan from the church, and they found out
the shelter was providing birth control counseling
so they yanked her.
Do you have any idea why this girl would accuse her?
What difference does it make?
She's been accused, labeled.
How is she going to shake that?
Olivet's report
the clothes, the eyewitness--
most of it seems to support Maggie's story.
Except for the fact that Sister Bettina
practically walks on water according to all her friends.
I'm waiting for ideas.
We've got to get off the dime one way or the other.
The archdiocese wants it dropped.
They both seem to be telling the truth.
Fellas, there are no tie breakers.
If we're not sure she did it, we kick her.
ROBINETTE: Sister Bettina offered to take a polygraph.
It's not admissible, but at least we'll know
if we're on the right track.
MAN: Are you 34 years old?
BETTINA: Yes.
Is your father's name Michael?
Yes.
Were you in Maggie Corson's room
the night of February 9?
Yes.
Did she have a stomach flu?
Yes.
Did you sexually molest Maggie Corson on that night?
No.
Did you kiss Maggie Corson on that night?
No.
Did you tell the police the truth
about the events on the night of February 9?
Yes.
Are you telling the truth now?
Yes.
She passed on direct questions about the molestation
but her answers on the details registered as false--
questions like whether or not the girl had stomach flu.
She could have been nervous.
She also failed the question
of whether or not she was telling the truth.
On the whole, the results classify as deceptive.
Or inconclusive, depending on your mind-set.
Either way, she's hiding something.
Reason enough to charge her.
Polygraph tests are inadmissible. You gonna sell
this to the grand jury and then not use it?
We have a victim's complaint, eyewitness, opportunity.
I don't foresee a problem. I would like to see
that she has a chance to surrender.
We'll call her.
I want her R.O.R.
Are we sure we want to be perceived as giving her preferential treatment?
To all intents and purposes, Sister Bettina is indigent.
You see her as a flight risk? I don't.
Um... this is my lawyer, Francine Hughes.
From the archdiocese?
No, she's just an old friend.
May I see the warrant?
My client declines to answer any questions.
Fine.
It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?
Yeah.
Francine explained the results of the lie detector test.
I'm sure she also told you that polygraph results are nonadmissible as evidence.
Yes, and if it were up to me, I wouldn't be here today,
but Francine insisted
that I tell you what happened.
That night, Monday, Maggie didn't have the flu.
She was drunk.
When I found her, she could hardly stand up. She was covered in vomit.
I helped her wash up, and then put her to bed.
Then I hid her clothes in my room.
I didn't want anyone to know she'd been drinking.
That's not the first time she was drunk at the house.
She'd been caught twice before.
She came to us by a special dispensation of the court.
A third report of drinking and they'd pull her out.
You'd protect her even at the risk of going to jail?
If Maggie were thrown out, she'd be lost.
Sooner or later, she'd end up back on the streets.
Do you have any idea what her life expectancy would be?
Do you know how many street kids die
from AIDS or drugs?
How many are beaten, raped?
We can't take it on faith that Maggie was drunk. We need corroboration.
My client is ready to take another polygraph.
We need more than that.
She's lying.
I can't believe you're buying into it.
We ran tests on the clothes you threw up on.
We know how much you drank that night.
Now listen to me.
You lie in court, that's perjury.
So I was drunk.
Big deal.
She still messed with me.
You had a lot to drink, Maggie.
How much do you really remember?
I know she took me into the shower.
I know that.
What else are you sure of?
I don't know.
I... was in the shower...
I can't remember.
What do you mean you can't remember?
I guess I passed out.
What you told the police-- did you make that up?
It happened.
Maria saw it
and she told me.
She told me everything.
She saw it.
Maybe it was the morning after when she told me
what Sister B. did to her. But she blacked out.
She doesn't remember what happened.
You told police
that Maggie described in graphic detail
what Sister Bettina did.
I saw them in the shower, okay?
I saw what was going on.
But you lied. Maggie didn't tell you anything.
And now ita's only your word that anything happened at all.
Isn't that right?
Maria, are you happy at Haven House?
Do you want
to go back on the street?
Then I don't understand why you would make up a story like this.
What do you mean?
If they believe this story--
if people think girls are being molested at Haven House
what do you think that does to the reputation of the house?
But it was only Sister B.
In the public mind, they're the same.
They'll withdraw their support.
Without funds, Haven House closes,
and where do you think you'll be?
That's not true. You're just trying to scare me.
Maria, did you see
Sister Bettina molest Maggie?
I don't want to hurt anybody else.
I just wanted them to get rid of her.
Why? What did she do to you?
She knew. She asked me about it.
He'd think I told.
Told what?
Mr. Powell.
Me and him.
Powell initiated the relationship
one month after Maria arrived at Haven House.
He put her in a position where she would do his errands
and get excused from the scrub work.
She still could have said no.
He said he'd put her on the street if she didn't go along.
Sister Bettina uncovered this?
She had no idea. She asked her about the errands.
She was concerned the other girls might get envious.
It was a perfectly innocent question, but Maria thought
the worst-- that her secret was out and she'd be the one to go.
So when she saw Sister Bettina in the shower with the girl
she jumped at the chance to discredit her.
Any way to corroborate her story?
I talked to Powell's secretary. She confirmed that
Maria spent a lot of time alone with Powell in his office.
Did you file a motion to dismiss?
Yes, on the way over, but I think
we ought to go after Powell.
For what? Rape?
She said that Powell didn't physically force her
to have relations with him.
The girl was 17 at the time.
You got no statutory charge.
He's in a position of authority over teenage girls.
He's abusing it.
A civil case, maybe.
Criminal court? I don't see it.
Suppose it's not the first incident?
He's been on the job six years.
You think it's the first time he's succumbed to temptation?
I'd sure like to know the answer to that question
before we make up our minds.
Go.
This whole thing sucks.
I can't believe she would do that to me.
You didn't know she was involved with Powell?
No.
If he hit on her, she could have told me.
He ever try anything with you?
Maybe when I first got there.
He'd come into your room
at the wrong time...
call you into his office,
ask you stupid questions.
But I just stayed away from him.
A lot of girls fall for it?
Everyone thought he was pretty much of a joke.
Except this one girl.
What about her?
I don't know for sure
but I heard talk about her and Powell.
We have the cancelled checks he sent you, Ms. Morrill.
He's not giving you that money
out of the goodness of his heart.
What...? Do I have to give the money back?
As far as we can tell
it legitimately belonged to Jack Powell.
If he gave it to you, it's yours to keep.
When I was at the house, we had this thing going.
A sexual relationship?
Couple of times a week. That's all.
How old were you?
15 when it started.
What was in it for you?
I didn't have to work in the kitchen.
He'd have me do errands
let me go to the movies...
Seems hardly worth it now.
Did he ever threaten to hurt you if you didn't go along with it?
He said if I told anyone, I'd have to leave the house.
At the time, I didn't have anywhere to go.
How long has it been since you left?
Three years ago.
Since then, Powell's been giving you $200 a month
for what, just to keep your mouth shut?
He would have preferred I lose it.
Ms. Morrill, would you be willing to repeat
what you just told me to the grand jury?
You mean, go to court?
Look, nobody knows about this--
nobody...
and I'm not going to change that.
ROBINETTE: She was 15.
Statute of limitations hasn't run out.
We could force her to testify
but her husband thinks the kid is his.
That leaves only Maria Barragan.
With a possible charge of rape one.
Rape one? But Powell never threatened Maria.
With no forcible compulsion...
An adult male with the power
to send a girl back to the streets
demands that she have sex with him.
That's not forcible compulsion?
There's no physical threat, no threat death or physical injury.
I'm willing to take the chance to make the case.
Get me a slot in the grand jury.
We're going for an indictment for rape in the first degree.
ATTORNEY: You're way off base on this, Ben.
Jack Powell has spent his entire life
working selflessly for the public good.
He's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars
for charities. For crying out loud!
Did he tell his contributors about the afternoons
he spent with Maria Barragan?
It was an indiscretion, not a crime.
Maria's 17. She's an adult. She consented.
We're not charging you with statutory rape, Mr. Powell.
We're charging you with rape in the first degree.
I didn't force her.
I didn't have to.
She said you threatened
to expel her from Haven House.
Twice, for curfew and drugs.
Then you do admit you threatened to expel her?
Yes, with good reason.
Legitimate reason in whose mind?
Look, Ben, didn't the episode with Sister Bettina
tell you anything?
Maria Barragan's a liar.
She'll say anything to get what she wants.
And what she wants is to stay alive
and in her mind, that means staying at Haven House.
A lie like this does not serve her best interests.
Maybe we can work something out.
Sexual abuse three, pleads nolo, one year community service.
A "b" misdemeanor? This is more than
a traffic violation.
Without proof of forcible compulsion
you have no case.
Motion to dismiss.
See you tomorrow, 2:30
Judge Reisman's chambers.
ATTORNEY: Maria Barragan
was blowing kisses for nickel bags
long before she ever heard of Jack Powell.
Which is hardly relevant. It sure as hell affects her credibility.
That's a matter for the jury. Not for me.
Even if you look at the facts in a light most favorable
to the prosecution the indictment has still failed
to make a prima facie case for rape one.
The statute is clear-- it requires
threat of death or physical injury.
Your Honor, we intend to prove in court that it was reasonable,
under those circumstances,
for Maria Barragan to fear for her life.
She wasn't seduced.
She submitted.
She consented, for God's sake.
My instinct tells me
you're asking me to stretch the law
to places it shouldn't go.
However, I'm going
to reserve my decision
on defendant's motion to dismiss until
after trial. Your Honor...
Charge stays for now.
We go to trial right away.
Reisman reserved decision.
It's a minor miracle.
So we're halfway there.
We present a compelling case...
Don't fool yourself. Reisman's no ground-breaker.
Read his decisions.
If there's no precedent, it doesn't fly in his court.
So why didn't he dismiss?
Who knows? Could be waiting
for the jury to acquit.
Then he doesn't have to make a decision.
Could be he's ready to make new law.
I wouldn't bet on it.
You talked to McCarter?
He wants a slap on the wrist.
Well, maybe you ought to start slapping.
What do you suppose a trial like this is gonna cost the state?
Even if you convince a jury
Reisman snaps his fingers, sets aside the verdict.
Adam, since when does cost have anything to do with it?
Since the state is on the verge of bankruptcy.
It's a no-win, my boy.
Reisman goes your way
we got the appeal to worry about.
A trial of any sort puts Haven House out of business.
Adam, he raped a 17-year-old girl.
Did he?
Statute says physical harm.
It doesn't say put her in a situation
where she could get hurt.
But it's all in the victim's state of mind.
Maria's fears were real. If he had threatened
to throw her out on the expressway...
He didn't threaten anything.
She's a kid, Adam.
To her
Times Square is just as dangerous.
The law doesn't read that way.
Maybe it should.
BARRAGAN: When I was 12
my mother ran away.
STONE: And your father?
I never knew him.
A complete bio, Your Honor, is hardly relevant.
It's relevant to the victim's state of mind.
It's the defendant's state of mind that's at issue.
The defendant took advantage of the victim's fear.
I think it's necessary to show the derivation of that fear.
I'll allow it.
STONE: After you were abandoned, where did you live?
In Port Authority
until Sister Bettina found me.
Did you prefer Haven House to the streets?
They didn't beat me, or anything.
The sisters-- they cared about me.
And Mr. Powell?
He liked me fine.
McCARTER: Your Honor, we've established already
that the defendant and this witness
had sexual relations.
We don't need a play-by-play, Mr. Stone.
Maria, please describe for the court
the circumstances
leading up to your first sexual encounter
with Mr. Powell.
I was in his office.
He started touching me.
He said he could make me feel good
and he could make my life easy.
I told him I wasn't interested.
But you did sleep with him.
He said he would have me thrown out of the house if I didn't.
You believed him?
He showed me a form.
Please describe the paper I just handed you.
It's the form they use when they throw you out of Haven House.
Was that the form Mr. Powell handed you?
No, the one he showed me had my name on it.
So you willingly
slept with him?
I was scared.
Of the streets?
I've been there.
It's better than going back.
Anything is.
That's why I lied about Sister Bettina.
I thought if anyone found out...
Thank you.
REISMAN: Your witness.
Have you ever been arrested, Miss Barragan?
Objection.
If we're giving bios
let's give the unabridged version.
Overruled.
Miss Barragan?
Three times.
What were the charges?
Prostitution.
So you were a whore?
Your Honor!
All right. Enough of that, Mr. McCarter.
The Haven House isn't all fun and games.
You have to earn your keep.
There's cooking, washing clothes, cleaning.
Isn't that right?
It's part of the rehab.
Isn't it true, Miss Barragan, that when you first started working for Mr. Powell
most of your chores were eliminated?
Yes.
What kind of work did you do for Mr. Powell?
I filed papers, answered phones.
Hell of a lot easier than scrubbing toilets.
Your Honor...
Uh, withdrawn.
When you were out on the street, Miss Barragan,
you sold your body for money, isn't that true?
I had to eat.
Oh, I understand.
You were trying to make your life easier.
That's what a whore does. Your Honor...
Weren't you trying to do that with Mr. Powell--
trying to make your life easier?
Objection!
Miss Barragan?
REISMAN: Sustained.
That's enough, Mr. McCarter.
POWELL: I've worked for non-profits all my life.
I don't know, maybe there are some people
who think I'm too caring. If I minded my own business
I wouldn't leave myself open to...
all kinds of problems.
When did you first come in contact with Miss Barragan?
She was a new girl.
There's a routine first interview.
I liked her attitude.
She was very bright, eager.
I needed someone to run errands.
It began as a non-sexual relationship.
Yes.
But then she began to put out signals
as if she were interested in me.
What kind of signals?
I don't know.
Like... the way she'd look at me.
MCCARTER: To what did you attribute her interest?
POWELL: I'm not really sure.
Certainly not because I have some magnetic effect on women.
Maybe it was because I was nice to her,
or maybe she thought
she could get something out of me.
What did you do about these advances?
I put her off,
but she was very persistent.
I'm not proud I slept with her.
Maybe this was bound to happen.
I spend a lot of time with these girls, and...
in a way, they're trained to deal with men sexually--
to use sex to get what they want.
It was stupid of me to give in to that.
Did you ever threaten Maria?
Overtly or implicitly?
No, never.
She'd been victimized enough.
Did you intimidate her?
That's what I don't understand.
I'm probably the only guy she was ever with
who actually cared for her.
I felt I was very kind with her.
I can't understand
why Maria would say she was afraid of me.
No further questions.
Mr. Powell, do you recognize the name Marjorie White?
She was with us for a while.
We caught her dealing to the other girls.
Did you throw her out of the house?
She was dealing drugs.
All right.
Alberta Gaines?
She was expelled for violence.
STONE: Rosa Valdez, was she expelled?
Yes.
Do you know what happens to these girls
that are expelled?
Sister Bettina tries to keep track of them.
Do you know what happened to Rosa Valdez?
I believe she died of AIDS.
Alberta Gaines?
Um... an overdose.
Marjorie White died, too?
Yes.
Raped and stabbed 12 times
by six members of a gang.
Of all 18 girls expelled in the past six years
three have died of AIDS, five of drug overdose
one of exposure, two murdered
and the rest just disappeared.
Isn't that true?
Yes.
So, isn't it reasonable
under these circumstances for Maria Barragan
to fear for her life when you threw her out on the street?
Objection.
Sustained.
Did she ever say she was afraid of leaving Haven House?
I ne... Listen, when these girls have been on the street
long enough they become hardened, tough.
They're not afraid of anything.
So if you're beaten up enough, you lose your fear?
You learn how to survive.
Until someone kills you.
STONE: The law says that if Jack Powell never placed Maria Barragan
in fear of death or physical injury
he cannot be convicted of rape in the first degree.
He didn't wrestle her to the ground.
He didn't put a gun to her head.
He simply said:
Have sex with me
or I'm throwing you back out on the street.
Case dismissed?
Maybe.
But what did that threat mean to Maria?
Another broken arm?
AIDS instead of hepatitis?
A bullet instead of a razor blade?
More rapes?
More beatings?
And more than anyone,
Jack Powell knew
that his threat contained the weight of all those things.
When he threatened to remove her from the one safe harbor
in her sad, young life
he put her in fear for her life and her physical well-being.
And he didn't put a gun to her head.
No, he showed her another way he could hurt her.
WOMAN: Were you expecting a guilty verdict this quickly?
I can't anticipate the mind of a jury,
but I'm very grateful.
MAN: What about the mind of Judge Reisman?
Do you think he'll dismiss It?
I think we met the burden of proof.
If he dismisses, do you have a plan how to proceed?
Yes, we do. Mr. Stone. Mr. Stone!
Okay, you convinced a jury
but it doesn't mean a thing
till Reisman rules on the motion to dismiss.
With his history, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Our knowledge of rape and power has grown.
The law should reflect that.
Right now you got leverage. Use it or lose it.
Now, I say call McCarter, work out sentence.
You think my case was that weak?
No, I just think that the judiciary
isn't as open-minded as you.
( phone buzzes )
Robinette.
Hold on.
McCarter's looking for you.
He wants to talk about sentencing.
You can still lose it.
No deal.
( sighs )
Be seated.
After listening to the evidence and reading Counsel's briefs
I find that the prosecution has met its burden
with respect to the charge of rape in the first degree.
Defense motion to dismiss denied.
The jury verdict of guilty stays.
( gavel pounds )
Get out your sound bite, Ben.
Yeah, nothing sells like sex.
Don't sell yourself short.
Everybody loves a winner.
Yeah.
There will probably be a reversal on appeal.
Probably. But maybe the legislature
takes a look, rewrites the law.
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