“Because she didn’t. I would have heard her, and I would have listened to her, and I would have stopped,” Johnson said.
“Do you know what she was thinking?” Pabst asked.
“No.”…
“Did she ever fight you off?”
“No.”
“Did she ever push at you?”
“No.”
“Did you tear her pants off?”
“No.”
“Did you grab her hips?”
“No.”
“Do you think she had an orgasm?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I honestly have no idea, but that’s just my guess.”
“After you pulled out and you said you ejaculated in your hand, what did you do after that?”
“I asked her if she had something to clean it up with….She grabbed the hand towel.”…
“And why did you want to clean it up?”
“Because I didn’t want it on the bed or on my hand.” According to Johnson, Washburn got out of bed “pretty much right after” he asked her for the towel.
“Did you ask her then to come back onto the bed to snuggle with you?” Pabst inquired.
“No,” Johnson answered.
“Cuddle?”
“No.”
“Did you kiss afterwards?”
“No.”
“Did you say anything to her like ‘That was great’?”
“No.”
“Why not, Jordan?”
“I don’t know. I just didn’t.”
“What was going on in your head at that point, after you ejaculated?”
“Well, I asked her for something to clean it up with, and as I was cleaning it up, she started to put on her clothes, and so I put on my clothes, and then I went into the bathroom, because I had to go pee.”
While he was in the bathroom, at 11:41 p.m., Cecilia Washburn sent the much-discussed text to her housemate Stephen Green indicating that she’d just been raped. Kirsten Pabst, not surprisingly, made no mention of this text as she questioned Jordan Johnson. She did, however, ask Johnson to describe what happened after Washburn left the bedroom. He said, “I put on the rest of my clothes, my shoes, and walked out past Stephen Green and got in the car with Cecilia.”
“Did Cecilia seem upset at all?” Pabst asked.
Johnson answered, “No.”…
“So what’s going on in your head?”
“I was kind of starting to think about Kelli [Froland], in that I didn’t want her to know that I had sex with another girl….Because I really liked Kelli.”…
“At the point where you got into the car for Cecilia to give you a ride home,” Pabst asked, “did you anticipate a continued friendship with [Cecilia]?”
“I didn’t, really,” Johnson confessed, but he thought it was possible that “they would talk again.”…
“How were you feeling about the evening?”
“That we had sex, and that afterwards I wish we wouldn’t have, because of Kelli.”
“So did you talk at all on the ride home, the two-minute ride home?” Pabst inquired.
“No,” Johnson said. When Pabst asked what happened after they arrived at his house, he answered, “I said, ‘Thanks for having me,’ and got out of the car.” Then he “went in the house and went into my room.”
—
AFTER PABST FINISHED her direct testimony, prosecutor Adam Duerk strode to the dais to cross-examine the witness. He asked if Johnson thought Washburn was smart, and Johnson said yes. “You thought she was a nice girl, correct?” Duerk inquired.
“Yes,” Johnson answered.
“And you never really thought of Cecilia Washburn as a good friend….You didn’t know Cecilia Washburn very well through any of this; is that fair?”
“Yes.”
“But you liked her….You went out on a few dates together?”…
“Yes.”…
“You didn’t see anything in Cecilia Washburn that indicated to you that she was mean?”…
“No.”
“You didn’t see anything on those dates…that made you think that she was crazy, correct?”
“Correct.”
Adam Duerk pointed out to Jordan Johnson that he never really had a “boyfriend-girlfriend relationship” with Washburn “and the relationship that you did have, to the extent one existed, you didn’t really think it was going anywhere….In fact, you thought it was going nowhere, correct?”
“Yeah.”…
“Now, in terms of your relationship with Kelli Froland, there was a relationship there; fair?”
“Yes.”…
“You went on dates with Kelli?”
“Yes.”
“You brought her over to your house?”…
“Yes.”…
“So she met your family?”…
“Yes.”
“Nothing like that ever happened with Cecilia Washburn, correct?”
“Correct.”
Duerk paused for a moment, then asked Johnson about the sex that took place when Washburn was kneeling on the bed, facedown with her buttocks raised, as he penetrated her from the rear. “While you’re having sex with her from behind,” Duerk inquired, “your hands are on Cecilia’s forearms, correct?”
“Yes,” Johnson answered.
“Her arms are above her head, correct?”
“Yes.”
“All your weight was in your hands, correct?”
“Most,” Johnson hedged.
Duerk asked Johnson to look at page 42 of the statement he gave to Detective Brueckner on May 2, 2012. “I’m looking at your third answer down,” Duerk said. “I’d like to read your statement…, and please tell me if I’ve read it correctly. Okay?”
“Okay,” Johnson said.
Duerk recited, “ ‘But all my weight is in my hands.’ ” Duerk looked up at Johnson and asked, “Did I read that correctly?”
“Yes,” Johnson acknowledged.
Launching into a series of brief, piercing questions, Duerk asked, “So her hands are above her head, correct?”
“Yes,” Johnson calmly answered.
“Your hands are on her forearms?”…
“Yes.”
“You’re penetrating her from behind…and all your weight is on your hands?”…
“Yes.”
“So she was pinned to the bed, correct?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had your hands on her forearms and you were holding [her] forearms down, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re behind her, correct?”
“Yes.”
“All your weight is on those forearms, correct?”
“Yes.”
According to his official Griz publicity profile, Jordan Johnson’s height was six feet, one inch, and he weighed two hundred pounds. As he sat on the raised witness stand at the front of the courtroom, Johnson’s heft and muscular physique were unmistakable. Appraising Johnson with an accusing gaze, Duerk asked, “You’re a big person, correct?”
“I don’t know,” Johnson answered.
“All your weight was in your hands?”…
“Yes.”
“So you were pinning her down; is that fair?”
“Fair.”
“So she was pinned to the bed, correct?”
“I guess.”
“And you said nothing at this point?” Duerk asked.
“Right.”
Before the trial, Cecilia Washburn had testified that at this particular moment during the alleged rape, Johnson had angrily declaimed, “You said you wanted it! You said you wanted it!” But Duerk couldn’t share this information with the jury because the prosecution had asked for, and been granted, a judicial order prohibiting the defense from mentioning that twenty-four hours before the alleged rape at the Foresters’ Ball, according to Johnson and his friend Alex Bienemann, Washburn told Johnson, “I would do you anytime.” If the prosecution
asked Johnson about telling Washburn, “You said you wanted it!,” the defense would have been allowed to bring up the fact that Washburn had allegedly offered to have sex with Johnson “anytime.”
So Duerk simply asked Johnson, “You didn’t talk to her at all during this, right?”
“Correct,” Johnson answered.
“Then you pulled out and ejaculated?”…
“Yes.”…
“Now, during sex, everything seemed normal to you?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t have any sign that she was reluctant in any way….And if she had said anything like ‘No, not tonight,’…or indicated in any way that she wasn’t completely into it, you would have stopped and asked her what was going on, right?”
“I would have just stopped.”…
“But nothing seemed weird to you at all?” Duerk inquired.
“Correct,” Johnson answered.
“Nothing seemed weird to you during the sex?”…
“Correct.”
“Nothing seemed weird to you after the sex?”…
“Correct.”…
“She seemed fine to you….According to your testimony, she wasn’t upset at all this entire time, correct?”
“She wasn’t.”
“Okay. And you would have known if something was wrong?”…
“Yes.”
“Mr. Johnson,” Duerk asked, “Cecilia sent a text message within minutes after you penetrated her, correct?”
“Yes,” Johnson answered.
“She sent this text right after the intercourse was over?”…
“I believe so.”…
“You’ve seen that text message?”…
“Yes.”…
“And that text message had a time-and-date stamp on it, correct?”
“Correct.”…
“This text message said, ‘I think I might have just got raped, he kept pushing and pushing. I said, no, but he wouldn’t listen. I just want to cry. Oh my God, what do I do?’ Correct?”
“Yes.”…
“Now, this was the first time that you’d had sex with Cecilia, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And let me just make sure I’ve got this straight,” Duerk said. “You really had no conversation the entire time?”…
“Correct,” Johnson replied.
“This is your first time with Cecilia?”…
“Yes.”
“And your first time, you pinned her forearms to the bed, correct?”
“My hands were on her forearms.”…
“Okay. You admitted that before. So you pinned her to the bed, right?”
“Yes.”
“After the intercourse, you left?”…
“She drove me home.”
“And on that ride home, you claim nothing was wrong with Cecilia, right?”
“Correct.”…
“And you said that you would have known if something was wrong?”…
“Yes.”…
Having methodically led Jordan Johnson to the edge of the cliff, Adam Duerk asked the question intended to nudge him into the abyss: “You would agree that something is clearly wrong when someone sends a text message indicating they’ve just been raped, right?”
“I don’t know,” Johnson said.
“You don’t know?” Duerk scoffed.
“Correct,” Johnson answered.
Incredulous, Duerk demanded, “That seems normal to you? If someone sends a text indicating they’ve just been raped?”
“That’s not normal,” Johnson admitted.
“That is not normal,” Duerk affirmed. Then he asked, “You would agree that if…the events of that night had happened as Cecilia described it, this text would make sense, correct?”
“If it happened,” Johnson agreed. “But it didn’t.”
“If it did not happen as Cecilia described it,” Duerk countered, “this text would be completely crazy to send, correct?…And you said that you had never seen any indication that Cecilia was crazy before this night happened, correct?”
“Correct.”…
“You would agree that if a woman says no, and a man does not stop his sexual advances and penetrates her, that is rape, correct?”
“That’s true.”…
“You would agree that a woman can change her mind in the middle of sexual activity and still say no?”…
“Yes.”
“You would agree that if she physically resisted, you did not have consent, correct?”
“Correct.”
“You would agree that if she put her knees up to stop you, you didn’t have consent, correct?”
“Correct.”…
“You would agree that if you held her down with your forearm, you did not have consent?”…
“Correct.”
“And you have no explanation for the bruising on her chest or shoulders?”…
“Objection, Your Honor!” Kirsten Pabst protested. “That misstates the evidence. There is no bruising.”
“I don’t think that misstates the evidence,” Judge Townsend pronounced. “Overruled.”
Resuming his interrogation without missing a beat, Adam Duerk again asked Jordan Johnson if he could explain the bruises on Cecilia Washburn’s chest and shoulders. Johnson acknowledged that he couldn’t. “You’d agree that if you held Cecilia’s head down while you penetrated her from behind, that would indicate you did not have consent, correct?” Duerk asked.
“Correct,” Johnson replied.
“You’d agree that if you…bruised her genitals or injured her genitals, that may indicate you did not have consent, correct?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’d agree that if you had said, ‘Turn over, or I’ll make you,’ you did not have consent?”…
“Correct.”
“Thank you. I have nothing further at this time.”
—
JORDAN JOHNSON WAS excused from the witness stand at 11:15 Wednesday morning, after testifying for 157 minutes, including his appearance on Monday. His father, Marty Johnson, was called to testify a little after 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon. Under gentle questioning from defense counsel Kirsten Pabst, Marty said he was midway through his thirtieth year coaching football and teaching math to high school students in Eugene, Oregon. “How close is your family?” Pabst asked.
“I can’t imagine there being very many families that do as many things together as we do,” Marty answered. “So I would say we are extremely close.” As his father spoke these words, Jordan wept openly in his chair at the defense counsel’s table. He cried intermittently for the remainder of his father’s testimony, at times putting his head in his hands or resting it on the table.
“How often do you talk to Jordan?” Pabst asked.
“Probably more than he would like me to,” Marty answered. “I communicate with him multiple times every day.”…
“How would you describe his personality?”
“He’s quiet. He’s an extremely humble kid. Very, very respectful.” A few minutes later, Marty added, “I’m like any parent. I’m proud of my kids. But my…livelihood is being around adolescents, young adults, high school–age kids. And I can say, with my right hand to God, I haven’t been around a more honest young man than Jordan. I just feel lucky to have him as my son.”
“Have you noticed changes in your son since this allegation was lodged?” Pabst asked.
“Jordy is an extremely strong and resilient young man, but it’s had a huge effect on him. Huge effect.”
“What effect on your family?”
“It’s— Short of losing a child, I couldn’t imagine a worse situation to have this kind of accusation [about] a kid of his background. I don’t know, maybe there are stories of things that are more devastating. But I wake up every day feeling suffocated. And it’s been that way for thirteen months now.”
Prosecutor Adam Duerk realized that cross-examining such a sincere and immensely appealing witness would only be count
erproductive for the prosecution. So after fifteen minutes on the stand, Marty Johnson was excused. At least three or four members of the jury looked like they were on the verge of breaking into tears as he walked back to the gallery, where he sat beside his wife for the remainder of the trial.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The final two witnesses—one called by the defense, the other by the prosecution—testified on Thursday, February 28, 2013. The defense witness, a psychiatrist and neurologist named William Stratford, had never examined Cecilia Washburn, but he’d reviewed her counseling and medical records at the University of Montana’s Curry Health Center at the request of David Paoli and Kirsten Pabst. Stratford argued that although the records indicated that Washburn suffered from anxiety and depression in the aftermath of her sexual encounter with Jordan Johnson, the symptoms she exhibited did not rise to the level of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The prosecution witness, David Bell, was a physician at the Curry Health Center who treated Washburn after she was allegedly raped. He testified that the symptoms she displayed matched all the criteria for PTSD.
Friday, the first day of March, was the trial’s final day. More people were jammed into the gallery than on any previous day. Five television cameras bristled from tripods next to the jury box. Most of the Griz football team and many of the coaches were present. Jordan Johnson’s family sat on the east side of the gallery. Cecilia Washburn and her family were seated on the west side.
Prosecutor Suzy Boylan began the state’s closing argument by saying the case “was about the differences between being raped by a stranger and being raped by someone you know and trust. It’s a case about the difference between science and myths….It’s not about football, or the university, or misunderstanding, or miscommunication, or mixed signals. And it’s not about an insensitive lover that didn’t cuddle enough. It’s about a defendant who didn’t take no for an answer.”
No one with a heart, Boylan continued, could fail to “be moved by some of the testimony in this case, from the defendant’s father, for example. It’s okay to have that sympathy. It’s okay to find the defendant, or his dad, or their supporters likable. But you can’t acquit him because of feelings. You can’t acquit because you feel for the defendant and his family, any more than you can convict because you feel for Cecilia and her family….
“The state has to prove the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt….This is not beyond a shadow of a doubt or beyond all doubt. To prove something beyond all doubt or beyond a shadow of a doubt would require a camera, or all of us being there as the situation unfolds….Conflicting accounts are not automatically reasonable doubt. It is not fair to a victim—or to a defendant, for that matter—to be judged based on myths, misconceptions, or stereotypes. But that’s exactly what the defense is hoping that you’ll do. So [Dr. David Lisak was] here to dispel some of those myths and misconceptions. That’s what experts do.”