- In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
- So, Richard, the father, had a ruptured spleen
and internal bleeding.
And Tess--
- The teenage daughter who was raped.
- Yeah, she's traumatized.
That's gonna be a long road.
But it also turns out that Joe, the ringleader,
and his girlfriend were both serially abused as children.
He had brain damage from beatings,
from drug use.
So, I mean, this is an endless cycle of abuse.
- What would happen if you stopped?
- I can't. Rollins is still out.
I have a new sergeant who's barely up to speed--
- You just said it's an endless cycle.
- Yes, but I-- I don't feel that way.
I have hope.
- Yeah.
- Look, I'm fine.
I wasn't actually shot.
My injuries were powder burns.
- No nightmares? No flashbacks?
- Yeah, I do. I have both of those.
It's nothing new.
- And Noah?
- I can barely let him out of my sight.
No, he's all I could think about--
- When you were being held at gunpoint.
But you have to go back?
No one but you can do this job?
- I came here because I'm fine.
I came here because I'm ready.
Now I just need you to sign off on that.
[bell rings]
- 'Sup, brother?
[indistinct chatter]
- Abby.
Chris Roberts is, like, staring at you.
- Really, me?
He's a senior.
- I know.
- Dude, I'd hit that, bro.
- If you don't, I will.
Unless you want the shot.
- Yeah.
Sure.
Totally.
- Come on.
- So on the one hand, the Montagues.
On the other hand, the Capulets.
[phone chimes]
Two houses divided.
Fate versus free will.
The family the heroes are born into...
- Chris just asked me to the solstice dance.
- Tell me when you're done, Abby.
The family the heroes are born into
versus what's in their hearts.
- Just giving Chris a sneak peek.
You gotta get sexy to be sexy.
- You guys look so nice.
That's a pretty dress, Abby.
Andrew, where's the camera?
- Totally prepared. - Dad.
- Come on, both of you, smile. Come on.
Ah, that's right. Babe, get in there.
[chuckling]
- Mom. - Oh, that's great.
- Okay! Okay! - Oh.
That's great. - Dad, we gotta get ready.
- We get it, we get it.
[phone buzzes]
- Look, from Chris.
- ♪ Closer
- "RUH"?
- Oh, that's good.
That means he's into you.
- ♪ When we touch...
- ♪ Let me see your bass face ♪
♪ Your bass face
- You want some?
- Sure.
♪ Watch that dirty break, break ♪
♪
- Um...
I'm thinking we should maybe go downstairs.
How about you?
- Okay.
♪
- Get-get-get it, son!
- Shh, stop it.
♪
- Wait, slow down. Not down there.
- Sorry.
You feel nice. Is that good?
- [groans] Not so hard.
- ♪ See your bass face
- Oh, you're so hot, Abby.
- [groaning]
- There she is.
- Hey, how was the party, honey?
- Fine. I'm just tired.
Good night.
[phone buzzes]
[phone beeps]
[phone buzzes]
[dramatic music]
♪
- Wow, she's beautiful.
- Not at 4:00 A.M., she's not.
- Oh, she's a newborn. It gets easier.
- Enjoy maternity, Amanda.
When my sister had to go back to work,
it was the most wrenching thing.
- Carisi.
- Amanda's coming back soon, right?
- Well, NYPD only gives six weeks maternity.
- No, she can use her accrued vacation time.
She'll figure it out.
- They let you take a year with no pay.
- That's not gonna happen.
- Okay, guys, can we not discuss me
- Lieutenant Benson. Oh, look, a baby.
Liv, you got a minute?
- Wow.
- I'm representing a 15-year-old freshman
at the Dowland School.
- 15. What's he been accused of?
- No, her name's Abby Stewart.
She's the victim.
- Working as an advocate?
What is this, penance for representing a serial killer?
- You're still holding that against me.
- Yes.
- Well, her mother and I went to Dowland together.
Abby was raped at a school dance last Friday.
- Okay, so almost a week ago.
- Disclosure wasn't that late.
But when they went to their local precinct,
they were told there was no case.
- Well, that's how precincts keep their rape stats low.
- I've known Abby since birth.
She's not making this up,
but the boy is a schoolmate, Chris Roberts, 18.
She was his date,
went with him willingly to a makeout room
where they had consensual foreplay.
- None of that matters, Rita. You know that.
- [sighs]
- So a late disclosure, so no rape kit.
- No, but the maid saw Abby's dress was stained.
Showed it to Laura, her mom.
- So when the mother asked the daughter about it--
- The story tumbled out.
Abby's introverted.
She was a virgin.
Will you meet with them?
- Of course.
- We so appreciate you coming to our home.
Rita says you're the best.
- Well, I hope she also explained to you
that cases like this can be complicated.
- The local cops treated our daughter
like she was the one who was at fault.
- That won't be happening with SVU.
- Okay, so how does this work?
- Well, we'll need to take a statement
from the three of you.
Also we'll need access to Abby's friends
and social media.
- We understand that there was a dress.
- There is.
- So in terms of speaking with your daughter,
sometimes it's easier if the parents aren't around.
- They're aware.
And so is Abby.
- I've known who Chris is for years.
We were in drama club together.
- Okay, so you were friends.
- Not really.
He didn't even notice me until a couple weeks ago.
He started texting me.
Sexting, really.
- Okay. Did you text him back?
- I wasn't slutty.
Maybe a little flirty.
- We saved the texts, and I've cautioned Abby
against communicating any further with him.
- I still do see Chris at school.
- That's got to be difficult.
So have you had any communication with him since?
- No. Well, yes.
Sort of...
Just saying hi.
Didn't know what else to do.
I-I could tell there was something wrong.
- How do you mean?
- She always wants to talk after a night out.
She went straight to her room.
- She said she was tired.
- She was in distress, Andrew.
I should have made her talk to me.
- All right, but when you did find that dress,
you asked her about it. That was good.
- Well, my housekeeper, Pilar, found the dress
in the trash on Tuesday.
When Abby came home from school,
I asked her why she'd thrown it away.
She said that she had sex, that she didn't want to,
that she was raped.
- We went straight to the police that night.
- Did your daughter tell anybody else what had happened?
- Not that I know of, but something did happen.
- We were making out.
He asked if I wanted to go somewhere private.
I liked him.
I wanted him to like me.
- You liked him, you kissed him.
That doesn't mean you wanted anything more.
- Okay, Abby, so where did he take you?
- The school darkroom.
It's where people go hook up.
Go to the darkroom, see what develops.
First we were just making out.
Then he put his hand under my dress.
I got nervous.
- Okay. Did you tell him to stop?
- I told him not to go down there.
To slow down.
- And did he?
- No. He wasn't listening.
He pushed me up against a wall.
I felt him get... excited.
He pulled down my underwear.
He put a finger inside me.
- Okay. So what happened next?
- I said, "Wait." So he stopped.
But then he tried to put his...
penis inside me.
- Okay. Did you say no when he did that?
Abby?
Did you say yes?
- I couldn't move or speak.
It was like I was paralyzed.
- That's not unusual.
- She's right.
- It wasn't really getting in.
He kept saying I was hot,
and then I guess he...came.
I don't understand.
Why would Chris do that to me?
- Abby and I are friends.
- Okay, good.
The two of you went to the dance together last Friday?
- Yeah.
- What happened?
- What exactly is she saying happened?
- We just want to hear your son's side.
- His side? He didn't do anything wrong.
- Then there's no harm in telling us about it.
- Go ahead, son.
- Okay, Abby and I were dancing,
and we made out a little.
She was into it.
- Anything else?
- I asked her if she wanted to go to the darkroom.
That's code for--
We started fooling around.
- "Fooling around"? That's it?
- Yeah, just messing around.
- Is this girl making a rape allegation?
- She's saying something happened
that she didn't want to happen.
- That is so not true. We didn't even have sex.
- Okay, if that's the case, just give us a DNA sample,
and this whole thing goes away.
- Whoa, I don't-- - Do you have a warrant?
- Yes, we do. - Oh, my God.
- You should have told us.
And I'll be contacting a lawyer.
- No, it's fine. Nothing happened.
- No, I'm sure nothing happened.
I--listen, I know how these things go,
how girls are.
- We understand this is very upsetting, ma'am,
but right now we're just investigating.
- No, before our daughter went to college,
I'd overhear her friends talking,
saying that they would accuse a boy of rape
if he didn't call them back.
- We do have a warrant for your son's DNA.
We can collect that here
or we can take him down to the station.
It's your call.
- So what's your take on the boy?
- He's privileged but not arrogant.
- No record, straight As.
Waiting on an early decision from Stanford.
- He seems genuinely surprised by the allegation.
- Okay, so it sounds like a teenage he said/she said.
- It's more like
her-parents-say/ his-parents-say.
Chris's mom, he's her only son, the golden boy.
- And the father of a teenage virginal daughter?
Like, my dad with my sisters.
If a guy so much as looked at one of them,
it's rape.
- Hold on, Chris puts himself in the darkroom with Abby?
- He does, but he swears nothing happened
beyond some kissing and touching.
- Well, he's lying about that.
The lab confirms that the semen stains
on Abby's dress is a match for Chris.
- Okay, that's contact, but that's not proof of rape
or even intercourse.
- Whoa, this might be.
Chris posted photos of the two of them
on his Instagram account, hashtag "picked that cherry.
Sweet."
- "Picked that cherry," really?
- Kids fronting on social media doesn't mean it happened.
They lie all the time.
- And these pictures don't look like she's complaining.
- Bring him in.
- What can I do for you?
- I heard about the DNA match.
I assume you're going to arrest this boy?
- Where did you hear that?
- I didn't, but you just confirmed it.
- Rita, you don't have an all access pass here.
- Hey, Lieutenant, Barba's in there.
- Rita, the boy's lawyered up already?
- Actually, I'm here for the victim.
- Oh, so you take money from both sides.
Don't ever change.
You do know that you can't be privy
to the boy's interview.
- She does and she's leaving.
- And Buchanan's here.
- Well, now it's a party.
- As much fun as it would be
to get the band back together, Rita,
the Robertses have retained only me this time.
They'll be up in a bit.
- I'm here representing the Stewarts.
- Victim advocacy. That can't pay well.
- It's pro bono.
Not all of us have to worry about our next meal.
- Getting personal, that's promising.
- Rita was just leaving.
- I'll be right down the block.
- This won't take long.
In about 20 minutes, you'll realize you have no case.
- This is serious.
We got a DNA match.
And you lied about sexual contact.
- I didn't-- - Let me answer, son.
This is awkward, but it was the boy's first sexual encounter.
He got excited and finished before anything even started.
- Not according to Instagram.
- He was trying to impress his friends.
- Then why did Abby accuse you of rape?
- How do you expect him to explain that?
- This girl is obviously lying.
- Why don't you let Chris talk?
- I'm here to speak for him.
Chris was shocked by these allegations.
As far as he knew, he and Abby were friends.
- She still thinks we are.
- Huh. Help yourselves.
- "I don't know why this is happening.
I like you. I hope you're not mad at me."
- See? She's fine.
- Oh, boy, that's not good.
Am I right, counselor?
- Like a broken clock.
- Okay, so she's an imperfect victim.
- Call your friend Calhoun.
- My friend.
- I never thought I'd say this,
but thank God for texting.
- [chuckles] I'm tempted to send
that girl's family my legal bill.
- So I assume this will be the last
we hear of the matter, counselor?
- We'll be in touch.
Rita, we have a problem.
- No, we don't. I've already spoken with Abby,
and this isn't anything we haven't seen before.
- Really? Because if you were that boy's defense attorney,
you'd tear her to shreds.
- Put this into context. Abby's insecure.
She's non-confrontational.
If she were more assertive, we might not even be here.
- She was assertive enough to text him.
- She was answering his texts every time.
There's no social protocol with teenagers.
Do you un-friend? Do you block?
They don't think things through.
- I understand, but Buchanan's gonna
crucify her in front of a jury.
- This boy lured Abby into the school's darkroom,
boasted on the internet they had sex,
lied to the police.
- What do you want me to do?
- There were a hundred kids at that dance.
Have you talked to any of them?
- Everyone knows the darkroom is where you have sex.
Once you go down there, you can't change your mind.
- Actually, you can, Daniella, at any time.
- Maybe, but there's no way Abby did.
She's obsessed with Chris.
- So you think she's just making this up?
- I don't know.
She could just be mad that Chris didn't ask her out again.
- [laughs]
- Will Moore? Jack Peters?
- NYPD. We got a couple questions.
- About Chris?
What people are saying is unfair.
He didn't do anything to Abby she wasn't asking for.
- She was asking for it?
That's what you heard too?
- Yeah, I guess.
I got to go study, so...
- Look, I don't want to bad-mouth her,
but Abby's just trying to get attention.
- Trying to avoid us, Jack?
- No, I just don't know anything.
were you down in that darkroom with her too?
- You know, she's only 15. You're 18.
Know what that means?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, I did not touch her.
- Yeah, but Chris did though, didn't he?
Come on, talk to us or we're gonna have to call your parents.
- You know what, why don't we just call Notre Dame?
He's the one waiting to hear
about that football scholarship, right?
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, don't--don't do that.
- Give us a reason not to.
- Chris needed a name on his list.
- What list?
- This secret society for seniors.
Nos Messis Cerasa.
It's...
It's Latin for "Cherry Pickers Club."
- What's the big secret?
- It's this competition
to see how many virgins you can bang,
and everybody had a name on the list except for Chris.
So, here, it's behind this portrait.
[dramatic music]
♪
- How old were these girls?
- I don't know.
The ones on mine were, like, 16 or 17,
but they came after me, okay?
I could show you the selfies they sent me.
- That's okay. We get it.
- Chris only has Abby listed?
- Yeah, it's a good thing he didn't get shut out,
'cause that wall's there forever.
- Basically, Chris just needed to make the wall.
- Good to know.
- Oh, counselor, you're not gonna
use this list though, are you?
- Yeah, but it also outs a lot of teenagers.
I mean, the guys, whatever. Who cares about them?
But these girls--
- They don't want this list going public.
- Come on, like they haven't posted darkroom selfies
on their Facebook pages already?
We're dealing with hormone-flooded teenagers.
I know things are grey here, but this is 50 shades of it.
- I'm with Dodds. I don't think this kid
knew anything was wrong till we showed up at his house.
- He lied to your faces.
- Yeah, and so did she
when she said she wasn't texting him anymore.
- Okay, I think that the kid is good for it,
but going to trial with where we are now...
I think you need to sit both families down
and hammer out a plea.
- I'll see what I can do.
- A plea?
Of misdemeanor sexual misconduct?
No.
- I can't offer felony rape or even attempted rape.
A public defender would balk at that.
- There are other felonies.
What about sending indecent material
to a minor via the texts.
- The texts are pathetic,
but I'm not sure that they're indecent.
Sexual misconduct does get him on the sex offenders registry.
Even if he doesn't do jail time,
his DNA goes into the database,
and being on the registry is quite severe.
- As it should be. - No.
He raped my daughter. He should go to prison!
- We're all upset about what happened to Abby,
but putting her through a trial?
There's a good chance that does not result in a conviction.
Counselor?
- Mr. Barba is making good points.
Even with the rape shield law,
the press will be all over this story if we go forward.
- The press? My life is over.
Everybody at school is whispering about me,
laughing at me.
- Abby, honey, please--
- Chris' friends hate me.
My friends hate me. I wish I'd never said anything.
- I'm sorry.
This is all I can do.
- We'll take sexual misconduct.
As long as Chris Roberts goes on the registry.
- The registry? Absolutely not.
- This is the best plea I can offer.
Your son would avoid
the publicity and trauma of a trial.
- But he'd be put on a list with rapists and pedophiles.
What about college?
- Chris just got early acceptance to Stanford.
- If he goes on the list, he can't have a smartphone.
He can't even access the internet.
To make this go away,
we'd consider endangering the welfare of a child.
- He had unwanted sexual contact with a minor.
He has to go on the registry.
- Did Benson and Calhoun prepare that sentence for you?
We all know what this was.
A misunderstanding
between two sexually inexperienced teenagers.
- One of whom is 15 years old.
That's automatic sexual misconduct.
- That's your best argument?
There's a Romeo and Juliet exemption.
- Not if he forced her.
- That's her story, after the fact.
- This train is leaving the station.
I've offered you no prison time.
If you say no and your son is convicted,
prison time is what he could be looking at.
- But he didn't do anything wrong.
- Chris, is this what you want?
To go to trial?
- Does that mean I'm on the news?
Everybody knows who I am?
- Once you're arrested and charged,
your name is made public.
Anytime anyone Googles you for the rest of your life,
this is what will come up.
- Don't threaten my son.
This girl's slandering him.
We need to fight this.
- Mr. Barba, what if I just say sorry to Abby and her family?
- You have nothing to be sorry for.
- No, absolutely not. Let's go.
- We're calling your bluff.
No deal.
You want to take this to trial, you'll regret it.
- Chris Roberts, you are charged
with one count of attempted rape
and two counts of sexual misconduct
and forcible touching.
How do you plead?
- Not guilty on all counts, Your Honor.
- People on bail?
- The defendant has a passport and the means to flee.
We request 1 million.
- For an 18-year-old high school honors student
with no priors who lives at home?
In lieu of bail, we ask that he be released
into his parents' custody.
- I'll split the difference.
Bail is set at 500,000.
The defendant will surrender his passport.
- Lieutenant.
- Dodds, glad you made it.
You know, it's helpful for the victims
to see us in the gallery.
I'm sorry I brought it up in front of everybody.
- Don't be. It's not a problem.
- It's just that these two teenagers
I don't think they know what happened in that darkroom.
Do we?
- Look, he may not realize
that what he did was a sexual assault,
but Abby didn't make this up.
She's just not a manipulative girl.
- Yeah, okay, but he's not a predator.
This is a high school make out session gone bad.
They shouldn't be going to trial.
- I don't disagree with you.
Not our call.
- It wasn't theirs either.
This whole thing is a runaway train.
- Good morning.
- Wow, they made Chris look like Harry Potter.
- Well, we've seen that before, right?
The nerd defense.
- The night Abby came home after being assaulted,
the defendant texted her.
"I had a great time tonight. See you Monday."
A week later, while Mr. Roberts was being interrogated by SVU,
she texted him again.
"I don't know why this is happening.
I like you. I hope you're not mad at me."
In your years as an SVU detective,
sergeant, and now lieutenant,
have you ever seen this kind of communication
between a young victim and an assailant?
- Yes, it's more common than not.
Look, teenagers have imperfect judgment.
I mean, in my experience, a young, naive girl
who also attends the same high school as her rapist
would be scared of causing conflict
or, worse, being stigmatized by her peers.
- In your experience, this would be true
of someone like Abby?
- Yes, girls like Abby who are shy
have trouble speaking up for themselves,
and teenaged predators often prey on less-assertive victims.
- Okay, so one last question.
Abby didn't file a report
with the police immediately afterwards.
How unusual is that?
- Oh, it's not unusual. At all.
It happens with many, many victims.
- Thank you, Lieutenant.
- Good morning, Lieutenant.
If I understood you just now,
it's because the assailant is naive or shy
that she waited four days to disclose?
- No, that's not what I said.
I said it's not unusual at all
for any victim to wait to disclose.
Victims often need time to process what happened to them
before approaching police.
- You mean before approaching you.
She went to her local precinct first,
and they chose not to pursue an investigation.
- Because local precincts aren't properly trained
in sexual assault.
That's why the NYPD created the Special Victims Unit
in the first place.
- Where apparently you're trained to believe
that victims with certain personality flaws
are more likely to be targeted.
- Also not what I said.
- I know how difficult it is to be professional
and politically correct at the same time,
but you did just say that a more assertive girl
might not have been targeted.
It sounds to me like you're blaming the victim.
- No, I am not.
It's always the rapist's fault.
Again, twisting what I'm saying.
- So there is nothing that the accuser can do
that would contribute to this situation?
If she's sexy?
Willingly going to private areas?
Enthusiastically engaging in foreplay?
None of this could possibly lead on
a young, inexperienced teenaged boy?
- Objection. Speculation.
- More like common sense, Your Honor.
But I'll withdraw. Nothing further.
- During the course of our investigation,
we became aware that Chris Roberts was a member
of the school's unofficial secret society,
the Cherry Pickers Club.
- What did your investigation find out about this club?
- Club's one purpose, to deflower female students,
and then to record the names of those conquests
on a wall in the library
behind a portrait of the school's founder.
- The defendant recorded Abby's name on that wall?
- Yes, he did. - How many names
had he recorded before hers?
- None. - Were the other members
of his club more successful this year?
- Well, they claimed to be.
And while interviewing them, it became clear
that Chris was getting taunted as a failure
who needed to step up.
- So by assaulting Abby
and writing her name beneath his,
that meant in the eyes of his peers
that he was no longer a loser?
- Objection. - Rephrase.
Did he write Abby's name on that wall
as someone whose cherry he had picked that night?
- Yes. - Did he subsequently brag
on social media that he had done so?
- Yes, he did.
- Thank you.
- Detective, we heard your lieutenant explain
that teenagers tend to have poor judgment.
Have you ever heard of teenaged boys
bragging about their sexual conquests
even when no such exploits took place?
- Are you asking me if your client's a liar?
- I'm asking you if he's a teenager
who, as you said, was being pressured
to claim he'd scored?
- Yes. - Redirect.
Detective Carisi, let me ask you again.
During your initial interview with the accused,
did he lie to you?
- Yeah, he flat-out denied
having any sexual contact with Abby.
It was only when we confronted him with the DNA evidence
of his semen on Abby's dress that he admitted the truth.
- Objection. Prejudicial.
My client has always maintained
that all contact was mutual and consensual.
- Sure, except when he was lying about it.
- Spare us the grandstanding, gentlemen.
The objection is overruled.
Why don't you two calm down and we will resume after lunch?
- At which time we'll be calling our next witness,
Abby Stewart.
- We said no makeup. Remember, Abby?
- But I'll look like a little girl.
- They're making him look like a saint.
You can't look like a sinner.
[door opens]
- Mrs. Roberts, would you give us a minute?
- I'm just washing my hands.
Abby, did they tell you
that Stanford requested
Chris withdraw his application?
- This isn't the time.
- Do you understand that you're ruining my son's life?
- Hey, you need to stop talking.
- A woman cop like you,
you always take the girl's side, don't you?
- That's not what's happening here.
- Yeah, well, I've seen it.
The sweet little girl becomes the victim,
and then the boy is made out to be a brute.
- Oh-- - And do you know why that is?
Because teenage girls are better liars!
- Abby.
Abby?
- Chris and I danced, we made out,
and then we went downstairs to the darkroom.
- And you agreed to all that willingly?
- Yes.
We were kissing when we got inside.
- And you were okay with that as well?
- Yes.
- Then what happened?
- He got aggressive.
He put his hands under my dress,
and then he put his finger in my vagina.
- Did you agree to that?
- No.
- Did you tell him that you didn't agree to that?
- Yes.
I told him to slow down.
I said I didn't want him to touch me down there.
- And did that stop him?
- No, he pushed up against me
and tried to put his penis inside me.
I said no again,
but he kept rubbing up against me.
He...
he came on my dress.
- Was that something you wanted?
- No.
He was hurting me.
I'd never had sex with anyone before,
but I knew that was not how I wanted it to be.
- You didn't tell anyone about it that night.
You even--you texted the defendant.
- I was...humiliated.
Too afraid to tell anyone.
I eventually told my mom the truth.
We went to the police,
and I told them I'd been raped.
- Abby, thank you.
- Uh, I'm sorry you had a regrettable experience, Abby.
Is it all right if I call you Abby?
- Yeah, sure.
- Let's you and I
try and figure this out together, Abby.
Starting from the beginning.
Is it fair to say that you had a crush on Chris Roberts?
- I guess.
- Were you flattered when he texted you?
- Kind of, but--
- I'm not saying it was love and marriage.
Must be a nice guy.
Why else would you go to the darkroom with him?
- I thought he was nice.
- Were you aware of the darkroom's reputation?
- Objection. Relevance.
- It goes to her state of mind, Your Honor.
- I'll allow it. - At the very least,
you probably knew you weren't going there
to develop photographs.
- I thought we were just going to kiss.
- You mean like this?
Defense exhibits 6A through D, Your Honor.
Now, I know Mr. Barba
already asked you about these photos,
but it appears as if you were enjoying yourself.
No need to be ashamed. I have a daughter too.
I know how much she likes going to the dances.
- Your Honor, is there a question here?
- There is.
Now, this was your first real date, wasn't it, Abby?
- You really wanted him to like you.
Maybe you were a little nervous.
- Sort of, a little.
- Sure you were. Alone with a boy you liked.
It was dark too.
And maybe it was loud too, I'm assuming,
what with all the music.
- Yeah, it was.
- So there was a lot going on.
So is it possible that you got overwhelmed
and were unsure about what you really wanted,
and that's why you never said no?
- I didn't exactly say no,
but I told him not to go down...there.
- Down there? Where?
On the floor?
- That's not what I meant.
I wasn't into it.
- Into what exactly?
- Sex.
- You said the word "sex"?
- No.
I meant I wasn't into having sex.
He knew that.
- But how could he know that?
Chris was nervous too.
He was in a loud, dark room, the same as you.
Did you think he could read your mind?
- Objection. - Withdrawn.
You were texting and talking in school.
You didn't even think you'd been raped for four days.
He had no idea that you'd had a bad evening
until the police arrived at his door.
- Your Honor, objection.
- Ask a question, Mr. Buchanan.
- Well, I'm just trying to understand,
as I'm sure Chris and the jury are,
how did we get here?
- I knew I didn't want to have that happen to me.
- But did Chris know?
- I think he did.
- You think? You think you were raped.
You think you told him to stop.
Isn't it possible that you went completely along with this
and then regretted it later?
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
[tense music]
♪
Nothing further.
♪
- I don't know what just happened.
- It wasn't your fault, honey.
- Let's go. - Testifying is never easy.
- You could have protected her more.
- Abby, the worst is over.
- No, it's not.
Chris is going to testify
and tell everyone lies about me.
- Mr. Barba won't let him get away with that.
- We were in the darkroom kissing.
I kept asking if everything I was doing was okay,
and she didn't say no, so I kept going.
- How far did you go?
- I put my fingers inside her.
I couldn't have done anything else
even if we both wanted to,
because I finished early.
- Did you have sex with Abby Stewart?
- No, I did not.
- When you got home that night,
how did you feel the evening had gone?
- Good.
I didn't think anything was wrong.
I texted her. She texted me back.
- So it sounds like she was sending you mixed messages.
- If she was upset, I couldn't tell.
- Now, Chris, there were two instances
where you admit that you had lied.
What was the first?
- To the police.
When I said we hadn't touched,
we had touched under our clothes,
but we didn't have sex.
- And the second?
- To my friends.
I told them I'd had sex with Abby
because of the pressure to get a name on the wall,
but it wasn't true.
The club is disrespectful to girls.
Me playing into that was stupid.
I was afraid of being ridiculed.
- By volunteering your testimony here today,
you're risking just that.
- I know, but I owe it to my family
to explain my behavior,
and I owe it to Abby's family too.
If I upset her, I'm sorry.
I wish things had gone differently.
I know now that mixing dating and alcohol
is a recipe for disaster
and that clear communication is very important.
- Thank you.
I admire your courage
for testifying so frankly here today.
- You lied to the police
and to your friends.
Is that your story?
- Yes. I'm not proud of it.
- You did so because your friends were taunting you
that you hadn't scored?
- I wouldn't put it that way.
- You'd call it making love?
Or cherry picking?
- Objection. - It's the name of the club.
- Overruled.
- Doesn't matter what I'd call it.
I didn't do anything Abby didn't want.
- So she went to the police, testified on the stand,
was publicly humiliated and ostracized by her friends
for something that she made up?
- No, she probably thinks she was raped.
- Well, what does that tell you?
- That she thinks that now, but she did want it at the time.
- How can you be sure of what she was thinking
or what she wanted?
- Objection. Badgering.
- Witness will answer.
- I don't know if I can be sure,
but she didn't say no.
- She didn't say it or you didn't hear it?
- I don't know. - Did you ever ask her?
- No. - Did you ever hear a yes?
No, because you weren't listening to her at all,
scoring, making it up onto that wall.
Well, congratulations, you made it.
Nothing further.
[tense music]
♪
- Hey. - Hey.
- I just wanted to thank you.
That was a good cross.
You know, no matter what the jury decides,
you did your job.
- Did I?
It was always a murky case.
- Exactly the kind that we need to be fighting.
The world is changing.
We need new rules.
- Rules of sexual engagement for teenagers?
- Yes.
California just passed affirmative consent.
- We'll see how that goes.
- Well, something needs to change.
The problem is is that teenage boys
even in college don't know what behavior
might constitute rape.
We need to make the lines clearer.
[knock at door]
- Jury's in.
- Here we go.
- Members of the jury, have you reached your verdict?
- We have, Your Honor.
- On the felony count of attempted rape,
how do you find?
- We find the defendant, Chris Roberts,
not guilty.
- On the misdemeanor count of forcible touching,
how do you find?
- Not guilty, Your Honor.
- On the misdemeanor count of sexual misconduct
in the first degree, how do you find?
- Guilty.
[crowd murmurs] - What?
- Members of the jury,
the court thanks you for your service.
You are free to go.
[bangs gavel]
- I hope you're happy.
Look what you did to my son.
- Don't you talk to her. Don't you even look at her!
- I'm sorry.
- Now you're sorry?
- Don't you apologize to him, sweetie.
- Now is not the time.
- Abby, you have nothing to apologize for.
what was gonna happen when she went into that room.
- You all can lie to yourselves all you want!
We know exactly what your son is!
And now he's on the registry, and everyone will know!
- We know what your daughter is! - Enough! Enough!
Enough! Enough!
[gentle music]
♪
- Chris.
- Abby, let's go.
♪