Ties That Bind
4. Don’t Charge Me For The CrimeThe day finally came for Zac‘s trial. Beth put on a long flowing dress with multi-colored flower bunches on it. It was baggy and she was hoping to hide her pregnancy the best she could, as she had been doing in public for the last six months. Jen joined her for moral support.
Beth and Jen slipped into the courtroom, taking a seat towards the back and Beth waited for her turn to testify on the stand.
After opening statements by the prosecution and the defense lawyers.
The prosecution lawyer finally announced. “We call to the stand Elizabeth Baldwin.”
Beth took a deep breath before standing up and making her way to the front of the courtroom. Zac turned to see her walk up the isle and once he caught sight of her, it caused him to smile.
Beth rested her hand on her stomach as she was sworn in, then took a seat. She focused on the lawyer asking the questions and did her best not to look at Zac at all.
The prosecution began their questioning.
“Elizabeth, how did you meet the defendant Zachary Hanson?”
“At the grocery store, he bumped into me while I was bagging some apples. He caused me to drop some and helped me pick them up.”
“Had you ever met or had a prior relationship with the defendant before that day at the grocery store?”
“No, never.”
“How did you come to go on this date with him if you had never met him before that day in the grocery store?”
“After picking up the apples, he asked me out on a date to a club called Babe’s. I thought it was a harmless date - he seemed nice enough.”
“Did you allow him to pick you up at your house?”
“No, He offered and I refused. So I met him there.”
“What happened at the club?”
“We had some drinks and danced.”
“Did the two of you leave the club separately?”
“I don’t remember, I only remember bits and pieces of that night.”
“No further questioning.” the prosecution lawyer said as he took a seat.
Zac’s lawyer stood up, buttoned his coat and walked over to stand in front of her and began his line of questioning.
“Where did you find yourself the next morning, Ms. Baldwin?”
“I woke up at Zac’s house.”
“So, that means you in fact, did leave the club with my client after all?”
“I guess.”
“Your honor, instruct the witness to answer with a simple yes or no, please.”
“Young lady, please answer in a yes or no fashion. I guesses will not be accepted.” the judge ordered eyeing the young witness.
“Yes, sir.” Beth nodded.
“I will ask you again. Did you leave the club that night with my client?”
“Yes.”
“Do you make a habit of going on dates with guys you just met?”
“No.”
“Then why say yes to my client after only knowing him for five minutes?”
“He looked like a nice guy, how was I to know that he was going to rape me!”
“How can you be sure that you didn’t consent to the sexual intercourse?”
“Because I don’t sleep with guys on the first date!” Beth retorted in anger.
“But you yourself said that you don’t remember anything but bits and pieces from that night, and after having more drinks than what you used to. How do you know you didn’t start the sexual contact with my client or asked him to sleep with you?”
“Because I don’t do that, I don’t sleep around!” Beth frowned, her lips tight.
“I noticed that your currently pregnant. How far along are you?”
“I’m about to start my eighth month.”
“Were you pregnant when you met my client?”
“No.”
“Who is the Father of your unborn child? If you know that is.”
“He is!” Beth spat bitterly pointing a sharp finger in Zac’s direction.
“How many dates did you go on after you dated my client?”
“About three or four.”
“So, isn’t it true that you might in fact be pregnant by one of those other men you dated and your unborn child is not my clients?”
“No, its not true. He got me pregnant. I am positive I haven‘t slept with anyone else!”
“Then why didn’t you state that fact when you filed the rape charges against my client?”
“I did.”
“I beg to differ. I have your sworn affidavit to the police the day you filed your supposed rape charges and there is no mention of your pregnancy anywhere within this report. So that only means that you lied about the rape and got pregnant by someone else you went out with after my client. And once you found out you were expecting you figured you would backtrack and pin it on the nice guy who took care of you when you were so intoxicated you couldn‘t remember your own name, not to mention his family is well to do in this community. So you figured you’d jump on the bandwagon and pin your child on him isn’t that correct Ms. Baldwin?”
“No, that‘s not true! I told Officer Adkins about my pregnancy and the baby was conceived the night I went out with Mr. Hanson. Not before and not after. I am sure that he is the Father!” Beth shouted gesturing to Zac as they made eye contact and Zac smiled when she said that he was the Father of her child. He loved hearing her say those words. Beth couldn’t bare to look at him smiling at her like that, like she was some prize he had won at the county fair. She quickly looked away.
“Ok if your so insistent that Mr. Hanson is the Father. Then you are admitting right here on the stand that the sexual intercourse between the two of you was consensual?”
“No it wasn’t!”
“Did Mr. Hanson force you in anyway like hold you down so you couldn’t leave, while you were having sex?”
“I don‘t really remember.”
“Did he threaten you with violence or did you find any bruises on your face and body the next morning?”
“No.”
“Did he coerce you into having sex with him?”
“I don’t know, probably.”
“See, you don’t even remember the actual facts from that night. You can’t answer with 100 percent fact if he forced you or even if he coerced you into having sex with him. Which proves my point further that you two had sexual relations that night and they were consensual.”
“I remember enough to know it wasn’t consensual, his face close to mine, the smell of whiskey on his breath as he kissed me, his hands roaming my body as if I was a rag doll and most of all the feeling of him pushing his penis into me roughly as I begged him not to.” Beth slumped forward in her chair and put her face into her hands and cried uncontrollably.
“So if it wasn’t consensual sexual intercourse and your pregnancy is in fact the direct product of rape, than why didn’t you terminate the pregnancy so you wouldn’t have a constant reminder of the attack?”
Beth lifted her head to reveal a very tear stained face as she blasted at the lawyer. “Because I am pro-life! It wasn’t this baby’s fault how it was conceived and brought into this world. It deserves a chance at life, same as anyone else in this world!”
“No more questions for this witness.” the defense lawyer stated as he took his seat next to Zac.
“Miss you are excused” the judge said as Beth slowly left the stand. She could feel Zac’s eyes on her as she walked back to her seat.
“Defense calls Zachary Hanson to the stand.” Zac’s lawyer stood up slightly as he called Zac to the stand.
Zac stood up and buttoned his suit jacket up before approaching the stand and was sworn in. His lawyer started questioning him first.
“Mr. Hanson did you meet the alleged victim Ms. Elizabeth Baldwin in the grocery store as she stated in her testimony?”
“Yes.”
“Out of all the possible woman in the store, why did you chose Ms. Baldwin?”
“I felt guilty for knocking all the apples out of her hand and off the display stand.”
“Was that the only reason?”
“No, I was also captivated by her beauty. I was hoping we could have developed into a long term relationship but she never called me again.”
“When you asked her out on the date - did she hesitate or refuse your question?”
“No, she said yes right away.”
“Did you pick her up at her house for your date?”
“No, I asked if I could and she said no and that she would meet me there.”
“And did she meet you at the club - Babes that night?”
“Yes, she did. She was actually waiting for me, I was a bit delayed and got caught up in traffic.”
“Did Ms. Baldwin drink alcohol that night?”
“Yes.”
“And about how many alcoholic beverages would you say she consumed during your time at Babes?”
“At least ten coronas.”
“So, she had at least ten alcoholic beverages within how many hours were you there?”
“Two hours.”
“That’s a lot of alcohol to consume in such a short period of time. So what did you two do once you left the club together?”
“I figured she had too much to drink and was too drunk to drive herself home so I helped her out of the club and into my car. I asked several times where she lived so I could take her home. But she only laughed hysterically and answered my question jokingly every time. Since she wouldn’t tell me where she lived I figured it was the gentlemanly thing to do was take her to a safe place and let her sleep it off and I would bring her back to the club to get her car in the morning.”
“What did you do when the two of you got back to your house?”
“I helped her to the couch, where I took off her shoes and covered her with a blanket.”
“And how did you two come to having sex that night?”
“As I was covering her up she pulled me down into her face and kissed me, I told her it wasn’t a good idea in her condition and she moaned as she kissed me again and ran her fingers through my hair.”
“Did she ask you to have sex with her?”
“She didn’t say it in words but she implied it when she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down onto her while she kissed me and fondled my penis over my pants.”
“Was their any foreplay on your part or hers before the actual penetration?”
“Yes, she unzipped my pants and gave me head before I returned the favor and went down on her.”
“Was Ms. Baldwin fighting you off or resisting your advances when you were pleasuring her?”
“No, she was moaning in pleasure and arching her vagina into my face so my tongue would go deeper into her.”
“What happened after that?”
“She helped me take off her panties, I undressed myself and positioned myself at her entrance. I asked if she was ok before I entered her, she nodded that she was ok so I entered her slowly, she bucked her hips at me and tensed at my initial intrusion so I stopped and asked again if she was ok, she nodded again but I sat inside her and waited for a moment so she could adjust to my size before I continued making love to her slowly.”
“Did she ever tell you no or resist?”
“No, never. She moaned and rubbed my back the whole time I was making love to her.”
“No further questions.” Zac’s lawyer stated before taking a seat. The prosecution lawyer stood up and walked over to Zac and began his line of questioning.
“So, when she pulled you down on top of her you felt it was then ok to have sex with her?”
“Yes, she was grabbing my privates and fondling it. I assumed that’s what she wanted.”
“So, if a woman doesn’t verbally consent but feels you up, you think it’s ok?”
“Yes, it doesn’t take someone telling you what they want with words for you to know by how they are acting towards you. And that’s how I knew she wanted to have sex with me that night.”
“Did she ever pass out or become unconscious at any point before, during or after you were with Ms. Baldwin?”
“No, she was awake the whole time.”
“Did you know that Ms. Baldwin was pregnant with your child?”
“No, I had no idea until the proceedings today.”
“One final question, Mr. Hanson. Why would you even sleep with someone you just met without a condom, knowing in today’s society the potential for an STD, HIV, AIDS and the possibility that she could get pregnant. Which inevitably happened anyway.”
“I guess the alcohol impaired my judgment and I wasn’t thinking of the consequences.”
“Did you ever think that the victim was also too intoxicated to even give proper consent to what ultimately happened between the two of you that night?”
“No, she knew what was going on the whole time.”
“No further questions.” the prosecution lawyer stated before taking his seat.
“Mr. Hanson you are excused.” the judge ordered before Zac nodded with a smile and left the stand to take his original seat. Zac stared at Beth the whole way back to his seat and when she looked at him he smiled at her. Another tear fell from her eyes as she turned and looked at Jen.
“What if everything he said on the stand was true? And I started with him sexually and did all those things to him, I really don’t remember what happened. He was so convincing and if the judge and jury doesn‘t convict him he will be a free man - then what do I do? He‘ll come after me for visitation with the baby.”
“Shh, let’s not worry about that right now, the trials still not over with yet, besides they have convicted guys on much less.” Jen whispered back, petting Beth’s hand.
*
After closing arguments between both lawyers. It only took the jury an hour to deliberate and come back with a verdict.
“Will the defendant please rise?” the judge ordered.
Zac and his lawyer stood and faced the jury.
“Madam Foreman, have you reached a verdict?”
“Yes we have.”
“Read the results please.”
“On the one count of felony sexual battery we find the defendant - not guilty. And one count of felony rape we find the defendant - guilty.”
Beth let out the breath she had apparently been holding when she heard Zac was guilty. Now she waited patiently to hear the judges sentencing.
“Mr. Hanson, I hereby remand you to the California county correctional facility for men for a term of no more than three years and I am adding an additional five years for causing the victim general bodily injury and causing her to become unwillingly impregnated with your child, you will pay $5,000 in fines and court costs. You may be up for early release after serving five years of your eight year term and once you are released you are to be on probation for two years, and you are to register as a sex offender. I may drop the additional term of five years that I have bestowed upon you - if it is determined once the victim’s child is born and a paternity test establishes that you are not the Father, you will only remain in prison to serve your original three year term for the rape charges. Courts dismissed.” and with the sound of the gavel Beth knew she could finally move on with her life - until she was called back to court again in two months.
*
Right on schedule - two months later. Beth gave birth to a healthy baby boy a few moments later she got the shock of her life when they said there was another baby. Within minutes her son was joined by a sister, she was smaller and slightly underdeveloped. The doctor informed her that’s probably why the little girl wasn’t detected before this. Due to Jenifer’s health problems she was rushed to the NIC unit of the hospital. Beth was not prepared for twins, but she would manage. She named them Jacob Andrew and Jenifer Ann Baldwin. The hospital staff collected DNA samples from Jacob, Jenifer and Beth, within the hour prison staff were collecting a DNA sample from Zac. One of the nurses was so kind to tell Zac that he was the proud Father of a son. Zac smiled widely and asked the infants name but the nurse didn’t know at the time.
Two weeks after the birth Beth, Zac and baby Jacob were back in court for the paternity results. Baby Jenifer was in the hospital still not well enough to go home yet. Jen came along for moral support, no doubt her friend would need it during this trying time.
The judge opened the envelope holding the results, pulled out the paper, reading for a moment, before announcing, “Mr. Hanson. You are the Father.”
Zac smiled and shook his lawyers hand, Beth dropped her head and cried, already knowing the results.
Zac’s lawyer stood up.
“Your honor, now that paternity has been established and my client is proven to be the Father, can we set up visitation rights, so when my client is released from prison he can see his child?”
“I think it’s a little too soon for that now counselor. Ask me again when your clients about to be released from county lock up and after he’s served his time for this crime.” the judge grumbled as he slammed down his gavel. “Courts dismissed!”
Beth sat in the bench stunned at what the judge had said about Zac possibly getting visitation rights to her children. She clutched her sons tiny body as she processed the information, her mind beginning to race a million miles an hour. She looked up only to be met with Zac’s loving gaze and he smiled at her. Just then Jacob started to cry, Beth bolted from the courtroom still holding onto Jacob tightly and shielding him to her body protectively. Jen watched her friend run out of the room, before she turned back to Zac and gave him a dirty look, he puckered his lips and simulated a kiss with his lips to Jen, then smiled. Jen rolled her eyes, flipped Zac the finger, grabbed Jacob’s car seat and walked out of the courtroom.
*
Zac was never updated again on his son or even the fact that he also had a daughter. Beth and the twins are doing fine. She is trying to get her life back together. Beth knows he will get out of prison someday and she fears for her life and her son's life, and the fact that Zac may try to kidnap him when he gets out. She lives in constant fear, always looking over her shoulder, that Zac has someone out to get her and Jacob.
- Zac writes to Beth every day.... she does not write back.