Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 14:53:50 EDT
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Point of View - chapter 13

Legal Notice:
The following story may contain descriptions of graphic sexual acts.  These
acts may be between boys or between a man and a boy.  The story is a work
of fiction and has no basis in reality.

The author, or his designee, retains copyright to this story.  There may be
no reproducing or distribution of this story without expressed written
consent.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter.

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Point of View - by Erastes                        Copyright 2003 by Erastes
Chapter 13 - The trial.                           February 2003

After many delays, several new court dates, and much anticipation, not all
of it good, the trial was set to begin.  I was a nervous wreck as the time
approached, and I was wondering what types of things I'd have to endure as
I went to and from the courtroom.  I drove to my attorney's office and he
suggested I ride with him, so we could discuss things on the way and he
could help to keep the press off my back.  He told me to walk slightly
behind him and he'd try to shield me from the reporters and photographers,
or at least make it difficult for them to get what they wanted.  I thanked
him for his thoughtfulness, and we made our way toward the courtroom.

It was a good thing he had suggested this approach, because the vultures
were out in full force.  Not only was that photographer who had snapped my
picture as I got off the elevator for my arraignment there, but the video
crews from the local television stations were there, plus the reporters
with their microphones.  As we dodged the various groups between the
parking garage and the courtroom, I made sure I kept my lawyer between me
and the scavengers who wanted to pick what meat that was left from my
bones.  I doubt any of them were happy with their results, as we
successfully negotiated our way past them, and without any comments from
us.  After we entered the courtroom, we didn't have to worry about them any
more, as they were not permitted inside that chamber.

We made our way to the defense table, and I tried not to glance at the
small crowd that had already taken seats in the gallery.  The lawyer told
me that most of today would be spent selecting a jury, and nothing much
would happen until tomorrow, so I wasn't as nervous as I otherwise might
have been.  Before too much longer the assistant district attorney came in
and seated himself at the opposite table, and now we were only waiting for
the judge to appear, so we could begin.  When the judge entered the
chamber, we were all asked to rise, and then we were seated again, before
the process of voire dire could begin.  Voire dire is when the lawyers
determine the competency or prospective jurors, to see if they should be
seated for the trial.

The process began with the judge asking the jury pool a series of general
questions, to learn if they might have any prior knowledge that would
disqualify them from judging this case.  First of all, he asked them if
they knew any of the attorneys involved, or if they had dealt with their
firms.  Those who had were then released.  Next they were read a list of
potential witnesses, and were asked if they had any previous connection or
knowledge of these people.  If they did, that connection was explored, and
some of those people were let go as well.  The judge then asked if any of
the potential jurors had ever been sexually abused themselves, or had a
family member or close friend who had suffered such abuse.  Those who had
were released as well, as their subjectivity was in question.

Once that group had been eliminated, the lawyers now got a chance to
question the various potential jurors personally, to see if they wanted to
challenge their suitability for serving.  This process was time consuming
and not all that interesting, but the lawyers did have the judge excuse
several other people from this duty.  The lawyers would ask questions such
as, "Do you have children or grandchildren?" and "how would you feel if
they had been sexually abused?" to see how sympathetic they'd be to the
victim.  They also wanted to know if any individual or immediate family
member had been "involved in any other legal proceedings", to determine if
there might be any bias toward the legal system in general.  They were then
asked if they thought they could be "open minded and judge this case only
on its merits and the evidence presented, rather than on the emotional
issues surrounding the case."

During this questioning process, I was also watching those being
questioned, and those waiting their turn, and I noticed a couple of them
giving me very accusatory or hostile looks.  I made sure to point this fact
out to my attorney, and then he requested they be dismissed as well.  After
a lengthy process, nine jurors had been seated by the time we broke for
lunch, and when we came back, the final three and two alternates would be
selected too.

For lunch, my lawyer invited me to join him at his club, so we could
discuss some other issues while we were eating.  I agreed, and we were off
to this private establishment.  I didn't eat much, as I was too nervous
about this whole ordeal to get much down, but we did talk about certain
jurors, and what he expected we would need to do to win them over.  We also
discussed some of the jurors who had been questioned before we left, but
not yet selected or dismissed, to see if we thought we should challenge any
of them from being seated.  After going over all of these various issues,
we finished eating and left the club, making our way back to the
courthouse.

After lunch it took about two more hours to seat the final jurors, and then
the judge adjourned the proceedings for thirty minutes.  We were told that
when we came back the lawyers would make their opening statements, and then
the prosecution would call its first witness.  During this recess, my
lawyer went off to polish up his opening remarks, and I was allowed to sit
in a conference room alone, to keep me away from the media and others at
the courthouse.  It was the longest thirty minutes I think I've ever had to
endure.  I know thirty minutes are thirty minutes, no matter how you look
at it, but when you understand what is about to happen might affect the
rest of your life, each second seems to take a minute to pass.

When that endless half hour was up, we went back into the courtroom and the
trial began.  First the prosecution gave its opening remarks.  The
A.D.A. got up and strode over in front of the jury, walking up and down
beside the jury box as he made his comments.  "This case involves one of
the most horrific crimes that can be committed against a minor.  It is a
case where an adult takes advantage of the needs of an underage child, and
uses this to his own advantage.  This adult used his position as one who
hired this boy to do some work for him, to force this kid to also gratify
his sexual urges.  You will hear testimony that will show how he
manipulated this boy, using the threat that the boy wouldn't be allowed to
continue working for him, to get the child to perform certain sexual acts
with him.  Not only that, but he was careless enough to let the boy's
brother witness one of these acts, and this was what brought him down and
brought him to the attention of the authorities.

"All the district attorney's office asks of you is that you listen to the
testimony and weigh the evidence, before you convict him of this crime and
sentence him to the justice he deserves.  Every child in this community
will sleep better and feel safer, knowing that twelve honest men and women
did what they could to protect them from such evil."

The district attorney went back to his seat, but not before giving me a
very cold and threatening stare, and then my lawyer got up and walked
toward the jury box.  "Trials like this often elicit more of an emotional
response to the accusations, rather than a scrutiny of the facts, and this
is what my learned colleague is counting on in this case.  This is a case
where the district attorney's office hopes you will be swayed by the
emotional issues, rather than focusing on the evidence.  We will try to
separate the facts from the emotion for you, as well as the truth from the
fiction in this case.  We will try to eliminate the distortions, point out
the exaggerations, and get down to the basic issue of this case.  The
prosecution will ask you to believe everything at face value, and not
question the veracity of these statements, but we shall ask you to look
beyond what is said, to determine what is the truth and what has been
fabricated or twisted to fit what the prosecution hopes to prove.  All we
ask is that you listen to the details, weigh the evidence, and then base
your verdict on JUST THOSE FACTS.  We ask you to leave your emotional
baggage behind, and not let this blur your perception of the facts of this
case.  We ask that you base your verdict solely on the evidence put before
you, and not on the highly charged rhetoric the district attorney will
spew, to slant your perception of that evidence."

Now my lawyer returned to our table, and he sat down beside me once again.
At this point the judge spoke.  "Mr. Levitt, you may call your first
witness."

"Thank you, your honor.  The state would like to call Ms. Mary Thompson to
the stand."  This was the woman who gave the third statement that
Mr. Colongeli had shown me previously.  I still had no idea why she was
testifying, as it seemed that most of her information was not first hand.
She was sworn in, and then the assistant district attorney began to
question her.

"Would you please state your name and occupation for the court?" the
prosecutor asked her.

"My name is Mary Thompson, and I work as an aide at the middle school."

"Thank you.  Now, Ms. Thompson, were you the one who brought this case to
the attention of the authorities?"

"Yes, sir.  I was."

"And why did you do this?  What information did you have that made you
report this situation?"

"As I said, sir, I work as an aide at the middle school.  One day I
overheard a conversation between Josh Carlson and one of his friends, and
it made me realize that Josh's brother was performing sexual acts with an
adult."

"Objection, Your Honor.  This is hearsay testimony.  The witness had no
first hand knowledge of any such acts."

"She is only testifying to what she heard, and why she filed a complaint,"
the district attorney shot back.

"However, Your Honor, that complaint was based solely upon hearsay
information, and none of this testimony should be allowed"

The judge thought for a moment, before he ruled.  "The objection is
overruled.  The witness may testify that she heard the boys talking, what
opinions she formed from what she heard, and why and how she reported it.
However, she may not give direct testimony about what was said between the
boys."

My lawyer looked a little surprised and dejected by the judge's ruling, but
he sat down again.  The A.D.A. gave us a little smirk before he continued.
"Now, Ms. Thompson, would you continue, please."

"Yes.  As I was saying, I overheard Josh Carlson telling his friend that he
had seen his brother, and this man named Bob."

"Objection, Your Honor.  You clearly stated the witness could not testify
to what was said between the two boys, yet she's doing exactly that."

"Objection sustained.  Ms. Thompson, you may not relay the essence of the
conversation you overheard, just why you took this to the authorities."
She looked a bit confused, but eventually she continued.

"From what I heard, I believed that Josh's brother, who I had also known
when he attended the middle school, was having sexual contact with an
adult.  Seeing I knew Jared was still a minor, I felt it my duty to report
this to Children's Services."

"So what did you do, precisely?"

"I went to Children's Services and filed a report.  They had me give a
statement to the police, and then I understood they arrested the man
involved."

"And why did you do this, again?" the prosecutor asked her.

"To protect a vulnerable minor."

"Thank you, Ms. Thompson.  No further questions, Your Honor."  The
A.D.A. sat down, and the judge turned toward my lawyer.

"Mr. Colongeli, do you have any questions for this witness?"

"Yes, Your Honor."  He slowly walked up to the front of the courtroom, just
off to the side of the witness stand.  "Ms. Thompson," he began, "you said
you overheard the conversation between these two boys, is that true?"

"Yes, it is."

"And this conversation indicated that sexual activities were going on
between a boy and a man?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"What did you do to verify that these statements were true?"

"Ah, I'm not sure what you mean."

"Okay, then let me put it another way for you.  Are all the conversations
you hear between students truthful?  Do they ever tell each other lies?"

"Yes, sir.  Sometimes they do tell lies, but not all the time."

"And how do you determine what is a lie and what is the truth?"

"Sometimes I just know the things they are saying aren't true, because I
have knowledge otherwise."

"Ah, so sometimes you have firsthand knowledge of the facts, and you know
what the student has said was a lie then."

"Sometimes."

"And how else do you know if what you overheard was a lie or the truth?"

"Well, sometimes I asked different teachers who might know, or maybe the
principal, or possibly even a parent."

"So you know everything the students may say isn't always true?"

"Yes, sir, I know that."

"Then what did you do to determine if these statements were true?  Did you
question the boys about what you heard?"

"No, I didn't do that."

"Did you confront the brother, who was supposedly involved in these
things?"

"No, I didn't do that either."

"Did you confront the man who was supposedly involved?"

"No, because I didn't know for sure who he was."

"Did you have a teacher or the principal question any of these people, to
determine the veracity of these statements?"

"No, sir.  I just reported it to Children's Services.  I figured they'd
check to see if the accusations were true or not."

"Ah, so you didn't do anything else to verify the truthfulness of these
statements, you just passed them along to Children's Services, and let them
believe they were true?"

"I don't know what they believed, sir.  I just told them what I heard."

"Tell me, Ms. Thompson.  Out of every ten statements you hear the children
tell each other, how many of those would you consider to be false or lies?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, out of every ten comments you overhear at the school, on average,
how many of those ten would turn out to be lies.  One, two, three,
four...eight?  How many on average are untrue?"

"Maybe four out of ten," she responded, still looking a bit confused.

"So knowing forty percent of the conversations you overhear are not true,
you still reported this one as being the truth, without investigating it
yourself, or having others at the school do so?"

"Yes, I guess I did.  I just assumed that Children's Services or the police
would investigate before they acted on it."

"Ah, yes, assumed.  And you know the old adage about people who assume."

The prosecutor jumped up at this point.  "Objection, Your Honor.  Is the
defense attorney trying to testify now?"

"Objection sustained.  You will refrain from characterizing the witness'
testimony, Mr. Colongeli.  Do you have any further questions for this
witness?"

"No further questions, Your Honor.  I think we all see how Ms. Thompson
operates."  Smugly my attorney walked back to his seat and sat down beside
me.  The judge looked at his watch.

"Seeing it's getting late in the day, we'll adjourn until 9:00
a.m. tomorrow.  The jury is instructed not to read any articles or view any
news broadcasts related to this trial, nor are they permitted to discuss
this case with anyone else.  That includes spouses, parents, children, and
friends.  Court adjourned."

We all got up to leave, and my lawyer told me to meet him at his office at
8:30 tomorrow morning, and I could ride with him to the courthouse again.
That way he could help to protect me from the press again.  I agreed, and
we left the courtroom and went to his car.  After getting to his office and
transferring to my own vehicle, I headed home.

It was a very long night for me, as I sat alone at home.  All I could think
about was how my lawyer was going to cross-examine Josh and Jared tomorrow,
when they took the witness stand.  It was eating me up that this was going
to happen, but my lawyer insisted it was necessary.  God, how I hated this!
It was bad enough to watch him beat up on the aide like he did, confusing
her and making her look foolish in front of everyone, but now he was going
to do this to two boys whom I cared so very much for.  I know, this whole
case would probably mean I'd never have contact with them again anyway, but
I was still having trouble accepting the fact that my lawyer needed to rip
their testimony apart.  There had to be another alternative.

This continued to haunt me throughout the night, and it made it difficult
for me to sleep.  I could picture both boys on the witness stand, answering
the questions asked of them by the prosecutor, and realizing they were
trying not to say anything that would hurt me too badly.  Then I would see
them getting riddled with questions from my attorney, watching him badger
and confuse them, upsetting them to the point where they could barely
think, or even making them cry.  How could I let this happen?  The
knowledge of what was to come was eating me up inside.

After what little sleep I was able to get, the alarm went off and I slowly
got ready for another day in court.  After showering and getting dressed, I
had a cup of coffee and a couple of pieces of toast.  That was all I
thought I could hold down, as my stomach was in knots, worrying about what
was going to happen.  At 8:15 I went out and got in the Tahoe, drove to my
lawyer's office, parked my vehicle and then went inside to meet with him.
After a polite greeting, we got into his car and drove to the courthouse.

Bruno parked in the parking garage and we got into the elevator at the
basement level.  The elevator stopped at the first floor, and to my
surprise, this woman got on the elevator, accompanied by Jared and Josh.  I
discovered later she was the caseworker assigned to look after the boys.
At first the boys didn't see me, as I was standing behind my attorney, but
as they stepped toward the rear of the elevator, they saw I was there.
They stared at me briefly, like deer caught in the headlights of a car, but
then they quickly looked down at the floor, not knowing what else to do.
In that brief moment when our eyes met, I saw how much Jared was hurting.
His eyes were all puffy, like he had been crying, and when I looked
directly into his eyes I could see that they were filled with moisture.  My
God, this was tearing him up, and he was suffering as much as I was over
this.  How could I continue to hurt him like this?

At that point I made up my mind.  No matter what the consequences for
myself, I couldn't put Jared through any more than he had already been
forced to endure.  I was the adult here, and I should have resisted his
advances, but I didn't, so now I'd have to pay the piper.  How is it said
on the streets?  You do the crime, you do the time.  Well, I guess now that
was what was going to happen to me.

As soon as we got off the elevator, I told Bruno I needed to speak with him
in private, before we went in the courtroom.  He looked surprised, but
nodded, and he took me to a small room, off to one side.  "Bruno, check
with the D.A. and see if he'll offer me a plea.  I can't put those boys
through this."

"Bob, you can't go getting cold feet now.  Things have been going fairly
well for us so far."

"That's not the point.  I told you I did things with this kid, and I can't
let you tear him apart on the stand.  Those were the boys on the elevator,
and I could see how badly they were hurting.  I can't put them through any
more."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Positive.  Please ask the D.A. if he'd be willing to negotiate, because I
don't want to put these boys through your cross."

"Okay, if that's what you want."

We walked into the courtroom, made our way to the defense table, and just
about that time the judge entered.  After he was seated, my lawyer
addressed him.  "Your Honor, may I have a minute to confer with the
assistant district attorney?"

"Yes, but make it quick."  My lawyer stepped across to the other table.

"My client wants to know if you'd consider a plea?  He saw the two boys on
the elevator, and he doesn't want to put them through the stress of
testifying or having to be cross-examined.  I think he saw what I did to
your first witness, and doesn't want to see that happen with these boys."

"That's very big of him, considering what he's already done."

"Look, Sam, he didn't coerce that boy into anything.  Yes, they did things
with each other, but it was because the boy wanted to.  This guy wouldn't
hurt these kids.  In fact, he's proving it now, by being willing to plead.
He's willing to go to jail, rather than harm this kid.  Why don't you make
an offer I can recommend he accept, okay?"

 "Gentlemen, we're waiting," the judge prodded.

"Yes, Your Honor," the prosecutor responded.  "Just another minute or two,
please, and we might be able to resolve this."

"Okay, but don't take too much longer."

"You know, the boy told me a similar story when I talked to him alone.  He
said he kept asking your client to do those things, until he finally gave
in.  He told me he felt he had to say those other things, but he told me in
private they weren't true.  I didn't know what to believe at that point,
but now I'm beginning to wonder if someone wasn't a bit overzealous in
investigating the situation.  What he did was still a crime, but okay.
Sexual abuse one, with a recommendation for one to three years in prison."

 "You call that an offer?  How about sexual abuse two, with a year in
county jail?  He's not a big time criminal, and I doubt he could survive a
year or more in prison."

"Okay, but he'll have to allocute to the fact he did have sexual contact
with the boy."

"I think he'll accept that, but let me check with him quickly."  Bruno
hurriedly told me what was being offered, and I accepted the deal.  Bruno
now turned and nodded toward the A.D.A.

"Your Honor," the prosecutor began, "we have reached a plea agreement."

"You have?  May I ask what that might be?"

"Yes, the defendant has agreed to plea to sexual abuse in the second
degree, with a sentencing recommendation."

"Mr. Cox, do you realize that by accepting this plea bargain it has the
same effect as being found guilty by this jury?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I do."

"Okay, then your plea is accepted and recorded.  Sentencing will take place
two weeks from today, and a pre-sentence investigation will be ordered.
All reports are to be submitted to me no later than three days prior to
sentencing.  In addition, I will issue a temporary restraining order, to
prevent you from contacting either boy in any manner.  Is that clear?"  I
nodded and said 'yes', and then he turned toward the jury.  "Members of the
jury, this completes your service and we thank you for your time and
effort.  You are now excused."

The jury got up and was led from the courtroom, and Bruno told me to follow
him to the car.  He said he'd explain all the details of what would follow
when we got back to his office.  Obediently I walked behind him as we made
our way from the courtroom.  He took me out a back door and through areas I
had never seen before, so we could avoid the press.  He could be very
crafty in how he went about this.  Instead of taking the elevator, we
walked down some backstairs, until we came to the parking garage.  At that
point we got into his car, and neither of us said a word, as we drove back
to his firm.  Once we arrived, we went into his private office and he
turned to me and spoke.

"You were lucky the D.A. was willing to accept a plea agreement at this
point in the trial, and that we could convince him to agree to the offer he
did.  By dropping down to the lesser charge, it means that you won't have
to go to prison.  You can do your time in the county jail, and although
that isn't the best of places either, it's better than a state facility.
You did hear me say you had to allocute, didn't you?"

"Yes, I heard that."

"I want you to write down what you're going to say, and I'll go over it
with you, and suggest whatever changes I think are necessary.  I think the
judge will go with the year in jail, so be prepared to go directly there
after sentencing."

At that point I thanked Bruno for taking the case, for listening to my
request for a plea agreement, and for talking the prosecutor into the
lesser charge and sentence.  Then I went home, so I could get my things in
order before the sentencing date.  I had much to do, and only two weeks in
which to do it.

Sitting at home later that night, I wondered how Jared and Josh were doing.
I wondered if they realized what I had done for them today, by taking them
off the hook like that.  They had both been hurt enough already, and if my
lawyer had cornered Jared into admitting he wasn't forced into having sex
with me, then that might affect Jared's situation with his peers at school.
No, what I did was for the best.  I would end up paying for doing something
I knew I should have avoided in the first place, although I won't go as far
as to say it was wrong, because I don't feel Jared was harmed by what we
did.  I think someday even Jared will admit to that fact.

As I prepared to call Jack Coughlin, to arrange for him to take care of
things for me while I was in jail, I felt better about what had happened.
Not that I was happy about going to jail or having a record, but at least I
prevented Jared from having to go through testifying, being cross-examined,
and possibly having to say things he'd regret forever.  I'll do the time,
as long as neither of the boys has to be scarred further.

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Positive emails may be sent to ErastesTouch@aol.com