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Nancy Grace
Prep School Rape Sentence; Taylor Swift Claims She was Groped by DJ; Missing Girl Found Death in Freezer. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired October 29, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HLNHOST: Breaking news tonight, Concord, New Hampshire. A young teen girl victim breaks down in tears on the stand describing an
elite prep school rape, all part of a virginity-taking contest, where male students keep scores written on the walls behind washers and dryers of the
names of their victims.
The jury hands down a stunning split verdict. Fears abound, and would the elite prep school rapist walk scot-free? We are live in that courtroom.
Bombshell right now! The judge sentences Owen Labrie to a slap on the wrist, a slap on the wrist the sentencing, inciting (ph) the courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He devoted time to build a chapel on his father`s property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pressed up against her, rotating (ph) against the wall, dry humping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Owen immersed himself in the religious aspects of St. Paul`s School.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kept asking, and eventually told me in his words that he had boned her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Early in Owen`s education, it was clear to his teachers that he was exceptionally bright.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Given the fact that he didn`t understand me saying no, I`m pretty sure maybe he couldn`t understand that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, music superstar Taylor Swift lays down the law. Nobody manhandles her and gets away with it! Gorgeous, talented, scrubbed in
sunshine, the pop idol to millions, Swift insists a radio jock lifts her skirt, grabs her rear end at a back stage photo op at a Denver concert.
When Mueller (ph) blasts back Taylor Swift is lying, she slaps him with a countersuit, promising she`ll give every penny to women`s charities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was Taylor Swift groped by a radio deejay? Swift claims disk job David Mueller lifted the back of her skirt during a meet-
and-greet photo session. But Mueller claims she`s mistaken him for another man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from Big Machine Records.
And live, Bradenton, Florida. A missing 5th-grade girl, Janiya Thomas, found dead in a freezer. Did family members know 11-year-old Janiya abused
and dead? And if they did, why aren`t they in jail?
Going to air right now, we obtain nearly 30 pages of shocking details, a CPS investigation of Janiya`s mother that goes back 11 years, 11 years of
abuse she heaps on her children? But the schools and child services did nothing, and now Janiya dead.
After our show last night, Child Protective Services in Florida gives me a fireback (ph), insisting they didn`t know anything and have never
investigated Janiya`s case. Well, guess what? We dug deep, and we find their fingerprints all over this tragedy!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Florida mother whose missing 11-year-old daughter was recently discovered dead, locked in a home freezer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A shocking report.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Janiya`s older sister had open burns on her arms, but investigators concluded no services needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. We are live in Concord, New Hampshire. A young
teen girl victim breaks down in tears on the stand describing an elite prep school rape, all part of a virginity-taking contest, where male students
keeps scores written on the walls behind the washer/dryers with the names of their victims.
The jury hands down a stunning split verdict. But would the elite prep school rapist actually walk scot-free?
Well, today, the judge hands down the sentence! As the female victim says, quote, "I`d be better off dead," the judge gives Owen Labrie a slap on the
wrist -- a slap on the wrist!
Straight out to Justin Freiman on the story. What happened?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Nancy, Owen Labrie was facing up to 11 years behind bars. But by the time this was over with,
the judge said one year plus probation. As the judge was entering, we saw Owen Labrie sit there in court. He makes the sign of the cross as he
awaits what will be his fate. And then the judge said only one year behind bars and probation.
[20:05:00]He was facing 11 years. This sentence means that he`s going to go behind bars, but only for a year. Then he has probation. And he does
have to register as a sex offender.
There were tears in that courtroom when it was finally announced he is actually going to be behind bars for what he`s done.
GRACE: As I mentioned, we are live in the courtroom right now, and joining me, CNN national correspondent Deborah Feyerick. Deb, thank you so much
for being with us. What`s happening in the courtroom?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, what we`re listening to are statements from the victim and the victim`s family about what Owen
Labrie did to this 15-year-old girl when he was an 18-year-old senior at this elite prep school.
It is really harrowing, Nancy. It is stunning, the impact that this had on the child. One person said that he -- the sister of the actual victim
said, effectively, that he preyed on her, that he targeted her, that he violated her. And this was the weekend that they were graduating.
So the impact of all of this really felt on the family who has had to endure this for several years while this child has fought to get this man
behind bars.
GRACE: You know, it`s amazing to me that the family of the perpetrator, the defendant, has actually formed a slogan, "Justice for Owen."
FEYERICK: Well, yes...
GRACE: Justice for the molester. I don`t understand. I`ve never seen that in my life. Justice for him?
FEYERICK: Well, it`s interesting because he was facing felony rape charges. In fact, he was found guilty of a lesser charge, which was having
sex with a 15-year-old girl below the age of consent.
The felony that he`s accused of is using the Internet to entice this girl to meet him. And this happened really two days before he was graduating.
They met on the top of the science building, and they took her into a room. You know, she was flattered. She`s 15 years old.
They started kissing. They started making out. And she tried to stop him when he got a little bit more aggressive, saying, No, no, you know, just up
here, up here, and he continued doing what he was doing.
GRACE: Right.
FEYERICK: So it was really stunning. And his supporters...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Deb Feyerick is talking about -- she`s talking about the felony for which he is convicted, and that is, basically, luring a minor on line for a
sexual purpose.
Let`s take a look at some of their e-mails and texts. "Let`s see the rest." "Yes, only if it`s our little secret." "What a golden change of
heart. Not a soul needs to know." That`s from Owen Labrie, the perpetrator in this case.
"You`re an angel." " You`re an angel yourself." "Would you mind keeping this to yourself?" "As you like, pretty girl."
Also, he goes on to ask her, Were you using contraception? She asks, Were you using a condom? He says yes. He asks her if she`s on the pill. She
says no. Especially this one -- "Praise Jesus I put the rubber on halfway through." Let`s go through the rest of these texts. This is what he`s
convicted on.
Right now, on the stand in the courtroom, the victim`s father. The girl`s father is on the stand. With me, co-host, "New Hampshire in the Morning"
WZID Marga Bessette. Marga, thanks so much for being with us. What`s happening?
MARGA BESSETTE, WZID (via telephone): Nancy, the father said his daughter showed remarkable courage in coming forward, and he accused Labrie of lying
on the stand. He called him a convicted felon in court today, and he asked for the sentence that sends a message to Labrie and others like him.
GRACE: Everyone, with me is Marga Bessette, co-host, "New Hampshire in the Morning," WZID. The father of the girl victim on the stand -- you know, a
lot of people think he`s the victim, Owen Labrie. They think he`s the victim!
Joining me right now, special guest Steven Kelly. This is the victim`s lawyer. Steven, thank you so much for being with us.
STEVE KELLY, VICTIM`S ATTORNEY (via telephone): Thank you for having me.
GRACE: You know, I don`t know how this thing has gotten so turned around bass-ackwards. I do not know.
You`re seeing video posted to YouTube of St. Paul`s School right now -- $50,000 a kid -- $50,000 a kid, plus. For this?
Steven Kelly is the lawyer for the girl victim. How did this thing get all twisted around to where people want justice for Owen?
KELLY: Well, I think, Nancy, it`s partially the presentation that his counsel has put on in portraying him as Harry Potter. And what we`ve heard
in court, first from the prosecutor, directly from the victim herself, from her sister and her mother, from her father, is that this guy is not Harry
Potter.
This guy is a sex-addicted -- you know, sex-crazed, you know, degenerate, essentially, was engaged in a game of slay-making (ph), you know, that he
refused referred to my client as a "cum bucket" -- excuse my language, but that`s language that he used.
[20:10:15]GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I never heard that Steven Kelly. He referred to the girl, the girl in this case -- what is she, 15 maybe --
as a "cum bucket"?
KELLY: Correct. And you know, the -- I think part of the issue here, Nancy, is that he`s portrayed himself as a David and Goliath, you know,
this young man who...
GRACE: They really have!
KELLY: A scholarship student, you know, to an elite private school, and he got caught up in this world of privilege and whatever, and it`s just a
bunch of nonsense.
Our -- my client`s father is a scholarship student from that school, and he knew what it meant to be a scholarship student at that school and has lived
an exemplary life, giving a lot back to the community and being a very good person.
You know, Owen Labrie had that same choice, and he made a very different set of choices. He chose to engage in this crazy behavior.
GRACE: Well, I just don`t understand how this blitz (ph) is basically like a PR campaign. Justin Freiman with me. I mean, how many dozens of letters
have been sent to the judge to try to get Owen Labrie off the hook?
They don`t want him to do any jail time. They don`t want him to be a registered sex offender, which this statute calls for. So what, the judge
is supposed to bend the rules? Smukler is supposed to bend the rules for this guy? Why?
Why should I bend the rules for him? He`s talking about the victim as a "cum bucket," all right? And as I recall, he has sent text messages and e-
mails about how he was going to "slay" (ph) her. He went down on the record, on the stand, Justin, saying he never had sex with her. He looked
at the jury after putting his hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the truth, he said, I never had sex with her.
But then when you see his e-mails saying, Hey, I put on a rubber, I put on a condom halfway through and actually says the words "praise Jesus," OK?
So how can he say that? That is a lie, Justin.
Tell me about this chapel he`s supposed to be building in his back yard with his bare hands.
FREIMAN: Well, that`s right, Nancy. Part of what has been presented by his attorneys is that he`s been building a chapel made of wood with his own
hands on his father`s property. And his mother says it`s meant to be a place where people can come to pray, to meditate, or just to spend some
time reflecting. This is one of the many things that they talk about, about what a great...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, wait! Is this a picture of him...
FREIMAN: ... child he is, and how this has ruined his life.
GRACE: ... building it? OK. Justin, here`s a picture of him building it with his own hands. You know what? He could be sitting in the can right
now, behind bars, and he`s out doing this.
I mean, Justin, why is it so important to them that he not get jail time and he not be on the sex offender registry? That`s really what they`re
fighting.
FREIMAN: That`s right. Well, they say this one thing that happened to him while he was still a high school student...
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait, wait!
FREIMAN: ... is going to ruin his life.
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait! Justin -- Justin, even what you -- Sue Moss, did you hear that? Unleash the lawyers, Sue Moss, Randy Kessler, Misty Marris.
Sue Moss -- this one thing that happened to him?
SUE MOSS, VICTIMS` RIGHTS ATTORNEY: I`m so...
GRACE: I feel like I`m in crazyland! I`m in bizarroworld! Everything`s bass-ackwards. Nothing happened to him! It happened to her! She`s the
sex assault victim!
MOSS: You don`t get a walk from a sexual assault! Look, in a court of law, he was convicted of sexual assault. He was also convicted of using a
computer to lure a minor to sex. We`re already done!
The question is, what is the punishment? The law is clear in that state! He should be getting jail time! He didn`t just attack this 15-year-old!
He attacked this mother, this father, her siblings and everyone who loves this girl! They have to look in her face and see the horror as she will
spend the rest of her life remembering this assault that she had to endure!
This is not just some 18-year-old who had a bad day! This is an adult who made an attack on a kid who she will never forget! He deserves jail time!
We as parents must educate sons that you never, never sexually attack anyone, especially a child, especially a minor! And he deserves what is
coming to him...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:18:50]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is certain to have a romantic relationship that suggests the possibility of marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was raped. I was violated in so many ways. Of course, I was traumatized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Owen`s goal for college was to study theology and divinity in college.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of got right to the point and asked if his mom knew that he was trying to be number one at sexual scoring at St. Paul`s
School.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you think it was your fault? Because I didn`t kick, scream, or really push, but I did say no. I said no three
times. And I don`t know in that moment -- I don`t know how I could have made it any more clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are live in a courtroom. It`s the so-called prep school rape trial. Let`s go in live. Let`s see what`s happening in the courtroom
right now, Charles, if you can get me in the courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it was not without her consent because had either of these two facts been broken, the verdicts would have been different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, come back out for me. To Marga Bessette, co-host, "New Hampshire in the Morning," WZID -- so the defense lawyer is still arguing,
basically, what was argued to the jury.
[20:20:05]First of all, they said nothing happened. And if it did happen, it was consensual, OK? You can`t be a little bit pregnant. Either it
happened or it didn`t happen. And correct me if I am wrong, Marga Bessette from WZID, wasn`t his seminal fluid found in her underwear?
BESSETTE: That`s what came out in court. That was one of the pieces of evidence that was discussed, and was probably what led to even -- and as it
was a lesser conviction, that was part of the reason why the courtroom was finding him guilty. That is why he is now facing 11 years, possibly, in
prison.
GRACE: Deb Feyerick joining me, CNN national correspondent. Deb, I mean, his seminal fluid is in her underwear, and he is insisting sex never
happened. That is a lie. That is a flat-out lie.
So let me ask you this, Deb. What do they want? What does the defense want...
KELLY: Well...
GRACE: ... a gold star and a scholarship to divinity school? What?
KELLY: Yes, you`ve got to remember this is the same lawyer who represented Whitey Bulger and now he`s in this court. Labrie had fired a couple of his
lawyers. He refused to take any sort of a plea deal. They`re trying to get the minimum that they can.
Now, under the sentencing guidelines in New Hampshire, the most that this kid can really get is seven years. And the prosecutors are saying that he
must go to prison and he must take a sexual offenders course. But once that is completed, then they`re willing to sort of do a downward departure.
Everything will effectively -- he`ll have done his time. So it`s very vague.
But you know, don`t forget this was a culture at this school that was going on. This was a culture that allowed these boys to sort of, you know, do
what they wanted. And it doesn`t seem like there was any sort of mechanism in place for girls who were being bullied or girls who were being taunted.
And again, young girls -- you know, they really believed that, you know, when they say no, it`s no. But in this case, that was not what happened.
GRACE: You know, Deb, I`m sick about it. You know I have twins that are going to turn 8 in November, and the thought of sending one of them away to
a boarding school like this St. Paul`s? Forget it. Never, never, over my cold, dead body because I think you`re right. I think they treat girls
differently than they treat boys.
They knew that this was happening. They knew that this game, this scoring game was in place.
Justin Freiman, what was the name of it? I can`t -- what did they call it, Justin?
FREIMAN: They would "slay" each other. They would call it a slaying.
GRACE: And so Justin, I thought that they could -- he could get 11 years and had to register as a sex offender. But Deb is saying he could get
seven years. What the defense wants is no time whatsoever.
FREIMAN: That`s right. The defense does want no time whatsoever. And what`s important is on that felony charge, it carries a lifetime registry
as a sex offender.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:27:14]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He devoted time to build a chapel on his father`s property.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pressed up against her, rotating (ph) against the wall, dry humping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Owen immersed himself in the religious aspects of St. Paul`s School.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kept asking, and he eventually told me, in his words, that he had boned her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Early in Owen`s education, it was clear to his teachers that he was exceptionally bright.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Given the fact that he didn`t understand me saying no, I`m pretty sure maybe he couldn`t understand that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me nervous, you know? Like, why did she ask? So I told her yes. You know, I had -- I had put on a condom, which was
true. I had. She said, OK. And I was...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she responded, Ha, Ha, OK, thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why ask her, Are you on the pill?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I said, I was -- I got nervous for a second that - - you know, I wasn`t sure, like, if I had -- if it has been, like, pre- jacketed (ph) in my shorts or if I had, like, you know, cum a little bit or not realized and pressed up against her.
I didn`t know why she was asking, if she noticed something. And so I figured I would ask her what I thought would be a really safe question.
I`d ask her, you know, Are you on the pill, meaning are you taking birth control? And I assumed she would say yes. And I would -- my thought was
she`d say yes, and I would get -- I would use that to say yes. Like, you know, you don`t need to worry about anything at all. And also, it would
give me the peace of mind that, like, you know -- you know, nothing was going to happen, even if there had been more, so...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if you had ejaculated on her underwear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or some in my -- in my shorts. As I mentioned, I hadn`t -- I didn`t think I had, you know (INAUDIBLE) thought it would
have...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So the judge in his wisdom splits the baby. Justin Freiman, what exactly happened?
FREIMAN: Nancy, the judge did sentence him to one year behind bars. But the defense quickly reminded the judge that they are appealing this case,
and the judge said he can remain out on bail.
GRACE: With us right now, Dr. Terry Lyles, psychologist, author of, "Crack the Stress Code." Terry, thanks for being with us. What does this mean
for the victim? Because very often, whether the defendant gets jail time or not, it`s the fact that it went to trial, that she was heard. I think
she`ll suffer from this the rest of her life, frankly.
TERRY LYLES, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, there`s no question that`s what happens to victims. I mean, many times, when victims come out eventually -- she
said a day later, she finally came out and said, Hey, this happened to me. This is an ongoing issue that she`ll deal with the rest of her life.
[20:30:01] Regardless of what all happens, and all the details that come out, truth and lies and all -- everything in between, she is going to have
to process this and realize that the rest of her life cannot be defined by this. She`s got to get help to get over that and move on. And she can
have a --
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Oh, yes.
LYLES: A healthy relationship, a healthy life, as she moves forward.
GRACE: Dr. Terry, I have dealt with so many rape victims. Many sex assault victims. Not always rape. And they deal with it the rest of their
lives. Like all violent crime victims.
LYLES: Sure.
GRACE: But in a rape case, what are some of the things that rape victims endure the rest of their lives?
LYLES: I think the most difficult part of this is that the greatest part of relationship is intimacy, whether that`s emotional intimacy,
conversational intimacy or sexual intimacy. So she is going to battle with this sexual intimacy and the struggle of every time she`s trying to have a
healthy relationship, she could have flashbacks back to that, you know, abuse process.
GRACE: Well, you know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And unless she takes care of that directly --
GRACE: Terry.
LYLES: -- it will affect everything.
GRACE: I got to tell you something, every time I take the twins to school, every time I see my husband drive off to go to work or fly out of town,
every time I remember the last time my fiance drove away, he was dead that afternoon. He was murdered. And sometimes it`s overwhelming. Sometimes
it is absolutely overwhelming. And then sometimes it`s not.
LYLES: Yes.
GRACE: So I -- I can`t imagine what these ladies go through.
I`m hearing in my ear I`ve got Dr. Michelle DuPre with me now, forensic pathologist, out in Columbia.
Dr. DuPre, what always stumped me -- first, thank you for being with us. But what always stumped me was this. This guy says, we didn`t have sex, we
didn`t have sex, we didn`t have sex. But his DNA is in her underwear. OK. I`m not sure if it`s his sperm. But it`s his DNA. What is his DNA doing
in her underwear?
DR. MICHELLE DUPRE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, Nancy, it shouldn`t be there. Absolutely not. I don`t know what he means when he says he didn`t
have sex. If his sperm or his fluids are in her underwear, something went on that she didn`t want. Underwear, something went on that she didn`t
want.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:49] GRACE: Music superstar, Taylor Swift, lays down the law. Nobody manhandles her and gets away with it. Gorgeous, talented, scrubbed
and sunshine. The pop idol to millions, Swift insists a radio deejay lifts her skirt, grabs her rear end at a backstage photo op at a Denver concert.
When the guy, Mueller, blasts back that Taylor Swift is lying, that she`s got the wrong guy, she slaps him with a counter suit, promising she will
give every single penny to women`s charities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Denver Radio disc jockey has filed a lawsuit against country music superstar, Taylor Swift, claiming that she go wrongly
got him fired following a concert but now Swift has filed her own counter claim and she says she was inappropriately groped by deejay David Mueller.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Alan Duke, editor-in-chief, LeadStories.com. That`s the video from Big Machine Records.
You know, Alan Duke, from what I understand, Taylor Swift does these so- called meet and greets for all of her concerts, all the time. She has done thousands and thousands and thousands of them. And never once has she ever
said that guy lifted my skirt up and grabbed my rear end. Never once. And the person in question, Mueller, says, hey, if it happened, it was him.
But the guy he is referring to, Eddie Haskel, yes, his name really is Eddie Haskel, hasn`t Swift known him for a long time? Hasn`t she known Eddie
Haskel? Wouldn`t she be able to identify him?
ALAN DUKE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, LEADSTORIES.COM: Yes, she`s known him for years. And in fact what this deejay, a former deejay said was that he just
innocently went -- got the picture taken, his girlfriend was here and that a few minutes later his boss, the program director, Eddie Haskel, said hey,
guess what happened, you know, I hugged Taylor and I grabbed her rear.
So he`s saying that his boss actually confessed to him that he did and that it`s mistaken identity. But you bring up a good point. Apparently, Eddie
Haskel and Taylor Swift are very familiar with each other. And there`s been no groping that she knows of.
GRACE: You know, Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, Radaronline.com. How did the whole thing play out, according to Taylor Swift?
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SENIOR REPORTER, RADAROLINE.COM: What she says is she was doing a meet and greet. I`ve actually been in three meet and greets
with Taylor Swift. I`ve had my picture taken with her. I`ve never had -- seen anyone do anything as horrifying as this. She says she was taking a
picture with his girlfriend. This man jumped in at the last second and actually he put his hand under her skirt, not even over her skirt. Under
her skirt. And she used the word he groped her. She said she was embarrassed. She was humiliated. She was angry and she was ashamed that
this ever could happen to her.
She is a multimillion dollar superstar. She has security probably one foot away from her. Her entire team around her And this man feels confident
enough to grab her and sexually assault her.
[20:40:02] GRACE: You know what`s interesting, Michael Christian, the way I understand it went down, in addition to what Alexis said, I get what she
says, and I agree with that. But then after the photo op, the people leave like they`re going to the concert, and then suddenly they`re surrounded by
Taylor Swift`s security, and they go, we know what you did. You`re out of here. She doesn`t even want you at her concert.
I mean, it was swift and immediate. This isn`t something Taylor Swift thought about on her tour bus overnight and went hey, I`m going to claim
this guy grabbed my rear end. It happened immediately. Right?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, that`s pretty much true, Nancy. He went out to put a photo in his car, he came back in and that`s
when he says he was verbally assaulted and confronted by Taylor Swift people. He says he denied everything and he says if you look at the photo
that was taken, you can see that her skirt isn`t lifted in the back.
GRACE: Oh, you`re kidding me. Unleash the lawyers. Sue Moss, Randy Kessler, Misty Marris. To you, Kessler. So he`s basically saying look,
here`s the photo with me and my girlfriend and Taylor Swift and her skirt is down. I`m not grabbing her rear end, I`m not even close to her private
parts in this picture.
I mean, that`s like somebody going, hey, look, here`s Closed Circuit TV video of this girl having dinner. See, I`m not molesting her right there.
That means nothing to me.
RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, well, you know, we`re talking about a court of law now. They filed a lawsuit. It`s one thing if you say
somebody did something to you.
GRACE: Hold up. That`s your legal opinion?
KESSLER: Yes, my legal opinion --
GRACE: We`re talking about a court of law. Yes.
KESSLER: Yes, because you need witnesses, and you need evidence and you need a burden of proof to be met. It`s his word against her word. Period,
end of discussion. It`s a crowded room. A lot going on. Who knows if he was the other person. Did she take a picture of him doing it? You`ve got
to prove this. You want to get millions of dollars --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Did I just hear you say did she take a picture of him doing it?
KESSLER: You can take somebody`s word for millions of dollars. How do you prove this?
GRACE: No. It`s all credibility. And Misty Marris --
KESSLER: Her word, a million dollar -- behind him --
GRACE: In your head -- give me the second verse, same as the first.
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is a classic he said/she said. And we don`t just believe Taylor Swift because she`s a celebrity. We have to
collect the evidence. Was there a security report? Can we see the photo? Let`s talk to some witnesses. We don`t just assume that because Taylor
Swift says it happened that it did.
GRACE: OK. I don`t believe anybody on this program -- let`s see some music video of Taylor Swift. I don`t believe anybody on this program said
let`s believe Taylor Swift because she`s Taylor Swift. Frankly, I like "Shake It Off" a lot better. I`d really rather see that. This video is
from big machine records. So put Marris back up and Kessler and Susan Moss. There you go, shake it off, Taylor.
OK. Now I`m kind of getting into the beat there. But Misty Marris, nobody said, let`s listen to Taylor Swift and believe her because she`s Taylor
Swift and that is why I pointed out for you, for your benefit and Kessler`s benefit that she immediately sounded an alarm that her people went and got
this guy and kicked him out. She did not even want him there. She immediately contacted the radio station. And the guy, Mueller says, no, it
was my boss, Eddie Haskell. Well, she knows Eddie Haskel.
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, that`s why --
GRACE: And now she has said it`s definitely this guy. I know who grabbed my rear end and squeezed it.
MARRIS: That`s why -- you`re referring to one piece of the puzzle. We have to look at every piece. We have to look at the photograph. We have
to look at security reports, talk to witnesses. It`s ridiculous that just because she immediately reacted.
(CROSSTALK)
MARRIS: Well, nobody is contesting that something happened to her. Even Mueller said that -- he`s saying it wasn`t me.
GRACE: Because you two, you two on top, you, Kessler and Marris.
KESSLER: I`m here.
GRACE: If she -- whenever a rape victim or a sex assault victim waits a couple of days, Sue Moss, I never hear the end of it. Like in this Owen
Labrie thing. She waited until the next day to call her mother at midnight and tell her she was raped? I haven`t heard the end of it. Why didn`t she
say something at the beginning? You know, so when they do say something at the beginning, like Taylor Swift, listen to these two. They didn`t say
wait, you know what, you can`t win.
KESSLER: It`s different than me --
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: You know, enough is enough is enough. With these boys and these men thinking that they have
fair game to do whatever they want to women. When you want to touch a woman, you ask. OK? You don`t just presumptuously put your hand on to
somebody`s skirt and do what you will. It is time for women to band together, just like this strong 15-year-old, just like Taylor Swift, and
say to all of these men who are doing these things, stop it. We will prosecute. We will sue. We will do what we need to do to protect our
rights.
[20:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Now live to Bradenton, Florida, a missing fifth grade girl, Janiya Thomas, found dead in a freezer. Did family members know this girl had
been abused? That she was dead? And if so why aren`t they in jail?
Now as we go to air we have obtained nearly 30 pages of shocking details, a CPS investigation into Janiya mother that goes back 11 years of heaping
abuse on the children.
[20:55:09] But the schools and child services did nothing. Now after our program last night where we exposed Child Protective Services and the
school and the school system in Manatee County in Florida, they fired back, oh, no, no, no, no. We didn`t have anything to do with that investigation.
And I`m talking about Child Protective Services telling me they had nothing to do with this.
Well, we did some digging last night. Their fingerprints are all over this debacle, and now Janiya is dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 11-year-old Janiya Thomas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They actually broke open the freezer, looked inside, saw a body, a child`s body inside the freezer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s a baby, an innocent child.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Common sense would suggest the missing child`s mom would want to do anything to help authorities locate her daughter. Not
this mom. She remained silent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This girl is found dead in a freezer, all right. Here is what we know. After our program last night where we highlighted her case, and
every time I look at her, I feel she`s looking right back at me saying why didn`t you help me? Why didn`t you help me? Now after our program where
we highlighted what happened, tell me about the statement issued by authorities, Michael Christian. They basically said, oh, no, no, no, we
weren`t the ones investigating it. We didn`t drop the ball.
CHRISTIAN: Nancy, the DCF secretary, Mike Carroll, said that the actual investigators who went to the Thomas home for almost a dozen years were
employed by the Manatee County Sheriff`s Office. Quote, "So we never had a DCF investigator ever in that home."
But, Nancy, I can tell you I went personally through those reports that were released earlier this week. I found CPS referenced 26 times and two
other references to DCF.
GRACE: That is the screen I was about to call for, the mother has been involved with the Department of Children and Families for physical injury
and family violence, threatening the child. The mother being the alleged perpetrator in both.
This has been a statement ongoing since 2003. I`m giving you a verbatim statement from DCF, Department of Children and Families. Now they -- is it
them claiming they had nothing to do with it, Michael?
CHRISTIAN: They`re not saying that they had nothing to do with it. They`re saying that they never actually had one of their investigators in
the home, that they were all members of the sheriff`s department.
GRACE: Well, then, why are they giving a quote? The mother has been involved with the Department of Children and Families since 2003. Why are
they saying that, and now they`re saying they don`t know anything about it?
CHRISTIAN: Well, as I said, Nancy, there`s references to CPS 26 times in those reports and two specific times for DCF.
GRACE: Let`s take a look at the 2007 involvement from CPS. We have one instance after the next. Here`s the child that is covered in cuts and
bruises, but when mommy`s around she says she fell.
This is CPS, who is now telling us their people didn`t investigate it. Isn`t it true, to Roger Schulman, News Director 860, "The Answer," that
they actually sent one of their people to the school to find out what happened when the mother would not speak to their investigators?
ROGER SCHULMAN, NEWS DIRECTOR, 860 THE ANSWER: Yes, and Mr. Carroll, the secretary, says it was a mistake. He says they had system failures in
Janiya`s case and in the cases of Baby (INAUDIBLE) that we have to get better.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Got to get better. OK. It`s good to hear that, that they think that they`ve got to do better.
Guys, here`s the Top 10 CNN Hero, it`s Maggie Doyne. She changed the lives of 50 children after a backpacking trip to Nepal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE DOYNE, TOP 10 CNN HERO: You know, I always said I would stop after 25 and then this cap became 30 and then the cap became 40, and then that
kid comes in that you just can`t say no to, that it`s life or death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s just part of Maggie`s story. The rest, CNNheroes.com. Look at all the top 10 heroes and vote for your favorite CNN Hero of the Year.
[20:54:53]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We remember American hero, Army Private 1st Class Brian B.J. Schoff, 22, Manchester, Tennessee. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, loved
fishing and soccer. Parents Brian and Kathy, three sisters.
Brian Ethan Schoff, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us, inviting us into your homes. Nancy Grace signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night
8:00 sharp eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
