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High School Rape Trail; JAred Fogle to Pay Victims; Tensions Escalate on Korean Peninsula; Jimmy Carter to Hold Historic Press Conference on Cancer Diagnosis. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 20, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


[09:30:00] DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Those against children, because they frequently don't report it until long after there is any potential forensic evidence in a case. And that always presents a problem in these cases, no matter what.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Labrie is expected to take the stand himself. Is that unusual?

CEVALLOS: As a general rule, it's unusual that a defendant take the stand. But this is a unique case and here is why. This is an instance where the only two people who know what happened are the alleged victim and the defendant. And under New Hampshire law. as I read it, I believe this defendant -- normally in a rape case you have two defenses. The sex was consensual or there never was sex. In this case, this defendant must argue that there was not sex because consent will get him out of the aggravated felonious sexual assault charge, but it will not get him out of the misdemeanor sexual assault charge because that only requires sexual penetration with someone this age and him being his age and consent is not a factor. So if he wants to get out of all of these charges and be acquitted, he must argue that there never was sex. And if there was sex, if he argues consent, that will only save him from the aggravated felonious sexual assault.

COSTELLO: OK. So this young girl will take the stand again today and she's going to be cross examined. Would you cross examine her? She was sobbing on the stand yesterday.

CEVALLOS: This is -- I've handled a lot of juvenile delinquency cases. I've cross examined children, as well as adults. And it is always, always a difficult proposition. It is an unenviable position for any defense attorney and really any prosecutor. It's incredibly difficult. And it's also difficult ascertaining the credibility of young people. There is a certain floor age under which children may not be competent to testify. Although in this case, this witness, this alleged victim, is well beyond that age. So, absolutely, cross examining younger people is always a very, very difficult thing to do and not something I think that any defense attorney or prosecutor looks forward to.

COSTELLO: Danny Cevallos, thanks so much.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:36:43] COSTELLO: From weight loss inspiration to sexual predator. Former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle is expected to plead guilty to charges of child pornography and paying to have sex with minors. He's agreed to give each of his 14 victims $100,000. But perhaps most disturbing are the details of his behavior outlined in his plea deal, that Fogle traveled across state lines to New York to have sex with two under aged girls. One saying (ph) he even offered finders fees for sending him young girls he could take to bed, and requesting that one of his victims find other girls for him to, quote -- other girls for him, quote, "the younger the better."

So let's talk about this. I'm joined by Heather Stockdale. She's the executive director of Georgia Cares, an advocacy group for the victims of sex trafficking.

Good morning, and thank you so much for being with me.

HEATHER STOCKDALE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER, GEORGIA CARES: Good morning, Carol. Thanks for having me today.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being with me.

I think the question in the foremost of everyone's mind is, is why would he do this? He has all of this money. Surely he could get a grown woman to have sex with him.

STOCKDALE: I mean that remains a question that I think all of us are trying to answer, it's, why do adults and why do adult men in this country perpetrate our young children and focus on sex for minors under the age of 18? I think that's a question that all of us are trying to answer.

But I think what this helps us do is, as an American public, it brings awareness to the fact that this is happening in our country, that there are adults that are respected members of our community, that are public figures, leaders, doctors and lawyers that are preying upon our children and want and are searching for sex with kids that are under the age of 18.

COSTELLO: Oh, it's just -- just going back to my first question for just a little bit, Fogle's lawyer said he has a medical condition and that he's seeing a world-renowned expert in sexual conditions. Is there some sort of medical condition that makes a man want to have sex with a 14-year-old girl?

STOCKDALE: I mean, they're claiming that it is a sexual dysfunction that he has that makes him want these younger children, but I'm not sure that research can support that besides, like I said, these perpetrators that specifically look for sex with children that are pedophiles and that seek this out. And clearly what we've seen from the Jared Fogle case is that he was willing to cross state lines to set these things up, to entice these children online, to ask them to find friends. So this is not a one-time deal. This is an ongoing thing that he had been engaging in for years. And for years it had gone unknown by his family, by friends, by Subway, the company that he was working with, by the foundation that was serving and helping children and focusing on getting kids access to education. So I think I'm looking forward to seeing the research on what this sexual condition is besides pedophilia.

COSTELLO: Yes, exactly.

So Fogle will pay each of his 14 victims $100,000 apiece. What do you think about that?

STOCKDALE: I don't think that that makes up for the trauma and the abuse that these kids have endured. You know child -- child sex trafficking, this isn't prostitution. These kids didn't wake up one day and decide that what they wanted to do was to sell their bodies and that the money that he gave them for these sex acts was worth it. These kids had no choice in the matter. He solicited them and found them.

[09:40:13] So it's hard for me to believe that $100,000 to these 14 children, which are the 14 boys and girls that they've found so far, will really make a difference in the life after some of these kids had abuse over years by Fogle, going to New York time after time to see specific children to engage in these sex acts. So while I'm glad that restitution is being paid and that they're abiding by federal law in this case, I find it hard to believe that that's going to make up for everything that these kids have endured by him.

COSTELLO: Heather Stockdale, thanks so much for being with me this morning. Thank you.

STOCKDALE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, tensions escalate in the Korean peninsula, but is it more than just talk this time?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:23] COSTELLO: The stage is set for an extraordinary and historic press conference. President Jimmy Carter will soon be sitting in that chair at the Carter Center in Atlanta and he'll be talking about his recent cancer diagnosis. We don't know exactly what he's going to say, but it will be interesting about -- to hear how he explains what kind of cancer he has and if he will treat his cancer or not.

These are pictures, by the way, of President Carter in church last Sunday, hugging his fellow parishioners. We understand he taught Sunday school last Sunday as he normally does. President Carter expected to take the chair behind that table at the top of the hour. Of course we'll take that live for you.

In other news this morning, the United States is closely monitoring the tense situation between North and South Korea after the two countries fired rockets and artillery at each today.

CNN's Brian Todd joins us with the latest out of Washington . Good morning, Brian. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. A lot of concern

here in Washington over this incident. We've been speaking with U.S. officials this morning about it.

Here is the latest that we have for you. A Defense Department spokesman, Commander William Urban, told me a short time ago the Pentagon is closely monitoring the situation on the Korean peninsula, is keeping in close contact with its South Korean counterparts, and taking steps to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel in the region. And for my colleague Barbara Starr, she got this from a U.S. official. This official tells Barbara that North Korean fired one shot at a South Korean loudspeaker. That differed slightly from what the South Korean Defense Ministry tells us, that they fired two shots. This from a U.S. official, that they fired one shot at a South Korean loudspeaker. And that South Korea fired back with 36 artillery shells.

Barbara is getting from a U.S. official that the U.S. believes South Korea is making a point of upping its responses lately because of previous shooting incidents in that region, especially along the DMZ. U.S. officials hoping South Korea will keep this proportional in terms of not letting things get out of control.

Also, Carol, the U.S. official telling Barbara Starr that North -- that U.S. officials believe that North Korea deliberately placed the mines along the southern end of the DMZ back on August 4th. Those mines exploded, almost killing two South Korean soldiers. U.S. officials believe that North Korea deliberately planted those mines and that's what started a lot of the tensions recently.

You know, there's just been several things recently that have escalated tensions there along the demilitarized zone. You've got the Operation Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises, annual exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. They are massive in scale -- 30,000 American troops involved. About 50,000 South Korean troops involved. They're doing these live fire exercises, some of them near the DMZ, certain to provoke the ire of Kim Jong-Un and the North Koreans. That is adding to all of this. That incident back on August 4th of the land mine explosions which really nearly killed two South Korean soldiers is what started this tension and it is escalating this morning.

COSTELLO: Can we focus for just a second on these loudspeakers? Can you explain to our viewers how South Korea is using those giant speakers?

TODD: Well back after the August 4th incident, Carol, we were told that the South Koreans would resume those loudspeaker propaganda messages which they had actually ceased for about a decade prior to that happening. And what we're told is the loudspeakers basically blare these messages toward North Korean soldiers across the border, that their leader Kim Jong-Un is doing a bad job and that life along -- on the other side of the border in the south is much better than what they're facing in the north.

These messages are always a point of tension between North and South Korea. That was certain to provoke the ire of Kim Jong-Un and it seems to have done that. And now we're getting word that both U.S. officials, South Korean officials, are looking to see what happens next. U.S. officials certainly hoping for a de-escalation at this point, given the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops right in that area. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much and we'll see you tonight at 5:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.

Now that exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea comes weeks after Kim Jong-Un vowed to, quote, "leave no Americans alive in the event of a war." He said in part, quote, "gone forever is the era when the United Sstates blackmailed us with nukes. Now the United States is no longer a source of threat and fear for us and we are the very source of fear for it."

Gordon Chang is a columnist for Forbes.com and the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World."

Welcome, Gordon, thanks for being with me.

[09:50:02] GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: So what do you make of this latest incident between North and South Korea?

CHANG: Well, essentially what we have is a cycle of escalation which has now continued pretty deep into this series of events, because you have the land mine explosions that Brian Todd talked about, the South Korean propaganda broadcasts, North Korea's counter broadcasts, and now this exchange of fire.

This could be serious largely because Kim Jong-Un, the ruler of North Korea, I think is in a precarious position. He needs a good incident to bolster his political position at home and this is the perfect opportunity for him to cause some problems on the Korean peninsula which of course can radiate out through North Asia and indeed affect the United States.

COSTELLO: So South Korea has vowed to push back harder when North Korea does something it doesn't like. I mean, it fired 36 artillery shells. North Korea shot one shot at that loudspeaker. Is South Korea handling this right?

CHANG: Well, South Korea is handling this according to a 2013 counter proliferation plan that the United States and South Korea agreed to. And the reason why there is what some people may say is an excessive South Korean response is because, in the past, there's been no South Korean response to North Korean provocations, such as the sinking of a Cheonan, a South Korean frigate, which cost 46 South Korean lives, and then four deaths in November of 2010 when a South Korean island was shelled.

And so people think, and I think correctly, that the lack of response in the past has caused the North Koreans to be more provocative. And the hope is that if South Korea responds in a way which it will basically stop the North Koreans from more provocative events.

As I said, this is a problem in North Korea which I don't think South Korea can affect.

COSTELLO: All right, Gordon Chang, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an e-mail from 2011 may loom large over the presidential race in 2016. Why the intelligence community are concerned over this information that passed through Hillary Clinton's private server.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:18] COSTELLO: We now have a better idea of how Hillary Clinton's use of private e-mails -- of a private e-mail server -- triggered concerns among the nation's intelligence community and helped lead to a federal investigation.

This e-mail from a trusted aide to then Secretary of State Clinton updated her on the crumbling security situation in Benghazi, Libya. The unsecured exchange included critical secrets like how to evacuate key staff. A year later, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans would die in a deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate.

CNN's Evan Perez is following this for us this morning. Good morning.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Carol. Well, you know, if you want to understand the latest in the Clinton e-mail controversy, it really helps to have watched episodes of the TV show "Mad Men". Don Draper tells a client dealing with bad publicity, if you don't like what people are saying about you, change the conversation.

And the Clinton campaign says these two e-mails, let's put them up on the screen, show this controversy isn't really about Clinton getting classified information on her private e-mail server. They say this is about intelligence agencies, quote, "overclassifying information" that really isn't that sensitive.

But let's take a closer look at one of the e-mails, a 2011 e-mail in particular was forwarded by Clinton advisor Huma Abedin to the then Secretary of State Clinton. It describes the worsening security situation in Eastern Libya and possible plans to evacuate American officials from Benghazi, including the U.S. Envoy Chris Stevens. He was killed in the Benghazi terrorist attacks more than a year later.

This e-mail was publicly released in May, but the e-mail sparked concerns with the Inspector General for the intelligence community because it contained classified information about potential evacuation plans at the time it was sent. The State department declassified the e-mail after it was released and we'll see if changing the conversation really works for Clinton. But right now, Carol, they're really still having a problem explaining why did Clinton set up a private e-mail server to do government business in the first place?

COSTELLO: Understood. Evan Perez, thanks so much. Evan Perez reporting live from Washington.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: In just a few moments, former President Jimmy Carter will sit at this table at the Carter Center in Atlanta to discuss his cancer diagnosis. Just one week ago, Carter revealed that the disease he had had spread from his liver to other parts of his body.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. At any moment, as I said, a news conference that could be as emotional as it is extraordinary. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter will publicly discuss for the first time the cancer diagnosis that he revealed just last week. It's a poignant conversation likely to resonate with millions of American families who have faced their own battles with the deadly disease.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is inside the Carter Center. He joins us on the phone to set the scene. Hi Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Good morning, Carol. We're right outside here. Just any minute now President Carter, known for being very punctual, is going to come through the doors and have this very historic press conference. I think, Carol, as you said, I don't think we remember -- from President Reagan writing a letter about Alzheimer's, President Clinton having urgent heart operation several years ago, but the first time the president, a siting president, former president, gets to sit down and actually talk about what exactly he's been experiencing, what his diagnosis is, and what he plans to do about it.

Obviously, we know at this time that he had an operation back on August 3rd to have a small mass removed from his liver. At that time, the statement was that everything went fine, the prognosis was excellent.

[10:00:03] But it was just last week, Carol, as you know, that he said there's now evidence that the -- this cancer has spread throughout my body. It's going to affect my schedule.