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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:10,178 --> 00:00:13,139 [cheers and applause] 2 00:00:13,139 --> 00:00:16,268 [dramatic music] 3 00:00:16,268 --> 00:00:17,686 - You know, my senior year, 4 00:00:17,686 --> 00:00:21,231 I wanted to go to college for acting. 5 00:00:21,231 --> 00:00:24,109 In my mind, I wanted to start a theater company 6 00:00:24,109 --> 00:00:25,610 and, like, make films, 7 00:00:25,610 --> 00:00:28,029 and I kind of wanted to do the whole thing. 8 00:00:28,029 --> 00:00:32,033 [cheering, person speaking indistinctly] 9 00:00:32,033 --> 00:00:35,704 He was like, "Why don't you go to the University of Utah? 10 00:00:35,704 --> 00:00:37,664 "Like, they have a great acting program. 11 00:00:37,664 --> 00:00:39,791 I'm gonna be moving there." 12 00:00:39,791 --> 00:00:41,835 [students cheering] 13 00:00:41,835 --> 00:00:44,212 ♪ ♪ 14 00:00:44,212 --> 00:00:45,588 Look at my teeth. 15 00:00:45,588 --> 00:00:48,049 [chuckles] I got my braces off! 16 00:00:48,049 --> 00:00:49,592 So I did, 17 00:00:49,592 --> 00:00:53,471 and I moved to Utah and went to school there. 18 00:00:53,471 --> 00:00:55,015 I should get my own video camera 19 00:00:55,015 --> 00:00:58,143 and film stuff in Utah like my teeth. 20 00:00:58,143 --> 00:01:02,355 And I moved into the basement with him and his wife. 21 00:01:02,355 --> 00:01:09,279 ♪ ♪ 22 00:01:19,581 --> 00:01:21,791 Both my parents were kind of worried about me 23 00:01:21,791 --> 00:01:24,836 going somewhere out of state... 24 00:01:24,836 --> 00:01:27,172 but then when I told them that, like, 25 00:01:27,172 --> 00:01:28,673 "I don't need to live in the dorms, 26 00:01:28,673 --> 00:01:30,925 "I can live, you know, in the basement 27 00:01:30,925 --> 00:01:33,011 of the theater teacher," 28 00:01:33,011 --> 00:01:34,679 I think that made them feel 29 00:01:34,679 --> 00:01:36,973 like I would at least be around some people that were familiar. 30 00:01:39,059 --> 00:01:41,728 He had successfully groomed me 31 00:01:41,728 --> 00:01:45,106 to the point where I didn't have anybody anymore. 32 00:01:45,106 --> 00:01:47,776 I was isolated and alone, 33 00:01:47,776 --> 00:01:51,029 and I felt like I owed it to him 34 00:01:51,029 --> 00:01:54,157 to at least show up and give the relationship a try, 35 00:01:54,157 --> 00:01:57,994 and that kind of meant without conditions. 36 00:01:57,994 --> 00:02:03,416 ♪ ♪ 37 00:02:03,416 --> 00:02:07,420 The basement was cold and dark, 38 00:02:07,420 --> 00:02:09,964 and it was like a prison. 39 00:02:09,964 --> 00:02:13,677 It felt like I was somebody's captive 40 00:02:13,677 --> 00:02:16,096 in a way. 41 00:02:16,096 --> 00:02:18,056 There was just, like, a little kind of slit of a window 42 00:02:18,056 --> 00:02:19,432 at the very top. 43 00:02:19,432 --> 00:02:21,726 Otherwise, it was pretty dark. 44 00:02:21,726 --> 00:02:26,356 And it was right across from his office, 45 00:02:26,356 --> 00:02:28,274 where he spent most of his time. 46 00:02:30,151 --> 00:02:33,196 That was the first time that I had sex. 47 00:02:33,196 --> 00:02:35,782 ♪ ♪ 48 00:02:35,782 --> 00:02:38,368 I didn't have any friends who were able to say, 49 00:02:38,368 --> 00:02:40,120 "This is weird, Cheryl. 50 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,622 This is weird. This is not normal." 51 00:02:42,622 --> 00:02:44,791 ♪ ♪ 52 00:02:44,791 --> 00:02:47,127 I've been a little crazy lately. 53 00:02:47,127 --> 00:02:50,630 The teacher is getting frustrated with me a lot. 54 00:02:50,630 --> 00:02:53,341 Honestly, sometimes I feel unwanted 55 00:02:53,341 --> 00:02:55,927 or like I couldn't go to him for anything 56 00:02:55,927 --> 00:02:58,930 because I'd be bothering him. 57 00:02:58,930 --> 00:03:01,891 I can't see past what my brain is telling me, 58 00:03:01,891 --> 00:03:04,686 even though I know in my heart that he loves me. 59 00:03:04,686 --> 00:03:09,607 ♪ ♪ 60 00:03:13,945 --> 00:03:15,196 I had been struggling 61 00:03:15,196 --> 00:03:18,450 with how to talk about this for a long time. 62 00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:21,119 We stayed together until I was 22. 63 00:03:21,119 --> 00:03:23,163 And so the grooming led to this, 64 00:03:23,163 --> 00:03:24,622 what some people would say, 65 00:03:24,622 --> 00:03:27,625 was, like, a consensual relationship. 66 00:03:27,625 --> 00:03:31,254 And so I think that was part of what was so hard for me 67 00:03:31,254 --> 00:03:33,298 coming forward, which was like... 68 00:03:33,298 --> 00:03:35,341 - Yeah. - I had a part in it. 69 00:03:35,341 --> 00:03:37,302 And there was a lot of judgment that came my way 70 00:03:37,302 --> 00:03:40,054 and still comes my way, you know. 71 00:03:40,054 --> 00:03:41,431 - Yes. 72 00:03:41,431 --> 00:03:44,851 Because that's the nature of it--the shame. 73 00:03:44,851 --> 00:03:47,729 A lot of these guys, they know exactly what they're doing, 74 00:03:47,729 --> 00:03:50,356 and they want to make you feel like, you know, 75 00:03:50,356 --> 00:03:52,192 "Oh, I was a willing party," 76 00:03:52,192 --> 00:03:53,735 you know, you know how you said that, 77 00:03:53,735 --> 00:03:57,447 but the whole goal was for it to get to that point. 78 00:03:57,447 --> 00:04:00,617 And oftentimes that's why you do see people 79 00:04:00,617 --> 00:04:03,077 that are serial offenders. 80 00:04:03,077 --> 00:04:07,916 Your average child sex offender has about nine victims. 81 00:04:07,916 --> 00:04:10,376 But, you know, what's really interesting is that many times 82 00:04:10,376 --> 00:04:12,712 it's not just the survivor that's been groomed. 83 00:04:12,712 --> 00:04:15,131 It's also those around the survivor-- 84 00:04:15,131 --> 00:04:16,758 the family, the caregivers, 85 00:04:16,758 --> 00:04:20,762 the other people entrusted to that youth, to that child. 86 00:04:20,762 --> 00:04:23,681 There's a lot more education that needs to be around it, 87 00:04:23,681 --> 00:04:26,935 and so, you know, it's really pulling everyone together 88 00:04:26,935 --> 00:04:28,937 in on this conversation. - Yeah. 89 00:04:28,937 --> 00:04:35,860 ♪ ♪ 90 00:04:51,417 --> 00:04:54,546 I don't know when his wife 91 00:04:54,546 --> 00:04:56,673 found the messages. 92 00:04:56,673 --> 00:04:59,968 All I know is, by the time the year ended, 93 00:04:59,968 --> 00:05:02,554 she presented... 94 00:05:02,554 --> 00:05:05,890 him with this book 95 00:05:05,890 --> 00:05:08,518 of all of the messages 96 00:05:08,518 --> 00:05:11,229 that he and I had exchanged 97 00:05:11,229 --> 00:05:13,731 all through high school, 98 00:05:13,731 --> 00:05:18,236 and she threw it at him and left. 99 00:05:18,236 --> 00:05:21,197 ♪ ♪ 100 00:05:21,197 --> 00:05:23,324 After he got a divorce, 101 00:05:23,324 --> 00:05:26,786 he was still teaching high school. 102 00:05:26,786 --> 00:05:29,497 There was a point where he came home 103 00:05:29,497 --> 00:05:33,209 to the apartment that we shared and said, 104 00:05:33,209 --> 00:05:36,671 "I've been fired for having what the principal called 105 00:05:36,671 --> 00:05:39,591 "an inappropriate email relationship with a student. 106 00:05:39,591 --> 00:05:42,719 "Nothing was happening. It's a big misunderstanding." 107 00:05:42,719 --> 00:05:46,097 And I believed him. 108 00:05:48,057 --> 00:05:51,686 I didn't think that he would be dumb enough 109 00:05:51,686 --> 00:05:54,188 to get involved with another student. 110 00:05:54,188 --> 00:05:57,942 I still felt like I was special... 111 00:05:57,942 --> 00:06:01,070 and I believed that it was the exception 112 00:06:01,070 --> 00:06:03,364 because I knew somewhere deep down 113 00:06:03,364 --> 00:06:06,659 that it was not okay, that I was not okay. 114 00:06:06,659 --> 00:06:13,583 ♪ ♪ 115 00:06:17,003 --> 00:06:20,131 There were many moments in college where... 116 00:06:20,131 --> 00:06:22,592 the crack started to appear. 117 00:06:24,385 --> 00:06:26,304 Once I moved to L. A. 118 00:06:26,304 --> 00:06:28,264 and we were no longer together, 119 00:06:28,264 --> 00:06:29,849 I started really seeing 120 00:06:29,849 --> 00:06:32,769 that this thing might not have been okay. 121 00:06:34,187 --> 00:06:37,065 The real turning point was... 122 00:06:37,065 --> 00:06:39,150 a friend of mine 123 00:06:39,150 --> 00:06:41,903 from Little Elm... 124 00:06:41,903 --> 00:06:43,780 called me. 125 00:06:45,490 --> 00:06:47,367 As we were talking, 126 00:06:47,367 --> 00:06:49,911 I made the decision to be honest 127 00:06:49,911 --> 00:06:53,956 about my relationship with him for the first time. 128 00:06:53,956 --> 00:06:56,084 And so I said to them, 129 00:06:56,084 --> 00:06:58,961 "I want to tell you something that I've never told anybody, 130 00:06:58,961 --> 00:07:02,048 "and it has to do with him. 131 00:07:02,048 --> 00:07:04,425 "I was in... 132 00:07:04,425 --> 00:07:07,720 "a relationship with him, 133 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,765 "and it started when I was in high school. 134 00:07:10,765 --> 00:07:13,393 It started when I was 16." 135 00:07:14,894 --> 00:07:17,522 And they said, "Me too." 136 00:07:17,522 --> 00:07:22,527 ♪ ♪ 137 00:07:22,527 --> 00:07:24,862 And... [sighs] 138 00:07:24,862 --> 00:07:31,744 ♪ ♪ 139 00:07:35,873 --> 00:07:37,750 [inhales sharply] 140 00:07:39,836 --> 00:07:42,004 Sorry. 141 00:07:42,004 --> 00:07:44,006 [sighs] 142 00:07:44,006 --> 00:07:46,759 ♪ ♪ 143 00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:48,511 I think that was the first time 144 00:07:48,511 --> 00:07:52,432 that I was able to actually see myself... 145 00:07:54,016 --> 00:07:56,060 As a kid. 146 00:07:56,060 --> 00:07:59,939 [videotape rewinding] 147 00:07:59,939 --> 00:08:01,482 [indistinct chatter] 148 00:08:01,482 --> 00:08:03,901 Everything came into question. 149 00:08:03,901 --> 00:08:07,238 [tape rewinding] 150 00:08:07,238 --> 00:08:09,157 And suddenly I realized, like, 151 00:08:09,157 --> 00:08:11,284 "He wasn't just doing this to me. 152 00:08:11,284 --> 00:08:13,661 "He was doing this to me, 153 00:08:13,661 --> 00:08:17,039 and he was doing this to someone else." 154 00:08:17,039 --> 00:08:19,375 And then I remembered that when we were together, 155 00:08:19,375 --> 00:08:20,835 he was fired, 156 00:08:20,835 --> 00:08:23,504 which then I was like, "Jesus Christ, Cheryl." 157 00:08:23,504 --> 00:08:27,508 And it was like I suddenly became an adult. 158 00:08:27,508 --> 00:08:29,802 ♪ ♪ 159 00:08:29,802 --> 00:08:31,763 He's gotten just to go on with his life, 160 00:08:31,763 --> 00:08:34,599 and I have had to do the hard work 161 00:08:34,599 --> 00:08:37,101 of rewriting myself. 162 00:08:38,686 --> 00:08:41,814 I mean, that was my entire adolescence. 163 00:08:41,814 --> 00:08:43,858 In those years, those were my formative years, 164 00:08:43,858 --> 00:08:45,276 and they're gone. 165 00:08:45,276 --> 00:08:47,528 I'll never get them back. 166 00:08:47,528 --> 00:08:49,614 [sniffles] 167 00:09:10,551 --> 00:09:13,846 - Remember how we were looking for, like, recent cases? 168 00:09:13,846 --> 00:09:15,139 - Uh-huh. 169 00:09:15,139 --> 00:09:16,390 - This young woman, Heaven, 170 00:09:16,390 --> 00:09:19,811 back in 2016... 171 00:09:19,811 --> 00:09:22,146 she came forward about her teacher. 172 00:09:22,146 --> 00:09:24,107 This news clip says that the state 173 00:09:24,107 --> 00:09:26,400 is filing criminal charges against him 174 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,112 but the case has been pushed and pushed and pushed. 175 00:09:29,112 --> 00:09:31,572 - Another delay in the case of a former teacher 176 00:09:31,572 --> 00:09:33,950 accused of having sex with an underage student. 177 00:09:33,950 --> 00:09:36,661 Jason Meyers was arrested more than five years ago, 178 00:09:36,661 --> 00:09:39,288 but he has not faced a jury yet. 179 00:09:39,288 --> 00:09:41,666 - The entire world has to blow up 180 00:09:41,666 --> 00:09:43,876 if a person comes forward to talk about it. 181 00:09:43,876 --> 00:09:45,378 - Mm-hmm. - Do you know what I'm saying? 182 00:09:45,378 --> 00:09:46,671 Like, it's crazy. 183 00:09:46,671 --> 00:09:49,215 - Yeah, but the crazy thing about this story 184 00:09:49,215 --> 00:09:52,760 is that her teacher, this guy Jason Meyers-- 185 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:54,637 multiple people have alleged 186 00:09:54,637 --> 00:09:56,472 that Jason Meyers has done this. 187 00:09:56,472 --> 00:09:58,015 - Yeah, I mean, I'm curious, 188 00:09:58,015 --> 00:10:00,893 like, why the trial's being held up. 189 00:10:00,893 --> 00:10:03,062 - Mm-hmm. - It's now set for July. 190 00:10:03,062 --> 00:10:05,690 - Yeah. - Is it gonna happen? 191 00:10:05,690 --> 00:10:07,191 - I don't know. 192 00:10:07,191 --> 00:10:10,236 I mean, we should try and get in contact with her. 193 00:10:18,452 --> 00:10:20,329 - [chuckles] Hi, can you hear me? 194 00:10:20,329 --> 00:10:22,290 - Yeah, I can. 195 00:10:22,290 --> 00:10:24,375 Crazy meeting this way. - I know. 196 00:10:24,375 --> 00:10:26,169 How are you feeling? 197 00:10:28,546 --> 00:10:29,839 - A little overwhelmed. 198 00:10:29,839 --> 00:10:32,717 [both laugh] 199 00:10:32,717 --> 00:10:34,552 It's one of those days. 200 00:10:34,552 --> 00:10:38,139 - I'm very interested to hear about your experience 201 00:10:38,139 --> 00:10:40,308 moving through the legal system. 202 00:10:40,308 --> 00:10:43,686 What made you decide to press charges, 203 00:10:43,686 --> 00:10:47,273 or, like, what made you decide to do this? 204 00:10:47,273 --> 00:10:51,027 - Yeah, I didn't really have 205 00:10:51,027 --> 00:10:52,778 much of an option. 206 00:10:52,778 --> 00:10:54,739 Since I was 17, 207 00:10:54,739 --> 00:10:57,325 I'm pretty sure my parents made that decision. 208 00:10:57,325 --> 00:10:59,493 I just remember 209 00:10:59,493 --> 00:11:01,913 being called in to talk with the police 210 00:11:01,913 --> 00:11:04,290 and then finding out, like, the next day 211 00:11:04,290 --> 00:11:06,334 that he had been arrested that night. 212 00:11:06,334 --> 00:11:09,462 - Was there a point where it transferred 213 00:11:09,462 --> 00:11:11,547 from being maybe your parents' choice 214 00:11:11,547 --> 00:11:13,716 to your choice? 215 00:11:13,716 --> 00:11:15,760 - Definitely. 216 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,889 I felt like I had lost a lot, 217 00:11:19,889 --> 00:11:22,308 like I'd lost... 218 00:11:22,308 --> 00:11:25,436 a normal experience in high school. 219 00:11:25,436 --> 00:11:27,855 I'd lost a lot of my friends, 220 00:11:27,855 --> 00:11:31,442 and hearing the defense attorneys 221 00:11:31,442 --> 00:11:33,527 talk about me on the news 222 00:11:33,527 --> 00:11:34,987 like I was making it all up 223 00:11:34,987 --> 00:11:39,283 or pursuing this for the wrong reasons, 224 00:11:39,283 --> 00:11:41,535 I was just like, "No. 225 00:11:41,535 --> 00:11:44,205 "You're not gonna be the only one to have a say 226 00:11:44,205 --> 00:11:45,498 "in how this goes. 227 00:11:45,498 --> 00:11:47,792 "And you're not gonna be the one to dictate, 228 00:11:47,792 --> 00:11:50,461 "like, how I get closure from this, 229 00:11:50,461 --> 00:11:53,464 how I'm able to move on from it." 230 00:11:53,464 --> 00:11:54,840 And if I dropped the charges, 231 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,843 I thought that he might go back to teaching. 232 00:11:57,843 --> 00:12:00,304 At one point, I was like, "Okay, I'm in this. 233 00:12:00,304 --> 00:12:02,390 "Like, it's been my life 234 00:12:02,390 --> 00:12:06,978 and I'm just gonna take it as far as I can." 235 00:12:06,978 --> 00:12:09,188 It's kind of where I am now, I guess. 236 00:12:09,188 --> 00:12:12,775 - I have so many similar things. 237 00:12:12,775 --> 00:12:14,360 - Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah. 238 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,529 - Let's find a time to meet, 239 00:12:16,529 --> 00:12:19,448 and let's do it, if that works for you. 240 00:12:19,448 --> 00:12:21,325 - Okay. Yeah, I'd love to. - Okay. 241 00:12:21,325 --> 00:12:23,744 I can't wait to meet you face-to-face. 242 00:12:23,744 --> 00:12:26,706 [dramatic music] 243 00:12:26,706 --> 00:12:31,168 ♪ ♪ 244 00:12:31,168 --> 00:12:32,920 [vehicle doors opening] - All right, Golda. 245 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:35,756 ♪ ♪ 246 00:12:35,756 --> 00:12:38,009 - Good boy. 247 00:12:38,009 --> 00:12:39,719 - You got him? - Yeah. 248 00:12:39,719 --> 00:12:40,845 - All right. 249 00:12:40,845 --> 00:12:44,765 ♪ ♪ 250 00:12:44,765 --> 00:12:47,893 - Factory part two. - Yeah. 251 00:12:47,893 --> 00:12:49,979 - [clicks tongue] 252 00:12:49,979 --> 00:12:52,356 - I feel like I'm out of options. 253 00:12:52,356 --> 00:12:55,818 I feel like... 254 00:12:55,818 --> 00:13:00,114 I don't know how to make people listen... 255 00:13:00,114 --> 00:13:02,742 and this is... 256 00:13:02,742 --> 00:13:06,037 scary and vulnerable... 257 00:13:06,037 --> 00:13:08,706 and I'm happy to do it. 258 00:13:08,706 --> 00:13:10,166 - Watch your step. 259 00:13:10,166 --> 00:13:12,209 [clicks tongue] 260 00:13:12,209 --> 00:13:14,462 - When I was 17, 261 00:13:14,462 --> 00:13:17,715 I was abused by my English teacher, 262 00:13:17,715 --> 00:13:20,468 Jason Meyers. 263 00:13:20,468 --> 00:13:24,055 Criminal charges were filed against Jason Meyers 264 00:13:24,055 --> 00:13:25,931 in 2016. 265 00:13:25,931 --> 00:13:28,351 We have not gone to trial, 266 00:13:28,351 --> 00:13:31,645 and really the defense strategy has been 267 00:13:31,645 --> 00:13:33,898 to kick the can down the road 268 00:13:33,898 --> 00:13:36,484 until I give up... 269 00:13:36,484 --> 00:13:38,110 because if I don't show... 270 00:13:40,279 --> 00:13:42,198 The state doesn't have a case. 271 00:13:42,198 --> 00:13:44,450 ♪ ♪ 272 00:13:44,450 --> 00:13:47,912 Lived in Miami my whole life before going to college. 273 00:13:47,912 --> 00:13:50,498 I grew up in Cutler Bay. 274 00:13:50,498 --> 00:13:54,752 It's a working-class town in Miami. 275 00:13:54,752 --> 00:13:56,170 Growing up, it felt magical. 276 00:13:56,170 --> 00:13:58,047 There was always things to find outside, 277 00:13:58,047 --> 00:14:00,633 things to explore. 278 00:14:00,633 --> 00:14:04,637 For a while, it really was this paradise. 279 00:14:04,637 --> 00:14:08,516 I have such great memories with my family 280 00:14:08,516 --> 00:14:10,768 and my abuela, in particular. 281 00:14:13,062 --> 00:14:14,897 [sighs] 282 00:14:14,897 --> 00:14:17,108 So this one 283 00:14:17,108 --> 00:14:20,903 and this one... 284 00:14:20,903 --> 00:14:23,155 are of my abuela. 285 00:14:23,155 --> 00:14:24,615 She... 286 00:14:24,615 --> 00:14:27,076 So her and my grandfather 287 00:14:27,076 --> 00:14:30,663 came to Miami from Cuba 288 00:14:30,663 --> 00:14:34,125 when they were, like, 13 or 14. 289 00:14:34,125 --> 00:14:37,253 She passed away when I was eight, 290 00:14:37,253 --> 00:14:40,214 and I think up until that point in my life, 291 00:14:40,214 --> 00:14:43,592 she was the person I spent most of my time with. 292 00:14:43,592 --> 00:14:46,929 We would listen to music, and we'd be cooking all day. 293 00:14:46,929 --> 00:14:49,640 And so it would just be her and I singing and dancing 294 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,935 around her one-bedroom home. 295 00:14:54,562 --> 00:14:57,189 I miss her. 296 00:14:57,189 --> 00:15:00,818 After my grandmother passed away... 297 00:15:00,818 --> 00:15:02,945 I grew really close to my dad. 298 00:15:04,321 --> 00:15:08,576 Growing up, my dad always told me... 299 00:15:08,576 --> 00:15:11,579 the right thing to do isn't always easy, 300 00:15:11,579 --> 00:15:13,998 but it's always right. 301 00:15:13,998 --> 00:15:16,417 And I feel like this is one of those things. 302 00:15:16,417 --> 00:15:19,044 ♪ ♪ 303 00:15:19,044 --> 00:15:22,715 Through the criminal case and that investigation, 304 00:15:22,715 --> 00:15:27,178 I learned that this wasn't, like, one bad actor. 305 00:15:27,178 --> 00:15:31,348 It wasn't two or three. 306 00:15:31,348 --> 00:15:35,519 It was a very systemic issue. 307 00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:37,730 ♪ ♪ 308 00:15:37,730 --> 00:15:41,275 I want accountability. 309 00:15:41,275 --> 00:15:44,069 I felt like if I sued the school board, 310 00:15:44,069 --> 00:15:47,489 it would cause good trouble... 311 00:15:47,489 --> 00:15:49,867 in that we'd go to trial, 312 00:15:49,867 --> 00:15:53,829 and we'd put it all out there for people to see. 313 00:15:53,829 --> 00:15:57,917 And the people that have contributed to this 314 00:15:57,917 --> 00:15:59,919 won't have anywhere to hide. 315 00:16:19,438 --> 00:16:22,274 [indistinct chatter, laughter] 316 00:16:28,656 --> 00:16:30,991 - When I'm prepping to go to trial, 317 00:16:30,991 --> 00:16:33,410 I have to travel from Seattle to Miami 318 00:16:33,410 --> 00:16:36,330 for the criminal court case. 319 00:16:36,330 --> 00:16:39,458 That's been, like, pre-decided by the judge. 320 00:16:41,418 --> 00:16:43,796 It's disruptive in my life. 321 00:16:43,796 --> 00:16:46,173 I have to schedule time off. 322 00:16:46,173 --> 00:16:48,550 I have to onboard new members on my team. 323 00:16:48,550 --> 00:16:50,010 And everyone's like, 324 00:16:50,010 --> 00:16:51,762 "Okay, whatever you need, we got you." 325 00:16:51,762 --> 00:16:56,267 We prep, it doesn't happen, and, like, it just restarts. 326 00:16:56,267 --> 00:16:59,186 [dramatic music] 327 00:16:59,186 --> 00:17:03,107 ♪ ♪ 328 00:17:03,107 --> 00:17:05,484 Palmetto is in Pinecrest. 329 00:17:05,484 --> 00:17:08,904 Pinecrest is a very wealthy town 330 00:17:08,904 --> 00:17:10,781 in Miami. 331 00:17:10,781 --> 00:17:13,617 Million-dollar homes, 332 00:17:13,617 --> 00:17:16,620 everyone drives a Mercedes kind of a thing, 333 00:17:16,620 --> 00:17:20,416 and the schools I was originally zoned for 334 00:17:20,416 --> 00:17:23,252 were lower-grade school. 335 00:17:23,252 --> 00:17:26,880 So my mom had me transferred through a program 336 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,925 that was running at the time into Miami Palmetto Senior. 337 00:17:32,219 --> 00:17:35,889 This is Pinecrest Gardens. 338 00:17:35,889 --> 00:17:38,642 We used to have... [turn signal clicking] 339 00:17:38,642 --> 00:17:40,436 The poetry nights here. 340 00:17:42,563 --> 00:17:44,315 I feel like there were definitely times 341 00:17:44,315 --> 00:17:48,861 where we had just a packed audience. 342 00:17:48,861 --> 00:17:51,238 ♪ ♪ 343 00:17:51,238 --> 00:17:54,199 When I first started at Palmetto, 344 00:17:54,199 --> 00:17:55,868 when I was a freshman, 345 00:17:55,868 --> 00:17:59,163 he was teaching ninth-grade English class. 346 00:17:59,163 --> 00:18:01,206 His wife also taught at the school, 347 00:18:01,206 --> 00:18:04,251 and she was my ninth-grade English teacher. 348 00:18:04,251 --> 00:18:06,712 ♪ ♪ 349 00:18:06,712 --> 00:18:09,256 And so I started going to poetry nights. 350 00:18:09,256 --> 00:18:12,801 He, Mr. Meyers, would organize the poetry nights. 351 00:18:12,801 --> 00:18:18,807 ♪ ♪ 352 00:18:18,807 --> 00:18:23,187 I was the most vulnerable here that I'd, like, ever been. 353 00:18:23,187 --> 00:18:25,981 I felt safe here. I would read my poetry here. 354 00:18:25,981 --> 00:18:30,027 And knowing now 355 00:18:30,027 --> 00:18:32,780 that during that time, he was listening to my words 356 00:18:32,780 --> 00:18:37,660 and thinking about how something about me 357 00:18:37,660 --> 00:18:41,246 made him feel like he could target me.... 358 00:18:42,790 --> 00:18:44,875 He was listening with a different ear 359 00:18:44,875 --> 00:18:46,835 than everyone else was. 360 00:18:46,835 --> 00:18:49,546 ♪ ♪ 361 00:18:49,546 --> 00:18:52,966 You know, and this is where he asked me to be in his class, 362 00:18:52,966 --> 00:18:56,178 and that's, like, a really sick memory 363 00:18:56,178 --> 00:18:57,721 of mine now. 364 00:18:57,721 --> 00:19:00,516 ♪ ♪ 365 00:19:00,516 --> 00:19:02,643 So, yeah, it just feels different. 366 00:19:10,025 --> 00:19:12,111 [voice breaking] It's so hard to come back home. 367 00:19:14,029 --> 00:19:20,911 ♪ ♪ 368 00:19:22,496 --> 00:19:26,500 I had been reading and singing at these poetry nights. 369 00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:29,461 The end of my junior year, 370 00:19:29,461 --> 00:19:32,464 he comes up to me, and he says, 371 00:19:32,464 --> 00:19:34,091 "You know, I would really like for you to be 372 00:19:34,091 --> 00:19:36,677 in my creative-writing class." 373 00:19:36,677 --> 00:19:41,473 And I was like, "Oh, awesome, because I love to do this, 374 00:19:41,473 --> 00:19:43,517 "and, like, everyone complains 375 00:19:43,517 --> 00:19:45,185 "that he's such a strict teacher, 376 00:19:45,185 --> 00:19:46,770 but he wants me to be in his class. 377 00:19:46,770 --> 00:19:49,148 He thinks I'm a good writer." 378 00:19:49,148 --> 00:19:51,275 So I was excited, but I told him, 379 00:19:51,275 --> 00:19:54,528 "We've already turned in our paperwork for which electives, 380 00:19:54,528 --> 00:19:56,530 "so I don't know that I'll be able to be put in your class. 381 00:19:56,530 --> 00:19:58,282 I didn't write creative writing down." 382 00:19:58,282 --> 00:20:01,118 ♪ ♪ 383 00:20:01,118 --> 00:20:03,662 And so he emailed my counselor, 384 00:20:03,662 --> 00:20:06,540 asking that I be switched into his class. 385 00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:08,751 And within a few days, 386 00:20:08,751 --> 00:20:11,170 I was switched into his creative-writing class 387 00:20:11,170 --> 00:20:14,423 and his AP literature class. 388 00:20:16,216 --> 00:20:17,926 I thought... 389 00:20:17,926 --> 00:20:20,137 nobody knew who he really was. 390 00:20:20,137 --> 00:20:23,223 Everyone that was talking about how mean 391 00:20:23,223 --> 00:20:25,267 or, you know, strict he was, 392 00:20:25,267 --> 00:20:27,644 I was, like, "You really just have to give him a chance 393 00:20:27,644 --> 00:20:29,104 because he does care." 394 00:20:30,856 --> 00:20:33,275 And so I didn't really pay attention 395 00:20:33,275 --> 00:20:36,028 to the criticisms that I'd heard. 396 00:20:38,197 --> 00:20:41,450 I wish I could go back 397 00:20:41,450 --> 00:20:43,327 and tell her to run. 398 00:20:43,327 --> 00:20:47,080 ♪ ♪ 399 00:20:53,170 --> 00:20:55,839 - Once I started this documentary 400 00:20:55,839 --> 00:20:58,592 and I remembered that the teacher 401 00:20:58,592 --> 00:21:00,886 was fired in Utah, 402 00:21:00,886 --> 00:21:05,307 what I realized is, abusers who aren't stopped 403 00:21:05,307 --> 00:21:08,477 continue to abuse. 404 00:21:08,477 --> 00:21:10,687 I figured out who the person was, 405 00:21:10,687 --> 00:21:11,939 and I reached out to her, 406 00:21:11,939 --> 00:21:16,068 and, sure enough, he was actually engaging 407 00:21:16,068 --> 00:21:20,864 in a similar grooming pattern via email that he was with me. 408 00:21:20,864 --> 00:21:23,909 In fact, the emails were almost identical. 409 00:21:25,953 --> 00:21:28,622 "Dear Utah, okay, first of all, 410 00:21:28,622 --> 00:21:29,832 "you have every right in the world 411 00:21:29,832 --> 00:21:31,708 to vent about blank to me." 412 00:21:31,708 --> 00:21:35,295 - "Okay, first of all"... - "Okay, first of all"... 413 00:21:35,295 --> 00:21:37,881 - "Why are you so scared to write me?" 414 00:21:37,881 --> 00:21:39,550 Remember? - Mm-hmm. 415 00:21:39,550 --> 00:21:41,009 Exactly the same. 416 00:21:56,525 --> 00:21:59,444 "Okay, sweetie, I'm excited to see you tomorrow. 417 00:21:59,444 --> 00:22:01,989 "I hope you're happy and that your weekend was great. 418 00:22:01,989 --> 00:22:03,615 Take care, dear." 419 00:22:05,367 --> 00:22:08,745 These almost identical words to her 420 00:22:08,745 --> 00:22:10,998 really solidified that this 421 00:22:10,998 --> 00:22:13,458 was not something that I was a part of, 422 00:22:13,458 --> 00:22:15,919 it was something that was done to me. 423 00:22:15,919 --> 00:22:20,591 One of his tactics is to... 424 00:22:20,591 --> 00:22:23,468 coach her with her boyfriend 425 00:22:23,468 --> 00:22:27,639 so that he can teach her how to be a lover for him. 426 00:22:40,277 --> 00:22:43,697 "And if the girl likes it that way, she's that much sexier. 427 00:22:43,697 --> 00:22:46,408 "Of course, you poor dear, you only get it 428 00:22:46,408 --> 00:22:49,620 "for a couple of minutes because no guy can last long 429 00:22:49,620 --> 00:22:52,164 when he's really loving something." 430 00:22:52,164 --> 00:22:54,374 ♪ ♪ 431 00:22:54,374 --> 00:22:58,170 - "See you at school tomorrow." - "See you at school." 432 00:22:58,170 --> 00:23:02,424 ♪ ♪ 433 00:23:02,424 --> 00:23:05,677 I think the sad part about this is that... 434 00:23:05,677 --> 00:23:08,639 this all could have been stopped at Little Elm, but... 435 00:23:11,725 --> 00:23:13,143 It wasn't. 436 00:23:15,145 --> 00:23:18,815 There was a system that allowed this to happen. 437 00:23:18,815 --> 00:23:21,777 There was a system that didn't stop the teacher 438 00:23:21,777 --> 00:23:24,613 from leaving Little Elm 439 00:23:24,613 --> 00:23:26,865 and going to another school. 440 00:23:26,865 --> 00:23:28,909 At every point he could have been stopped, 441 00:23:28,909 --> 00:23:31,161 someone made the decision to do the easier thing, 442 00:23:31,161 --> 00:23:32,913 which was to pass it on. 443 00:23:32,913 --> 00:23:34,456 And that's the problem-- 444 00:23:34,456 --> 00:23:36,667 the system lacks the courage 445 00:23:36,667 --> 00:23:40,170 to hold these people accountable. 446 00:23:40,170 --> 00:23:41,588 To me, 447 00:23:41,588 --> 00:23:45,592 that seemed like the first place to start 448 00:23:45,592 --> 00:23:50,305 in trying to understand how this happens. 449 00:24:09,282 --> 00:24:11,827 [dramatic music] 450 00:24:11,827 --> 00:24:13,120 [computer chimes] 451 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,080 - "It was an English teacher at mine. 452 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:16,623 "He was the 'cool teacher' 453 00:24:16,623 --> 00:24:18,625 "that kids hung out with at lunch. 454 00:24:18,625 --> 00:24:20,836 "Turns out he was dating a student. 455 00:24:20,836 --> 00:24:22,879 He 'quit.'" 456 00:24:22,879 --> 00:24:24,464 [computer chimes] 457 00:24:24,464 --> 00:24:25,882 - "He was caught in his classroom 458 00:24:25,882 --> 00:24:27,676 "during school hours raping a girl. 459 00:24:27,676 --> 00:24:29,469 "She was 15. 460 00:24:29,469 --> 00:24:31,430 "He left at the end of the year 461 00:24:31,430 --> 00:24:33,098 with no consequences." 462 00:24:33,098 --> 00:24:34,891 [computer chimes] 463 00:24:34,891 --> 00:24:36,560 - "It took getting kids drunk 464 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:39,938 "and then kissing a 16-year-old to get fired. 465 00:24:39,938 --> 00:24:44,359 Just quietly fired, no police, nothing." 466 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,155 [upbeat music] 467 00:24:48,155 --> 00:24:49,990 - When Cheryl and I started this, 468 00:24:49,990 --> 00:24:53,326 we didn't know how deep this went. 469 00:24:53,326 --> 00:24:57,372 If somebody had reported her teacher 470 00:24:57,372 --> 00:24:59,875 in her high school, 471 00:24:59,875 --> 00:25:02,127 he wouldn't have gone on 472 00:25:02,127 --> 00:25:05,714 to then groom another girl in a different state. 473 00:25:05,714 --> 00:25:08,216 Couple Google searches later, 474 00:25:08,216 --> 00:25:11,053 Cheryl and I found crazy amounts of information 475 00:25:11,053 --> 00:25:14,264 on "passing the trash." 476 00:25:14,264 --> 00:25:17,601 "Passing the trash" is a practice 477 00:25:17,601 --> 00:25:21,938 done by school administrations where predatory teachers 478 00:25:21,938 --> 00:25:25,942 are able to wiggle out of the justice system. 479 00:25:25,942 --> 00:25:30,238 The school administrations simply allow them to resign. 480 00:25:30,238 --> 00:25:31,990 They get a free pass, and they do it again 481 00:25:31,990 --> 00:25:34,868 when they go to the next school. 482 00:25:34,868 --> 00:25:37,412 It's similar to what happens in the Catholic Church, 483 00:25:37,412 --> 00:25:40,540 where priests are passed from diocese to diocese. 484 00:25:40,540 --> 00:25:42,501 And the statistic 485 00:25:42,501 --> 00:25:45,295 is that a teacher will be passed three times 486 00:25:45,295 --> 00:25:48,298 before they're reported and arrested. 487 00:25:50,092 --> 00:25:52,886 When we were looking into the Heaven Rubin case, 488 00:25:52,886 --> 00:25:54,346 we started watching 489 00:25:54,346 --> 00:25:56,973 all of these news clips of Jason Meyers, 490 00:25:56,973 --> 00:25:59,017 and a lot of the coverage of his arrest 491 00:25:59,017 --> 00:26:01,186 focused on the community reaction. 492 00:26:01,186 --> 00:26:04,064 - The community concerned and trying to get the word out 493 00:26:04,064 --> 00:26:06,149 about the alarming allegations tonight. 494 00:26:06,149 --> 00:26:08,610 - Everyone here at Palmetto High is shocked. 495 00:26:08,610 --> 00:26:10,529 We are told by student after student 496 00:26:10,529 --> 00:26:12,572 that Jason Meyers was not only popular, 497 00:26:12,572 --> 00:26:14,449 but he was a really good teacher, at that. 498 00:26:14,449 --> 00:26:16,576 His arrest stunned parents, too. 499 00:26:18,078 --> 00:26:20,372 - Hi, Terri. 500 00:26:20,372 --> 00:26:22,499 - Hi Cheryl. 501 00:26:22,499 --> 00:26:24,751 - Terri, do you know 502 00:26:24,751 --> 00:26:27,462 about the case with Heaven Rubin? 503 00:26:27,462 --> 00:26:29,548 - Yes. 504 00:26:29,548 --> 00:26:33,009 You know, I read so many of these, 505 00:26:33,009 --> 00:26:36,096 and they're all basically the same, 506 00:26:36,096 --> 00:26:40,225 where a teacher has been allowed to perpetrate 507 00:26:40,225 --> 00:26:43,228 against students for a number of years. 508 00:26:43,228 --> 00:26:46,523 It goes unchecked. It goes unreported. 509 00:26:46,523 --> 00:26:50,068 More victims and more victims... 510 00:26:50,068 --> 00:26:52,445 and this is the problem. 511 00:26:52,445 --> 00:26:55,657 "Passing the trash" is something I've known about 512 00:26:55,657 --> 00:26:59,661 and tried to prevent since 1995. 513 00:26:59,661 --> 00:27:02,747 It is essentially the aiding and abetting 514 00:27:02,747 --> 00:27:05,375 of a child sexual predator. 515 00:27:05,375 --> 00:27:08,587 [dramatic music] 516 00:27:08,587 --> 00:27:11,548 - Jason Meyers was at Krop High School, 517 00:27:11,548 --> 00:27:13,717 oh, about nine years. 518 00:27:13,717 --> 00:27:15,510 He was highly acclaimed. 519 00:27:15,510 --> 00:27:17,053 He was in charge 520 00:27:17,053 --> 00:27:20,432 of the Literature Club. 521 00:27:20,432 --> 00:27:23,101 And they went on, you know, a number of field trips 522 00:27:23,101 --> 00:27:26,563 to various places like New York and Washington, 523 00:27:26,563 --> 00:27:31,651 apparently where he was able to be a chaperone. 524 00:27:31,651 --> 00:27:33,904 - You know, it's very common 525 00:27:33,904 --> 00:27:37,866 for perpetrators to be vanguards of the school, 526 00:27:37,866 --> 00:27:41,703 to be award-winning teachers or coaches. 527 00:27:41,703 --> 00:27:44,873 But the only ones who know the monster 528 00:27:44,873 --> 00:27:48,084 are the victims themselves. 529 00:27:48,084 --> 00:27:49,753 - At the time that I met Heaven, 530 00:27:49,753 --> 00:27:51,421 I was actually representing 531 00:27:51,421 --> 00:27:53,798 a former classmate of hers 532 00:27:53,798 --> 00:27:55,967 who was also groomed and sexually abused 533 00:27:55,967 --> 00:27:58,094 by Jason Meyers. 534 00:27:58,094 --> 00:28:01,264 Prior to his conduct with Heaven, 535 00:28:01,264 --> 00:28:04,684 Jason Meyers was hired to teach at Krop High School, 536 00:28:04,684 --> 00:28:07,437 and based upon the investigation that was done 537 00:28:07,437 --> 00:28:09,397 and that I built upon, 538 00:28:09,397 --> 00:28:12,442 he started preying upon girls early. 539 00:28:12,442 --> 00:28:14,736 ♪ ♪ 540 00:28:14,736 --> 00:28:18,114 - There was an email that was sent to the principal 541 00:28:18,114 --> 00:28:20,200 that something was going on. 542 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,621 ♪ ♪ 543 00:28:24,621 --> 00:28:27,082 - And this man who wrote the email 544 00:28:27,082 --> 00:28:28,333 said he had heard a rumor 545 00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:30,126 that there were teachers in the school 546 00:28:30,126 --> 00:28:32,504 competing to see who could have sex 547 00:28:32,504 --> 00:28:35,674 with the most girls before they graduated. 548 00:28:35,674 --> 00:28:37,926 The school board was put on notice 549 00:28:37,926 --> 00:28:40,387 in September, 2008. 550 00:28:40,387 --> 00:28:44,474 And then in 2010, a friend of another victim 551 00:28:44,474 --> 00:28:46,935 went to the assistant principal 552 00:28:46,935 --> 00:28:51,231 and said, "Sir, my teacher, Mr. Meyers, 553 00:28:51,231 --> 00:28:54,651 he had sex with my classmate on the school trip." 554 00:28:54,651 --> 00:28:58,989 The only person they interview is Jason Meyers. 555 00:28:58,989 --> 00:29:03,660 - In every state, there are mandated reporting laws 556 00:29:03,660 --> 00:29:06,413 pertaining to child abuse and neglect. 557 00:29:06,413 --> 00:29:08,331 - So, if there's a suspected case, 558 00:29:08,331 --> 00:29:10,542 that would need to be reported 559 00:29:10,542 --> 00:29:13,503 under the sort of mandatory reporting laws? 560 00:29:13,503 --> 00:29:15,880 - Correct, but they're not doing that. 561 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,967 95% of cases 562 00:29:18,967 --> 00:29:21,219 of educator sexual misconduct 563 00:29:21,219 --> 00:29:23,596 are not getting reported to law enforcement 564 00:29:23,596 --> 00:29:25,557 as they should. 565 00:29:25,557 --> 00:29:28,518 That means that administrators 566 00:29:28,518 --> 00:29:32,689 and the perpetrators are negotiating a way out. 567 00:29:32,689 --> 00:29:35,400 ♪ ♪ 568 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:36,985 - The question remains, 569 00:29:36,985 --> 00:29:41,614 why was he allowed to transfer to Palmetto 570 00:29:41,614 --> 00:29:44,492 and then continue having sexual relations 571 00:29:44,492 --> 00:29:47,120 with girls at Palmetto? 572 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:49,456 Meyers was allowed to transfer. 573 00:29:49,456 --> 00:29:52,042 Superintendent Alberto Carvallo 574 00:29:52,042 --> 00:29:55,920 himself did not supposedly make the declaration 575 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,797 that he was able to transfer, 576 00:29:57,797 --> 00:30:00,341 but that department that handles, 577 00:30:00,341 --> 00:30:02,343 you know, school district personnel transfers 578 00:30:02,343 --> 00:30:05,513 had recommended that his transfer be approved 579 00:30:05,513 --> 00:30:07,974 Alberto Carvallo plays the part well, 580 00:30:07,974 --> 00:30:09,851 but it's all about money. 581 00:30:09,851 --> 00:30:11,394 You know, we have a school system 582 00:30:11,394 --> 00:30:14,189 where bad things don't happen. 583 00:30:14,189 --> 00:30:15,940 That way they can get, 584 00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:19,569 you know, more money from the state or the feds. 585 00:30:19,569 --> 00:30:22,072 - For those have worked within the school district, 586 00:30:22,072 --> 00:30:24,324 we call it a mafia, 587 00:30:24,324 --> 00:30:27,077 Miami-Dade County Public Schools-- 588 00:30:27,077 --> 00:30:29,537 they don't like a snitch. 589 00:30:29,537 --> 00:30:31,122 "Stay silent. 590 00:30:31,122 --> 00:30:33,708 You want to keep your job, look the other way." 591 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:35,794 - It's a failure on the part of the district, 592 00:30:35,794 --> 00:30:37,962 from the superintendent to the school board 593 00:30:37,962 --> 00:30:41,216 to the principals involved. 594 00:30:41,216 --> 00:30:43,176 - Jason Meyers was now 595 00:30:43,176 --> 00:30:45,136 a creative-writing and English teacher 596 00:30:45,136 --> 00:30:47,222 at Palmetto High School, 597 00:30:47,222 --> 00:30:49,933 which is where Heaven went to school. 598 00:30:49,933 --> 00:30:53,269 How can you take the position 599 00:30:53,269 --> 00:30:57,273 that you have no idea that there's a potential risk, 600 00:30:57,273 --> 00:30:59,192 when you, yourself, the faculty, 601 00:30:59,192 --> 00:31:00,902 the administration, are referring 602 00:31:00,902 --> 00:31:03,947 to a group of underage girls as "Jason's girls"? 603 00:31:03,947 --> 00:31:06,407 ♪ ♪ 604 00:31:06,407 --> 00:31:09,744 The system is broken, and it needs to change. 605 00:31:09,744 --> 00:31:12,539 And that was something that Heaven and I agreed on 606 00:31:12,539 --> 00:31:14,165 from day one, 607 00:31:14,165 --> 00:31:17,252 is that, if we're going to make a difference, 608 00:31:17,252 --> 00:31:19,546 however small, however big, 609 00:31:19,546 --> 00:31:21,297 we need to hold people accountable, 610 00:31:21,297 --> 00:31:23,424 and that's what we set out to do. 611 00:31:52,036 --> 00:31:54,289 - I might look like a crazy person on my face, 612 00:31:54,289 --> 00:31:55,456 'cause I'm just looking at you 613 00:31:55,456 --> 00:31:57,959 and thinking about how brave you are 614 00:31:57,959 --> 00:32:02,881 and also how articulate you are about what happened to you. 615 00:32:02,881 --> 00:32:07,385 Like, there was no way I was able to be articulate 616 00:32:07,385 --> 00:32:11,181 about what had happened to me when I was 23 years old. 617 00:32:11,181 --> 00:32:13,474 - It's hard to come to terms with, 618 00:32:13,474 --> 00:32:15,977 even when it's all laid out in front of you and you're like, 619 00:32:15,977 --> 00:32:17,729 "Ohl, shit, that's what that was." 620 00:32:17,729 --> 00:32:20,523 You're like-- You don't want it to be true. 621 00:32:20,523 --> 00:32:21,941 - Mm-hmm. 622 00:32:21,941 --> 00:32:25,153 - The first three years of the criminal case, 623 00:32:25,153 --> 00:32:28,239 we found, like, 10 to 13 other girls. 624 00:32:28,239 --> 00:32:31,159 And every time I learned of somebody new, 625 00:32:31,159 --> 00:32:33,953 I was immediately upset, because I was like, 626 00:32:33,953 --> 00:32:36,998 "Well, if you would've said something years ago, 627 00:32:36,998 --> 00:32:39,042 maybe I wouldn't have been in this position." 628 00:32:39,042 --> 00:32:40,585 But then going through the experience 629 00:32:40,585 --> 00:32:42,462 that I have gone through, 630 00:32:42,462 --> 00:32:45,381 like, you don't really win either way. 631 00:32:45,381 --> 00:32:48,426 There's not a right thing to do 632 00:32:48,426 --> 00:32:50,887 because of how the system is set up. 633 00:32:50,887 --> 00:32:53,097 - It seems like there's more systems in place 634 00:32:53,097 --> 00:32:56,267 to protect the person 635 00:32:56,267 --> 00:32:59,687 who inflicts the pain... 636 00:32:59,687 --> 00:33:01,689 than the person they've inflicted it on. 637 00:33:01,689 --> 00:33:04,275 - Yeah, by keeping this a secret 638 00:33:04,275 --> 00:33:06,069 by not speaking out about it, 639 00:33:06,069 --> 00:33:08,529 like, I felt like I was letting them get their way. 640 00:33:08,529 --> 00:33:10,531 Like, they can say whatever they want on the news. 641 00:33:10,531 --> 00:33:13,117 They can talk about it however they want. 642 00:33:13,117 --> 00:33:15,328 They talked about me graduating early. 643 00:33:15,328 --> 00:33:17,747 They're like, "She can't possibly be depressed. 644 00:33:17,747 --> 00:33:19,874 She graduated school early." 645 00:33:19,874 --> 00:33:24,212 Well, "She can hold a job, so she must not have anxiety." 646 00:33:24,212 --> 00:33:25,880 I felt like I had to be perfect, 647 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:30,051 but even being perfect was still... 648 00:33:30,051 --> 00:33:31,803 going to be leveraged 649 00:33:31,803 --> 00:33:34,472 in a way that it would hurt me. 650 00:33:34,472 --> 00:33:36,683 This isn't something that's talked about. 651 00:33:36,683 --> 00:33:38,726 And if it is, you get a lot more 652 00:33:38,726 --> 00:33:42,146 of the romanticized version of it than you do 653 00:33:42,146 --> 00:33:46,025 of the outcome of what it feels like, 654 00:33:46,025 --> 00:33:48,361 of what the experience of being abused is. 655 00:33:48,361 --> 00:33:49,946 Yeah. 656 00:33:49,946 --> 00:33:52,073 - I feel like there's this thing with teenage girls, 657 00:33:52,073 --> 00:33:55,326 where teenage girls are sort of seen as dangerous. 658 00:33:55,326 --> 00:33:57,537 And I think sometimes it's difficult for us 659 00:33:57,537 --> 00:34:00,540 to look at teenage girls as children... 660 00:34:00,540 --> 00:34:03,584 - Yeah. - Because they're sexualized. 661 00:34:03,584 --> 00:34:06,296 That, for me, plays into the romanticizing 662 00:34:06,296 --> 00:34:07,964 the student teacher relationships, 663 00:34:07,964 --> 00:34:11,926 'cause it's like, well, you know... 664 00:34:11,926 --> 00:34:14,762 what is taboo and sexy? 665 00:34:14,762 --> 00:34:18,641 I really want to look into that much bigger cultural problem. 666 00:34:18,641 --> 00:34:20,518 - I love that. 667 00:34:20,518 --> 00:34:22,937 - There's so many layers to the onion. 668 00:34:22,937 --> 00:34:25,898 [dramatic music] 669 00:34:25,898 --> 00:34:32,780 ♪ ♪ 670 00:34:50,882 --> 00:34:53,843 - And... - Oh, hi. I'm Cheryl. 671 00:34:53,843 --> 00:34:57,639 [laughter] - Cheryl is sneaking in. 672 00:34:57,639 --> 00:35:00,516 This is something that I know in my classes we talk about. 673 00:35:00,516 --> 00:35:03,853 I think it's undeniable that as a culture, we sexualize... 674 00:35:03,853 --> 00:35:05,688 - Absolutely. - Teen girls. 675 00:35:05,688 --> 00:35:08,149 So what I'm wondering 676 00:35:08,149 --> 00:35:12,111 is how you see this playing out in the world around you. 677 00:35:13,863 --> 00:35:16,783 - Being a young sexualized girl 678 00:35:16,783 --> 00:35:19,202 is a huge thing in the media, for sure. 679 00:35:19,202 --> 00:35:21,579 I think with a lot of, like, celebrities 680 00:35:21,579 --> 00:35:24,624 and every woman who is famous 681 00:35:24,624 --> 00:35:28,961 has to start when they're, like, 16, 17. 682 00:35:28,961 --> 00:35:31,673 - You see young girls being sexualized 683 00:35:31,673 --> 00:35:33,591 in the media so often, 684 00:35:33,591 --> 00:35:35,968 It made me feel like I was over 685 00:35:35,968 --> 00:35:38,471 the minute I wasn't a teenager anymore. 686 00:35:39,972 --> 00:35:41,557 - There's always been the idea 687 00:35:41,557 --> 00:35:43,643 that a man is the one that, like, 688 00:35:43,643 --> 00:35:46,729 expresses the sexuality of a woman. 689 00:35:46,729 --> 00:35:48,773 And basically I think the idea of the child 690 00:35:48,773 --> 00:35:51,901 is that you can have control over her. 691 00:35:51,901 --> 00:35:53,736 This should not be an okay thing 692 00:35:53,736 --> 00:35:56,989 to fantasize children and women in this way. 693 00:35:56,989 --> 00:36:00,576 ♪ ♪ 694 00:36:00,576 --> 00:36:01,828 - I think the #MeToo movement 695 00:36:01,828 --> 00:36:05,373 gave us a language that empowered us. 696 00:36:05,373 --> 00:36:07,542 This sort of new generation of teenage girls 697 00:36:07,542 --> 00:36:09,419 and girls in their 20's 698 00:36:09,419 --> 00:36:12,547 seem to have a better sense of, 699 00:36:12,547 --> 00:36:14,674 not just who they are 700 00:36:14,674 --> 00:36:16,968 but a freedom to be who they want to be, 701 00:36:16,968 --> 00:36:19,679 and I think that that gives them power over people 702 00:36:19,679 --> 00:36:21,472 who want to control them. 703 00:36:21,472 --> 00:36:24,642 ♪ ♪ 704 00:36:27,437 --> 00:36:28,855 - Okay, so what is this? 705 00:36:28,855 --> 00:36:31,816 - That is me at my high-school graduation party 706 00:36:31,816 --> 00:36:34,444 with my mother, cutting my cake. 707 00:36:34,444 --> 00:36:36,988 So that's me... 708 00:36:36,988 --> 00:36:39,907 the day before I slept with the teacher 709 00:36:39,907 --> 00:36:41,242 for the first time. 710 00:36:43,369 --> 00:36:46,622 - You're such a kid, Alisson. - I know, I know. 711 00:36:46,622 --> 00:36:48,875 - It's crazy how much of a kid you are. 712 00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:51,252 - I know. I was. 713 00:36:53,755 --> 00:36:54,964 - So the #MeToo movement 714 00:36:54,964 --> 00:36:57,091 has kind of, like, started changing 715 00:36:57,091 --> 00:36:59,051 the way we think about things, 716 00:36:59,051 --> 00:37:01,471 but something that's really important to me 717 00:37:01,471 --> 00:37:04,265 is just really getting into the nuance 718 00:37:04,265 --> 00:37:06,392 of, like, consent. 719 00:37:06,392 --> 00:37:08,519 - Yeah, I think it's great that these words 720 00:37:08,519 --> 00:37:10,146 are sort of starting to be opened up 721 00:37:10,146 --> 00:37:11,773 because it's not just, 722 00:37:11,773 --> 00:37:13,649 "Oh, well you're 18. 723 00:37:13,649 --> 00:37:15,568 It's not illegal anymore." 724 00:37:15,568 --> 00:37:16,861 You know? 725 00:37:16,861 --> 00:37:18,571 I mean, it's not that simple, 726 00:37:18,571 --> 00:37:21,282 and I think when thinking about authentic consent, 727 00:37:21,282 --> 00:37:22,992 that's where things 728 00:37:22,992 --> 00:37:25,161 like what happened to you and I fall under. 729 00:37:25,161 --> 00:37:27,413 Like, did we say yes? Yes. 730 00:37:27,413 --> 00:37:29,499 Were we of age? Yes. 731 00:37:29,499 --> 00:37:32,502 But was it authentic? No. 732 00:37:32,502 --> 00:37:34,587 And there had been such extensive grooming 733 00:37:34,587 --> 00:37:36,839 that I didn't clock it at the time, 734 00:37:36,839 --> 00:37:39,926 and also, you know, because it was a secret. 735 00:37:39,926 --> 00:37:43,471 - Yeah, I mean, and the consequences 736 00:37:43,471 --> 00:37:45,848 for us are immeasurable. 737 00:37:45,848 --> 00:37:48,309 There are things that we end up 738 00:37:48,309 --> 00:37:50,228 dealing with for our entire lives 739 00:37:50,228 --> 00:37:53,356 and being in reaction to for our entire lives, 740 00:37:53,356 --> 00:37:55,566 whether we've done the work or not. 741 00:37:55,566 --> 00:37:57,401 - My 20s were a disaster. - Mm-hmm. 742 00:37:57,401 --> 00:38:01,864 - My 20s were an utter trauma-filled disaster, 743 00:38:01,864 --> 00:38:04,700 and I can now very much trace back 744 00:38:04,700 --> 00:38:08,079 so much of it to that relationship with my teacher, 745 00:38:08,079 --> 00:38:09,705 because it was just so damaging 746 00:38:09,705 --> 00:38:12,917 in ways that I couldn't even identify or understand, so... 747 00:38:12,917 --> 00:38:14,961 And that's what trauma does. 748 00:38:14,961 --> 00:38:16,379 That's what these kinds of things do. 749 00:38:16,379 --> 00:38:18,172 And I lost my 20s. 750 00:38:18,172 --> 00:38:20,633 - Oh, I definitely did. - I didn't graduate-- 751 00:38:20,633 --> 00:38:22,301 I didn't get my bachelor's until I was 33. 752 00:38:22,301 --> 00:38:24,345 - Wow. 753 00:38:24,345 --> 00:38:26,722 Well, I'll try to say this and not cry, but... 754 00:38:26,722 --> 00:38:28,558 [both laugh] 755 00:38:28,558 --> 00:38:31,435 I had never... 756 00:38:31,435 --> 00:38:33,771 I never felt like there was anybody in the whole world 757 00:38:33,771 --> 00:38:35,356 ever in my whole life 758 00:38:35,356 --> 00:38:37,400 that understood what happened to me 759 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,402 until I read your book. 760 00:38:39,402 --> 00:38:42,822 And then I, like, totally felt seen, you know? 761 00:38:42,822 --> 00:38:44,490 - Yeah. - And then I was like, 762 00:38:44,490 --> 00:38:47,118 "How often is this happening in this exact same way 763 00:38:47,118 --> 00:38:48,619 "if it happened to me and Alisson 764 00:38:48,619 --> 00:38:51,747 in totally different worlds?" - Yeah. 765 00:38:51,747 --> 00:38:54,292 The first time I got one of those messages from a reader 766 00:38:54,292 --> 00:38:57,086 saying exactly that, I just sobbed 767 00:38:57,086 --> 00:38:59,672 because that's all that I wanted. 768 00:38:59,672 --> 00:39:01,757 Hopefully... 769 00:39:01,757 --> 00:39:04,302 we're able to show others 770 00:39:04,302 --> 00:39:07,346 that it's not a grief you're alone in. 771 00:39:07,346 --> 00:39:09,265 And I think that's really important. 772 00:39:09,265 --> 00:39:11,601 - I think so, too. 773 00:39:11,601 --> 00:39:14,562 [dramatic music] 774 00:39:14,562 --> 00:39:21,694 ♪ ♪ 775 00:39:21,694 --> 00:39:24,196 So much of my experience of the abuse 776 00:39:24,196 --> 00:39:26,616 in high school and in college 777 00:39:26,616 --> 00:39:28,492 involved a lot of isolation. 778 00:39:28,492 --> 00:39:30,745 ♪ ♪ 779 00:39:30,745 --> 00:39:33,497 And so sitting with Alisson 780 00:39:33,497 --> 00:39:36,167 just made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore. 781 00:39:36,167 --> 00:39:40,671 ♪ ♪ 782 00:39:40,671 --> 00:39:43,132 When I started out doing this documentary, 783 00:39:43,132 --> 00:39:46,802 I had hoped that he would accept responsibility for this 784 00:39:46,802 --> 00:39:49,764 or at least acknowledge what happened, 785 00:39:49,764 --> 00:39:50,890 but he didn't. 786 00:39:53,017 --> 00:39:56,812 That's the thing about being a grown man 787 00:39:56,812 --> 00:39:58,856 and abusing a child, 788 00:39:58,856 --> 00:40:01,734 is the child grows, and you stay the same. 789 00:40:01,734 --> 00:40:04,320 ♪ ♪ 790 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:05,947 And that's his choice. 791 00:40:05,947 --> 00:40:07,907 He is the person that's going to have to walk 792 00:40:07,907 --> 00:40:10,701 through the rest of his life running 793 00:40:10,701 --> 00:40:13,996 from his actions. 794 00:40:13,996 --> 00:40:16,374 ♪ ♪ 795 00:40:16,374 --> 00:40:18,417 And so this for me 796 00:40:18,417 --> 00:40:21,796 is where I stop running... 797 00:40:21,796 --> 00:40:25,675 and I just stand my ground... 798 00:40:25,675 --> 00:40:30,388 and I accept the responsibility of my own life. 799 00:40:30,388 --> 00:40:37,311 ♪ ♪ 800 00:40:46,195 --> 00:40:48,447 Okay, let me-- 801 00:40:48,447 --> 00:40:51,867 Okay, I'm gonna read you what Tom 802 00:40:51,867 --> 00:40:55,871 sent me, actually, first. 803 00:40:55,871 --> 00:40:58,124 - Okay. - Okay. 804 00:40:58,124 --> 00:41:00,209 He wrote, "How you doing old friend?" 805 00:41:00,209 --> 00:41:02,753 And I wrote "Hi. Doing pretty good." 806 00:41:02,753 --> 00:41:04,964 He goes, "Good to know you're well. 807 00:41:04,964 --> 00:41:07,800 It has been an honor," and... - Okay. 808 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:09,635 - Didn't tell me what was going on. 809 00:41:09,635 --> 00:41:13,222 Just said that he was being put on administrative leave. 810 00:41:13,222 --> 00:41:15,474 Anyway, the rumor going around right now 811 00:41:15,474 --> 00:41:17,059 is that Tom was fired for having 812 00:41:17,059 --> 00:41:19,145 some sort of an inappropriate interaction 813 00:41:19,145 --> 00:41:21,063 or interactions with students. 814 00:41:21,063 --> 00:41:24,859 Whether he's crossed a line or not, we don't know, 815 00:41:24,859 --> 00:41:27,695 but, obviously, like, if this is true, 816 00:41:27,695 --> 00:41:30,114 then I feel super betrayed. 817 00:41:30,114 --> 00:41:31,532 Do you know what I mean? - Yeah. 818 00:41:31,532 --> 00:41:35,286 - Because not that, like, I'm best friends with Tom, 819 00:41:35,286 --> 00:41:37,997 but I did give him the benefit of the doubt here, 820 00:41:37,997 --> 00:41:41,000 despite, like, the things that he said to me 821 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:42,793 that were very triggering and hurtful. 822 00:41:42,793 --> 00:41:45,504 Do you know what I'm saying? 823 00:41:45,504 --> 00:41:49,258 Like, I knew that Tom had, like, contributed 824 00:41:49,258 --> 00:41:52,720 to aspects of the grooming 825 00:41:52,720 --> 00:41:54,472 that I felt. 826 00:41:54,472 --> 00:41:56,057 I just didn't believe-- 827 00:41:56,057 --> 00:41:57,391 or maybe I didn't want to believe-- 828 00:41:57,391 --> 00:41:59,143 that he'd ever really crossed a line, 829 00:41:59,143 --> 00:42:01,228 because he said he didn't. 830 00:42:01,228 --> 00:42:02,480 - Right. 831 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:09,403 ♪ ♪ 60366

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