All language subtitles for Dateline.Secrets.Uncovered.S11E06.720p.WEB.h264-BAE.[eng]

- I'm craig melvin,

And this is "dateline:
Secrets uncovered."

- He has turned my life
upside down.

He took everything
away from me,

Everything that
I sacrificed for,

Everything that
I worked for.

He even took my daughter
away from me.

- Once, they were
so good together.

- How did love turn into
hate like this?

- Before that night
of violence.

- He drags you down
to the basement.

- All the way down.

I'm trying to
fight him off.

I can't breathe.

- Then, a twist
no one expected.

- They've got three witnesses
who identified you in a lineup.

Did you understand that?
- Yeah.

I do understand that.

- The alleged victim,
accused.

- It's just a terrifying,
shocking experience.

- Who did what to whom?

- The evidence showed an evil
and vindictive schemer.

A diabolical conniver.

- A frame up that nearly
fooled everyone.

- This is gonna be hard,
to try and figure all this out.

- You couldn't invent
a worse nightmare.

- A confounding case
of vengeance.

♪♪

- Hello, and welcome to
"dateline: Secrets uncovered."

The saying goes that looks
can be deceiving.

But love can be, too.

The couple you're about to meet
seemed perfect for each other,

At first, but that passion
turned into violence.

It set off a chain of events
that confounded authorities

Until they discovered
a ruthless act of revenge

Rooted in secrets
and lies.

Here's lester holt
with "vengeance."

♪♪

- There are two sides
to every breakup,

And if the end is bitter,
and anger spins out of control,

A once perfect romance
can become a nightmare.

- This story was a crazy case
of he said, she said

With a lot of twists
and turns,

And it explodes
into a story

You couldn't possibly
have imagined.

- Seemona sumasar doesn't
have to imagine it.

She lived it.

- How did I keep my sanity?
How did it happen?

This all happened
to me. Me!

A simple, simple person.

- For seemona
and jerry ramrattan,

It was a romance that started
with so much promise.

She thought he might
be the one.

Describe him.
- Charming.

Sweet talker, confident,
you know.

He could
make things happen.

- The couple lived in
seemona's four family house

In queens, new york in
the shadow of kennedy airport.

Seemona, a 34-year-old immigrant
from guyana,

Worked as an analyst
for morgan stanley.

- I got into
the finance business

At a great time.
- Good money?

- Good money.

- She also owned a golden crust
restaurant franchise.

She'd start her day
working in manhattan

From 5:00 am until
2:00 in the afternoon,

Then she'd commute back
to her restaurant in queens,

Where she'd work late
into the night.

- And you slept when?
- I don't know.

I look back at it,
and I don't know.

A few hours here
and there.

- Not long after
the golden crust opened,

A handsome,
confident man walked in

And introduced himself.

It was jerry,
and he quickly became

One of seemona's
best customers.

- Literally, I would see him
almost every day.

He would stop by,
just casual conversations.

Talk about his work,
him being a detective.

- The 37-year-old jerry said he
had once been a police officer

And still had close ties
to law enforcement.

Now he worked in security,
although his exact job

Was a bit of a mystery.

- He comes along, and literally,
everybody was referring to him

As my bodyguard.

They loved the thought
that he was around.

- Were you an investigator?
- I was a consultant.

I would consult on anything
that-- involving security,

Or investigation matters.

- She described you
as the perfect guy.

- I did whatever I could
at the time,

Whatever I could do
to help her.

We did everything,
go out to movies,

Family events, everything.

I kept the house clean.
I took care of the garbage.

I did all the repairs
in the house.

Everyone thought
we were married.

Everyone.

- Seemona, a single mother,

Was raising
a 12-year-old daughter.

She took to jerry, too.

The romance blossomed.

There was even talk
of marriage,

But a call out of the blue
changed everything.

A woman on the other end
introduced herself

As jerry ramrattan's wife.

- That was a shocker.
I doubted her at first.

You can't be serious.

- It got worse.

Not only was jerry married,
he also had three children.

Seemona confronted him.

- At first,
he denied it.

Finally, he tells me that
it's true,

And-- but it's not
what it seems.

The marriage
was arranged by family

For a green card.

- So, what did you do
with that explanation?

- I-I didn't--
I didn't believe it.

How do I trust anything
that you say?

- How did you explain that,

"I have a wife
but I'm with you."

- I explained to her
that before I met her

I was separated
from my wife.

Which was true.
My wife was living in brooklyn.

I was living
in queens.

She was upset
about it,

But she never ended
the relationship.

- But it was
the beginning of the end.

Seemona banished jerry
to the basement,

And then finally told him
to leave her house

By February 20, 2009.

But more than two weeks
after the deadline,

Jerry was still there.

- He was talking about
the relationship

Like it still existed,

And I kept on saying to him,

"jerry, you have to leave.
We're not together."

- They started arguing,
but this time,

Seemona says it took
a dark turn into strange

And ominous territory.

- He got my hands
behind me.

Next thing, I'm hearing
duct tape unrolled.

- Seemona says jerry jammed
his knee into her back,

Pushed her face down
onto her bed,

And quickly taped
her wrists together.

But she says jerry
was strangely calm.

He let her sit up
in bed and acted like

It was just another
lazy Sunday at home.

He watched tv,
ordered chinese food,

And incredibly,
tried to win her back.

- You have me right now
duct taped,

And you're having a conversation
with me? Are you--

Have you lost
your mind?

I just let him have it.

And I called him every named
I could possibly call him.

- For a moment,
jerry seemed to lose it.

Seemona says he
started crying,

Pulled a gun out
of his waistband,

And put the barrel
against his own head.

- I said, "listen,
if you want to kill yourself,

"don't do it
in my house.

"don't do it
in my house."

And, in no time,
he was back to normal again.

- The bizarre scene
played out for hours.

Seemona said she thought it was
jerry's dramatic parting shot,

But when she tried to
get up from the bed,

She says he snapped.

- Just when he-- just grabbed me
with one arm and just--

Just pulled me right--
right down the stairs.

- How big a man is he?

- He's 6'4",
more than 200 pounds.

- And forgive me,
but how big are you?

- 110 pounds, 5-- 5'1".

And I was duct taped,
so I couldn't control

What was going on,
really, much.

- He drags you down
to the basement.

- All the way down.

- Seemona says she was lying
on the basement floor

When jerry wrapped duct tape
around her legs.

- He didn't utter a word.

He just took all
his clothes off,

Untied my robe.

Took off my underwear,
and that was that.

- He rapes you.
- Yes.

- And...

You're powerless
to resist it?

- Yeah.

And I'm trying
to fight him off,

But I can't.

I can't breathe,
and, um...

I really felt like
I was gonna pass out.

He started to cry again,

And apologized,
that he didn't mean

To do this,
and he hopes that, you know,

I don't--
I don't report it.

The last thing I think
I said to him was,

"you should have just
used the gun.

"why didn't you?"

- Jerry didn't answer.

He simply grabbed
his things and left.

Seemona called 911.

Jerry ramrattan was arrested
and charged with rape.

He emphatically denied
every detail

Of seemona's accusation.

She said she had been bound,

Dragged downstairs,
and raped.

Not just any rape,
hours of-of emotional torture

And forcibly penetrated.

- I never touched someone.
- You did have sex that night.

- Yes.
- In the bedroom?

- Yes.
- Not downstairs?

- No.

- Consensual sex?
- Sure.

We were having sex
all the time.

It was never rape.

- And with that,
a bitter he said, she said case

Was unleashed, one
that would land both jerry

And seemona on
the wrong side of the law.

Coming up...

- I was-- I was--

- A disturbing 911 call,
a string of armed robberies,

And an astonishing twist.

- I was asked to step
out of the car,

Handcuffs was placed
on me...

- Was jerry's accuser
the real criminal?

When "dateline:
Secrets uncovered" continues.

♪♪

- More than a year had passed
since seemona sumasar

Had accused her ex boyfriend
jerry ramrattan of rape.

Jerry was out on bail.

In a desperate phone call,
he tried to plead his case

To her one last time.

- He said "please, please,
please, I'm begging you."

"don't do this.
Don't do this.

"don't go through
with it.

"think about my kids."

And I said, "don't ever
call me again

"or try to contact me."

- Seemona wanted to see
jerry behind bars,

But on the night
of may 21, 2010,

Her case and her life
exploded into chaos.

She was driving near
her restaurant

When she was pulled over
by police.

- These were detectives.

These weren't regular
patrol officers.

- Detectives,
plain clothing.

You know, and I
explained who I was.

They didn't seem
to care.

I was asked to step
out of the car,

Handcuffs was
placed on me.

- Seemona was bewildered.

She'd never been in trouble
with police before.

More puzzling, the detectives
were from suburban long island.

They drove seemona
to a precinct house

In nassau county,
where she was questioned

About her car,
her driving routines,

And her whereabouts
on several dates.

- We were having a conversation
about all of these things,

And nothing was making
any sense to me.

These people obviously
think I did something.

The detectives acted
as though seemona

Was hiding something,
and kept pressing her.

Her attorney,
nick brustin.

- Seemona's arrest
was a nightmare.

She's not given
any information

About why she's
being arrested,

Has no idea
what's happening.

It's just a terrifying,
shocking experience.

Seemona says she was
even more shocked

When she finally learned
why she was there.

A frantic 911 call
had made her the suspect

In an armed robbery.

The caller was a woman
named luz johnson,

Who had been driving in
a quiet long island neighborhood

Just over the border
from queens.

- She was pulled over
by this male

And female police officer
in a two-tone jeep cherokee

With a red
flashing light.

- Reporter shari einhorn
covered the story

For news 12 long island.

- They're wearing
bulletproof vests with badges

Or shields hanging
from their necks.

They have black
semiautomatic handguns.

- But it turned out
these were not police officers.

Johnson says they were bandits
who robbed her at gunpoint,

Walking off with
her rent money,

$1,400 in cash.

[indistinct chatter]

- The mo struck a chord
with nassau county police.

It sounded almost exactly
like two other armed robberies,

Recorded nearby over
the previous six months.

- Each of the incidents happened
in the wee morning hours.

Each of the incidents seemed
to be a routine traffic stop,

And in each of the incidents,
the female is often described

As either spanish
or indian.

- The first victim,
rajive mohanlal,

A burly man in his 20's,

Described a harrowing
confrontation with

A petite woman posing
as a cop.

Mohanlal tells police that
she handcuffed him,

And police find him
wearing handcuffs.

And mohanlal also
tells police that

The female officer
cocked her gun near his head

And a bullet popped out,
and police do,

In fact, find a bullet
on the ground.

- That case went unsolved.

Five months later,
the same thing happened

To an optician named
terrell lovell.

- He's able to describe
a little more detail

Of the car
that pulled him over.

A jeep cherokee,

Gray,
with partial gold rims,

With a flashing red light.

- Still not enough
to crack the case,

Until the night luz johnson
became victim number three.

[crying]

- Johnson was inconsolable,

So shaken she could barely
put a sentence together.

But she was clear-headed enough
to remember the license plate

Of the jeep cherokee.

Police traced it to
a house in queens.

It was seemona sumasar's house,

The very same house
where police had come

One year earlier when she
had said she was raped,

But this time, they were
coming for her as the suspect

In a string
of brazen robberies.

All police needed now
was a positive id.

Each of the three victims
is able to pick out

Seemona sumasar from
a photo pack.

- To prosecutors
in nassau county,

It looked like a mountain
of evidence.

They charged seemona
with armed robbery,

Possession of a firearm,

And impersonating
a police officer.

When frank degaetano,

The prosecutor
in seemona's rape case,

First heard about
her arrest,

He had to ask himself
what kind of person

His star witness
really was.

I've prosecuted priests.
I've prosecuted doctors,

Lawyers, boy scout leaders,
people that you wouldn't think

Would be engaging
in criminal activity,

But yet were.

- When you heard robbery
and seemona,

What was your first thought?

- I thought, "wow.
I can't believe it."

I didn't think
she was like that.

- So did you think this
must be some horrible mistake?

- Well, I believe that-that,
you know, there's four sides

To the story.
- Four sides?

- Yeah, the if, the truth,
the maybe, and whatever else.

- And in the case
of seemona and jerry,

All sides were about
to collide,

Exposing how far
some people will go

To exact revenge.

Coming up...

- Seemona's rage.

- There was no doubt
that I had it in for him.

I'm not gonna deny that.

- When "dateline:
Secrets uncovered" continues.

- Seemona sumasar was getting
to know the justice system

From both ends.

First, in queens,
as the accuser

And star witness
in a rape case against

Her former boyfriend,
jerry ramrattan.

And now,
in a long island jail cell,

Charged with armed robbery

And impersonating
a police officer.

The prosecutor
of her rape case found

The charges hard
to believe, but he knew

Long island prosecutors
had discovered a motive.

- She was in arrears
on her taxes.

They eventually came
to believe that her restaurant

Was failing,
and that she was

In desperate
financial straits.

- I understand she had
some money issues.

- A lot of money issues.

There was a lot of stuff
going on.

- When they first
started dating,

Jerry was at the restaurant
all the time,

Greeting customers,
driving employees home,

Handling deliveries.

He was so involved,
some people thought

He was the boss.

- What did you do
at the restaurant, initially?

- At first, I came in
and I started assisting her

Because she was having problems.
She had violations,

Several thousands
of dollars in violations.

They were coming after her
for taxes.

She had an sba loan,
small business loan,

And she defaulted
on the loan.

It was a lot of stuff
going on.

- Was she a good
business woman?

- She tried.

She tried.

- Jerry says seemona's
financial situation got so bad,

He took charge
of day-to-day operations.

Then, when seemona formed
a new corporation

To run the restaurant,
she named jerry an officer.

She even created
a new bank account

To handle expenses
and put it in jerry's name.

And finally, when money
became too tight,

He says seemona took
the ultimate step.

You say that seemona ended up
selling the restaurant to you.

- Correct. And they gave me
a notarized letter

Stating that it was
sold to me.

And they also transferred
the light, the gas,

All the utilities
in my name.

- Seemona said she did not
sell the restaurant,

And it was never
in dire straits.

She says her problem
was with jerry.

Once she discovered
he was a married man,

She just didn't
trust him anymore.

- I had no clue who
he really was,

If anything that he said
was true at all.

And I said, you know what,
I can't take this anymore.

- And that's when seemona says
she told jerry to leave.

She also wrote an email
to his wife.

Things were getting ugly.

In the email, it says,
"revenge is sweet.

"he deserves what he gets.

"you were never gonna
put him in his place.

"someone needed to."

- There is no doubt that
I had it in for him.

I'm not gonna deny that.

I explained to her
that I am trying to get him

Out of my life.

It's not
an easy thing to do.

- I mean, was this related
to the fact that

You had set
this deadline, and--

- Yes, and I wanted him out.

- It was just one month later
that seemona

Accused jerry of rape.

Why would she make
this up?

- Well, her whole problem
was she wanted the store back.

After all the stuff
I've done for her.

Do you know how
preposterous that sounds,

After all this time?

You're gonna accuse me
of rape?

It was like a nightmare.

- But now, the prosecutor,
getting ready to bring

Jerry to trial for rape,
had his own nightmare.

His star witness had lost
her most important credential,

Her credibility.

- We were presenting her
as thoughtful,

Gentle, a private woman,
and essentially, you know,

The defense would have been
able to paint her as ma barker.

- And that's exactly
how it played out

In front of a grand jury.

All three victims testified
that seemona was the woman

Who disguised herself
as a police officer

And robbed them
at gunpoint.

Seemona was indicted,
and her bail was set

At $1 million.

She couldn't come up
with the money,

And remained in jail.

- They've got three witnesses
that identified you

In a lineup,
identified your car.

They had what, to them, seemed
like a pretty good case.

Did you understand that?
- Yeah.

I do understand that.

- But what seemona
didn't understand

Was why nassau county police
and prosecutors

Were ignoring evidence
she felt certain

Would clear her.

Most significant, she claims
she had an airtight alibi

For the night of
the third robbery.

- Seemona's attorney says
police didn't take

Her alibi seriously

Because they had already
made up their minds.

- It was very clear that
it's seemona in the picture.

Um, the cellphone records
support it.

With that kind of evidence,

A full investigation
should be conducted

Into what she's claiming.

- But nassau county police
didn't budge.

They felt the evidence against
seemona was overwhelming.

And as she languished
in jail for months,

One thing kept
eating at her,

Something that happened

The night she was
taken into custody.

- At one point,
during the interrogation,

I noticed that there is
a folder, like manila folder,

This high,
and on top of it,

Is his picture.

- Who's picture?
- Jerry's.

They have a folder on him.

So I spilled my guts
about the rape,

Everything I know about jerry,
and what's goin' on.

And the detective
casually just says to me,

Well, this is not
about him.

I'm thinking to myself,
how could this not

Have anything to do
with him?

- The mystery starts
to unravel,

And surprises are
about to be uncovered.

- Coming up...

A new witness comes forward,
and upends the entire case.

- She decided to go to
the nassau d.A.'s office

And come clean.

- When "dateline:
Secrets uncovered" continues.

♪♪

- Welcome back to
"dateline: Secrets uncovered".

I'm craig melvin.

Seemona sumasar had accused
her ex-boyfriend of rape.

But in a bizarre twist,
found herself behind bars.

She was convinced he had
something to do with her arrest,

But had no way to prove it

From the darkness
of a prison cell.

Now, someone with a secret
was about to shine a light

That just might
set her free.

Back to lester holt
with "vengeance".

- Seemona sumasar was in jail,

About to be tried
for armed robbery

And impersonating
a police officer.

For a woman who had been
a success on wall street,

And owned
her own restaurant,

It seemed to defy
all logic.

Is it hard to believe that
that's you?

- Yeah, I-I-I say it everyday,
it's not my life.

This couldn't have
happened to me.

It-it's-it's like
a bad dream.

- Seemona said
she was innocent,

And thought she had given
police an airtight alibi

For the night of
one of the robberies.

She racked her brain,
trying to come up

With an explanation.

She could only
think of one.

This had to be the work
of jerry ramrattan.

- There was no doubt
that, at that time,

That this has to do
with jerry.

- Seemona felt certain the man
charged with raping her

Must be connected to
the charges against her now.

But how?

She says she pleaded
with police and prosecutors

To try to find out.

But they didn't
seem interested.

Seemona's lawyer says
they didn't do their jobs.

- Police have blinders.

They get a piece of evidence
they think is credible,

And they follow it
to the exclusion of all else.

And they were
looking for ways

To prove that she
committed this crime.

They were convinced
she did.

They weren't looking for ways
to prove that she didn't.

- As the months dragged on,

Seemona felt like
she'd been assaulted twice.

First by her ex-boyfriend,

And now, by
the justice system.

- It became difficult.

You know, all the negative,
like, because of...

My arrest. A lot of
embarrassing things

That my family had to,
you know, go through.

A lot of shame,
a lot of guilt.

Like, how to explain
what's going on,

What's being said
about me.

- Then, just before christmas,
a gift.

A woman arrived
at the nassau county da's office

With evidence of a plot
against seemona.

How did she know?

She said her boyfriend
was behind it.

- She was trying to
extricate herself, uh,

From, uh-- from
that relationship.

He'd show up at her house,
she'd refuse to let him in,

And she came to realize
that, uh, the only way

To get rid of him, uh,
was to expose his conspiracy.

So she decided to go to
nassau d.A.'s office

And to come clean.

- The informant said not only
was seemona not involved

In any robberies,
but there were no robberies.

The dramatic 911 calls,
testimony, the evidence,

All of it was faked
to frame her.

- I couldn't say anything else,
but, "wait a minute,

"are you kidding me?
Isn't this what I was saying

"from day one?"

- The informant provided
cell phone records

Linking the three
robbery victims

To the mastermind
of an elaborate plot.

It was not only
the informant's boyfriend,

But the man seemona
had suspected all along,

Jerry ramrattan.

- He resolved to do
whatever he could

To discredit her,
and in jerry's world,

Uh, that was bringing
false charges against her.

And he did it in
a very, very clever and--

And, uh, really masterful way,
uh, to pin these crimes on her.

- All three so-called
victims confessed

That the entire thing
was a hoax,

And said
jerry was behind it.

They all pleaded guilty
to perjury and went to jail.

Nassau county prosecutors
had to admit they were wrong

About seemona.
They dropped the charges

And released her.
- It was just...

A moment.
Unbelievable.

I had to pinch myself, like,
I'm really, literally out.

- Seemona was finally free.
But she had paid a heavy price.

She'd been separated
from her young daughter

For seven long months.

How often did you get
to see your daughter?

- I had refused to.
Having her come there,

I got arrested in may,
the whole summer went by,

Never seen her.

And just before the week
of school in September,

Is when I asked her dad
to bring her.

And I tried to explain
everything to her in an hour.

About how she shouldn't
worry about anything.

- What was that like?
[sighing]

- That was the worst.

- Now, everything circled
back to jerry ramrattan.

He was arrested again,
and charged with conspiracy.

This time, he went to jail
to stay, and most significant,

All the charges against him
were combined,

So that he would be tried
for both conspiracy and rape

In front of one jury.

- Jerry, see why this
looks really bad?

You're accused
of rape by seemona,

Seemona suddenly
ends up in jail

Accused of armed robbery.

So three people
that claim she did it

All were related to you.
- They're not all related to me.

And I trust
the justice system,

Even though I was
done injustice,

I guarantee you,
the truth will come out.

- Jerry maintained
his innocence.

The case for the defense?

Those witnesses
were lying.

- They lied about everything,

But it just takes
any one juror to say

"I don't believe
these people."

- When "dateline:
Secrets uncovered" continues.

♪♪

- The love between
seemona sumasar

And jerry ramrattan
had long since been replaced

By bitterness.
Was she in love with you?

- I-- I believe so.

So how did love
turn into hate like this?

Money's a dangerous
commodity.

- He is a sociopath.

I don't believe he would
stop at anything

To get what he wants.

- In November of 2011,
the most intimate secrets

And grievances of
the relationship

Played out in court
at jerry's trial

For rape and conspiracy.
The prosecution set the tone,

Calling jerry a liar
and manipulator,

Used to getting his way
until seemona forced him

Out of her business,
her house, and her heart.

- This time, he was gonna
have to leave with his tail

Between his legs, uh--
that was something that,

You know, he just
could not allow to happen.

I think he became
extraordinarily angry,

And-and that's when he decided
he was going to rape her.

- Seemona took the stand
and described the events

Of March 8th, 2009:

Hours of captivity
in her own bedroom

Followed by a brutal rape.

That must have been hard.
- It was.

I went in there
not knowing what to expect.

I also reminded myself

That I didn't have anything
to worry about,

Because I didn't need to lie
about anything.

- She relived
the relationship with jerry

On that witness stand,

And she relived
her ordeal with jerry

On that witness stand,

And I thought every moment
of her examination

Rang true
and was very powerful.

- The prosecution
told the jury

That seemona's body
was a crime scene.

Semen recovered during
her sexual assault exam

Contained jerry's dna.

And there was evidence
of a gential laceration.

- Most women who are raped,
there are no injuries.

If there is injury, um,
that is indicative

Of a forcible act.

- The report included pictures
of seemona's face and arms.

- There are duct tape marks
consistent with

Duct tape having been
placed around her wrists.

- Prosecutor degaetano
also had evidence

That jerry's fingerprint
was on a roll of duct tape

Recovered
from the house.

- Collectively, you know,
the evidence was overwhelming

And really supported
her account.

- Next, the jury heard about
a fake robbery plot

As intricate as an episode
of "csi" or "law & order,"

Jerry's favorite
crime dramas.

The prosecution said
it was brilliantly conceived,

Not by a real cop as jerry
claimed he once was,

But by a detective wannabe,
who it turns out

Had once been convicted
for robbery himself.

- I did know early on that
he was not a police officer.

He had a felony record,

So he could not have been
a police officer.

- The prosecution called
the three so-called victims

Who had accused seemona
of armed robbery.

[indistinct voice on phone]

- Even luz johnson,
whose dramatic 9-1-1 call

Seemed so real,

Now said she was
simply reciting a script

Elaborately written
by jerry.

- He knew police procedure.

He knew how these investigations
were conducted.

And he made use of it,
and he was very detailed

In the scrip that he gave
to each of the three victims.

- The prosecution had painted

An ugly picture
of jerry ramrattan,

A rapist and schemer
without conscience.

- I was shocked.
I can't believe

That someone would sit there
and create a story like this.

Look at the sloppy police work
that was done on my case,

The evidence that
they produced at trial.

- Now it was
the defense's turn.

Jerry's lawyer, frank kelly,
challenged seemona

And her story of being held
captive for hours

Before being raped.

- I thought it was
just ridiculous that--

That my client would be there
for hours and hours,

Ordering chinese food,
and, uh,

Repeating the same thing
over and over,

"can I stay?
Can I stay?

"please don't tell the police
after I leave."

And it was
just ridiculous.

- Kelly ripped into
the fingerprint evidence,

Arguing that
the one print found

Was on a roll
of duct tape,

Not on the pieces allegedly used
to bind and gag simona.

- There was no proof that any
of those pieces of duct tape

Came from that
particular roll.

Of course his fingerprint
was gonna be on

The outside of one,
um, he had placed it there

On the bureau.
- Kelly argued

That the medical evidence
was flimsy, too,

Including the medical
technician's report

Of the genital laceration.

- When he took
a photograph of it,

You couldn't see it.
And he did admit

That even on consensual sex,
you can get such a-

A laceration.
The only thing

I ever saw on
any photograph

Was one line across
one of her, uh, forearms,

But I couldn't tell you
that was from duct tape.

- Kelly dismissed
the conspiracy charge,

Telling the jury
that part of the case

Was built entirely
on the testimony

Of confessed liars.
- These are lowlifes.

They lied about
everything,

But it just takes
any one juror to say

"I don't believe these people,
they are convicted perjurors,

"I don't believe
seemona sumasar because

"she was in financial
difficulties,

"and she won't even
admit that."

- In the end,
the defense asserted

The case was really
all about seemona,

A woman in deep
financial trouble

Who turned against a man
who loved and supported her,

Framing him in
a desperate effort

To get her restaurant back.
In a dramatic moment,

Kelly presented
a bill of sale in court,

Showing seemona had sold
the golden crust to jerry

For $120,000.

- When I actually
saw that document,

I-I thought
he really lost his mind.

- That's your
signature there.

- And--
- and it says you sold

The restaurant
for $120,000.

- Um, I have to tell you
that that signature

Looks exactly
like my signature.

But I never signed that.
And I never sold my business.

And he doesn't have $120,
much less $120,000 to give me.

- Jerry did not
take the stand,

And the defense
called no witnesses.

- There's nothing
to gain out of that.

They didn't prove their case
beyond a reasonable doubt.

I thought the juries
would come back

With a "not guilty"
verdict.

- After a three-week trial,
it was over.

Jerry's future--
and seemona's too--

Were now in the hands
of a jury.

- A tough task
for jurors.

- Once a case gets into
the hands of the jury,

You never know
what's going to happen.

- When "dateline:
Secrets uncovered" continues.

- For seemona sumasar,
it had been an exhausting

And emotional three weeks.

The trial of her ex-boyfriend,
jerry ramrattan,

Had taken her back to
the worst days of her life.

- I can't believe
that it's my life.

It's something that should
really be in a lifetime movie.

Even that's a little-
little bit too much.

- And now that the case was
in the hands of the jury,

Seemona and prosecutor
frank degaetano

Were on edge.
- I'm never confident.

Once the case gets into
the hands of the jury,

You never know
what's going to happen.

- When deliberations
got underway,

The jury was divided.

Tell me what the deliberations
were like.

- I mean, at first, um,

You know, it seemed
like it was gonna be

More like a hung jury.
- We spoke to five

Of the jurors.

So how many holdouts
were there?

- I'd say we probably
started with three.

- Three people leaning
towards acquittal.

- Right.
- What about seemona?

What were your thoughts
as you looked out at her?

- Strong woman.
- That's-that's--

I was gonna
say that, exactly.

She is a strong woman.

- You could see the emotion
when she spoke,

The tendons
and everything,

When she was reliving it
in that moment.

- This is gonna be hard to
try to figure all this out,

Because there was so many
different things

And so many
contradictions.

- The people versus
jerry ramrattan...

- The jurors struggled
for ten long hours

Before reaching a verdict.

- Madame foreperson,

As to count one,
rape in the first degree,

What is your verdict?
- Guilty.

- Jerry ramrattan,
guilty of rape.

- Guilty.
- And guilty of a conspiracy

That landed seemona
in jail.

- As to count eleven,

Falsely reporting an incident
in the third degree,

What is your verdict?
- Guilty.

- The jury convicted him
on eleven counts in all.

- I only heard
the rape charge,

Because in my mind,
ultimately,

That's all they needed
to convict him for.

- Can you step outside this
far enough to say

That if I'm on the jury,

And I'm hearing
what this jury heard,

This was a pretty easy
slam dunk conviction.

- No. It wasn't.
The sloppy police work,

Her story?
They went on emotions

More than actual
physical evidence.

- In the end,
it was still a case

Of he-said-she-said,

And the jury had little trouble
deciding who to believe.

- What do you think
about jerry now?

- In many respects, I just--
I felt really sad

And sorry for him,
because, um,

He was a flawed
individual.

- He did nothing
but smirk

And make faces
and mouthed words

And very exaggerated
facial gestures,

Um, very smug.
Big turnoff.

- He-he is that bee
that has honey in the--

His mouth.

But he has a sting
in his teeth.

- And that sting
nearly destroyed

Seemona sumasar's life.
- Seemona sumasar.

- At the sentencing,

Seemona was given a chance
to address the court.

But instead, she spoke
straight to jerry.

- You made sure that
I was left with nothing

When you were done.

Because you're evil.
Ev-- you're just--

I do-I don't even
have words for you.

I don't.

But I know that
you're pro-evil,

And you're a sociopath,
and you need help.

And I hope that you take
and use your time wisely

To get the help you need.
- When jerry got his turn,

He refused to take
responsibility

For his crimes.
- It's fine.

You know, whatever has to happen
to today has to happen.

I just know we're done
and over with.

I maintain my innocence,
and there's more to come.

It's not done.

- As he delivered
the sentence,

Judge richard buchter
said jerry deserved no mercy.

- The evidence
showed him to be

A violent rapist,

An evil and
vindictive schemer.

A sinister manipulator,
a diabolical conniver.

A man who coldheartedly
endeavored to destroy

An innocent victim,

Who he himself
had abused and raped.

- The judge sentenced
jerry ramrattan

To 33 years in prison.

He will not be eligible
for parole until 2032.

From behind bars,
jerry still insists

He's an innocent man,
and puts the blame

On seemona and his three
co-conspirators.

- We spoke to
some of the jurors.

- Mhm.
- And they said

They really believed seemona.
- Mhm.

- She was lying,
in your view.

- Yeah.
I was shocked.

- Did you ask any
of these three people

To concoct a story of
seemona robbing them?

- No.
- They're bold-faced liars.

- Oh yeah,
and I'm sure in due time,

A lot more stuff
is gonna come out

About all of them.
- Everyone's lying,

You're the only one
telling the truth here.

- Well, it doesn't matter
what I say.

Because I'm-I'm
the fall guy right now.

- I still think that

He believes in half
of the lies that he told,

And he looks at me

As the person
that did this to him.

I'm not that--
he did this to himself.

- Seemona sumasar was
a victim of two crimes,

But it didn't end there.

During the seven months
she was in jail,

She lost her home,
her business,

And was separated
from her daughter.

And now, she has to build
her life yet again.

The wheels of justice eventually
turn in the right direction.

But it must be hard
to look at yourself

As a winner.
- It is. It is.

He has turned
my life upside-down.

He has took everything
away from me.

Everything that
I sacrificed for,

Everything that
I worked for.

He even took my daughter
away from me.

Up-- turn her life
upside-down.

- Seemona sued
new york city

And two
of its detectives.

She also sued
nassau county

And one
of its detectives.

The city defendents settled
for an undisclosed amount.

After a federal court dismissed
her claims for false arrest,

The county defendents
settled the remaining claims

For $2 million.
- It's literally kafkaesque.

She couldn't have imagined
this having happened to her.

So I-in terms of how
this affected her life,

I mean, you-you
couldn't invent

A worse-a worse
nightmare for her.

- Sometimes the word "victim"
implies someone weak.

- Mhm.
- You do-- how do you

Wrestle with the term "victim"?
How do you see yourself?

- I don't wanna play
the victim role.

I-I'm stronger than that,
I'm better than that.

So you just have to let it go
and say what's done is done,

And just leave it alone.

- That's all for this edition of
"dateline: Secrets uncovered."

I'm craig melvin.
Thank you for watching.