The Trial

The week had finally passed. It was the day of AJ’s trial. He was anxious to get things over with. He knew he was innocent and he desperately wanted to go home.

As he lie on his back on the cot in his cell, he heard the guard coming down the corridor. Keys jingling. A sound that had become music to AJ’s ears. The guard unlocked the cell and let AJ out. Not before putting on the handcuffs.

He was lead out of the building and into a police cruiser. He was then taken to the court house where he knew Reneé would be waiting for him. However, he totally forgot that the media was eager to see him as well. They were all over the sidewalk, the grass, the steps too. AJ, confident in his innocense, faced them proudly.

“AJ, tell us, did your or did you not take advantage of Carrie Newton?” A female reporter asked him, jamming her microphone into his face.

“No, I did not take advantage of Carrie Newton! I did not rape that girl!” He shouted out to the tumultuous crowd of reporters. The officer who was escorting him pulled him forward away from the chaos outside the court house.

The minute AJ stepped in the door, he saw Renee sitting on a chair. She got up and ran to him. Kissing him dead on the lips. He could feel the warm tears from her cheeks wet his. The officer pulled him away again and into the court room. He was seated on the left side of the room. When he looked to his right he saw Carrie, sobbing. She glanced at him and for a split second, she smirked. He knew, right then and there, that she was going to take him for all he had.

The entire room stood as the judge entered. She took her seat and looked over the people. AJ read the name on the plate in front of her. Judge Kathryn Nelson. As he looked at her, he wondered if she was the type to believe him over the very convincing Carrie.

After both Carrie’s and AJ’s lawyers said their opening statements. It was time for Carrie’s attorney, Mr. Miller to call the first witness. He called someone’s name and AJ knew exactly who he was calling. It was Dutton, one of the security guards from the concert that night.

“Please state your name for the court.” the bailiff said.

“Lawrence Dutton.” He said.

“And do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.” Lawrence said before sitting down. Miller started to pace.

“Mr. Dutton, were you or were you not working security for the Backstreet Boys concert on the night of May 18, 2001?” Miller asked.

“Yes I was.” Dutton answered.

“And did you see the plaintiff backstage at any point in time that night?” Miller asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“How many times did you see her, Mr. Dutton? And where?”

“Twice. The first time I saw her she was trying to get to the dressing rooms to meet the guys. The second time I saw her, she was leaving AJ’s dressing room.” Dutton answered.

“Ah... and how did the plaintiff appear when you saw her the second time?” Miller asked, leaning against the witness stand.

“She looked disturbed. And she was running. She ran right outside through the fire exit.” Dutton explained.

“Ok, now let’s go back to when you first saw her. How exactly did she get to AJ’s dressing room?” Miller asked, looking confused, though he wasn’t.

“AJ heard her hollering his name. So he told us to let her go. He told us it was alright and that she could come on back.”

“So what you’re telling me is that you were trying to keep Miss Newton from the dressing rooms, but AJ allowed her to come back. And when she left his dressing room, she looked disturbed and ran out?” Miller said, summing everything up.

“Yes, sir.” Dutton said.

“No further questions, your honor.” He looked at Mr. Kent, AJ’s lawyer, and said, "Your withness." Kent stood. He approached Dutton slowly.

“Alright, Mr. Dutton, we’ve already established the fact that you saw Miss Newton enter and leave Mr. McLean’s dressing room. Could you now tell me how long she was there?” Dutton thought about it and then spoke again.

“It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes.” Dutton answered.

“And when she left his room, was she fully clothed?” Kent asked.

“Yes she was.”

“Tell me, where were you the entire time Miss Newton was in the dressing room?” Kent questioned.

“I was in the hall, just a few feet away from the door.”

“So, can you honestly say that if the plaintiff screamed and/or fought Alex, you would have heard it?”

“Absolutely.” AJ smiled. Kent brought up a good point. If he had raped Carrie, Dutton would have heard something! And she wasn’t in there that long anyway.

“No further questions, your honor.” Kent said with a smile to AJ. AJ smiled at Dutton as well who had seriously helped his case. Miller called his next witness. It was Carrie. She stepped up into the witness stand and put her hand on the Bible. After she was sworn in, she sat down and wiped her crocodile tears.

“Miss Newton, could you please describe to the court what happened between you and the defendant on the night of May 18.” Carrie looked around as if she was afraid to tell her oh-so-humiliating story. It reminded AJ of the Jodie Foster movie, except he knew Carrie was about to lie instead of tell the truth about being raped.

“Well, I went to the Backstreet Boys concert that night in Orlando. After the show was over, I found my way backstage. There were security guards walking the guys to their dressing rooms. So I just kind of followed. One of the guards saw me and started to take me out. But I screamed for AJ. All I wanted was for him to notice me! But he turned around and told them to let me go. He said he knew me and I could come back. So I did. We went to his dressing room and he shut the door. He told me to sit next to him. So I did that too. I was really nervous being there with him alone and all. But he started to kiss me and I felt better. When I felt his tongue in my mouth, I pushed him away. I told him he was moving too fast, but he grabbed my arm and he told me to be quiet. He started to touch me...” She reached up to wipe her eyes, but pinched them. No one could see because of the tissue in her hand. Her eyes got teary and she sniffed.

“Where did he touch you, Carrie?” Miller asked, sensitively.

“He touched my chest and my thigh. And he pushed me down on the sofa. I started to scream but he kept his hand over my mouth. Before I knew it, he had pulled my skirt and pulled my underwear to the side. Then he was.... he.... he penetrated. I was scared. I was in pain. But I couldn’t scream. When he was finished, he pushed me on the floor and told me to get the hell out. I was just happy it was over. So I ran. I ran to the bus stop and went home. And... and that’s what happened.” She finished, still sobbing.

“Carrie, why didn’t you tell anyone about what he did to you?” Miller asked.

“Because I was embarrassed. Plus, I didn’t want him to go to jail or anything. I thought maybe he was drunk or something and didn’t know what he was doing.” She explained. AJ knew she was trying to play the innocent card to her fullest advantage. Making it seem like she didn’t want him to get in trouble.

“And when was it that you found out you were pregnant?” Miller asked.

“Uh... two weeks ago.” She answered.

“And have you had sexual encounters with anyone besides the defendant.” She shook her head no and bent over crying. AJ rolled his eyes. She was so full of it.

“No further questions.” Miller said, going back to his seat.

Kent sighed and stood up to cross examine her. He flipped through his papers and looked at her over his glasses. He sighed again and then paced.

“So, Miss Newton, you found out that you were pregnant two weeks ago?” He asked, looking at his papers again, waiting for an answer. She bent down into the microphone to speak.

“Yes.” She said, her voice still very weak.

“Did you tell anyone about being pregnant.” Carried thought about it. She did tell Kaitlyn. But she never told her attorneys about that. She only told them that she ran to AJ first. If they knew that she told Kaitlyn, they would question her and she knew her friend would break down.

“I told AJ.” She answered. Kent nodded, still looking at his papers. He did this intentionally to intimidate her. Because she was extremely scared that he knew something no one was supposed to know.

“And how did you go about doing this?” He asked, turning away from her, still sifting through his papers.

“I followed him home and told him.” She responded.

“You followed him home? Why did you have to go through all of that?” Kent asked, turning back to her and now making eye contact.

“Well, because I didn’t want to tell him in public. I thought he should be told in private and we could work this out in private.” She explained.

“And how did he react when you told him?” Kent asked, looking at her harder now.

“He denied ever having seen me. Just because his fiancé was there.” She said.

“Alright. So, you went backstage to meet the Backstreet Boys. Instead you just met AJ McLean. According to your story, he raped you once you were alone in his dressing room. When he was finished, he told you to leave. And you did so. Then, months later you realize that you’re pregnant. And you don't notify the police. You don't tell you mother, or a friend. Yet you follow him home, a man who allegedly raped you, to tell him in private, but he denies even knowing you. And it is then that you decide you should go tell the police, after he failed to react the way you had hoped. Is that all right?” Kent said, summing things up quickly.

“No..I mean, yes. I mean...you're twisting it all...” She hesitated. Kent smiled at her, cunningly. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to look deeper and read into his odd expression.

“No further questions.” He said cutting her off mid-sentence, then going back to his seat but not sitting down. He just put one folder full of papers down and picked up another. It was now his time to call witnesses. And he called Kevin Richardson.

Kevin stood up and went to the witness stand. He placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn in. Then he sat down and cleared his throat.

“Mr. Richardson, how are you today?” Kent asked, in a much nicer voice than he had used with Carrie.

“I’m doing fine.” Kevin said.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Kent replied. “Now, I understand that you were with my client before and after the show. Is that right?” Kent asked. Kevin nodded at first, then remembered it was better to actually respond vocally.

“Yes, I was.”

“Alright. Before the concert on the night in question, what were you and Mr. McLean doing?” He asked, leaning on the witness stand and looking down towards the ground. His face was serene and he was confident.

“We had finished checking the venue, so we just sat around talking.” Kevin said.

“Mind telling the court what you were talking about?” Kent asked.

“AJ was telling me about his plans with Reneé at the time, actually.” Kevin said.

“And what plans were those? I’m interested.” Kent asked, as though he and Kevin were having a friendly conversation.

“His plans to propose Reneé. He had already bought her a ring and showed it to me. Beautiful.” Kevin said with a smile. AJ had told him about proposing to Reneé. And Kev was right, the ring was gorgeous.

“That’s wonderful.” Kent started to pace again. It was becoming routine. “So you were with him right up until the show started?” Kent asked.

“Yes I was.”

“And did you see him drink any kind of alcohol or take any kind of drugs that might sway his train of thought or make him do things out of the ordinary?” Kent asked, getting to a good point.

“Not once. He was completely sober during the show. And he’s always been clean of drugs.” Kevin said, proudly. AJ’s family and friends, who were seated behind him, all sat up tall. Proud of him as well.

“How about after the show?” Kent asked.

“After the show we had a meet-and-greet session with a few chosen fans and reporters. I was with him then too.”

“Good, good. And this was after you all went into your dressing rooms and changed after the show?”

“Yes.” Kevin said.

“During this meet-and-greet session... did AJ seem under an influence?” Kent asked.

“Absolutely not.” Kevin answered.

“And just for opinion’s sake, do you think AJ is really capable of such a disgusting crime as statutory rape?” Kent made a face as though the thought of AJ taking advantage of someone sickened him.

“No. AJ loves his fiancé. And he respects our fans. He would never have done this.” Was Kevin’s reply. Kent went on to put the rest of the Backstreet Boys on the stand, and Miller had nothing to say to any of them. They all had the same story. AJ was sober the entire day and he would have never done something so stupid as to rape someone. Kent also called Reneé. She too told what she knew and confirmed that AJ would never do this.

Kent finally called AJ to the stand. He was again escorted by a guard and he hated it. When he faced the court, he saw his mother sitting next to Reneé. His mother looked sad and worried. Reneé did too. But they had faith in him. Kevin, Kristen, Brian, Leighanne, Nick, and Howie were there too. Even his ex-girlfriend, Amanda was there to support him. Their presence made him feel better.

The guard removed the handcuffs from AJ’s now sore wrists and he was sworn in, just like everyone else was. He then took his seat and waited. Kent approached him, without papers. He looked down at the floor, then at AJ, as he always did.

“We’ve heard Miss Newton’s story. I think we’d all like to hear yours.” Kent said. AJ looked around and prepared himself to tell his side of the story. The true side. Up until now, the only people who knew his side were Reneé, Kent, and the two officers who arrested him. Now he was going to tell the world what really happened.

“That night, I was last to go back to the dressing rooms. And as I was walking back there, I hear these screams behind me. So I turn back and coming around the corner is this wild girl. Carrie Newton. She’s kicking and screaming. And when she sees me, she starts crying and calling me, reaching out to me. I felt sorry for her, so I told the security to let her go. She was a fan and I couldn’t turn my back on her.” He took a minute to look at Carrie sitting in her chair with her head down.

“We went to my dressing room and I shut the door. That much is true. But she jumped on me.” Kent turned around as if he had heard that for the first time. It was certainly the reaction that the rest of the court had.

“Oh? So Miss Newton made the first move, you say?” Kent asked. AJ nodded and continued.

“She started kissing me and she had her legs wrapped around me so tight, I had to literally push her off. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t fling her across the room or anything. I just pushed her off of me. I told her that she needed to chill out. Then I asked her for her name. She told me and started taking off my boots.” Kent interrupted again.

“So, she got down and took your boots off?” He asked, kneeling down to demonstrate.

“Exactly. Then she stood up and took her shirt off. And she wasn’t wearing a bra. The next thing I know, she was on my lap, unbuckling my belt. Now, I was gonna tell her that she should go. But she grabbed my di— um, excuse me.... she grabbed my penis and started giving me oral sex. I admit that I allowed her to do this. But I did eventually stop everything and tell her to go.” Kent nodded.

“And did she leave?” He asked.

“Yes. She put her shirt back on and left without saying anything. And I didn’t see her again until she showed up at my house a couple weeks ago.” AJ added. Kent looked surprised again.

“Yes, she followed you home. And she told you something. What did she tell you?” Kent asked.

“She told me that she was pregnant and she needed to talk to me alone. See my girlfriend was there and Carrie didn’t like that.” He responded.

“What else went on that night? In detail, please.” Kent enquired.

“Well, I was shocked to see her. I didn’t even think about her after that night in Orlando. So when she came storming in my house ranting about being pregnant, I told my fiancé that I had never seen her before. And when I said that, Carrie went crazy. She told me that because she was carrying my kid that I had to love her... like I had no choice in the matter. Then she said that because I denied her, I was going to pay.” Kent crossed his arms over his chest and again looked at the floor.

“And you never, ever slept with the plaintiff?” He asked, finally.

“I never slept with her.” AJ confirmed. Kent turned toward the jury and looked at them.

“I remember Miss Newton saying that AJ told her to sit next to him. And she later said that when he had finished his shameful deed, he pushed her onto the floor. Now, I would like to present to the court exhibit “A”. This is a photo of AJ taken by Howie Dorough after the concert, after Miss Newton left.” He gave the photo to the judge and then to the jury. In the picture, AJ was standing in his room with Nick and they were smiling. Inside the room was one chair, one vanity center, and another table across the room with refreshments on it. Along the walls of the room were AJ’s costume changes. No where was there another seat for Carrie to have been sitting.

“You’ll notice that there is no sofa. There is no loveseat. There is no second chair. Yet the plaintiff’s story remains the same. She sat next to him and was raped in that same seat, then pushed to the floor from that seat.” When Kent finished his statement, Carrie turned red.

“I don’t understand it myself. The one seat in this photo could not possibly hold two adults of their height and weight. A typical wooden director's chair? Impossible. If she was raped on the floor, one would think she'd just have said that, correct?” He asked. He went to AJ again.

"Correct. In fact, none of the rooms had love seats or sofas. They all had those chairs. Only Brian and Kevin's room had more than one seat." AJ clarified. Kent nodded again. “No further questions.” AJ nodded and waited to see what Miller could possibly say. Miller stood up and approached AJ.

“You say that my client seduced you, is that correct? AJ nodded yes. “Let’s just say that your story is fact. Anyone can look at her and tell that she’s underage. Why then did you allow her to undress in front of you?” Miller asked.

“I know 18-year-olds that look younger than her. When she was showing her bare chest, it’s kind of hard to think about age.” AJ replied, honestly.

“So you did have your mind elsewhere?” Miller asked.

“My mind was simply thinking that she had nice breasts. Not that I wanted to have sex with her.” AJ answered.

“But you also go on to say that she performed oral sex on you. If that is true, why would you allow that?” He asked.

“I was caught in the moment. And I’m sorry for allowing it to happen. But I didn’t have sex with her. I did not rape her.” AJ said firmly. And Miller sat down, having no more questions.

In Kent’s closing statement, he explained that AJ was the victim of an insane groupie. He explained that she could have conceived his baby a number of ways. Groupies are known to do it all of the time. And Carrie had simply taken from him what she needed in order to get him to do whatever she wanted him to.

Miller stated the obvious. AJ saw the opportunity to have sex with a beautiful young girl and wouldn’t take no for an answer. The jury heard everything and court was dismissed until the next day. And hopefully by then the jury would have come to a decision and provide a verdict. AJ couldn’t wait.


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