Soon after, this past November, lawyers for Fairfax County Public Schools filed a motion, alleging that Kate had committed a “fraud on the court,” an allegation that U.S. District Court Judge Rossie Alston rejected in late January, ruling that the school system “overreached” in attempting to dismiss the case. Alston noted that the Facebook messages hadn’t been authenticated.
Indeed, after Chris testified, a Facebook official told the Fairfax County Times, “You can’t see deleted messages or conversations. Deleting a message permanently removes it from your Chat list.” The Facebook official added that “Facebook User” means an account has been “deactivated or deleted.”
The dueling – and deeply contradictory – narratives underscore the complexity of cases of alleged sexual assault and coverup, but the new information from Facebook raises serious questions about the veracity of Chris’s statements and the efforts by Fairfax County officials to flip the narrative on Kate and frame the alleged victim as the alleged “aggressor.” The Fairfax County Times attempted to purchase a court transcript of the heated testimony. However, in an unusual move by the court, a court reporter said, “By agreement between the parties and the Court, transcripts will not be released at this time. Thanks.” The school district’s lawyers have attempted to raise issues with the judge about routine reporting the Fairfax County Times has done while covering the trial. On Wednesday, the Fairfax County Times submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act to identify the official representing the school district on the Zoom call with Chris. When someone communicates with a third party, it removes legal privilege.