“Big Dan’s rape trial
Episode five of Trial By Media on Netflix is about a sexual assault case. By far the most gripping episode, and one with a truly chilling tone, is “Big Dan’s.” It covers the infamous gang-rape of a young woman in a local bar by four men in full view of onlookers in 1983 in New Bedford, Mass. The case began a huge discussion over the treatment of sexual assault victims during their trials. The woman was said to have been victim-blamed and harshly cross-examined in what was soon known as “Big Dan’s” trial.
It was the first rape case televised in the U.S. and the judge, interviewed now, expresses deep regret at some of the shenanigans that unfolded. He was aiming for transparency but throwing the case into the mud-filled media arena. When the case went to trial in 1984 and the judge decided to allow one camera in the courtroom so that it could be televised nationally, the ensuing media circus was flat-out frightening.
