Evergreen Courthouse Day Three

With the main trio of the trail having given their testimonies to both the prosecution and defence teams, it was time for friends of theirs to give their character profile to the jury to make up their own minds

The prosecution had called up Chloe Rice first to take the stand and start the trail for the third day. Chloe had arrived late to the courthouse and avoided everyone so they couldn't sway her judgement before she gave her testimony

Just like Hannah and Jessica she looked nervous to be up there. Her testimony alone could swing the whole jury to what Bryce is exactly like when he is alone with his girlfriend. The prosecution had decided to go first with the cross examination of Chloe to start the trail in its third day

Mrs Jensen started proceedings and took the floor, both women smiled awkwardly at each other as Mrs Jensen knew what had happened during her time with Bryce

'Miss Rice, how are you feeling today?'

'A little nervous I haven't done anything like this before'

'Well I can assure you everything will be ok' Mrs Jensen proclaimed. 'Can you tell the jury how long you have been dating Mr Walker?'

'We have been dating for just over a year now'

'And would you say that the two of you have gotten to know each other quite well'

'I would say so because I know Bryce's little habits that others wouldn't in a intimate matter''

'From past testimony from Miss Baker and Miss Davis, can you say his behaviour is in line with their accounts'

'To some degree it is correct with their statements they have made'

'You seem to be showing some doubt Miss Rice, is there anything else you would like to add?'

'Bryce behaved differently depending who he was around at the time. At school around the teachers he is the nicest person in the world helping anyone. When alone with his boys Bryce is a completely different person'

'Can you expanded further on that Miss Rice, how his character differed'

'It was very jock like behaviour and whilst we were together I knew he was interested in other girls whilst he was seeing me'

'Did Bryce ever cheat on you to the best of your knowledge?'

'I know he has cheated on me but I never let it known to him that I knew what was going on, in a way I was sparing myself from facing up the truth'

'Do you know where these infidelities were taking place Chloe'

'Most of the times it was the clubhouse on school premises, other times it was at parties that our friends threw'

'Can you confirm for the jury that there was a camera present at the clubhouse'

'There was one present at all time but it was mostly sorted in one of the bedrooms'

'And who did this camera belong too'

'Bryce Walker'

'Best to your knowledge Chloe what was recorded on that camera'

'That I do not know Mrs Jensen, Bryce hid his collection of dvds he must have made. I've never seen anything on the dvds myself'

'You are aware there a drunken polaroids of you in his collection'

'Yes I am unfortunately'

'But are you also aware there are explicit videos of yourself with Mr Walker in the clubhouse'

'That I'm not aware of Mrs Jensen, I don't remember any of it ever being made'

'Are you confirming consent wasn't given into making those videos'

'That's correct'

'If consent wasn't given to make these videos, did you agree to have sexual intercourse on those nights in question with him?'

Chloe eyes searched the small courtroom for reassurance, the answer she was about to give would have repercussions not only on her life but how this trail would turn out

'I did not consent on any of those nights in question, he forced himself on me'

'With your history with Mr Walker, do you believe Hannah and Jessica gave their consent to sexual intercourse with him'

'No'

'From what you have told me Chloe, do you believe Mr Walker forced himself on those two women as well'

'Yes I believe their story were true and not the other way around Bryce had told the jury the events that had occurred'

'Why do you believe that'

'We were all attacked the same way, when we were at are most vulnerable around him and Bryce took advantage of that'

'No further questions your honour' Mrs Jensen concluded

Mrs Golden got up from her desk and took the open floor space, she would have to come up with some clever cross examination questions to undo Mrs Jensen's hard work

Bryce couldn't help but give his girlfriend an evil death stare, truly pissed off that she would betray him in his hour of need against these accusations

'Miss Rice you have said you have been with Mr Walker for just over a year correct?'

'That's correct'

'To say you know everything about him in that time would be a little bit of extravagant, I've been with my partner for over fifteen years and yet I still learn something new about him everyday'

'Well I guess you are right on that'

'Consent is a very difficult and delicate matter, I'll try to tread lightly as I can. When these tapes were made Chloe, you said consent wasn't given'

'I didn't agree to those videos or having sexual intercourse that night'

'But you didn't tell Bryce that, did you?'

'He knew I was uncomfortable and didn't want too, he overstepped the mark a few times that night'

'Verbally you didn't say anything on any of those nights in question'

'I shouldn't have to had said anything to him, Bryce must have knew my body didn't want to do anything'

'So he took your silence as permission, is that what you are saying Chloe'

'That is correct Mrs Golden'

'Surly you can see from Bryce's point of view, you haven't said anything or rebuffed his advances. Surely he was going to assume that was what you wanted as well on those nights'

'Bryce never once asked if I was okay to continue or wanted to stop'

'But you have had sexual intercourse with him like that before, on some nights you didn't really want to but you did so anyway to just please him'

'Yes'

'So you can't really blame Bryce if your sexual encounters were like that with him, that is what he knows of you and had gotten used to. You never turned him down on any occasion' She exclaimed. 'Let's talk about Miss Davis and Miss Baker for a moment, you believe he assaulted those two young women'

'I still very much believe that Mrs Golden'

'Can you tell me your thought process on how you came to that conclusion'

'Like I said before, the way I was assaulted sounded similar to Hannah and Jessica'

'How could have you known that before yesterday testimony, you aren't close friends with the two women'

'I didn't before yesterday and that's why I'm telling the court now what I know and believe'

'You never filed a police report to Evergreen police department about Bryce'

'That is true but I wasn't comfortable to file a rape report at the time'

'So you're jeopardizing this trail of Mr Walker so he is wrongfully sent down. Numerous time you have said you could have done this and that but choice not to'

'No….This is ridiculous Mrs Golden, you're twisting my words to the jury'

'But what we have discussed is factually true. You haven't filed a report at this moment in time and you have used your presumption to guess what happened to those two women'

'That's not true'

'You were not present at any of the parties Chloe. How could you have possibly known other than through gossip'

Chloe didn't have an answer for Mrs Golden as she looked down in her seat unable to answer the question, the defence team were clearly on top during the trial at this moment. The more the defence team asked where everyone was during the rapes, the less of the focus was on the actual evidence

'No further questions' she concluded

Judge Haroldean called an end to proceedings and requested everyone to return after the one hour lunch break. The next person that was called to the stand today was Zach Dempsey, he was the prosecution's best bet to bring down Bryce…

Zach had been more than prepared for the trial and he knew what implications lay ahead not only for him but for the others on the team from his testimony. Some of our teammates from the team decided to show up for the trail to hear in person what he had to say

The prosecution team was allowed to go first again to cross examine Zach, he took a quick drink of his water before gesturing to Mrs Jensen to continue on

'Can you tell me Zach how long you have been friends with Bryce?'

'We've been friends ever since we met in my freshman year'

'And I presume you natural joined the school's teams together at the same time'

'That is correct Mrs Jensen'

'So you can tell the jury you may know all of his secrets only a close teammate would only know'

'As teammates we have kept a lot of secrets over the years'

Mrs Jensen pulled up the small box of polaroids again from her desk and placed them on the witness stand. Zach opened up the box and looked inside briefly before averting his gaze

'Can you tell me what these are Zach?'

'They are the box of polaroids given to you by Hannah and Jessica'

'And who handed them this box?'

'I did Mrs Jensen'

'Why did you feel it was necessary to hand them this'

'There have been dark secrets brewing inside Liberty High for a long while now'

'What are these secrets Zach? You do realise what are on these polaroids are very serious'

'I know what are on those polaroids Mrs Jensen. They have been taken inside the clubhouse and passed around amongst the boys to see'

'And just for the record Zach. did you partake in any of these pictures or videos?'

'No I did not Mrs Jensen. I know you can clearly see me in those pictures but I did nothing to any of these women'

'With your knowledge of the boys team at Liberty, maybe you can explain more of this clubhouse on the premises' She proclaimed. 'What was this building?'

'This was a private building that only the jocks on the baseball team had access too, we mostly hung out there during school hours and partied there most evenings'

'How often was the gathering there Zach'

'I would say it was most evenings during the week, we were there for a couple hours at a time'

'Long past normal school hours I presume?'

'Yes indeed Mrs Jensen, long into the night actually'

'And who would organise the gatherings there? or was it come and go as you please'

'The main people to gather the team there were Bryce, Monty and Justin. You could say they were the leaders of the group'

'Can you confirm all these polaroids and videos were taken inside of the clubhouse'

'That is correct Mrs Jensen'

'Was the camera used at any other locations to the best of your knowledge'

'The camera was only used inside the clubhouse, it never left that place or went to any other parties that were thrown'

'Can the same be said about the videos, their location was also inside of the clubhouse'

'The room you can see is of the makeshift bedrooms that was set up in the back'

'Was everyone on the team allowed to use either of the rooms?'

'One of the bedrooms was locked most of the time and that room belonged to Bryce. No one was allowed to use the room other than him if agreed upon'

'And the camera was in which bedroom Zach'

'Bryce's room'

'Was everyone aware what kind of home videos he was producing in that room?'

'We had all been shown the videos and sworn to secrecy but we could add to his collect if we so wished too'

'Hannah and Jessica gave me the box after receiving it from you, Why would you do that knowing you could jeopardize yourself and the other boys on the team'

'I call myself their friend and I wouldn't be acting like one if I was hiding away evidence that might help their case just to protect Bryce from being found guilty of said charges to his name'

'And why did you feel it was necessary to do so Zach'

'For too long too many victims have gone unheard, fearing their story won't be believed. I have a little sister and I wouldn't want her to go through what Hannah and Jessica and the many others have been through. I want to put rapist like Bryce Walker away and off the streets of Crestmont'

'No further questions your honour'

Zach's testimony surely has blown the trail wide open and thrown Mrs Golden's defence into serious doubt. His testimony proving the polaroids and videos were in fact true and they all came from Bryce possession

Mrs Golden got up from her desk and examined the contents of the box before giving them back to Mrs Jensen. She never did seemed phased by what the prosecution had to say in their argument, her beliefs were she was more than capable of getting him off these charges quite easily

'That was a very incriminating box of evidence you put forward to the prosecution Zach. Can you tell me when this box was created?'

'It was not long after I had joined the teams at Liberty High'

'So just over two years correct'

'I believe so to the best of my knowledge'

'And everything inside is just from Bryce and no one else from the team'

'Like i said it was his private collection but we could add to it if we so wished too'

'Did you ever reach out to any of the girls and told them what they were subjected to from Bryce'

'No I did not Mrs Golden'

'Why was that Zach?'

'Because it was not my place to do so and there was no evidence to prove my accusations at that time'

'But you were willing to step in and help Hannah and Jessica so quickly when there was no evidence yet again'

'That's different because they are my friends'

'And the other girls were what Zach? People that you didn't care an ounce about who could have been assaulted'

'I don't want anyone to be assaulted or raped at Liberty High'

'But yet you did nothing to stop it for any of the girls if something happened'

'Not true'

'Then you can explain these pictures and videos to me'

Mrs Golden asked her assistant to produce her own box of evidence to be presented, pulling off the lid and taking out different polaroids that no one had seen before. Zach's face dropped in disbelief like he couldn't believe what he was seeing

They were polaroids that contained images of himself in compromising positions with young intoxicated women, several other polaroids were shown containing the more well liked and respected members of the team in a not so flattering light. If Bryce was to go down for the rape charges then he was taking as many possible with him

'Have you ever seen theses before Zach' She questioned, raising a brow

'I have a couple of times'

'So why were theses removed from Bryce's box before you handed the box over to Mrs Jensen'

'I don't know'

'You don't know Zach or you just don't want to say why to the jury'

'Honestly I don't know how they must have got separated from the rest'

'You were the last one to have possession of them, who's not to say you removed evidence to less incriminate yourself from any of the activities that was going on'

'Well Bryce is the collector, only he would know what was missing or not'

'Let's talk about your relationship with Bryce. What would you say you both were to each other'

'I'd say we're close friends'

'Someone you would trust to keep things private is asked to do so'

'Yeah we were that kind of level of close to each other'

'So you would know all if not most of his secrets'

'I guess so Mrs Golden'

'Have you ever seen Bryce assault anyone with your own eyes'

'No but that doesn't mean it's not true if I've not seen it'

'Is that what you've been told or heard Zach from your peers?'

'I just know from this feeling I have, the evidence is all there in that box and all you have to do is just piece it together'

'Your base evidence is just on your gut feeling'

'Watch any of those dvds and then tell me if the young womens are faking being raped or not from the look in their eyes'

'No further questions your honour'

Zach knew he had Mrs Golden where he wanted her in his cross examination; by being on the back foot. He wanted to say more but his testimony was over for the jury to hear but that wouldn't stop him from speaking up. It was like he still had an itch on his back that needed to be scratched

'Because you know I'm right, you've seen the evidence yourself haven't you'

'You're finished Mr Dempsey, you don't have to talk anymore for the trial and jury'

'How can you still sit there and defend that rapist, like Bryce hasn't done anything wrong in his whole life'

'Your honour' She proclaimed

Judge Haroldean banged his gave across his desk a couple of times, stopping Zach speaking any further out of turn when uncalled for

'Anymore out of you Mr Dempsey and I'll have your whole testimony discarded and put into jail for contempt of court. Do I make myself clear'

'Yes sir'

'You may leave the witness stand now Mr Dempsey'

The security guard opened the gate door to the box and gestured to him to leave immediately. He looked a bit mad and upset with himself that he nearly ruined the trail for Hannah and Jessica. Zach sheepishly looked up from the ground and mouthed a sorry to the prosecution team…