Capturing the Friedmans Page #10

And my first reaction was,

"I'm not gonna do it.

You're not guilty,

you're not pleading guilty."

And at that point,

he told me that

"I have something to tell you."

And with tears rolling down

his eyes, literally

he told me that he was abused by

his father growing up

and that while he never enjoyed

the sexual part of that

he did enjoy the attention

his father gave him

and being with his father

and that not everything

he had said

about nothing happened was true.

Peter Panaro

was personally convinced

that my father

had sexually abused me

and nothing I could say

could dissuade Peter

from this notion.

Jesse felt that

if Judge Boklan knew

that he also was a victim

of his father

that she might consider

the plea negotiations

in a more favorable way.

He came up with this strategy.

It was Peter Panaro's

fictionalized story

that he fed to me

and said, "If you say this,

it's gonna look good for you."

I told him I wouldn't do it.

I told him, "Jesse, when you

plead guilty in open court"

you're gonna have to admit

to this type

of anal sodomy 14 times.

And I'm not gonna

let you do that

"unless you can admit it."

He looked me right in the eye

always liked to call me

by my name

before he made a statement

and said,

"Peter, I can admit it."

The only concern

that Peter Panaro had

was that ethically as a lawyer

he couldn't let

his client go into court

and say something happened

that he knew his client

had told him was a lie.

The private investigator wasn't

coming up with anything helpful.

There was not gonna be

any defense witnesses.

There wasn't any money

to hire experts.

Mom was insistent upon

there not being a trial.

Peter Panaro wasn't believing me

no matter how many times

I told him nothing happened.

I just ran out of options.

Jesse was a very good baby.

I remember when we brought him

home from the hospital

and Arnie looked at

that baby and he said

"That child is marvelous.

He's wonderful"

and he was so thrilled.

And David was the big brother

and he used to

take care of Jesse.

We used to let David watch him

and he was very protective

of his baby brother.

It's amazing.

Six months from now

I already don't have

a father or a mother.

Six months from now

I'm not gonna have my brother.

If I ever watch this

I don't know when it's gonna be.

I don't know where I'm gonna be.

I don't know what's

gonna happen to my family.

I'm so scared.

I don't want to have

to spend the next 8 hours

screaming with my sons

and fighting with them.

Then don't.

I want them out of this house

tomorrow morning.

Mom

I don't give a sh*t.

I want you out of this house

tomorrow morning.

You may not

give a sh*t about Jesse

but we are here for Jesse.

What are you all

talking about here?

Can't you put your anger aside

for one minute?

I cannot put my anger aside

about you.

You have been nothing but

hateful, hostile, and angry

ever since this began.

OK, Jess, we're on.

Ta da. I feel like sh*t.

What's today's date?

Today's the day

before I went to jail.

"Went" to jail?

- I'm going to jail.

- Because we're watching it.

We're gonna be watching this

after I'm already out of jail.

After 4, 4 1/2 years

because the case gets reopened.

At this point in time,

my life is as good as over.

It is terminated at this point

only to resume at a later date.

This one'll go,

this one'll shatter.

The night before Jesse's plea

we stayed up all night.

Maybe I shot the videotape

so that I wouldn't

have to remember it myself.

It's a possibility

because I don't really remember

it outside of the tape.

Like when your parents take

pictures of you

do you remember being there

or do you remember

just the photograph

hanging on the wall?

Even if I'm facing the worst

scenario possible tomorrow

and for every day following it

I have to think tonight

that it's not gonna be that bad.

Goodness knows

I don't want to look

like my father.

Goodness knows,

I want to separate myself

from Arnold Friedman

as much as possible

and I'm not throwing

chairs tomorrow.

Good.

And if this trial

were postponed for 3 years

in 3 years, I would win.

But here today, at this point

trying to start a trial

in two weeks

I would lose this trial.

We feel this way

and that is what would happen.

So what are you thinking, Jess?

I'm not.

You're avoiding?

Well, I gotta eat something.

I'm proud to say

I've managed to leave barely

any gas in the car.

See, just our luck

we'll be trapped at the house.

We'll run out of gas

at the house.

- You a child molester, Jess?

- Nope.

Did you ever do it?

Never touched a kid.

Did you do what

they said you did?

I never touched a kid.

I never saw my father

touch a kid.

Good.

Yeah, but still,

you must have done it.

Yeah, but surely

something has happened.

It must, something.

Because the police

say it's true.

OK, you never

touched a kid, right?

Well, if something happened

it didn't happen

while I was there.

And it was a minimal incident

because the kid didn't

say anything about it.

But the police,

how could they be lying?

Shut up, Seth.

The children

the 14 children in this case

are clearly victims.

No one could ever argue that.

The real culprit here

is Arnold Friedman.

The man is a monster.

He abused him

and he molested him.

This can't be overlooked.

I can't believe we live

in such a cold society

that no one could look at this

man and understand that.

My father raised me confused

about what was right

and what was wrong

and I realize now

how terribly wrong it all was.

I wish I could have done

something to stop it sooner.

I wish there was something

I could have done.

I'm very, I'm

I'm just so sorry it happened.

Judge Boklan sternly looked down

and said that she recommended

to the parole board

that he serve the maximum period

of time permitted by law

a statement which I felt

was harsh and unnecessary

to a 19-year-old

under these circumstances.

Jesse was a victim.

There's no question,

Jesse was a victim

but even when he was caught

Jesse never expressed any kind

of sympathy for these kids

and as a matter of fact

on the day that

the plea was taken

Jesse was dancing and singing on

the courthouse steps

while being videotaped by

his two brothers.

My brain hurts!

It'll have to come out.

My brain, but I'm using it!

But I'm using it!

Nurse!

Nurse!

They were taking pictures.

I remember someone

brought that to my attention.

We looked out the window.

Because I'm saying to myself

"This is very bizarre."

I mean he's about to go to jail

for the next 6 to 18 years

and he's out on

the courtroom steps

in some sort of

theatrical performance.

That is so funny,

when they're all

I think it was about

distracting ourselves

not necessarily

distracting Jesse.

Jesse was

I think he was

the most comfortable

about the whole situation.

You know

I don't know how

he has always been

the most comfortable about it,

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