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Ava turned to William. “What the fuck?”
The prosecution lawyer ignored the murmurings around the court. “That’s a severe thing indeed, Mrs Beckinsale. Were these images downloaded off the internet? I didn’t see any websites submitted as evidence.”
“No. They were personal. Taken with the camera on her phone. Videos too.”
“Oh... so you mean these images and videos were of your daughter and her girlfriend? She had taken them herself?”
“The girl too. They enjoyed taking pictures of each other and recording what they would do together.”
“As much as this may shock you, Mrs Beckinsale, it is well into the twenty first century. When we give our kids access to phones, they will no doubt be drawn to the camera app. If what you saw were nude images of your daughter and a girl she was seeing at the time on her own phone, where clearly permission was granted, it hardly reeks of a scenario where a doctor is called for. No matter that both were not yet eighteen. Hardly a mental illness.”
“I stand by my statement.”
“Would you feel the same way if it had been a boy with your daughter on her phone?”
“Objection! ” cried the defence lawyer. “Is this line of questioning going anywhere?”
“Your honour, I’m trying to ascertain if the sole reason Mrs Beckinsale went to Dr. Van Gould in the first place was because her daughter is homosexual. Homosexuality stopped being considered a mental illness many years ago. Therefore, whatever treatments the doctor was prescribing or performing were completely baseless in medical fact."
“Overruled. But make your point.”
"Mrs Beckinsale, do you hate the fact your daughter is gay? Is that why you were so desperate to put her in danger by going to Dr. Van Gould?”
“Objection!”
“Watch yourself, Counsel. You don't have to answer that if you don't want to, ma’am.”
“My daughter broke my heart. I did what I could to help my child when I saw her straying, as any mother would.
“Straying, meaning, by being gay? Desiring and having sex with other women? One thing Dr. Van Gould claims he can cure.”
“Yes. I don’t care what you think of me. I remember when this country was filled with good people. We have entered a slippery slope where the minority are telling the rest of us what we should think and say. What’s more, the minute you protest you are labelled a homophobe, a racist or sexist. I don’t care what you call me. I did what I had to, to protect my daughter. It isn’t Dr. Van Gould’s fault I failed. He told me exactly what he would do, and I went along with it. His treatments were working, and he had the best of intentions.
God, as always, will have the last say. Ever since Ava accused Dr. Van Gould of these crimes, she has suffered. Injured. Hospital visits. Getting her head bashed in for money. The way we raised her, with leniency, made her what she is. What she thinks she is. She's confused. In spite of all we did, she refused to see reason and entrenched herself further into a life of sin, making up lies to hurt an innocent man that tried to help her.”
The lawyer took that information in and paused to let the court die down. “Is your ex-husband a liar too?”
“Objection!”
“Withdrawn. No further questions.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let me take this opportunity to thank you all for your attention and service so far in this case. It’s taken a lot out of everyone. Highly emotional, extremely controversial. I only ask for a few more minutes of your time and that you please listen to my words with an open mind.
What you need to determine is whether Ava Beckinsale was sexually assaulted by Dr. Van Gould. The same man that admitted he sexually stimulated her while she was sedated. And what reason did he give? He was treating Ava for being homosexual.
He admitted he convinced her parents that he could convert their daughter to heterosexuality. Something completely unfounded by modern medical theory. Both the Australian Medical Association and the World Health Organization have stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental illness. Whatever treatments the doctor was prescribing and performing were completely baseless and Ava's reason for being in that office was and is completely invalid. Therefore, any consent is invalid.
That being said, Ava Beckinsale did not consent. The doctor never discussed the treatment with his 'patient'. She had no knowledge of what the treatment really was and never, at any stage, agreed to it.
Dr. Van Gould never intended for her to know what went on in their sessions. The only reason we are in this room today is because of blind luck. Ava forgot to take the prescribed medication at the right time and woke up during the assault. Yes, I say assault. I ask you all to put yourselves in Ava's position. What would you call a scenario in which you were medicated by a psychiatrist to the point of unconsciousness, only to wake up and realise that psychiatrist had their hand between your legs. Now imagine you're not even 18. It was vile and it traumatised that young girl.
This case is clear cut. Was there sexual touching? He admitted to sexually stimulating her. If that's not sexual touching, what is? Did she consent to it? No. Was it a genuine medical procedure? No.
We have laid out the law for you, but I implore you to think with your hearts as well as your heads and see this for what it is: a gross case of misconduct in which an innocent girl, indeed was sexually assaulted. It’s up to you to prevent this from happening to anyone else.”
The defense took her time replacing him, deliberately so, it seemed. She paced in front of the jury slowly, seeming to gather her thoughts for a few seconds. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I too wish to thank you all. It is never an easy task to come together and decide the fate of another person. I don’t envy you. But I will do my best to help you. I will present you with undeniable facts. For this is what justice deserves. Facts, not feelings.
My client has never denied what he attempted to do and how he attempted to do it. You can have your opinions on the reasons for the treatment. We all can. But please do not be distracted. That’s not the basis for this case. We are not here to decide if homosexuality can be cured.
