Redress of Grievances (39 page)

"I'd
like for you to be very specific, Mr. Larabee. What do you mean exactly by
fooling around?"

"We
molested her, okay?" Larabee said forcefully, looking at Harriett.
"At first, it was just touching and looking when we were young, but it
sort of got out of hand after that."

"How
old were you when these molestations began?"

"About
thirteen."

"And
Sharon was about six?" Harriett reiterated as she looked at the jury.

"Yeah,
about that," Larabee said quietly.

"Was
there penetration of Mrs. Taggart's genital area?"

"Objection,
leading," Lassiter said as he stood.

"The
witness is perfectly free to answer either yes or no, your Honor. The question
did not direct the witness in either direction," Harriett responded.

"Overruled.
The witness may answer," Judge Landers said.

"Was
there penetration of Sharon Taggart's genital area, Mr. Larabee?"

"Yes.
Manually."

"Were
these molestations performed by more than one boy?" Harriett asked as she
watched the faces of the jurors. They were riveted to Larabee's testimony.

"Like
I already said, there were four or five of us. We went to Sharon's bedroom
together."

"What
generally occurred after you arrived in her bedroom?"

"Parker
always went in first. Then the rest of us would go in. Parker would have
undressed Sharon and have her on the bed. The first time we just looked, but
Parker told us it would be okay if we touched her after that, and he would have
her touch us."

"Did
Sharon have a reaction to this touching?"

"Not
at first. I think Parker told her it was a game or something like that."

"Objection,
your Honor. Mr. Larabee's response is speculative."

"Sustained.
Ms. Markham?"

"Was
there ever a time when the nature of these visits changed?"

"When
we were around fifteen. None of us had any experience with sex, and we were
just curious, you know."

"Go
on, Mr. Larabee."

"We
would go to Parker's house and have oral sex."

"Were
these acts performed on Mrs. Taggart or vice versa?"

"By
her, but she was still pretty young. About eight or nine."

"Do
you know how Mr. Collins persuaded his sister to perform oral sex on his
friends?"

"He
told her it was what big girls did," Larabee replied with a frown.

"Did
he tell her this in front of you?"

"Yes."

"Can
you describe for the court how this activity was carried out?"

"We
would line up, and Sharon would get on her knees in front of us and move from
one of us to the other."

"Sort
of like a group blow job, Mr. Larabee?"

Lassiter
jumped to his feet before Larabee could answer, "I object, your
Honor."

"Withdrawn,"
Harriett said. "Were you alone with Mrs. Taggart when these incidents
occurred?"

"No.
We were all there watching. A few times Sharon would get fussy and not want to
continue, but Parker always convinced her to do all of us."

"When,
if ever, did these visits move beyond mere sodomy?"

"I
don't remember exactly, but by the time we graduated from high school we were
all pretty frequent visitors at the Collinses' house."

"When
you were seventeen or eighteen and Sharon was about twelve or thirteen?"

"Yes."

"At
that time were you and your friends sexually active with Sharon Taggart?"

"Yes."

"Were
you alone with her in the room then?"

Shaking
his head, Larabee said, "Parker didn't want anyone alone with her because
she might get hurt. We had to go at least in pairs. We would both have
intercourse with her while we were there."

"What
was her reaction by this time?"

"She
was less cooperative as she grew older."

"How
did Mr. Collins handle her reticence?"

"I
don't know about with any of the others, but once while I was there, he grabbed
her and threw her on the bed and held her down. He had to hold his hand over
her mouth. That was the last time I ever went to the house. When I saw him
holding her down like that, I couldn't do it. Sharon was crying and begging him
to make us go away, but he just told her to calm down and do it. The quicker
she let us, the sooner he would let her go."

"How
long did Mr. Collins use his sister to provide these free sexual favors for his
friends?"

"I
don't know. I never went back after that day. But they weren't free."

"Excuse
me?" Harriett said. The very idea that the exchange of money might have
been involved had never crossed her mind, and Jan hadn't mentioned it.

"I
said they weren't free. Well, at first the touching stuff was. But after we all
got used to it and kept coming back wanting more, we had to pay him."

"How
much did you pay him?"

"At
first it was ten for the oral sex and later twenty-five for the
intercourse."

"Do
you know what that kind of arrangement is more commonly called, Mr.
Larabee?"

"Parker
was pimping his sister to his friends. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes,
thank you. Do you have any other direct knowledge about sexual activities
involving Sharon Taggart?"

"I
ran into Parker over the Christmas holidays about a year and a half after we
graduated, and he invited me over to his place for a party."

"What
do you believe he meant by that?"

"The
same as usual. Sex with Sharon."

"How
old would she have been at that point in time?"

"About
fourteen."

"Did
you ever have an occasion to see Sharon Taggart after the last time you were at
her house?"

"I
ran into her at a mall once."

"Did
she speak to you at that time?"

"Yes.
We talked about school and a few things like that."

"Did
she appear to harbor any animosity toward you?"

"No.
I asked her if Parker's friends were still coming by the house, and she said
they were. But it seemed like we were talking about two different things."

"I
have no further questions for this witness, your Honor.” Harriett said.

"Mr.
Lassiter. Cross?" Judge Landers asked.

"Thank
you, your Honor. Mr. Larabee, you stated that you only personally witnessed
Mrs. Taggart resisting these sexual liaisons once, isn't that correct?"

"Yes."

"She
never resisted your advances, did she?"

"Well,
no, but..."

"That's
sufficient, Mr. Larabee," Lassiter interrupted. "Isn't it possible
that Mr. Collins was giving this money you say you paid him to his
sister?"

"That
wasn't my impression."

"But
it is possible, isn't it?"

"I
guess so."

"In
fact, it's possible that collecting this money was her idea, isn't it?"

"Objection,"
Harriett said. "The prosecution is asking the witness to speculate, and a
child the age of my client at the time of these sexual liaisons could not
possibly have had the requisite intent necessary to set up such a monetary
venture."

"Sustained."

"Did
she want to have sex with you?"

"I
don't know."

"Did
she ever kiss you voluntarily?"

"Yes."

"Did
she ever resist what you were doing to her?"

"No."

"Did
she touch your genitals?"

"Yes."

"And
she was spontaneous in her reaction to you, isn't that correct?"

"I
don't know what you mean by spontaneous?"

"Did
she know what she was doing?"

"She
seemed to."

"And
weren't her physical reactions to sex the same as any young woman's?"

"I
don't know."

"You
had sexual intercourse with other young women in high school, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And
were the physical reactions of Sharon Taggart dissimilar from those of those young
women?"

"No."

"So
Sharon Taggart was sexually well versed by the age of thirteen?"

"I
suppose."

"She
knew what to do to turn you on, didn't she, Mr. Larabee?"

"Yes."

"She
used her hands?"

"Yes."

"Her
mouth?"

"Yes."

"She
encouraged you to go further, didn't she?"

Larabee
glanced at Harriett before answering. "Yes."

"And
you liked it, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And
she
liked it, didn't she?" Lassiter hammered.

"I
don't know."

"Did
the defendant tell you she liked it?"

"Yes."

"And
she asked you to do it again, didn't she?"

"No,"
Larabee answered. "She never did."

"You
weren't alone with her in the room, is that what you testified to on
direct?"

"Yes."

"So
as a rule you watched another young man have intercourse with Mrs. Taggart after
you had satisfied yourself, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And
her physical reactions to the second young man were the same as they had been
to you. True?"

"I
didn't watch very closely."

"But
she kissed him, touched him, and encouraged him to continue as you watched.
Isn't that true?"

"Yes."

"And
she didn't resist the other young man?"

"No."

"In
fact, she seemed to rather enjoy herself every time, didn't she?"

"Objection,"
Harriett said. "The witness isn't a mind reader, your Honor. He can't
possibly know whether Sharon Taggart was having a good time or not."

"Sustained."

"No
further questions, your Honor," Lassiter said after glancing at his legal
pad.

FOLLOWING
A TWENTY-minute recess, Harriett rose. "Your Honor, the defense wishes to
call Jacob Meier to the stand."

Jacob
Meier entered the courtroom and walked purposefully to the witness chair,
raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth. He unbuttoned his jacket and took a deep breath before looking
toward Harriett.

"Mr.
Meier, will you please tell the court how you came to know the defendant,
Sharon Collins Taggart?" Harriett began.

Coughing
slightly, Meier leaned toward the microphone and spoke. "I met Mrs.
Taggart through her brother, Parker Collins."

"How
old were you when you first met her?"

"I
believe I was around thirteen."

"And
what was the nature of your relationship with the defendant?"

Meier's
eyes darted toward the jury box. He closed his eyes for a moment before
answering. "Parker would invite a few of us over to his house when his
folks were gone for what he called 'a pussy party'."

Harriett
hoped the surprise she felt at her witness's statement didn't show on her face.
Although she had done a pre-trial interview with Meier, she hadn't expected the
particular wording she was hearing. She glanced at the jury quickly before
continuing, and it was obvious that Meier had the jurors' complete attention.

"Would
you please explain what that phrase meant to you, Mr. Meier?"

"It
meant that we were all going to have sexual intercourse with Parker's
sister," Meier said in a clear, unwavering voice.

"Was
sexual intercourse always involved?"

"It
didn't start out that way. At first it was oral sex performed by Sharon. The
actual sexual intercourse didn't begin until later. To the best of my memory, I
was about fifteen or sixteen when that started."

"And
that would have made my client perhaps ten or eleven?"

"About
that, yes."

"Was
there ever a time when the nature of these 'parties' changed?"

"An
activity like that isn't something that can exactly be kept a secret for long,
Ms. Markham. By the last time any of us were at Parker's house, there must have
been at least fifteen or twenty guys involved."

"All
in the same evening?"

"Yes.
I'll never forget that night as long as I live."

"What
made it different from the other times you had been at the Collinses'
home?"