The Complete Testimony of Virginia Stone
1/28/85
VIRGINIA STONE, Witness
(Child enters courtroom with her mother)
MR. FORD: Virginia, we’ve got a special chair for you. Marsha, do you want to sit right here?
VIRGINIA STONE: Where’s Bernie?
THE CLERK: Can you raise your right hand, please? Put your right hand up in the air. That’s your left hand. Raise your right hand.
(Child raises right hand)
THE CLERK: Do you promise to tell what happened?
(Child nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: May the record reflect –
THE COURT: Yes.
*****
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. FORD
MR. FORD: Tell these people your name.
VIRGINIA STONE: Virginia.
MR. FORD: What’s your last name?
VIRGINIA STONE: Stone.
MR. FORD: How old are you?
VIRGINIA STONE: Five.
MR. FORD: Five years old? You’re a big girl for five. Who is the lady right next to you?
VIRGINIA STONE: My mommy.
MR. FORD: Is she really? What’s my name?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: Did you forget my name?
VIRGINIA STONE: Dan Ford.
MR. FORD: Now that’s right. Who’s that right up there? Do you know who he is?
VIRGINIA STONE: He’s the judge.
MR. FORD: The judge, that’s right. Virginia, did you ever go to school at E.C.D.C.?
VIRGINIA STONE: Yes.
MR. FORD: Did you really>
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: Who were your teachers at E.C.D.C.?
VIRGINIA STONE: Kathleen, Laurie and Julie.
MR. FORD: What about Bernie?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: Do you know what Bernie did down there?
VIRGINIA STONE: He was helping my teachers.
MR. FORD: He was helping your teachers?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: Did anybody else down at E.C.D.C. touch you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: How about tickling? Did anybody ever tickle you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: Did Bernie tickle you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: Did he tell you stories?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: How about the other teachers? Did they tell you stories?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: Do you know Mrs. Hanes?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: Did you tell your mommy about what happened?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: When did you do that, Honey?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: Did you tell the teachers what happened?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: When Bernie was — was Bernie — was he a good boy or a bad boy?
VIRGINIA STONE: Bad boy.
MR. FORD: Did you go on trips with him?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: Virginia, when you were at E.C.D.C., did Bernie ever touch you somewhere?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: It’s okay. Show us where Bernie touched you?
THE MOTHER: It’s okay.
MR. FORD: Virginia, just point and show us where Bernie touched you?
THE MOTHER: It’s okay.
MR. FORD: Can you point on this dolly and show us where Bernie touched you, Virginia?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Child points to the doll)
MR. FORD: Right down there? May the record show that the witness pointed to the doll’s genital area?
THE COURT: Yes, it may.
MR. FORD: Virginia, did Bernie ever do anything else to you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: Did he put his peniey somewhere, his dinky?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: Where did he put it?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: It’s okay, sweetheart. Tell us where Bernie put his dinky.
VIRGINIA STONE: In my mouth.
MR. FORD: What room were you in when this happened?
VIRGINIA STONE: In the bathroom.
MR. FORD: How did it make you feel when Bernie did these things to you, Virginia?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: Did it make you feel kind of scared?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: May the record show that the witness nodded in the affirmative, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. FORD: Virginia, did anything come out of Bernie’s dinky when he touched you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. FORD: Excuse me, just one minute.
(Pause in proceedings)
MR. FORD: Virginia, that’s all I’m going to ask you. I’ve got no more questions. See this man over here.
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: His name is Mr. Conway and he’s a very, very nice man and he’s going to ask you some questions too. I want you to answer his questions just the way you answered mine. You’re a good girl, Virginia. Your witness, counsel.
*****
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. CONWAY
MR. CONWAY: Hi Virginia, you look tired. Are you tired? Are you tired this morning?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Didn’t get a good nap — or do you take a nap later? You take a nap in the afternoon?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: You went to school at E.C.D.C.; is that right?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Who was your teacher?
VIRGINIA STONE: Kathy, Laurie and Julie.
MR. CONWAY: And Bernie was a helper?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Did Kathy sometimes take you to the bathroom, Honey?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. CONWAY: How about Laura> Did she take you to the bathroom?
VIRGINIA STONE: Yes.
MR. CONWAY: Did Bernie take you to the bathroom too, sometimes?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Did you sing songs?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. CONWAY: What did you do when you were in school? Did you play with finger paints?
VIRGINIA STONE: Yes.
MR. CONWAY: When you went in the bathroom with Bernie where were the other kids?
VIRGINIA STONE: They were in the school.
MR. CONWAY: You were in the school too, right?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: And other kids were at school?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Were there other teachers at the school?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Lots of teachers? Three teachers?
VIRGINIA STONE: Three teachers in the class.
MR. CONWAY: And a lot of kids. How many kids?
VIRGINIA STONE: Nine — I mean ten.
MR. CONWAY: When you were in the classroom #1, #1 classroom upstairs — what was your classroom number?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Child shrugs)
MR. CONWAY: You don’t know, okay. Did you go to school in the morning or the afternoon?
VIRGINIA STONE: The morning.
MR. CONWAY: In the morning. Did you have lunch there?
VIRGINIA STONE: Yes.
MR. CONWAY: Sometimes?
VIRGINIA STONE: Yes, I did.
MR. CONWAY: When did this thing happen? Is it in the morning or the afternoon, Honey? Before lunch?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: You told mommy about it?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Did you talk to mommy about it a lot of times?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Can you show me on your fingers how many times you talked to mommy about it?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Child holds up five fingers)
MR. CONWAY: Did you talk to Dan Ford about it a lot?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Can you show me on your fingers, how many times you talked to Dan?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Child holds up seven fingers)
MR. CONWAY: Seven times. That’s a lot of times.
VIRGINIA STONE: Eight times.
MR. CONWAY: Eight times. Did you talk to the policemen about it a lot?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Shakes head from side to side)
MR. CONWAY: Just mommy and Mr. Ford?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. CONWAY: Okay. I have no further questions, your Honor.
*****
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. FORD:
MR. FORD: Virginia, did Bernie ever tell you that something bad would happen if you told anybody what he did to you?
VIRGINIA STONE: (No response).
MR. FORD: Do you remember that? Did he tell you something bad would happen to your mommy?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: What did he say?
CHILD’S MOTHER: It’s okay.
VIRGINIA STONE: Kill her.
MR. FORD: Did he — that he would kill your mommy?
VIRGINIA STONE: (Nods head up and down)
MR. FORD: No further questions.
MR. CONWAY: I have no further questions.
THE COURT: You’re excused, Madam.
MR. FORD: You’re all done, Virginia. You can leave now.
(Witness excused)
[Note: A few months later, Virginia would tell her therapist that nothing had really happened but that her mother had coaxed her to say so, so that they could get a lot of money.]