Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

harder you'll recall that it was the night of the party when the two of you first met. Of course, I understand there was a lot of drinking at that party and some drugs were available. Is it possible that you were too intoxicated to remember what happened that night?"
    Taking a deep breath, she replied, "A lot of kids, away from home for the first time, get a little wild."
    "I see. Were you a virgin the first time you and the senator had sexual intercourse?"
    "I don't see—" Her attorney touched her hand and she started again. "No, but he was only the second one—"
    "Of course, of course," Manson cut in, but his expression clearly indicated he didn't believe that for a minute. "Please continue."
    It was obvious that his effort to unsettle Cheryl had worked and her attorney turned the table microphone toward herself. "In all fairness to Miss Wallace, what she is about to relate to this distinguished committee is extremely upsetting. We would appreciate the courtesy of your allowing her to finish her statement before any further questions are asked." Senator Manson nodded and the attorney turned the mike back over to her client.
    What little composure Cheryl had begun with was completely gone. Her nervousness manifested itself in a quaking voice and trembling hands but she was determined to say her piece.
    "One night, after we had been dating about a month, we went to a party. There wasn't much going on, so we had a few drinks then went back to his fraternity house. Most of the brothers were there, working their way through a keg of beer. We sat around with them for a while before Tim took me up to his room. I... I had too much to drink. I knew it. I had a hard time getting up the stairs and told Tim I just wanted to sleep it off. But he talked me into smoking a joint. Said he'd been saving it for a special occasion."
    It took her a moment to continue. "Although I told him I didn't feel good, he was determined to have sex. I remember him pulling my clothes off and entering my body without my consent or participation, but I was too intoxicated to put up any resistance. I'm not certain exactly when I passed out but something made me wake up again. At first I thought it was Tim on top of me but then I heard his voice beside me. I turned my head and saw him sitting there, holding my hand. The room was filled with his fraternity brothers. Besides the one... having intercourse with me, there were eight others, some with nothing on, some with just their pants open and their... privates exposed. They were... fondling themselves... getting ready."
    Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard several times before she was able to go on. "I told them no. I didn't want that. It was as if they didn't hear me at all. I tried to push the one on top of me away but I couldn't seem to coordinate my mind with my body. I was crying and begging for Tim to stop them but he only squeezed my hand tighter and said..."
    She paused, closed her eyes and took another steadying breath. When she reopened her eyes, they glistened with unshed tears but the expression in them was pure hate as she glared directly at Senator Ziegler. "He said, 'Just lie still, honey. It will be over in a minute.' I had no way of knowing how long they had been at me before I awoke but it actually went on for at least another hour that I was aware of. They finally gave up when three of them tried to take me at once, and I vomited on the one trying to use my mouth. Then they let me get up and dress and Tim drove me back to my dorm."
    No one uttered a sound for several seconds then one of the junior senators said, "Miss Wallace, what you describe was such a hideous offense against you, I can't help but wonder why it took you twenty years to report it."
    The camera switched back to her just in time to catch her rolling her eyes in disbelief at his naïveté. "Surely, sir, you must realize that it is extremely difficult for a young woman to cry rape when she'd been drinking and willingly went to the boy's bedroom.
    "In spite of that, however, I did attempt to report it to the local police the next day, after I recovered a little. But they insisted it was strictly a college matter and would have to be handled by the authorities there. Campus security took a report but I got the impression it went directly into the trash when I left the office. I overheard one of them snicker and say, boys will be boys . I did try to obtain a copy of that report before this hearing and was told