"Just more evidence of the good ol' boys club, which as we all know has plenty of members in this room," Rachman added bitterly. "The only concern is whether two rapists have lost their scholarship and a coach his job because the university did the right thing and supported this young woman."
"We have an obligation to present the truth, and not grind our little personal axes," Kipman fired back. "It's my recommendation that we dismiss the charges. We have a witness who has shown that the complainant will perjure herself while under oath. I believe these young men have already suffered enormously for what appears to be nothing more than promiscuous behavior."
Rachman's eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the last remark and she looked as if she might rush down the length of the table to strike Kipman. Karp decided it was time to put an end to the rancor. "Enough!" he said in a voice loud enough to silence both attorneys. "I think it's time to cool off. Let's take a look again at ALL the evidence and, when we can discuss this without the personal invective, we'll decide whether to refile the charges."
Kipman nodded and Rachman took her seat. "So, Rachel," Karp said as if it was time to turn the channel on a television, "tell us about the Michalik case."
Rachman looked up at him with a frown and then quickly at Kipman as if she expected this to be a trick. Seeing no indication that Karp's query was anything more than it was, she shrugged and said, "Pretty straightforward case of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust…sort of like the priest cases.
"The victim"-Rachman glanced at Kipman, who seemed to be absorbed in reading through one of his files and did not challenge her use of the word-"Sarah Ryder, is a graduate student at the NYU school of Russian studies. The perp, Alexis Michalik, is a professor of Russian poetry and here on a work visa. Over a period of several weeks, he engaged in a pattern of flirtation clearly meant to seduce Ms. Ryder, until she finally asked him to stop. He seemed to get the message, so she felt comfortable calling to ask him to help her with her master's thesis. He told her that he could meet with her after hours at his office on the campus. Upon her arrival, he offered her a beer, which she recalls had a 'funny taste' but at the time made nothing of it. The next thing she remembers is that she's been bound over a couch, her wrists tied to the legs of the furniture, and Michalik is engaging in anal intercourse with her."
Rachman paused as though to calm herself. "When he was finished, he told her that he loved her, but that if she told anyone, he would deny it and make sure that she was drummed out of the department and the university-that all her hard work would go down the drain. The victim reported the incident to the university, which, as required by law, reported it to the New York Police Department. She was transported to a hospital, where she was examined by a doctor, who reported that she had 'lacerations and contusions to both her vagina and anal area consistent with forced sexual intercourse.'"
Rachman sifted through the papers in her file and held up one. "We've just received the results of DNA testing of a semen stain found on the victim's blouse; it's a match for Michalik. Also, finger-prints found on a half-empty glass of beer discovered by investigators match those of Michalik and Ms. Ryder. The beer was tested and shows traces of rohypnol, the so-called date rape drug."
Satisfied, Rachman stopped talking. Karp asked, "Questions?" It had been the practice since the days of Garrahy for those who attended that meeting to put their fellow prosecutors through an interrogation meant to discover any weaknesses in a case that a defense lawyer might later exploit. The practice had pretty much disappeared under Bloom, who couldn't have cared less, and had been at best desultory under Keegan, who was occupied with his own political aspirations. But the practice was renewed with vigor when Karp was appointed.
"Anything to place Michalik and Ms. Ryder in the building at the time in question?" one of the young assistant chiefs asked.
Rachman smiled like a student at a geography bee who just got asked her favorite question. "As a matter of fact, a witness-one Ted Vanders, a graduate student in the English department-came forward after the story appeared in the newspapers and told the police that he saw the victim as she was leaving the building that night." Rachman put on a show of again rifling through her papers before finding what she sought and began to read.
"Let's see…ah yes, here it is, 'He told the police that when he saw the victim about midnight, she appeared "disheveled and in tears" and that 'only after coaxing did the victim tell him she'd been raped.'"
"Did the witness know her previously?" asked another of the assistant district attorneys, probably to prove that he'd been paying attention to the previous discussion.
Rachman shook her head. "No, they're not even in the same department. And…," she said, pausing to look at Kipman, "the police interviewed her friends and acquaintances, and none have ever seen or heard of Mr. Vanders. In fact, he's something of a geek, if I may use that term, with no known girlfriends. But if you saw Ms. Ryder, you'd realize that he's not remotely her type. A real beauty, in other words, and knows it."
"There's semen on the blouse?" another ADA asked and chuckled self-consciously. "Will he make a Bill Clinton defense and say he 'never had sex with that woman'?"
Rachman laughed just as falsely. "I guess there's a similarity. We believe this asshole wiped himself off on her blouse when he was finished."
"But no semen found in her?"
"The victim reported that the perp used a condom."
"What's the perp, this Michalik, say?"
Rachman looked disgusted. "Oh, the usual. It was her fault. She started the flirting-as if a twenty-five-year-old college coed has this irresistible power over an admittedly handsome, forty-five-year-old poetry professor with a nifty European accent.
"What is true is that this was a guy who could control what happened to the rest of her life. He not only was her adviser, with the power to accept or reject her master's thesis, he also sat on the board that approved which students would be accepted into the doctoral program. Of course, he claims that she only brought these charges after he refused to give her a free pass on the thesis and sponsor her for the doctoral program."
Rachman shook her head again. "It always amazes me how these guys expect us to believe these stories-like a woman would use rape charges to blackmail a college professor so that she wouldn't have to write her thesis paper." She looked around the table with a "can you believe this shit" smile on her face, but froze when she saw Kipman adjust his glasses and prepare to read from a document.
"It says in this report that the complainant did not go to university officials until nearly 3 PM the next day," he said. "Why is that?"
Rachman's eyes glittered with hate. "You want to tell me what you're doing with reports from my office?"
Kipman didn't blink. "I believe that you're aware that one of my functions is prior review of questionable cases before we make formal charges. In light of the recent reversal on the case we just discussed, I thought it might be a good idea to look over another alleged case of acquaintance rape."
"So you're checking up on me," Rachman hissed.
Karp cleared his throat. "Don't look at it that way, Rachel. It's just that sometimes two sets of eyes are better than one. This is not a reflection on your abilities as a prosecutor; we are all aware of your excellent work in the courtroom. However, if we are going to convict people in this office, I want to make sure we do it the right way so that they remain convicted. So what about Harry's question regarding the nearly seventeen hours between the alleged assault and the victim reporting it?"
"Well, I thought I'd covered that." Rachman sulked.