Free Born to Lose by James G. Hollock Page A

sexy or womanly or, uh … provocative, yes, provocative.”
    â€œProvocative? Wearing clothes like everyone else at school or everyone my age? I am not going to dress like some old frump. I have heard of elderly women being raped, maybe wearing old flannel coats or babushkas. Were they provocative? I don’t think a rapist needs provoked!”
    â€œOf course you’re right, but the point is, we don’t want to mislead.”
    â€œI’m not misleading anyone! I noticed Stanley Hoss wearing a coat and tie. He was shaved and his hair was trimmed nice. If you’re worried about misleading, why don’t you talk to him?”
    Kathy held her ground and the matter was dropped. Once led into the courtroom, Kathy was greatly bothered that she and Hoss were seated at the same table, across from each other. He attempted to intimidate every chance he got. Hoss did not take the stand, but Kathy, particularly when testifying, could feel Hoss’s eyes boring into her. All she could do was keep her eyes on Judge Eppinger, attorney Lapansky, or the back wall of the room … anywhere to avoid meeting Hoss’s gaze. Kathy was armed with the truth, yes, but she knew she was not strong enough to stare him down. He was a beast who dashed her nerves.
    Some of the evidence produced Kathy had not seen since the rape. Her purse, jacket, and clothing were all tagged and lying on a side table. The culottes she’d sewn that night were scraped and soiled.
    Several officers testified. According to Officer Curti, who typed the police report:
    â€œMcKenna states he saw Stanley along with another man and this girl walking through East Deer township towards Tarentum about 12:30 A.M. on 4/5/69. He states the girl was arm-in-arm with the men and he observed them about five times. This should have been after the girl states she was raped.”
    Officer Kenneth McKenna’s statement did not sound good for Kathy and went some distance toward buttressing Hoss’s version that the victim wentalong with him willingly. However, Lapansky did a good job on redirect, having Kathy explain how she was actually gripped tightly to keep her close to Hoss’s side and tell of the fearful threat of being shot right on the street should she struggle. Also, although the two elderly men inside Orris’s gas station the night of the rape described what they perceived as an easy interaction among Hoss, Zurka, and the young woman, they admitted they could certainly be mistaken “if one of those boys had a gun in his pocket.”
    All the evidence and testimony was in, and Kathy worried that if Hoss was found not guilty, she’d be thought of as a treacherous liar, a conniving teen whore. How could she even go home again?
    Then, at 5:05 P.M., Judge Eppinger ruled. “I find you, Stanley B. Hoss Jr. guilty of rape in the first degree. You are to be returned to the Allegheny County Jail where you shall remain pending sentencing by the court.”
    Throwing her arms around Lapansky’s neck, Kathy thanked him, then broke into tears, her face buried in his shirt and necktie. When she looked up, the judge’s chair was empty and people were filing out while others stood in their places. By the door she saw Officer Red Orris wave at her, but he disappeared into the hallway before she could form a smile. Hands cuffed in front and flanked by two men in uniform, Hoss was led toward a side exit. Fighting against an officer’s grip and turning his head far around, he strained to keep Kathy in view. Although Kathy, still holding Lapansky’s sleeve, quickly turned away, she heard a female voice from Hoss’s crowd call her a tramp. Kathy wished her family was with her.
    Long before the trial, Hoss had known that if he was convicted he would be sent up for a long time. A rape conviction could bring ten to twenty years—maybe less if the guilty one had no criminal record and was of otherwise pristine