Opinion ID: 1159702
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: References to Barrow Rape by Prosecution

Text: Prosecution's Opening Statement: While Mr. Worthy is [sexually assaulting T.J.S.]. He starts saying some very cruel things to her. [T.J.S.], in April of 1994, was sexually assaulted by a co-worker, while she was working for MarkAir in Barrow. It was a difficult time for her. It was something that stayed with her. It was something that she and Mr. Worthy had talked about. The person that she believed had done that assault on her in Barrow, was a fellow named Chris. [It] wasn't proven at any point in time. It wasn't brought to this stage. But the person was named Chris. And Mr. Worthy, as he sitting astride of this woman, or lifting her up, he says, Think of me as Chris. I think this is what you wanted Chris to do up in Barrow. He said things to her, to let her know how she ought to feel about this circumstance that she found herself in. This is like what Chris did to you. This is unpleasant to [T.J.S.]. This is hurtful to [T.J.S.]. .... And as things progress, you will also hear that Mr. Worthy not only mentioned, brings up, uses this name of Chris, and this incident in Barrow, as a means of, at least, verbally assaulting, or somehow communicating what his intention is that morning. He calls her a lot of other names. .... After she's been called a lot of names. Not necessarily every name in the book, but she's been called a lot of names. She's been scared by the cruel remarks about the former sexual assault. She's concerned that he is so out of control, that she doesn't know what he is going to do next. .... In April of `94, a terrible thing happened in Barrow. She was sexually assaulted. It occurred after a party. It was a terrible thing for her. She left the Barrow posting, and was transferred to St. Mary's. .... After that [telephone conversation between T.J.S. and Worthy following the assault], in which [Worthy] basically says, It wasn't me, it must have been this Brian guy. Maybe it was Chris. Maybe it was the guy up north. You're havin' [sic] a bad dream about all this stuff. Prosecution's Direct Examination of Officer Kevin Bradley Mitchell: [T.J.S.] said ... And while [Worthy] was [sexually assaulting her], she indicated to me that he had made statements to the effect ofwhile he was doing this he said, Just think of me as Chris. [T.J.S.] had indicated at that point that she had been sexually assaulted priorI'm not sure of the time frame, but I believe it was about a year prior, at the place where she had worked up in Barrow, and that incident was being criminally investigated. But she had come back to Mr. Worthy, her boyfriend, and told him about the incident, and told him what happened, and apparently they had gone through some trauma of that. And during that incident, while she was being held down and he was inserting his fingers into her vagina, he was telling her, Just think of me as Chris. Just think of me as Chris, as he was doing that. Prosecution's Direct Examination of T.J.S.: Q: You ended that Barrow posting when? A: April. Q: Why? A: Because of an incident with another employee. Q: Was this a fellow named Chris? A: Yes. Q: Was this an incident that was sexual in nature? A: Yes. Q: Against your will? A: Yes. Q: Investigated by the police? A: Yes. Q: You didn't want to work there anymore? A: No. Q: Did you continue to work for Mark-Air? A: Yes. Q: In this incident that involved this fellow named Chris, you said he was a co-worker? A: Yes. Q: Was this an incident that involved genital intercourse? A: Yes. Q: Any other kind of intercourse or penetration? A: No. .... Q: You said you ended up somehow when you were over by the copy machine, what happened? A: Um, there was some struggle, I was on the floor on my back, um, he was saying things. I was trying to tell him not to do this.... He was still calling me cruel names, and about then is when he started saying things like, Think of me as Chris. .... Q: When your pantyhose were ripped, while you were on the floor, you said he was saying things about, Think of me as Chris? A: Yes. Q: Chris was the fellow that you talked about in Barrow? A: Yes. Q: Did you talk to Mr. Worthy about Chris? A: Yes. Q: Had you communicated to Mr. Worthy that Chris was an unpleasant memory for you? A: Yes. Q: How did you feel when Mr. Worthy said things like, Think of me as Chris? A: Very hurt. .... Q: At some point did he make actual contact with your genitals? A: Yes. Q: How did that come about? Describe that for us? A: He was holding me down saying the things about Chris, and calling me cruel names, and he had basically, all of me pinned down somehow. .... Q: Did Mr. Worthy say he wanted you to do anything during this encounter? A: To think of him as Chris; to use my [self-defense] training. That's the only things I remember. .... Q: Why weren't you going to report the crime? (Pause) A: Becausebecause I didn't want to(pause)I didn't really wantI(pause)I didn't want to. Q: Was there anything about your relationship with Mr. Worthy that caused you not to want to? A: I didn't want him to get into trouble. .... Q: Had you been through a police investigation in the past? A: Thereat that point, there was still one going on in Barrow. Q: Was it a pleasant experience for you? A: No. Q: Was it something that you thought, I'll go report this crime, I'm looking forward to nailing him for this? A: No. Q: So you called the police? A: Yes. Prosecution's Redirect Examination of T.J.S.: Q: With regard to the Barrow incident, did you want to be posted in Barrow? A: Yes. I had been trying to get the position in Barrow for a long time, and I had just started a new job in Anchorage, when I got the news that I go it, I was really happy that I had gone out there. Q: So then we can understand, this happened after a party with co-workers? A: Yeah. The way that the shifts work, because we're eight days on, six days off. There is one night that, basically, everybody is there, and so we would get together on that night, over at some friends house and have a couple drinks, and then go home and go to sleep, and some of us would go to work the next day, and some of us would fly back into town, or wherever we were going. Q: What were you on? Were you going to work the next day, or were you going home? A: That was my shift, I was going to work. Q: This fellow, whose name we now know is, Chris. Was he on shift, or was he going home? A: He was going home. Q: Do you know when you left this party? A: I know it was a few hours before everyone else, because I couldn't get a ride at first. (indiscernibleunclear) finally said, Okay, I'll leave and I'll take you home, probably around midnight, because I like to get enough sleep before I go to work the next day, especially when I'm working a 10-hour day. Q: And so a few hours later, you are awakened from your sleep? A: Yes. Q: Did you share a room with anybody? A: No. Q: And this fellow, did he admit to coming into your room? A: He ... Ms. Tatter: Objection. Hearsay. .... Q: We were talking about what happened in Barrow in April of 1994. Did you tell Mr. Worthy about that? A: Yes, I did. Q: Did he know that you were making follow-up telephone calls? A: Yes, he did. Q: Did he encourage you on that score? A: Yeah, I think so. Q: Did Mr. Worthy take you seriously about what had happened up in Barrow? (Pause) A: Sometimes. Most of the time he didn't. Most of the time he said that it was something that I causedsomething that I tried to do. Q: And [T.J.S.], did you tell Mr. Worthy that this was an incident in which you did not consent? A: Yes, I did. Q: Did you tell Mr. Worthy, or communicate to Mr. Worthy in any way, that this was some kind of drunken orgy? A: No. Q: During the reported conversation with this person named Chris, did he admit being in your room? A: During the wire he did. Q: Did you engage in a telephone conversation that was recorded by the police, with Mr. Worthy? A: Yes, I did. Prosecution's Closing Argument: And then finally, ladies and gentlemen, the defendant tells Detective Herrick that they talked about Chris from Barrow. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a real interesting piece of information. Why are we bringing up Chris from barrow if this is not sexual in nature. Everything about Chris from Barrow is sexual. We hear from Sue Ellen Tatter in opening that they're going to prove that this is a drunken orgy. What we heard from Conrad Worthy was it was a very sad and humiliating and devastating thing for both of them. And I didn't really understand wasn't pressing it, I didn't understand why she wasn't calling the cops every day, calling the district attorney's office, pressing this home, pressing this home. He wasn't being particularly sensitive to [T.J.S.'s] needs in that situation, but we all acknowledge beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was a sexual assault and he's talking about this as he's doing these things to [T.J.S.]. Ladies and gentlemen, why bring up Chris if you're not talking about sex. If we're not dealing with what the law calls sexual penetration. .... He admits to Detective Herrick that she was defending herself. He says that his fingers may have gone in her vagina. And you, again, you get to decide whether that can happen inadvertently, especially under the circumstances under which this would admittedly perform. Because he said I talked about Chris from Barrow and that was a sexual matter.