US rape trial for alleged attack on Irish J1 student begins
The former Goldman Sachs executive Jason Lee is accused of raping an Irish J1 student at the $40,000 a month holiday home he was renting in the Hamptons hid for over two hours as police sought him out.
This was according to prosecuting lawyer Kerriann Kelly whose opening argument described graphically the alleged sexual assault which Jason Lee carried out in the early hours of Tuesday August 20, 2013.
Defence lawyer Andrew Lankler did not dispute that his client went missing as police officers attempted to find out what had happened on the night in question but he did outline several "enormous inconsistencies" which, he predicted, would prevent Mr Lee from being found guilty of rape beyond a reasonable doubt and would rather go to show that the sex was consensual.
Opening arguments were being heard on the first morning of the rape trial before Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn with the defendant having opted for a non-jury trial.
According to both the prosecution and the defence, the alleged victim, her brother and two friends met Mr Lee at a local nightclub before the six headed back to 1 Clover Leaf Lane in East Hampton to continue socialising with two other local men.
The student was working elsewhere in the US for the summer and had come to visit her brother in Montauk, Long Island.
"This was a man that wanted one thing only," argued prosecuting lawyer Ms Kelly. "That was sex. He used her."
The lawyer went on to describe how Lee allegedly forced his way into a downstairs bathroom so aggressively while the student was changing clothes that she ended up on her back.
"She tried to call for help, she told him no but he held her hand over her mouth so hard that she bit him. He told her to shut the fuck up. In the contest of wills, the defendant won. It was without her consent.
"She cried, she fought, she scratched her own leg. He raped her.
"The 37-year-old man had no respect for the 20-year-old Irish girl. He was going to do whatever he had to do. He didn't stop the disgusting attack until she kneeded him in the genitals. She was left there crying, disgusted."
Ms Kelly went on to describe how they might as well have been "strangers from a different planet" before their two worlds collided at the Georgica Nightclub.
Later at the house after the bathroom incident happened, Mr Lee's friend decided his car had been stolen and so he called the police. Meanwhile the alleged victim was in a distressed state causing her brother to also become upset and request the police be called.
When a police officer arrived at 6.30am, Mr Lee placed his elbows on the driver's door of her car and told her that it was "no big deal" adding "we're good, you can go".
The brother of the student claimed there was a bigger issue, saying "he did something to my sister" at which point the officer asked her to sit in her police car and recount what happened.
The police officer called for back-up before noticing that Lee was now nowhere to be found, found over two hours later in a foetal position in the back of his black Range Rover.
"I'm embarrassed, I'm drunk, I fell asleep," he told another police officer before being brought to the local police station for questioning.
The alleged victim was examined by a nurse and evidence consistent with the allegations was found, including an injury to the vaginal area, bruises and a scratch down her leg.
She couldn't find her clothes and underwear and Ms Kelly told the judge that seven months later, a box arrived at the District Attorney's office with the items of clothing.
"No explanation where they'd been, who had it or what was done with it."
Mr Lankler said the former managing director at Goldman Sachs was on trial as a result of "a rushed investigation and a rushed indictment" and a "failure to examine critical inconsistencies".
"This is not an alleged rape in a back alley but it is consistent with the circumstances in which consensual sex occurs," he added.
An emergency dispatcher for the town of East Hampton was the first witness on the stand after closing arguments, Stephen Blatchard recounting the 911 call that was made by Jason Lee's friend reporting the theft of his car.
A recording of two calls were played in the courtroom with the alleged victim's brother's voice being heard on the second call, reporting a "more important situation than a (stolen) truck".
The caller then took the phone back to give his licence plate number before trailing off somewhat as a fight broke out before him: "These guys are fighting."
The young Irish student at the centre of the allegation is expected to testify during the trial.
