The judge quickly started the machinery of the trial in motion, after unsealing the foster care records and telling the prosecutor, "These records should never have been sealed in the first place! I want your office to begin a thorough investigation into each of these families and the children that have been fostered by them, and remove all children from their care immediately, I don't want to hear of another child harmed by them after this point! We'll need to ask Angel about them, and see if she can tell us which ones did what to her. Of course, any investigations into those foster homes will have no bearing on this current trial."

At the arraignment, Nancy said, "Your Honor, may I approach the bench?" Judge Harris nodded, and motioned the prosecutor forward as well. Nancy continued, "Your Honor, after hearing Angel's responses as Dr. Forrester was interviewing her; Dr. Forrester, Ms. Wilson, and I all agree that it would be best for the child to give her testimony in court, rather than relying on transcriptions and recordings."

The judge looked at the prosecutor and said, "It's rather unusual, victims of sexual abuse usually aren't required to face their alleged abusers, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception, if you don't have any objections."

The prosecutor shook his head, and said, "No, Your Honor. I've seen Angel's interviews, and strictly off the record, I wish that teacher had never overheard the child say what she did, and just let that father and daughter live in peace. Of course, I'm still going to do my damnedest to prosecute this case like I always do."

The judge nodded, and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way. The child may give her testimony in court."

Thanking him, Nancy said, "Your Honor, my client waives the right to a jury, as well as to a public trial."

The judge nodded, then said, "I want to keep Angel out of the public eye as much as possible, and if her father happens to be found not guilty, I wouldn't want to see some angry mob dispensing their version of 'street justice'. That would be a tragedy indeed!"

"Ms. Spenser, you may begin," said the prosecutor.

The thin middle-aged woman glanced at him nervously, and said, "My name is Ms. Spenser, and I'm a teacher at Angel's school. On April 23rd of this year -- about one week ago -- I happened to overhear Angel make a comment to a little friend of hers, as they were playing in the schoolyard. Angel said that she always used to rub her privates after she got..." Ms. Spenser hesitated, unwilling to say the word.

"Go on, Ms. Spenser, we're all adults here," urged the judge.

The woman nodded, and taking a deep breath, said, "...after she got... 'fucked', to make herself feel better." Glaring at Jim, she vehemently said, "How could you harm that innocent child? You ANIMAL!!"

Nancy West quickly stood and shouted, "OBJECTION!"

Judge Harris nodded, and said, "Sustained. Ms. Spenser, Please keep further outbursts to yourself. You may continue with your testimony." She looked at him, then nodded tightly.

"After I heard the little girl make that statement, I immediately contacted Child Protective Services. That's standard procedure any time we have suspicion that a child has been abused."

The prosecutor stood, and said, "Thank you Ms. Spenser. Your Honor, I now turn examination of the witness over to Ms. West."

Nancy rose, and thanked him. "Ms. Spenser, due to your hesitation in using the word, I assume that Angel actually said the word 'fucked', is that correct?"

The teacher flushed, then nodded and stated, "I have a good memory, and my testimony repeated pretty much word for word what the child said. I... she used another word for her privates, however." Sighing, she continued, "It was... 'cunny', which I find very vulgar!"

Nancy nodded, and continued with her questioning. "Did you hear Angel actually say it was her father who had... done stuff to her?"

Smiling gratefully at the euphemism, the teacher said, "Well... no, but who else could it have been? Anyway, he said he did when they arrested him!"

Nancy looked up and said, "Objection, Your Honor, that is hearsay. The witness did not personally hear Mr. Stevenson make any admission of guilt."

Judge Harris said, "Sustained, please continue with your cross-examination."

Nancy smiled at him, and continued. "Ms. Spenser, as to your question of 'who else could it have been', there's no way for you to have known, but for two years before the Stevensons adopted Angel, she was unwittingly placed into horrific foster care situations, where she was repeatedly physically, emotionally and sexually abused!"

As the woman began to splutter in shock, Nancy went on. "You said Angel said she 'always USED to rub her privates', is that correct? That implies something that happened in the past, did you have any indication from her conversation whether she was talking about something that happened before she was adopted, or after?"

Ms. Spenser blinked in confusion, and then said, "Uhh, n-no, I don't know!"

Nancy smiled at her, and said, "Thank you, Ms. Spenser, I have no further questions."

As the teacher left the stand, a small woman with dark hair took her place. "I am Dr. Amrita Singh, head of Pediatrics at the hospital." she said briskly. "Your Honor, you should be pleased to know that we have removed the nurse that upset Angel from having any more contact with potentially abused children." The judge nodded, and she continued.

"In Ms. Wilson's presence, Angel permitted me to examine her for signs of physical and sexual abuse. I found many long-healed scars, including some deliberate burns from cigarettes, and even a broken finger that had been poorly set. I found no bruises, contusions or fresh wounds anywhere on her body. The child was slightly nervous about letting me look at her genitals, but she allowed me to continue my examination. I found that she had been repeatedly sexually penetrated from an early age, and her anus also showed signs of having been penetrated. I did find indications of recent sexual activity in her vagina."

The prosecutor smiled tightly, and asked, "How recent would you say that activity was?"

The doctor glanced at her notes, and said, "It wasn't older than a week."

The prosecutor smiled again, and said, "Thank you. Ms. West, you may cross-examine."

Nancy smiled, and stepped up to the witness box. "Dr. Singh, you said the various wounds were healed long ago. Can you be more specific? Are they from six months ago, a year, two years, or longer?"

The doctor thought for a moment, and said, "I've seen a great deal of abuse cases, and the newest of those marks had to have occurred at least one and a half years ago."

Nancy looked concerned, and asked, "Are you saying that some of the injuries occurred at that time, AFTER Angel was adopted by the Stevensons?"

The doctor quickly shook her head, and said, "No. As injuries age, it is harder to date them accurately. The one and a half years is the LATEST that some of those injuries could have occurred, and they could have happened up to a year or more prior to that time. Given the child's previous history, it is my opinion that those injuries were not inflicted by the Stevensons."

The prosecutor popped up and exclaimed, "OBJECTION, Your Honor! The witness is speculating!"

The judge looked thoughtful, and asked, "Could you explain your opinion, Dr. Singh?"

She nodded, and said, "Certainly, Your Honor. As I have said, I have seen many abuse cases, and in my experience the abuse doesn't just stop cold unless the child is removed from the influence of the abuser. If either of the Stevensons had abused her in the first six months after they adopted her, my professional opinion is that they would have continued physically abusing her, and there would be fresher marks on her body. Also, and of course this part IS pure speculation, I just can't imagine that someone would adopt an already abused child, abuse her themselves for a few months, and then stop."

Judge Harris smiled at her, and said, "Thank you, Dr. Singh. Objection overruled, I will allow that, except for the last part the witness described as speculation. Ms. West, you may continue."

Nancy nodded, and asked, "Dr. Singh, you said there was fresh sexual activity, would you say that was consensual or non-consensual?"

The prosecutor stood up again and said, "Objection, Your Honor. It isn't legally possible for a child to give consent!"

The judge nodded, and said "Sustained. Nancy, would you be able to rephrase that question?"

She nodded, and said, "I apologize, Your Honor. Dr. Singh, would you say the sexual activity was forced, or willing? I know in cases involving the alleged rape of an adult, there are indicators that tell if she was raped, or if it was a consensual encounter." The prosecutor started to open his mouth, then reconsidered and glared at her for a second.

Dr. Singh looked at some photographs, and said, "This is an unusual request in a child sexual abuse case, and I didn't specifically look for those indicators when I examined her, as usually it's more of a yes or no issue - 'did someone have sex with the child or not'. However, examining the photographs, I would say there are no signs that Angel was forced."

Nancy smiled, and said, "Thank you, Dr. Singh, I have no further questions."

Stepping down, Dr. Singh smiled at her colleague Dr. Forrester, as he made his way to the stand. "Just a moment, Dr. Forrester, if you don't mind," called the prosecutor. "Your Honor, I had planned for Dr. Forrester to give his testimony at this point, but I realized that much of what he would say would be later repeated in Angel's own testimony, or it would confuse the chain of events. With your permission, and if Ms. West has no objections, I would like to move his testimony so that it comes AFTER Angel's. That way, he wouldn't be repeating the things she had just told the court, and he could answer questions that relate to her testimony."

Judge Harris pondered for a moment. "Normally, such a request by either side at this point in the trial would be highly improper, but you do have some valid points. Ms. West, you would have every right to object to such an unorthodox request."

She shook her head, and said, "No objections, Your Honor. In fact, I think it's a wonderful idea. Some of my questions won't make much sense without lengthy explanations from Dr. Forrester, but hearing Angel's testimony first would make them much clearer."

The judge nodded. "Very well. Dr. Forrester, you may step down for now. Are you due at work today, assuming we can hear her testimony this afternoon? If you aren't due back at work, would you mind attending the trial during Angel's testimony?"

The doctor shook his head, and smiled as he left the stand. "No, Your Honor, I don't mind. In anticipation of such a request, I cleared my schedule for the whole week."

End of Chapter 02