All language subtitles for Law and Order S02E17 Sisters of Mercy.DVDRip.HI.en.UNVSL

Narrator: In the criminal justice
system, the people are represented

by two separate yet
equally important groups...

The police who
investigate crime,

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

(cash register rings)

- See ya later, Ernie.
- Ernie: Catch you tomorrow.

You don't even
give a damn, do you?

(sighs)

Do you?

What do you want me to
do about it, huh, Maggie?

Like I got a lot of
control over your life.

I'm not going back there.

Where are you gonna go, huh?

Aw...

thanks for the invitation.

Look, you just can't start
floppin' all over the place.

That's not what
I'm talking about!

Let's just get out of here and
we'll figure something out, all right?

Oh, so you can just
dump me on the street?

Maggie, would you just...

- Or maybe I'll just
go away and die, huh?
- Maggie...

How about I do everybody else
a favor and blow it off right here?

- Or maybe I'll just do
everybody else!
- Man: Look out!

Maggie...

give me the gun.

Why?

Fine...

do whatever the hell you want.

- No, don't you go!
- Man: Look out.

(police radio chatter)

Why'd your girlfriend
try to kill you, Danny?

She wasn't tryin'
to kill me, man.

The gun just went
off. It was an accident.

You were arguing. Nine
people saw her shoot at you.

She was drunk,
man. She didn't...

Hey, hey... her eyeballs are going
through the ceiling... that ain't drunk.

Danny, unlicensed gun...

Criminal possession
three or four.

Felony or misdemeanor?

- Maybe she took a little meth.
- What's a little?

I don't know...
five or six hits?

Your treat?

No, man, I don't know
where she could've got it.

Cerreta: This
better be the truth.

Boyfriend said she
did six hits of meth.

Only ID we found.

Corson, Maggie.
Issued at Haven House.

Catholic drug rehab center.

Maggie. Maggie.

(police siren blaring)

I got nowhere to go.

(theme music plays)

Look, this is ridiculous.
She's 16. She was stoned.

If you want to arrest somebody,
arrest the creep she was with.

That's already been done.
Now, listen, as for Maggie...

Accident or not, she
still has to be arraigned.

After that I can take her
back to Haven House?

That's up to the judge.

It was a relapse... it happens.

She is an addict... she's
making a difficult transition.

No one is doubting
you... you're telling

the wrong people.
She's got to be arraigned.

Great!

- Are you really a...
- A nun? Yes, Detective, I am.

So I guess I would
call you "Sister."

Call me whatever you want.

Sister, has somebody
called Maggie's parents?

She ran away from home three
years ago... I doubt she's homesick.

Anyway, she's been in
our custody for a year.

She's our responsibility.

I thought nuns had curfews.

That went out with
the penguin suit.

Maggie, when you're arraigned,

you'll either be placed
in a juvenile ward

or back at Haven House.

Now, chances are, you'll
get a compassionate judge

and you can go
back to the house.

Maggie?

Get her out of here! I
don't want her near me.

- Maggie...
- Please! Get her out!

Let's go have a talk.

Maggie, what's the problem?

It doesn't have
to leave this room.

Maggie...

Last night, we
were in the shower...

You and who?

Sister Bettina?

All right, why were
you in the shower?

I was sick and...

she said I'd feel better
if I had a hot shower.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

And what happened then?

She...

She had her hands on me.

(sobbing) She put
her hands all over me.

Okay, okay, all right.

Cerreta: It didn't come easy,

but she gave me the
whole play-by-play...

The what, where, how... everything
that Sister Bettina did to her.

You ask the nun about it?

We didn't give
her the specifics,

but as far as Maggie being flipped
out... she says she doesn't know why.

You think this girl is credible?

Well, she seemed really
frightened about going back there.

Hey, man, she's a meth head.

This could be a fabrication... could
be she wanted to be kicked out.

But if she wants out, there are
better ways than a molest charge.

She's young, she's speeding...
Who says she needs easy choices?

Meaning?

Come on, this is the
first time we've seen

a false accusation on a
molest and a rape charge?

Yeah, but there's also
the other side, Mike.

- Where is the girl now?
- Manhattan Psychiatric.

The DA dropped her to criminal
possession four on the gun charge.

Has she talked to anyone
else about the molest?

Only her roommate. We have a call in
to the Executive Director of Haven House.

Let's see if we can't dodge the
inevitable uproar on this one, okay?

Yesterday evening was
the first I heard about this.

Maggie's roommate,
Maria Barragan,

brought it to my attention.

I sent for Maggie, but
she'd already disappeared.

Did you have a chance
to speak to Sister Bettina?

This morning, after she
got back from the hospital.

She's pretty stunned.

What's your take on this?

I wish I had one.

Maggie Corson can be quite...

Lacking in the
credibility department?

Look, all these kids
have been on the street.

Survival became a lot
more important than honesty

some time ago for most of them.

So your first instinct on this
would be that Maggie's lying?

If Maria hadn't seen
them, I would have to say

it sounds incredible... given
Sister Bettina's reputation.

Wait a minute. Maria
is the roommate.

She saw Sister Bettina
and Maggie together?

She said she saw
them in the shower.

I guess it was around 1:00...
Maggie puked all over herself.

Sister B showed up
and took her to the can.

Mm-hmm.

- Did you follow them?
- No, I just waited, but Maggie
wasn't coming back.

I got worried,
so I went looking.

I heard the water
running in the shower,

and I saw Sister B
touching and kissing Maggie.

Now, where...

where exactly did she kiss her?

On her face and her shoulder.

- Was Maggie dressed or undressed?
- Undressed.

- And Sister Bettina?
- She had on this blue bathrobe.

You see anything else? No.

I went back to my room.
I pretended I was asleep.

And Maggie came back
by herself... she was crying.

She said Sister B
messed with her.

What exactly did she say?

She said Sister B put
her fingers, you know...

She was wigged out. She
didn't want me to tell anybody.

But you told Mr. Powell.

Sister B's a freak...

She shouldn't be
pulling that crap.

Maria, let's get specific.

You said you got worried
when Sister Bettina

took Maggie to the
bathroom. Why was that?

She'd come on to me before.

She put her hand
on my leg... you know.

And she said she loved me.

She was always
saying she loves me.

That's what I
mean... She's a freak.

Obviously Maria's mixed up.

She says she's pretty
sure of what she saw.

Maria practically grew
up on Times Square.

There, somebody touches
you, it only means one thing.

She's been with us
for only three months.

She hasn't had time to...
rearrange her thinking.

This "hugs, not drugs"...

Do you take that literally?

Do you have any physical
interaction with these girls?

It's just a figure of speech.

And you'd be surprised how far

the proper amount of
affection will go with these kids.

Maria may have her signals
crossed, but that still leaves Maggie.

That one, I can't figure out.

I always got along
well with Maggie.

I don't know what happened.

Maybe she's working
something out,

maybe she thinks
that I let her down.

But you don't deny being in
the shower with her that night?

She had stomach flu, and she'd thrown up
all over herself and I helped her wash up.

With a shower at
1:00 in the morning?

A sponge bath would
be less suspicious?

Logan: I may be wrong...
I just don't think she did it.

You think clergy can't
trip over their vows?

It happens... I read the
same news reports you do.

I just don't think this
is one of those cases.

- (car horn blares)
- You gotta admit, Phil...

It's not the usual profile.

Just because it's female on female and
it's rare doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Yeah, I know... "Anybody's
capable of anything."

That's rule number one.

Look, I'm just sayin' this...

If I was to take odds on this...

An ex-altar boy, wagering?

I confess... we used to
lift the wine once in a while.

Not us...

Wafers, unblessed.

(laughs)

- Have you ever been
afraid of Sister Bettina?
- Afraid? No.

Before the night in the shower,

did you ever feel she was
interested in you in a sexual way?

No.

I thought she was
just being nice to me.

But...? I guess I
didn't pick up on it.

I thought she was different.

- Different than...?
- Everybody.

Everybody who uses you.

The night that Sister
Bettina touched you

you were very sick,
weren't you? You had the flu.

Uh-huh.

Did you have any bad dreams?

Are you saying maybe I
hallucinated the whole thing?

I know what she did to me.

I know how she made me feel.

And how is that?

When things happen to you on
the street, you expect it, you know?

But if it happens to
you at Haven House...?

I was supposed to be safe there.

I really trusted her, you know?

I know she did it.

I know how it feels.

Why, has it happened
to you before?

For three and a half years...

Sometimes twice a week.

I was eight when it started.

My mother never believed me.

"No husband of mine
would ever do that," she said.

"He loves you.

He's your stepfather."

Olivet: It's not about sex...
it's about trust and betrayal.

She was betrayed
by her stepfather,

and then she was betrayed one step further
by a mother who refused to hear her.

So Sister Bettina is what...
A kind of surrogate mother?

Maggie was trying to rebuild.

Sister Bettina had become a
figure she was starting to trust.

This thing blew
apart her whole world.

So you don't think this story
could have been rehearsed?

I think this girl was blindsided

by someone she never
even perceived as a threat...

Either emotionally
or gender-wise.

There's a lot of pain there.

I don't think it's an act.

Great, so we move on a nun.

I'll get a warrant.

Does Sister Bettina have anything
else in storage in the building?

Aside from her office, no.

I keep thinkin' I'm gonna get
struck by lightning doing this.

Sister: She should
be allowed to be here.

I don't know why she's
been treated like a criminal.

I'm sure she understands
these men are just doing their job.

Sister Bettina has always
been above reproach.

What exactly are
you guys looking for?

Well, a lot of people
in molestation cases,

they keep diaries,

they might have
photographs, you never know.

Sometimes they save something
from the encounter as sort of a souvenir.

- Phil...
- (Zipper closes)

"M. Corson."

Vomit?

Cerreta: She said
she was sick that night.

Matching set.

We showed Maggie these garments.

She identified them as the ones
she was wearing last Monday night.

Sister Bettina may have kept
them as an encounter trophy.

Or she simply intended
to get them washed.

There's a laundry hamper
in the shower room...

She could've just as
well have left them there.

Whatever you want to read
into it... It's subjective evidence.

It's still a nun's word against
the say-so of two street kids.

What, too bad they're
not seniors at Riverdale?

What about this Sister
Bettina... Anything there?

She grew up in...

Hollis. Joined a
convent at age 20.

She's been at Haven
House for eight years.

Eight years supervising
teenage girls?

If she does have a predilection,

this might not
be her first time.

Powell: I never heard
a complaint about her.

Never heard a rumor either.

- You've worked
with her for how long?
- I've been here six years.

Anybody ever complain
to the archdiocese?

Had that happened, I know
I would have heard about it.

You're not the clergy.

But 70% of our funds
come from the church.

Wait a minute...

That should give them more
incentive to bury a thing like this.

Not for Bettina. Why not?

Sister Bettina aligns herself with what
the church calls "non-traditional nuns"...

Outfits like the Women's
Ordination Movement...

Women as priests,
birth control...

If the church had had a reason to get rid
of her, I'm sure they would have done it.

How about on the outside? You
know anything about her private life?

No, I have no idea.

You ever meet
any of her friends?

Well, at fundraisers.

There was a woman...

Anne Houston.

She used to work at the
Queens Family Shelter.

I think they still talk
like... every other day.

You ever read
"Catcher in the Rye"?

Save the children...
that's Tina.

Have you ever heard any
gossip or complaints about her?

You mean, why would a normal woman
choose to live in a community of nuns?

Listen, we've talked
about her vows.

We've talked about sex.

Tina always said she redirects
her energy into her work.

Logan: Did she get
along with the kids?

Did you ever see any
misunderstandings?

You know, maybe an
incident of some kind?

Look, she ran day
care for three years.

Everybody loved her.

You want testimonials? There'll
be a line wrapped around this block.

Everybody knows
these charges are crap.

Then why did she leave?

She was on loan from the
church, and they found out

that the shelter was providing birth
control counseling, so they yanked her.

You have any idea why
this girl would accuse her?

What difference does it make?

She's been accused, labeled.
How's she gonna shake that?

Olivet's report, the
clothes, the eyewitness...

Most of it seems to
support Maggie's story.

Except for the fact
that Sister Bettina

practically walks on water,
according to all her friends.

I'm waitin' for ideas.

We've got to get off the
dime one way or the other.

The archdiocese
wants it dropped.

They both seem to
be telling the truth.

Fellas, there are
no tiebreakers.

If we're not sure she
did it, we kick her.

Sister Bettina offered
to take a polygraph.

It's not admissible, but at least
we'll know if we're on the right track.

- Man: Are you 34 years old?
- Bettina: Yes.

- Is your father's name Michael?
- Yes.

Were you in Maggie Corson's
room the night of February 9th?

Yes.

- Did she have a stomach flu?
- Yes.

Did you sexually molest
Maggie Corson on that night?

No.

Did you kiss Maggie
Corson on that night?

No.

Did you tell the police the truth about
the events on the night of February 9th?

Yes.

Are you telling the truth now?

Yes.

She passed on direct
questions about the molestation,

but her answers on the
details registered as false...

Questions like whether or
not the girl had a stomach flu.

She could have
just been nervous.

She also failed the question of
whether or not she was telling the truth.

On the whole, the results
classify as "deceptive."

Or inconclusive, depending
upon your mindset.

Either way, she's
hiding something.

Reason enough to charge her.

Polygraph tests
are inadmissible...

You gonna sell this to the
grand jury and then not use it?

We have a victim's complaint,
eyewitness, opportunity...

I don't foresee a problem.

I would like to see she
has a chance to surrender.

- We'll call her.
- I want her R.O.R.

We sure we want to be perceived
as giving her preferential treatment?

For all intents and purposes,
Sister Bettina's indigent.

You see her as a
flight risk? I don't.

(church bells tolling)

This is my lawyer,
Francine Hughes.

From the archdiocese?

Oh no, she's just an old friend.

May I see the warrant?

My client declines to
answer any questions.

Fine.

- It's a beautiful morning,
isn't it?
- Yeah.

Francine explained the
results of the lie detector test.

I'm sure she also told
you that polygraph results

are non-admissible as evidence?

Yes, and if it were up to
me, I wouldn't be here today,

but Francine insisted that
I tell you what happened.

That night, Monday,

Maggie didn't have
the flu... She was drunk.

When I found her, she could hardly
stand up. She was covered in vomit.

I helped her wash up
and then I put her to bed.

And then I hid her
clothes in my room.

I didn't want anyone to
know she'd been drinking.

That's not the first time
she's drunk at the house.

No, she'd been
caught twice before.

She came to us by a special
dispensation of the court...

A third report of drinking
and they'd pull her out.

You'd protect her even
at the risk of going to jail?

If Maggie were thrown out,

she'd be lost... sooner or later
she'd end up back on the streets.

Do you have any idea what
her life expectancy would be?

Do you know how many street
kids die from AIDS or drugs?

How many are beaten, raped?

We can't take it on faith that Maggie
was drunk... we need corroboration.

My client is ready to
take another polygraph.

We need more than that.

She's lying... I can't
believe you're buying into it.

We ran tests on the
clothes you threw up on.

We know how much
you drank that night.

Now, listen, to me...

You lie in court,
that's perjury.

So I was drunk, big deal.

She still messed with me.

You had a lot to drink, Maggie.

How much do you really remember?

I know that she took
me into the shower.

I know that!

What else are you sure of?

I don't know.

I was in the shower...

I can't remember.

What do you mean,
you can't remember?

I guess I passed out.

What you told the police...
Did you make that up?

It happened!

Maria saw it...

and she told me. She
told me everything.

She saw it.

Maybe it was the morning after when
she told me what Sister B did to her.

She blacked out...
She doesn't remember.

And you told police that
Maggie described in graphic detail

what Sister Bettina did to her.

I saw them in the shower, okay?

I saw what was going on.

But you lied... Maggie
didn't tell you anything.

And now it's only your word that
anything happened at all, isn't that right?

Maria, are you happy
at Haven House?

Do you want to go
back out on the street?

Then I don't understand why
you'd make up a story like this.

What do you mean?

If they believe this story...

If people think that girls are
being molested at Haven House...

What do you think that does
to the reputation of the house?

But it was only Sister B.

In the public mind,
they're the same.

They'll withdraw their support.

And without funds, Haven House
closes... and where do you think you'll be?

That's not true... You're
just trying to scare me.

Maria, did you see

Sister Bettina molest Maggie?

I don't want to
hurt anybody else.

I just wanted them
to get rid of her.

Why? What did she do to you?

She knew.

She asked me about
it. He'd think I told.

Told what?

Mr. Powell...

me and him.

Powell initiated
the relationship

one month after Maria
arrived at Haven House.

He put her in a position
where she would do his errands

and get excused
from the scrub work.

She still could have said no.

He said he'd put her out on
the street if she didn't go along.

Sister Bettina uncovered this?

She had no idea. She
asked her about the errands.

She was concerned the
other girls might get envious.

It was a perfectly
innocent question,

but Maria thought the worst...

That a secret was out,
and she'd be the one to go.

When she saw Bettina
in the shower with the girl,

she jumped at the
chance to discredit her.

- Any way to corroborate her story?
- We talked to Powell's secretary.

She confirmed that Maria spent a lot
of time alone with Powell in his office.

You file a motion to dismiss?

Yeah, it's on the way over, but I
think we ought to go after Powell.

For what? Rape?

She said that Powell didn't physically
force her to have relations with him.

And the girl was
17 at the time...

You got no statutory charge.

He is in a position of
authority over teenage girls.

He's abusing it.

A civil case, maybe.

Criminal Court? I don't see it.

Suppose it's not
the first incident?

He's been on the job six
years. You think it's the first time?

I'd sure like to know the answer to that
question before we make up our minds.

Go.

(bell rings in distance)

This whole thing sucks.

I can't believe she
would do that to me.

You didn't know she
was involved with Powell?

No.

If he was hitting on her,
she could have told me.

He ever try anything with you?

Maybe when I first got there.

You know, he'd come into
your room at the wrong time,

call you into his office,
ask you stupid questions.

But I just stayed away from him.

A lot of girls fall for it?

Everyone thought he
was pretty much of a joke...

except this one girl.

What about her?

I don't know for sure...

but I heard talk
about her and Powell.

We have the canceled
checks he sent you, Mrs. Morrill.

He's not giving you that money
out of the goodness of his heart.

Would... do I have to
give the money back?

As far as we can tell,

it legitimately belonged
to Jack Powell.

If he gave it to you,
it's yours to keep.

When I was at the house,

we had this thing going.

- A sexual relationship?
- Couple of times a week,
that's all.

- (baby coos)
- How old were you?

- 15 when it started.
- What was in it for you?

I didn't have to
work in the kitchen.

He'd have me do errands,
let me go to the movies.

Seems hardly worth it now.

Did he ever threaten to hurt
you if you didn't go along with it?

He said if I told anyone,

I'd have to leave the house.

At the time, I didn't
have anywhere to go.

- How long has it
been since you left?
- Three years ago.

And since then, Powell's
been giving you $200 a month

for what... just to
keep your mouth shut?

He would have
preferred I lose it.

Mrs. Morrill, would
you be willing

to repeat what you just
told me to the grand jury?

You mean, go to court?

Look, nobody knows about this.

Nobody.

And I'm not gonna change that.

(car horn blaring)

She was 15.

Statute of limitations
hasn't run out yet.

We could force her to testify,

but her husband
thinks the kid is his.

That leaves only Maria Barragan.

With a possible
charge of rape one.

Rape one? Ben, Powell
never threatened Maria.

And with no
forcible compulsion...

An adult male with the power to
send a young girl back to the streets

demands that she have sex with
him... that's not forcible compulsion?

There's no physical force, no
threat of death or physical injury.

I'm willing to take the
chance to make the case.

Get me a slot on the
grand jury, we're going

for an indictment for
rape in the first degree.

Man: You're way
off base on this, Ben.

Jack Powell has
spent his entire life

working selflessly
for the public good.

He's raised hundreds of
thousands of dollars for charities.

For crying out loud...

Did he tell his contributors about the
afternoons he spent with Maria Barragan?

It's an indiscretion,
not a crime.

Maria's 17... she's an
adult. She consented.

We're not charging
you with statutory rape.

We're charging you with
rape in the first degree.

(whisper) Little bitch...

I didn't force her.
I didn't have to.

She said you threatened to
expel her from Haven House.

Twice, for curfew and drugs.

Then you admit you
threatened to expel her?

- Yes, with good reason.
- Legitimate reason in whose mind?

Look, Ben, didn't the episode
with Sister Bettina tell you anything?

Maria Barragan's a liar. She'll
say anything to get what she wants.

And what she
wants is to stay alive,

and in her mind that means
staying at Haven House.

A lie like this does not
serve her best interests.

Maybe we can work something out.

Sexual abuse three,

pleads no Io, one
year community service.

A "B" misdemeanor? This is
more than a traffic violation.

Without proof of forcible
compulsion, you have no case.

Motion to dismiss.

See you tomorrow at 2:30,

Judge Reisman's chambers.

Maria Barragan was
blowing kisses for nickel bags

long before she ever
heard of Jack Powell.

- Which is hardly relevant...
- It sure as hell affects
her credibility.

That's a matter for
the jury, not for me.

Even if you look at the facts in a
light most favorable to the prosecution,

the indictment has still failed

to make a prima
facie case for rape one.

The statute is clear.

It requires threat of
death or physical injury.

Your Honor, we intend to prove
in court that it was reasonable,

under those circumstances, for
Maria Barragan to fear for her life.

She wasn't seduced,
she submitted...

She consented for
God's sake, Ben.

All right, all right. My instinct
tells me you're asking me

to stretch the law to
places it shouldn't go.

However, I'm gonna
reserve my decision

on defendant's motion
to dismiss until after trial.

- Your Honor...
- Charge stays for now.

We go to trial right away.

Reisman reserved
decision? It's a minor miracle.

So we're halfway there. We
present a compelling case...

Don't fool yourself,
Reisman's no groundbreaker.

Read his decisions...

If there's no precedent,
it doesn't fly in his court.

So why didn't he dismiss?

Who knows? It could be he's
waiting for the jury to acquit.

Then he doesn't have
to make a decision.

Could be he's ready
to make new law.

I wouldn't bet on it.
You talk to McCarter?

Yeah, he wants
a slap on the wrist.

Well, maybe you
oughta start slapping.

What do you suppose a trial
like this is gonna cost the State?

Even if you convince a jury,
Reisman snaps his fingers,

sets aside the verdict.

Adam, since when does cost
have anything to do with it?

Since the State is on
the verge of bankruptcy.

Yeah.

It's a no-win, my boy.

Reisman goes your way, we
got the appeal to worry about.

A trial of any sort puts
Haven House out of business.

Adam, he raped
a 17-year-old girl.

Did he? The statute
says physical harm.

It doesn't say put her in a
situation where she could get hurt.

But it's all in the
victim's state of mind.

Maria's fears were real.

If he had threatened to throw
her out on the expressway...

He didn't threaten anything.

She's a kid, Adam. To her,
Times Square is just as dangerous.

- Law doesn't read that way.
- Well, maybe it should.

When I was 12, my
mother ran away.

- Stone: And your father?
- I never knew him.

A complete bio, Your
Honor? It's hardly relevant.

It's relevant to the
victim's state of mind.

It's the defendant's state
of mind that's at issue.

The defendant took
advantage of the victim's fear.

I think it's necessary to show
the derivation of that fear.

I'll allow it.

Stone: After you were
abandoned, where'd you live?

In port authority.

Until Sister Bettina found me.

Did you prefer Haven
House to the streets?

They didn't beat me or anything.

The sisters, they
cared about me.

And Mr. Powell?

He liked me fine.

Your Honor, we've
established already

that the defendant and this
witness had sexual relations.

We don't need a
play-by-play, Mr. Stone.

Maria, please
describe for the Court

the circumstances...

leading up to your first sexual
encounter with Mr. Powell.

I was in his office.

He started touching me.

He said he could
make me feel good,

and he could make my life easy.

I told him I wasn't interested.

But you did sleep with him?

He said he would have me
thrown out of the house if I didn't.

- And you believed him?
- He showed me a form.

Please describe the
paper I just handed you.

It's the form they use when they
throw you out of Haven House.

Was that the form
Mr. Powell handed you?

No, the one he showed
me had my name on it.

So you willingly slept with him?

- I was scared.
- Of the streets?

I've been there.

It's better than going
back... Anything is.

That's why I lied
about Sister Bettina.

I thought if anyone found out...

Thank you.

Your witness.

Have you ever been
arrested, Miss Barragan?

Objection!

If we're giving bios, let's
give the unabridged version.

Overruled.

Miss Barragan?

Three times.

What were the charges?

Prostitution.

- So you were a whore?
- Your Honor!

All right, enough of
that, Mr. McCarter.

The Haven House
isn't all fun and games.

You have to earn your keep.

There's cooking,
and washing clothes,

cleaning... isn't that right?

It's part of the rehab.

Isn't it true, Miss Barragan,

that when you first started
working for Mr. Powell,

most of your chores
were eliminated?

Yes.

What kind of work did
you do for Mr. Powell?

I filed papers, answered phones.

Hell of a lot easier
than scrubbing toilets.

Your Honor... Withdrawn.

Now, when you were out
on the street, Miss Barragan...

you sold your body for
money, isn't that true?

I had to eat.

Oh, I understand.

You were trying to
make your life easier.

- That's what a whore does.
- Your Honor...

And weren't you trying
to do that with Mr. Powell?

- Trying to make your life easier?
- Objection!

- Miss Barragan?
- Judge: Sustained.

That's enough, Mr. McCarter.

Powell: I've worked
for non-profits all my life.

I don't know, maybe there are
some people who think I'm too caring.

If I minded my own business, I
wouldn't leave myself open to...

all kinds of problems.

When did you first come in
contact with Miss Barragan?

Powell: She was a new girl.

There's a routine
first interview.

I liked her attitude... She
was very bright, eager.

I needed someone to run errands.

It began as a
non-sexual relationship?

Powell: Yes.

But then she began
to put out signals,

as if she were interested in me.

What kind of signals?

I don't know, like... the
way she'd look at me.

McCarter: To what did
you attribute her interest?

Powell: I'm not really sure.

It's certainly not
because I have...

some magnetic effect on women.

Maybe it was because
I was nice to her,

or maybe she thought she
could get something out of me.

What did you do
about these advances?

I put her off, but she
was very persistent.

I'm not proud I slept with her.

Maybe this was bound to happen.

I spend a lot of time
with these girls, and...

in a way, they're trained
to deal with men sexually,

to use sex to get
what they want.

It was stupid of
me to give in to that.

Did you ever threaten Maria...

overtly or implicitly?

No, never. She'd
been victimized enough.

Did you intimidate her?

That's what I don't understand.

I'm probably the only
guy she was ever with

who actually cared for her.

I felt I... I was
very kind with her.

I can't understand why Maria
would say she was afraid of me.

No further questions.

Mr. Powell, do you recognize
the name Marjorie White?

She was with us for a while.

We caught her dealing
to the other girls.

Ah, did you throw
her out of the house?

She was dealing drugs.

All right, Alberta Gaines?

She was expelled for violence.

And Rosa Valdez,
was she expelled?

Yes.

Do you know what happens
to these girls that are expelled?

Sister Bettina tries
to keep track of them.

Do you know what
happened to Rosa Valdez?

I believe she died of AIDS.

Alberta Gaines? An overdose.

Yeah. Marjorie White,
she die, too? Yes.

Raped and stabbed 12 times
by six members of a gang.

And of all 18 girls expelled
in the past six years,

three have died of
AIDS, five, drug overdose,

one of exposure, two murdered,

and the rest disappeared.
Isn't that true?

Yes.

So isn't it reasonable,
under these circumstances,

for Maria Barragan to fear for her life
when you threw her out on the street?

- Objection!
- Sustained.

Did she ever say she was
afraid of leaving Haven House?

I never... listen, when these girls
have been out on the street long enough,

they become hardened, tough...
They're not afraid of anything.

- So if you're beaten up enough,
you lose your fear?
- You learn how to survive.

Until someone kills you.

Stone: The law says
that if Jack Powell

never placed Maria
Barragan in fear of death...

or physical injury, he
cannot be convicted

of rape in the first degree.

He didn't wrestle
her to the ground.

He didn't put a gun to her head.

He simply said,
"Have sex with me

or I'm throwing you
back out on the street."

Case dismissed?

Maybe.

But what did that
threat mean to Maria?

Another broken arm?

AIDS...

instead of hepatitis?

A bullet instead
of a razor blade?

More rapes, more beatings.

And more than anyone,
Jack Powell knew

that his threat contained
the weight of all those things.

So when he threatened to
remove her from the one safe harbor

in her sad young
life, he put her in fear

for her life and her
physical well-being.

And he didn't put
a gun to her head.

No, he showed her another
way he could hurt her.

Were you expecting a
guilty verdict this quickly?

I can't anticipate the mind
of a jury, but I'm very grateful.

Man: What about the mind of Judge
Reisman? Do you think he'll dismiss it?

I think we met the
burden of proof.

Man: If he does dismiss, do
you have a plan how to proceed?

- Yes, we do.
- Man: Mr. Stone?

Okay, you convinced a jury.

It doesn't mean a thing

until Reisman rules on
the motion to dismiss.

With his history, I
wouldn't hold my breath.

Our knowledge of rape and power
has grown... the law should reflect that.

Right now you got
leverage... Use it or lose it.

Now, I say call McCarter,
work out sentence.

You think my case was that weak?

No, I just think
that the judiciary

isn't as open-minded as you.

(phone buzzes)

Robinette.

Hold on.

McCarter's looking for you.

He wants to talk
about sentencing.

You can still lose it.

No deal.

(exhales)

Bailiff: Be seated.

After listening to the evidence
and reading counsel's briefs,

I find that the prosecution
has met its burden

with respect to the charge

of rape in the first degree.

Defense motion
to dismiss, denied.

Jury verdict of guilty stays.

(gavel bangs)

Get out your soundbite, Ben.

Yeah, nothing sells like sex.

Don't sell yourself short...
Everybody loves a winner.

Yeah.

You know it'll probably
be reversed on appeal.

Probably. But maybe the legislature
takes a look, rewrites the law.

(theme music plays)