Justice Delayed: Southern California Legal Thriller #2

by Rachel Sinclair

  But I knew that the jury could put two and two together.

  Couldn’t they?

  Jacqueline Price, the house mother, was another story. She knew the truth. She spoke to the girls. They told her what was going on. However, when I did her deposition, she lied. She said under oath that none of the girls told her anything about any kind of sex happening on the Williams’ grounds. She was totally unaware that anything like that was happening.

  I decided not to call her for that reason. She was a bad witness for me in her deposition, and she was going to be a bad witness for me in court.

  After several days of witnesses, including my expert, who testified to the trauma that young girls face when they are subjected to sexual abuse, it was time to call the girls.

  The case was going to truly begin.

  Chapter 37

  I knew that the first thing that I needed to do was to make each girl as sympathetic as possible to the jury. I wanted all the members of the jury to see every girl on a stand as being their girl. To see every girl as being their daughter. That was key to making sure that we won this case.

  I was no longer positive that we were going to win this case. I didn’t want to believe that it was possible that the jury would just find for the defendant. But I knew that it was possible. It was very possible, because people still had a hard time imagining that upstanding citizens, wealthy men, powerful men, could do something like that with very young girls.

  So it was important to me that these girls were credible. I worked with them, for days and days. And I made sure that they all dressed respectably. I knew that it was human nature to discount young girls if they looked a certain way. If the girls didn’t look respectable, I was afraid that the jury would think that the girls asked for it. I knew that that was not right, in any way, shape or form. These girls, by and large, were good girls. They were troubled. They came from troubled homes, a lot of them. But they were still very young, and, at their cores, they were still innocent in a way. Carl tried to steal their innocence. He could never take away their essence.

  The first girl I decided to call was Angela Todd. Angela’s curly red hair was in a ponytail, and she was dressed in a cream colored dress, and flat shoes. She wore minimal makeup, as all the girls were instructed to do. She was wide-eyed, and she looked terrified. I felt bad. I had prepared the girls for this moment, but nothing could ever prepare them for the reality of having to take the stand and tell their story before a jury of their peers.

  After she was sworn in, I walked up to her and I spoke to her in a low voice. “Remember, you don’t have to go through with this if you can’t. I will understand. I know that you’re scared. I know that nothing could ever prepare you for this moment. I can almost hear your heart beating.”

  She shook her head, her eyes looking fearfully at the jury, and then back at me. “I’m fine. I just want to get this over with.”

  With a heavy heart, I walked away from the stand, and took a look at my notes. I let the jury just watch Angela on the stand for a minute or so. I wanted them to just soak in who she was, the aura that she was emanating.

  “Can you please state your name for the record?” I began.

  She nodded, and then looked over at the jury again. “Angela Michelle Todd.”

  “And Angela, do you understand why you are testifying in court today?”

  “Yes. I understand that I’m testifying because there is a lawsuit against Carl Williams for what he did to me and a lot of other girls.”

  “Angela, do you know a man by the name of Carl Williams?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes. I just said that I’m testifying against Carl today. So yes, I do know him.”

  “When did you meet Mr. Williams?”

  She got close to the microphone. “About a year ago.”

  “Prior to meeting him, were you living at home?”

  “No. I was not.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I mean, I was living with a foster family. However, I was one of five foster kids who were living with this family, and I was about to be removed from the home because they weren’t caring for me.”

  “What you mean, they weren’t caring for you?”

  “I mean, they didn’t feed us a lot of nights. They were never home, and there was another boy in the house, about my age. And he was always harassing me. He was always trying to get me to do things to him, sexually. And one day, he actually did do something to me. Against my will. And I told my foster parents what he did, and they made it out to be my fault. They told me that I was teasing him, and that he was a young boy with hormones and needs. And this was my fifth foster family in six years. So I just decided that I didn’t need to be there anymore.”

  “So, what did you do?”

  “Well, one night, I just left the house. I sneaked out of the window of the bedroom, and I just went to a bus station. I was going to go out of town, but I didn’t really know where. I had a little bit of money saved up, and I had enough money for a bus ticket, and I was just gonna go someplace. I admit, I didn’t know what I was gonna do when I split town. I was going to think of that later.”

  “And what happened when you went to the bus station?”

  “I didn’t actually end up getting on the bus. I started talking to a lady, her name is Jacqueline Price. I don’t know, she kinda knew that I was lost and alone, and she started talking to me. I told her my entire story, because she asked where I was going and what I was doing. I told her about the foster family, and about all the foster families before that. I told her about all the group homes I used to live in, when I was in between foster homes. See, my mom, my birth mom, she lost custody of me when I was a baby because she was into drugs. My dad, he was imprisoned, and he died in prison. So I told her that whole story. And she told me that she had a place for me to stay. A very nice place for me to stay. And, I figured I had nothing to lose. So, I just went along with her.”

  “And where did you end up going that night?” I asked her.

  “She took me to this beautiful home, mansion, estate, in Del Mar. I had never seen a place like that before in my entire life. Well, except for on TV. Or in magazines, you know, when they would run pictures of the rich and famous. That was the kind of home it was. And she led me to this house that was kind of off to the side, kind of by the pool area, it was a big house too. Six bedrooms. And there were a bunch of girls in this house, just kind of sitting around the living room, eating pizza and watching movies. And she told me that I could live there. I had no place else to go, so that place seemed like it would be heaven.”

  “Did she give you indication as to what you had to do to live in that place?”

  “No. She just told me that it was a safe place for girls like me. And that’s all she told me. And I thought that it was a dream come true. I thought it was too good to be true, but at the same time, I wanted it to be true.”

  “And, what happened next?”

  “Well, I just hung out with the girls in the living room that night. And Jacqueline, she showed me where I would be sleeping. It was a twin bed, a bunk bed, and I was sharing it with another girl by the name of Naomi King. It was a much nicer room than I have ever experienced in my life. And, for the first time in a while, I was actually getting fed. They would bring in food, but also, they had the chefs on this site that would cook for us girls. And just for the next week or so, I just hung around that house, that guest house, and I thought that this was the best thing ever for me.”

  “Did you start going to parties?”

  She lowered her head. I could see that she was shaking, and I felt for her. “Yes. After about a couple weeks of me hanging around the house, I kept waiting for them to ask me to leave, but they didn’t. And I was invited to my first party one Monday night.”

  “Who attended this party?”

  “Well, there were about 20 girls at the party. They were all young, like me. About my age. And there were a bunch of like men who were like, they were at least like 40. I would sa
y that probably the youngest guy there was 40. Sometimes there were younger guys there, about 30 or so. But that night, it seemed like every man was over the age of 40.”

  “Did Jaqueline tell you what your role was going to be at that party?”

  “Yes. She told me I was supposed to just talk to these men, and flirt with them. I didn’t really know what she was talking about, but she told me to watch the other girls, and kind of watch what they were doing. So I did. The guys would come and talk to me, and I flirted with them, just like she said. She told me to touch their arm, touch their shoulder, play with their hair. Giggle a lot. It all seemed kinda silly. But I did what I was told I had to do.”

  “So, that first night, did you end up kissing any of the men?”

  “No. Jacqueline, she went around telling every man that this is my first night. They all seemed to understand what that meant. I think what that meant to them was that I was new, so I was just learning what was going on. But I was not actually learning at all, I was just thinking that I was supposed to be entertaining these men somehow. That’s what I was told I had to do.”

  “During this party, did you notice other girls disappearing with other men?”

  “Yeah. I did notice that all through the night, one girl after another would disappear with one man after another. And they would be gone for like an hour, sometimes more. Sometimes less. And they would come back at the party, and sometimes that same guy would disappear with another girl. I saw that happening, and I asked the girls where they went. And they would just laugh and giggle and say that they were walking around the grounds. And Carl, he does have a lot of land, and there’s a cliff, where you can sit there and look at the ocean below. There is just a lot to see. So I just figured that those girls were just walking around the grounds, maybe going to look at the ocean. And there’s some steps to go down to the ocean, and some of the girls said that they would go down to the beach with a man, and just kind of walk around. And I didn’t think that anything was going on that was wrong.”

  “And how long did you attend these parties?”

  “Well, for the first month, I just attended the parties, and I didn’t do anything with these men at all. I just flirted with them, like Jacqueline told me to do. And I was still thinking that it was a really nice set up for me. I mean, I was staying at a really nice place, going to parties every night, making a lot of friends. Eating a lot of good food. So it was just kind of like paradise.”

  “After that first month, what happened?”

  “Well, Jacqueline told me that I was going to have to leave.”

  “She told you that you were going to have to leave?”

  “Yes. That’s what she told me.”

  “Did she tell you why you had to leave?”

  “Yes. She said that I had to leave because they were going to be bringing in a new girl, and they needed the bed.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I panicked. I had no place to go. And no money. And, well, I was having such a nice time at that house. And I was making a lot of close friends. And I panicked.”

  “Did you leave?”

  “No,” she said with a shake of her head. Then she bowed her head again. “I didn’t.”

  “And why didn’t you leave?”

  “I didn’t leave because I started to cry. And then Jacqueline said that there was a way that I could stay there with the other girls. And she said I could make some money as well.”

  “And did she tell you what you had to do to stay there?”

  “Yes. She told me that if I wanted to stay there, I needed to do more at these parties. She told me that at these parties that I was to go with any man who asked me, into a private place, in the main house, and that I was to do anything that they asked me once I went with them.”

  “Did you understand at that time that she wanted you to prostitute yourself with these men?”

  “Well, at first I didn’t understand. I didn’t even think that that’s what she was asking me to do. So, I asked her questions, and she answered that I had to do whatever the men asked me to do. And then she said that if I did that, I would get paid $1000 for every party that I attended where I allowed myself to go with these men to a private room.”

  “And what did you say?”

  “I said that I didn’t want to do that. She said that was fine, that I would have to leave, because they were going to get a new girl in there who would be willing to do those things. And, I couldn’t leave there. I just didn’t know what I would do if I had to leave that place. I didn’t have any place to go. And, I could not go back into the system. I had been through so many foster homes, and none of them were any good. In some of those homes, I was beaten. In some of those homes, the parents, the foster parents, they were doing a lot of drugs. Some of the homes were okay, but they just had too much going on, and they just didn’t have time for me. I never felt I had a family until I got to Carl’s house. And the reason why I felt like I was part of a family there, was because I bonded with the other girls. They became like my sisters. And I didn’t want to leave them. I just didn’t know what to do.”

  “So, what happened next?”

  “Jacqueline, she gave me some time to think about what I wanted to do. I asked Naomi about what she thought. None of the girls were telling me what they were doing at these parties, they were all lying to me. Telling me that nothing was going on. But, at this point, I guess they were told that they could go ahead tell me the truth, and Naomi told me what she was doing. And she told me that it wasn’t so bad, once I got used to it. And I just didn’t imagine that I would ever do something like that, but I felt like I had no choice.” She bowed her head, and I could see that there were tears in her eyes. Her hands were shaking, and she kept smoothing her hair, over and over again.

  “So, what did you decide?”

  “I decided to go ahead and give it a try. So, that night, at that party, I guess the guys who attended the party were told that I was not off-limits. And, about half an hour after I got to the party, an older guy came up to me. And, he flirted with me, and I flirted back, like I was taught to. And then he whispered in my ear that he wanted me to go with him to a private place. I had never been inside the main house, at least not before this. But it’s a huge house, 20 bedrooms. I found out later that all those bedrooms were being used for these men who would be taking these young girls and doing things to them sexually in these bedrooms. And that’s what happened with this guy. I was scared, but I knew that I had to do it.”

  I didn’t want to ask her the dirty details, but at the same time, I had to get her testifying on the record that there was sexual contact between her and this man. “When you went into this private room with this man, was there sexual contact?”

  She took a deep breath, and she looked furtively at the jury. I looked behind me, and saw that every member of the jury was transfixed on her face. “Yes. There was. He asked me to give him a blow job, and I did. And then he asked me to take off my clothes, and he took off his clothes, and he had sex with me.”

  “Intercourse?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes.”

  “And how old were you when this happened?”

  “16.”

  She took a deep breath. I could tell that she was choking back a sob.

  “How did you feel after doing that?”

  “I felt dirty. Ashamed. I couldn’t believe that that was my life. That that was what things had come to. I mean, I wasn’t a virgin or anything like that. But, I never thought that I would be doing something like that with some random guy that I just met, for money. It was just wrong.”

  “And did you keep doing that – going to parties, meeting men, and having sexual encounters with them?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes. I did. And it wasn’t as bad once I started getting into it. I mean, the first time was the worst time. And I was told at some point that I was going to have to keep a quota. I had to go with three different men every night, to a private place, and
do what they wanted me to do. Whatever it was they wanted me to do.”

  “So, if a guy said that he wanted to do a three-way with you, you had to do it?”

  “Yes. In fact, that was something that happened quite a lot. A guy would choose me and another girl at the party, and all three of us would, you know. All three of us would have sex together.”

  “And if a guy said that he wanted to urinate on you, you had to do that as well?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes. I was told I could not refuse any request. And if I did refuse a request, they would get rid of me. So yes, if the guy requested to pee on me, I would have to have that happen. In fact, it did. At least five times.”

  “So, you’re telling the court that men have urinated on you?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes. I had to go along with anything that a man wanted.”

  “How did you feel after Carl told you and all the girls that you could leave at any time?”

  “At first I was afraid. I didn’t know what I was going to do. None of us knew what we were going to do. It was a terrible way of living, but it was the only way that we knew. But then you, you saved us. You got us a group home, in therapy, and people to take care of us. And we have each other, which is the most important thing.”

  “And did you give Carl a fake ID at any time?”

  “No, ma’am,” she said. “I don’t have a fake ID.”

  “How do you feel now about men?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any feelings at all for men. I don’t have any feelings for boys, either. I mean, I just turned 17, and I cannot ever imagine going on a date with anybody. Just the thought of being alone with any man or boy makes me want to vomit.”

  “I have nothing further for this witness.”

  Angela looked terrified, because she knew that Jonathan was going to cross-examine her. I told her to be careful, because he was gonna try to trip her up.

  Jonathan took a deep breath, and he looked like he was frustrated. “Your Honor, I’d like to have a short recess. If you may.”