Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Protest March Planned For Ferguson Today; Ray Rice Wins Appeal Can Make NFL Return; Rescued Boys: "We Thought We Would Die"; Ferguson Federal Case Still Open; Questions About Brown Autopsy Assistant; Growing Concerns Over Rapes Reported At UVA

Aired November 29, 2014 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- and the fact that he ignores me. He is a --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You will hear the full response coming up. And two boys buried under 5 feet of snow for hours. How they managed to survive and their remarkable rescue?

Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. In just a few hours a protest march will start in Ferguson, Missouri. For the next seven days protesters will walk to the state capital in Jefferson City. NAACP says the march in honor of Michael Brown.

Overnight 16 people were arrested after protests in Ferguson. Other demonstrations also erupted yesterday in several cities around the country, including Seattle, Chicago and New York.

Ed Lavandera joins us live now from St. Louis. So the march is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. What is happening ahead of it?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this church you see behind me, the Washington Metropolitan Amy Zion Church is historic church here in the city of St. Louis. This will essentially serve as home base for this seven-day 120 mile march from St. Louis, or the Ferguson, in the neighborhood where Michael Brown lived to the state capital and the governor's mansion here in the state of Missouri.

They expect about 100 core people every day. This will be home base. Every night they will return here to the church and have teach-ins and that sort of thing. Many people, we're told will be sleeping here. We have met a couple people who have driven in from Michigan and Texas to participate in this march.

They hope as this goes on from day to day that the marches will continue growing. As you mentioned, this is something spearheaded by the NAACP. They hope it will be a nonviolent protest that will spearhead change that they want to see in terms of policing and community relationships between police departments across the country and black communities across the country as well. They are definitely invoking here as we just spoke with the head of the NAACP, Cornell Williams Brooks, and just had a long chat with him. They say this is a deliberate idea, a deliberate image that they want to create here, invoking the marches of the civil rights era in the 1960s.

And they hope to kind of tap into that history and tap into that spirit as they kick off this march here in St. Louis today -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Ed, what's behind the governor holding a special session of the state legislature?

LAVANDERA: Well, that is to help pay for the emergency response that has been needed here in the Ferguson area, the National Guard deployment as well as other emergency services. The governor says that the legislature needs to approve and free up funding. More than $7 million worth to pay for the National Guard and other emergency services that have been needed here since August.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera in St. Louis, thanks so much.

Protests also spread to the bay area, west coast, demonstrators gathered outside a public transit station in West Oakland and managed to disrupt service for about an hour. Police say more than a dozen arrests were made there.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, can play in the NFL again. Now the question is which team will sign him. An arbitrator ruled, Commissioner Roger Goodell should never had increased Rice's suspension from two games to indefinite for punching his then fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator last February. Rashan Ali has more.

RASHAN ALI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This case came down to double jeopardy. A former federal judge ruled that Rice was being punished twice for the same offense and that violates the league's collective bargaining agreement.

Now back in September, Commissioner Roger Goodell increased Rice's suspension from two games to indefinite because a disturbing video was released showing him knocking out his now wife, Janay Rice, in an elevator. Yesterday, Judge Barbara S. Jones ruled the suspension should be lifted immediately.

Janay Rice is speaking out for the first time about the altercation. Yesterday, she talked with Matt Lauer for NBC's "Today" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANAY RICE, WIFE OF FORMER RAVENS RAY RICE: I was furious, we came home and I we didn't talk the entire ride -- I didn't speak to him the entire ride home. He tried to talk to me. I don't want to hear anything. I just knew he hit me. I was completely over it.

I was done hearing anything. I didn't want to entertain it, entertain him, anything he had to say, any explanation. Of course in the back of my mine in my heart I knew that our relationship wouldn't going to be over because I know it is us and it is a not him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALI: Ray Rice is a free agent and he can sign anywhere since he was released by the Ravens. So far no team has made any public statements about wanting to add him to their roster.

In the wake of the appeal, the NFL confirms it is working on a new personal conduct policy. In a statement, the league says Judge Jones ruling underscores the urgency of our work to develop and implement a clear, fair and comprehensive new personal conduct policy."

The NFL expects the policy to be completed and announced in the weeks ahead. The players union also wants to have a stay in any new policy.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rashan Ali, thanks so much for that.

There has been no shortage of opinion on the Ray Rice incident. The attack on Janay last February was universally criticized. So was the way it was handled by the NFL. Here's how some Baltimore Ravens fans reacted after the arbitrator's ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was suspended two games. He should have did the two games and then been reinstated in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that what he did was wrong. But the penalty is what they gave him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he will play again?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, absolutely. Somebody will pick him up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure if I was the owner if I would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: After the backlash from the original suspension for Rice, the NFL announced new domestic violence sanctions, a six-game suspension now for the first offense and lifetime ban for a second.

A missing Ohio State University football player complained about concussion symptoms before he disappeared. Costa Kara George never showed up for practice Wednesday morning. He had complained about occasionally becoming confused, something he blamed on several concussions.

When his last contact with anyone, a text to his mother around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Kara George told her that the concussions had messed his head up. For now, police are treating this as a normal missing person's case.

On to Austin, Texas, now, a man who shot at the police department, a federal courthouse, and the Mexican Consulate before being shot dead has been identified. Austin police say 49-year-old Larry McWilliams had a criminal history. They have not offered a motive. CNN affiliate, KVUE, quotes the police chief as saying, an officer shot and killed the gunman.

And that was the scene at Cairo courtroom earlier today after a judge dropped charges against Hosni Mubarak. The former Egyptian president was acquitted of conspiracy in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the 2011 uprising against him. Corruption charges were also dismissed. But Mubarak will not walk free just yet. He is still serving a three-year sentence for embezzlement.

In the states, two boys buried in snow for seven hours, now they are speaking out about their terrifying ordeal.

Later, he assisted in one of the autopsies on Michael Brown. But there are questions about what his qualifications are and he is being called a total fraud. What Shawn Parcel has to say about the accusations against him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now to that terrifying ordeal for two boys in New York. They were buried in snow for seven hours after a snow plow driver accidentally trapped them. Well, now they are sharing what happened, and how they actually survived. Zach Sos with our affiliate, News 12, Westchester has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We got scared.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We started screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We couldn't feel part of our bodies.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I was thinking me and my cousin were going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Me too.

ZACH SOS, NEWS 12 REPORTER (voice-over): The 9-year-old Jayson Rivera recounting the terrifying seven hours he spent trapped with his 11- year-old cousin, Elijah Martinez, under several feet of snow before being rescued by Newburg police early Thanksgiving morning.

The boys who are being treated at West Chester Medical Center say they were building a snow igloo when a plow driver clearing this parking lot unknowingly began sealing them in.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We started screaming and telling him to stop, but he didn't hear us.

SOS: As hour after hour passed, the boys became increasingly desperate and cold. The space so tight they could only move their legs.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I was gasping for air and I punched up towards the hole and it made a tiny space.

SOS: When 10:00 hit and the boys still hadn't returned home their parents began canvassing the neighborhood for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally I said we have to call the cops. I was like something is wrong.

SOS: That launched a massive search effort by Newburg police and over 30 people from the community. The search finally ending just after 2:00 in the morning Thanksgiving Day when an officer spotted a shovel sticking out of a snow bank and started digging, underneath, two very cold but relieved boys.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I was so happy, everything that we went through, like fell right off my back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is a seriously close call. When those boys were asked what they want to do as soon as they got home from the hospital, both base answered at the same time, Jason saying, eat, Elijah saying, go to Disneyworld. Glad they are both OK.

All right, a community searching for answers now after a 12-year-old boy is shot and killed by a police officer. Next, our legal guys are here and they will explain what the legal options are now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Justice Department is still investigating the shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. Attorney General Eric Holder opened the case in August after Michael Brown was killed.

After the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson last week, Holder said this, quote, "The Justice Department's investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown remains ongoing even at this mature stage of the investigation. We have avoided prejudging any of the evidence," end quote.

Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. Good the see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman in New York, criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see both of you. Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

All right, Avery, you first, what are investigators looking for, federal investigators, as it pertains to continuing their investigation?

FRIEDMAN: You actually have two investigations, Fredricka. You have the criminal division -- the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division looking into the deprivation of the federally protected civil rights.

And you have the Special Litigation Section, which is looking into what's called pattern and practice, that is, is there a pattern of police misconduct involved in Ferguson. So you actually have simultaneous investigations looking at different evidence with different standards of evidence.

So we don't know which one is proceeding, I think the criminal one is going to be more difficult because there will be the same witnesses. But they are looking at a different federal claim.

And pattern and practice, they are going the look at recruitment. They are going to look at recordkeeping, look at who is being arrested, a very different kind of case by two separate sections of the Civil Rights Division Department.

WHITFIELD: I see. So Richard, two different investigations launched by the Justice Department. Generally how long will it take before there is a conclusion to either one or both?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They have the conclusion right now, Fred. I do believe that. I think that this is really disingenuous by Attorney Holder to let these people believe there is hope that there is any potential of a civil rights prosecution here.

There is not. There is no standard for her. It doesn't fit the fact pattern to warrant one. It's really disingenuous to leave these people hanging. They deserve the truth. If you could not get an indictment for an involuntary manslaughter case, how are you possibly going to get an indictment for civil rights?

WHITFIELD: Isn't it that there are always parallels? You can have one without the other?

HERMAN: Well, the standard of proof is much higher for civil rights prosecution. Here the probable cause standard for the first one was very low, Fred. Here for civil rights it's much higher because you have to prove there is specific intent.

There is no way -- you are getting the two mixed up. They have got to tell the people the truth. There will not be a civil rights prosecution in this case, period.

FRIEDMAN: You are getting them mixed up.

WHITFIELD: Avery, you completely disagree. There is no way then --

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely. Let me make it simple. Let me make it simple.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: You are dealing with a criminal section and the special litigation section. One is criminal. One is civil. They are telling the truth. They have to look into issues such as affirmative action recruitment arrests. They don't have the answers to that. It's exactly what Holder should be doing and it's what the Department of Justice should be doing. So this case is far from over. You can't say it's done because a county grand jury didn't indict. One has nothing to do with the other.

WHITFIELD: OK, all right.

HERMAN: The standard of proof is extremely higher to bring a civil rights criminal prosecution. They can't possibly bring it. There was a joint investigation.

FRIEDMAN: All right.

HERMAN: State and fed, Fred. No way, it's coming. And this is a simple fact pattern.

FRIEDMAN: What does that have to do with the pattern and practice, Richard?

HERMAN: This is a -- I'm talking about a criminal prosecution. There will be no civil rights criminal prosecution, period.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Avery, what's your response to that? Because it sounds like -- I mean, Richard is definitely digging his heels in on this one. There is no way you can convince him otherwise.

FRIEDMAN: Well, obviously not. Forget the facts.

HERMAN: No, it's all about the facts. They are simple facts.

FRIEDMAN: No, it isn't.

HERMAN: They are simple.

FRIEDMAN: You haven't done your job yet. That's what the FBI is doing and that's what the U.S. attorneys are doing also. Nothing to do with if county grand jury, nothing.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's move to another case, this one in your backyard, Avery. I know the Ferguson case won't be resolved right now. We will talk about it again when we do hear from Eric Holder what the resolution is.

Let's talk about this now police shooting of a 12-year-old boy there. It was reported by nearby surveillance camera. The 12-year-old Tamir Rice was holding a toy gun we now know. There were people who called 911 saying he was scaring people and that's why they called in. They even said on the call, it may be a young person, and it may be a fake gun.

Then police respond as you see in the videotape, and the next thing you know, that this 12-year-old is on the ground. Police did say that officers were yelling out orders to drop the gun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEPUTY CHIEF ED TOMBA, CLEVELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Three commands were given to show your hands by Officer Lowman as he pulled up to the gazebo there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How were those commands given over a megaphone or out the window?

TOMBA: No. They were out the door. His door was opened as he pulled up. He yelled three commands. He yelled three times as they pulled up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, again, it turns out that that gun, even though it looks real right there, it turns out it was an air gun, not a real firearm. It was a toy gun. Usually they have an orange tip, for some reason the orange tip wasn't on that, which is one of the discerning features so people know it is fake not real.

But now let's talk about this case moving forward. Avery, you first, it's in your backyard. Lots of discussion about how this could have been avoided, did police act accordingly? Was there a big error with the dispatcher not relaying information from some of the callers that it's likely to be a kid and likely to be a fake gun? Where do you begin on this?

FRIEDMAN: By disclosure, first of all, I represented police officers at the department. Many of them are my officers, people I've helped. This case is very disturbing on a number of grounds. Number one, it's mystifying how the dispatcher wouldn't have disclosed that it was believed it was a fake gun.

Number 2, the officer claimed there was a crowd. There was no crowd as you can see in the video. And number 3, the worst part of this, after the young man went down they waited 4 minutes for EMS, the appropriate CPR, or whatever was required.

But for the fact that randomly a special agent from the FBI found out, came over there and got involved, that young man's life may have been saved. So this is very disturbing.

And I've got to tell you something. There really should be -- we have the deputy of justice up here right now looking at CPD. I think this is going to be part of the investigation, as it should.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, do you see this as the start of a comprehensive investigation involving police, what procedures were followed, what weren't?

HERMAN: Yes, Fred. This is a horrible, horrific case. I look at that gun there. That looks like a real gun. There is no orange tip on it because it is a real gun, it is a pellet gun. It shoots pellets. It's not a toy gun. It is a pellet gun.

The fact that they did not advise the officers that some bystander claims it might be a fake gun that's ridiculous, irrelevant. What is relevant and what happened when those police pulled up. What did they say to him?

We won't really know because all we have are the words of the two officers. This young man is dead. So we don't know what the exact orders were. It happened very, very quick, Fred. I don't know if there were other means that they could have utilized at that time.

Within 2 seconds they were firing at him. No audio, only video, no audio. And you can't make out it's too grainy him reaching into his pocket to pull out -- and maybe they asked him -- I don't know what the orders were.

But just seeing it happen so quick, the way it did, it appears to me at first glance -- and I don't know everything yet, Fred, but at first glance, it looks like they acted with excessive force in this particular case.

WHITFIELD: Sad situation all the way around.

HERMAN: Very sad.

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, Avery, Richard, always good to see you even though most of our cases are very tough. Tough cases, you can't smile about them. But I'm always smiling when I see you. Thank you so much, guys.

HERMAN: We smile at you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Happy holiday weekend.

FRIEDMAN: Take care.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, very serious questions about the man who helped perform Michael Brown's autopsy. Not only is he being called a fraud, but when CNN interviewed him, he got very fiery. You'll hear it, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Michael Brown's family commissioned a private autopsy after he was killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Shawn Parcels assisted with the autopsy and gave a news conference and interviews about his findings.

But he is now the subject of scrutiny himself as questions have emerged about his qualifications. Elizabeth Cohen has the story, but first a word of caution, some of the language in this piece may offend some viewers.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The Ferguson, Missouri, case created a media star out of an assistant pathologist. But a CNN investigation shows he may not be exactly what he appears to be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COHEN (voice-over): Out of the death and violence in Ferguson, Missouri, this summer, a turn to be a media star for a man named Shawn Parcels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, I'm Professor Shawn Parcels.

COHEN: He dazzled with details on the private autopsy of Michael Brown.

SHAWN PARCELS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL FORENSIC AUTOPSY AND TISSUE RECOVERY SERVICES: Two gunshot wounds to the head indicating that Mr. Brown was bending over as they were coming down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are back with Shawn Parcels who assisted in the autopsy of Michael Brown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shawn Parcels.

COHEN: Even here, on CNN --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": Thank you very much.

COHEN: He has appeared in the media time and again as a forensic pathology expert. We know he assisted Dr. Michael Baddin in the private autopsy commissioned by Michael Brown's family.

Baddin said he was a good assistant. Parcels is not a doctor. We know he calls himself a forensics medical consultant, a medical investigator, and a professor. But is he what he says he is?

(on camera): So you call yourself a professor?

PARCELS: Yes.

COHEN: Where are you a professor?

PARCELS: I'm an adjunct professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

COHEN (voice-over): But that as far as we can tell isn't accurate. We contacted Washburn University. They say while he has spoken to nursing students he is not now and never has been an adjunct professor there.

(on camera): Washburn University says that's not true?

PARCELS: I have a contract that says that is true.

COHEN: Can you show us that contract?

PARCELS: I can.

COHEN (voice-over): But he never sent us that contact showing he was an adjunct professor. He later said it was proprietary.

DEPUTY GRANT GILLETT, ANDREW COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I see him as a fraud. That's the best word I would say describes Shawn Parcels to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And manipulator.

GILLETT: Very good con artist is the way I put it.

COHEN: In Missouri, Deputy Sheriffs Grant Gillett and Dustin Jeffards say Shawn Parcels performed an autopsy procedure in a criminal case without a doctor present.

(on camera): So he introduced him as a pathologist, as a medical doctor?

GILLETT: That is correct.

COHEN: And he seemed believable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very well, yes.

COHEN: I mean, you two are both experienced law enforcement officers, and even you were duped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

COHEN (voice-over): The deputies say without a medical doctor's signature on Robert Forester's autopsy report, it's not valid.

(on camera): It's been more than two years since the crime. Can you move forward with the prosecution?

GILLETT: We cannot move forward at this time with that case at all.

COHEN: Why not?

GILLETT: Because the autopsy was not performed legally. So we cannot use any evidence found from the autopsy in a court of law to be used to prosecute any suspects on the case.

COHEN (voice-over): That means, according to the deputies, Bobby Forester, suspected of killing his grandfather, was set free. And he went on to beat up his grandmother. Shawn Parcels says he never told the deputies he was a doctor.

PARCELS: If they want to think I am a doctor, that's their issue. People assume stuff all the time and they may never ask. It's bad that they are assuming and that that they never ask.

COHENS: Parcels, who has a bachelor's degree says he is supervised by medical doctors, but sometimes they are not present when he performs an autopsy procedure.

(on camera): So you do autopsies where there is not a pathology or an M.D. anywhere in the room.

PARCELS: At times. Sometimes a pathologist is there and sometimes they are not.

COHEN: You are not an M.D.

PARCELS: I'm not an M.D.

COHEN: But it's legal for you to be cutting up bodies, taking organs out, making observations?

PARCELS: Yes.

COHEN (voice-over): This, even though a letter on his own company's letterhead states unequivocally that during each and every forensic autopsy conducted, the attending pathologist is present at all times.

We always have the attending pathologist present and directing the autopsy examination. And if you think that's shocking, the owner of this funeral home says Parcels promised to arrange for an autopsy on the remains of an unidentified body, but didn't show up for more than a week. Maggots appeared.

And where is that body now? Phelps county deputy coroner, Lennox Jones, would love to know. He says he has not heard from Parcels in more than a year. When we asked where is the body? We got a barrage of obscenities.

(on camera): Lennox Jones says that he has never heard back from you.

PARCELS: He has, holy (inaudible) excuse my language. But I have e- mails showing that we went back and forth. He is a -- I'm sorry to cuss like this on your cameras, but this particular case pisses me off.

COHEN (voice-over): Parcels added that the coroner can pick up the body from his morgue in Topeka anytime. So with coroners and law enforcement so angry why haven't they gone after him?

Dr. Mary Chase, chief medical examiner for St. Louis County, says prosecutors might be worried. She says some of them may have used his autopsy reports to get convictions, convictions they don't want overturned.

DR. MARY CHASE, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, ST. LOUIS COUNTY: It could be a problem for that prosecuting attorney if that prosecutor has prosecuted somebody based upon Shawn's findings. Of course, that's a problem.

COHEN (on camera): For the prosecutor.

CHASE: For the prosecutor.

COHEN: So no one wants to go after him?

CHASE: No one has. No one has to this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: A county in Missouri did file a complaint with the state's medical licensing board saying they expected a pathologist to be at the procedure but instead Parcels did it on his own. The board closed the case without taking any action and wouldn't tell us why. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Parcels insists that the Forester death investigation was doomed from the start because the dead man's body was embalmed prior to the autopsy. And that the sheriff's department never turned over records needed for the autopsy report to be completed. The sheriff's office says Parcels never asked for such records.

Next, outrage at the University of Virginia following allegations of a brutal sexual assault. We'll talk about a former assistant dean of students who says he is not surprised at all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: One of nation's most prestigious universities is facing widespread criticism after an eye popping report about the culture of rape on its campus. "Rolling Stone" magazine first reported on the many sexual assault allegations, rape allegations, even gang rape allegations allegedly occurring at the University of Virginia.

Even more disturbing the magazine says far too many of the rape claims were never properly investigated. Now the university is responding and adopting a zero tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERESA SULLIVAN, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: I want to make it perfectly clear to you and to the watching world that nothing is more important to me than the safety of our students. Not our reputation. Not our success and not our history or our tradition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But the university's move has done little to ease concerns over what is happening at the UVA. Our Joe Johns picks up the story from here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protests and angry accusations at university leadership. The fallout from an explosive article in "Rolling Stone," recounting in graphic detail the alleged gang rape at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house two years ago of a female student named Jackie.

NICOLE ERAMO, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF STUDENTS, UVA: I can tell you that I spoke to 38 sexual assault survivors last year.

JOHNS: This is Dean Nicole Eramo, who heads UVA's board that investigates sexual misconduct allegations. A few weeks before the "Rolling Stone" article, Eramo in an interview with a student reporter defended that no student has been expelled for rape or sexual since 1988 not even those who admitted their guilt to her in informal sessions. ERAMO: I feel like if a person is willing to come forward in that setting and admit they have violated the policy when there is absolutely no advantage to do so, then that does deserve some consideration, that they are willing to say that I've done something wrong and I recognize that and I'm willing to take my licks and deal with it. That's very important to me.

JOHNS: Dean Eramo also put the responsibility of filing a formal complaint on the victim.

ERAMO: They are not looking for expulsion or -- they are not looking for that type of a sanction. They are looking to be able to look into the eyes of that other person and say, you've wronged me in some way. And they are generally feeling quite satisfied with the fact that the person has admitted that they have done something wrong.

JOHNS: Listen to the student reporter press Eramo.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT REPORTER: Do you not think that it's damaging for sexual assault victims to see the person the person who sexually assaulted them on campus?

ERAMO: I think it absolutely can be.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT REPORTER: So why are they allowed to remain on campus.

ERAMO: Because I think we are trying to balance the rights of the individual who being accused as well as the rights of the complainant, and sometimes that's very difficult.

JOHNS: Scores of current and former students have written letters supporting Dean Eramo, and despite the way her case was handled, Jackie, the woman at the center of the storm has stepped back into the spotlight again to show her support as well, writing Dean Eramo has truly saved my life. If it were not for her, I do not know if I would be alive today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: We reached out to Dean Eramo on Tuesday. She works in this building behind me on the UVA campus. We were told by an aide told she would not make herself available for comment. The aide would not take our phone number and said that the dean would not call us later for an interview on the phone. Joe Johns, CNN, Charlottesville, Virginia.

WHITFIELD: We've also invited Dean Nicole Eramo to join us on this program, but so far we have not had a response.

Even so we still have questions, lots of them, how long has this been going on and why has the university not taken action sooner?

To talk more about it, John Foubert joins us from Dallas. From 1998 until 2002, he was the assistant dean of students at the University of Virginia. Mr. Foubert, good to see you. JOHN FOUBERT, FORMER ASSISTANT DEAN OF STUDENTS, UVA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You have authored nine books, we understand most of which deal with the issue of sexual assault and today you work for the Oklahoma State University.

Mr. Foubert, you told us students are held accountable at UVA for most things, but that people tend to, quote/unquote, "turn their eyes away from sexual violence."

Is that what was going on when you were at the UVA for four years? And who are these people that you are talking about who turn their eyes away?

FOUBERT: Well, one of the things about the University of Virginia is that there is largely a student run judicial process. So that can be subject to political influences. But when it came to the issue of sexual assault, if I would receive a report and pass it up the chain, my perception was that it became more important to senior administrators to protect the public image of the university rather than to support the survivor.

WHITFIELD: And then you are quoted actually in that "Rolling Stone" magazine, in one instance you say that UVA is more egregious than most. What do you mean by that? And then in the totality of the article, was there anything in it that you actually learned or is this all stuff that you observed while at UVA?

FOUBERT: Well, I've worked at many different institutions of higher education and certainly done sexual violence protection for 20 years on many different college camps. And I do think that the University of Virginia is more egregious than most in both the number of incidents that occur and in the unsupported response that many administrators though not all have to the issue.

So I do think it's more egregious than most. I like many found the "Rolling Stone" article absolutely gripping. But honestly not a bit of it surprised me because it was consistent with the culture that I saw when I worked there, that I heard about before I was there, and the culture that I hear is there today. And we need to do something to address that.

WHITFIELD: And what is this culture that you speak of? Help us understand what is meant by a culture on the UVA campus that either allows or dismisses allegations of sexual assault or -- what is the culture that we are talking about?

FOUBERT: Well, I think you have a student culture that largely is centered on entitlement and privilege and people who come from wealthy backgrounds. And they are expected to -- they come in expecting to get what any want. And that really applies to many different aspects of this issue.

There is another functional piece of it in the sense that the fraternities at the university are -- they must sign something called the FOA, the Fraternal Organization Agreement, which essentially separates them as an entity from the institution when it comes to liability and other issues.

So there has been a very hands-off policy when it comes to dealing with fraternities. And some of the research that I've done in the past shows that fraternity men are three times more likely to commit rape than other men on the campus.

So when you have a high risk population, and your approach is hands off with them, that's going to lead to some problems that are quite predictable.

WHITFIELD: One of the young ladies that was profiled in this piece talks about it being social suicide by admitting out loud, whether to an administrator or friends on campus that you have been rape or that you have had a bad experience particular low as it pertains to sexual assault. Was that pretty prevalent while you were there? Did you know about it? Did you hear kids talk about this social suicide?

FOUBERT: Well, I never heard that term. But I do know that there was a reticence to report frankly like there is on the other 4,500 campuses in the nation. But I think part of the culture at the University of Virginia was a little bit more extreme in the sense of don't make the university look bad.

Don't say anything that would hurt your standing in various social groups. And what that does is it creates a more cloistered community where survivors are less able to go to administrators, friends, and others to say, this happened to me, and I need help, and let's do something about it.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now the UVA, one of more than 80 college campuses and universities being investigated for this type of trend or allegations of sexual assault among universities and colleges across the country. John Foebert, thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

FOUBERT: Thank you so much, Fredricka. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. You as well.

All right, Barbie dolls, they have been around for generations. I had them. You had them probably. But now a doll with more realistic proportion is hitting stores? What does that mean?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Toys, of course, they are going to be a major part of the holiday sales. And Barbie is usually at or near the top of most shopping lists. But this year, Barbie is actually getting new competition. Here's Robyn Curnow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Barbie will certainly be at the top of many wish lists this holiday season. But she is facing some new competition from Lamily. At first glance, the doll looks like a shorter, brunette version of Barbie, but her features are based on realistic proportions. Her creator designed the doll to look like the average sized 19-year- old American woman. You can even buy a pack of stickers called Lamily marks to give her acne, cellulite and stretch marks, some critics say the stickers are a bit over the top. But he says he created them to start a conversation.

NICKOLAY LAMM, CREATOR OF LAMEMILY DOLL: I feel like my making things like this someone more mainstream -- if someone has acne one day or cellulite or stretch marks it is not a big deal, just who we are.

CURNOW: Lamemily initially started off as an art project that morphed into a Crowdfunding campaign. The idea for the doll got so much support, Lamm was able to raise half a million dollars in 30 days. But the toymaker says the biggest test was seeing how kids would feel about Lamemily.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: She is so pretty.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: She looks like my sister. She looks more like a person.

CURNOW: While the reaction from children and online has been largely positive, some critics question the doll maker's message with the slogan average is beautiful and wonder if the toy will have the long term appeal of Barbie.

For its part, Barbie maker, Matel told us the doll was never designed to be realistic, focusing instead on making it easy for girls to dress and undress her.

So far, Lamm's crowdfunding campaign has allowed him to manufacture some 22,000 dolls. Many of which will ship out this week. But Lamm says his goal isn't trying to put Barbie or Matel out of business.

LAMM: I'm just trying to create an alternative. There is no reason why in the toy world a Barbie doll and a Lamemily doll can be friends. One is like a super model, one is just like the girl next door or something. And I feel they can coexist peacefully. They don't have to be at war with one another.

CURNOW: If Lamemily is a success, Lamm says he plans to expand the line to include male dolls as well as dolls from different ethnicities. Robyn Curnow, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, we are now just one week away from the CNN Hero's All-Star Tribute televised. What is last year's CNN Hero doing now? Find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We are counting down to the worldwide broadcast of CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute. And the tradition honors this year's top ten heroes and names the CNN Hero of the Year. Right now, we want to see what last year's top honoree is doing. Here now is CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": In 17 years, Chad Pregracke and his team have picked up 8 million pounds of trash from America's rivers. Last November for his inspiring work, Chad picked up a big honor.

(on camera): The 2013 CNN Hero of the Year is Chad Pregracke.

(voice-over): One year later we caught up with him to get an inside look at what he does and how he does it. At the heart of his work is a massive 800 ton barge. He stores the huge piles of trash Chad's team collects. It looks like a floating junkyard but.

CHAD PREGRACKE, CNN HERO: Welcome to CNN cribs.

COOPER: It's also Chad's part-time home.

PREGRACKE: Pretty much everything is reclaimed or recycled out of either old buildings, old barns.

COOPER: The goal is serious, but there is definitely quirk in this work.

PREGRACKE: This would be our creepy doll collection. Why do I have it, I don't have any idea other than we fine a lot of creepy dolls.

COOPER: And trash isn't all he needs to look out for on the river.

PREGRACKE: One of the safety concerns is actually the flying carp. They really do fly out of the water at high speeds and they get rather big.

COOPER: It's all part of Chad's work, work that also includes growing trees. Chad started in 2007, but he was able to expand after being named CNN's Hero of the Year. In the end, Chad's crusade is about much more than cleaning rivers.

PREGRACKE: It's about people taking action in their own community. And that's really what it's all about. That's how you change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, watch more of Chad in "Rescuing the River, a CNN Hero's special next Friday night. And then on Sunday, December 7th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern watch "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" to see who follows in Chad's footsteps as the CNN Hero of the Year.

We have so much straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.