Credibility | EP 6 | Saskia's Story

Summary

Podcast Summary: Betrayal Season 5, Episode 6 – "Credibility | EP 6 | Saskia's Story"

Podcast: Betrayal by iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
Date: March 5, 2026
Host: Andrea Gunning

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Overview

In this emotionally charged episode, "Credibility," the podcast drills into Saskia Inwood’s legal battle against her estranged husband, Mike Levengood, following the discovery that he had secretly recorded and distributed videos of her sexual assault. The story examines how the courts—and society—scrutinize survivors, exposing the destructive power of credibility attacks and “the myth of the perfect victim.” The episode articulates Saskia’s agonizing experience through the divorce trial where her character, sanity, and truth were all questioned, despite Mike’s criminal conviction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. After the Criminal Case: The Divorce Becomes Another Battlefield

• Mike Levengood pleads guilty to second-degree rape, receives an 18-month sentence (03:00).
• Saskia is immediately served divorce papers, just four days after reporting the crime. Mike’s complaint alleges that Saskia herself was complicit, claiming they had been consensually camming together (05:57–07:17).
  • Quote – Saskia: “He was actually saying that I was complicit in all this and I knew about chatterbait and it's pages and pages of allegations that him and I were a team camming together.” (06:16)

2. Manipulation of Legal Systems

• Mike files for divorce on grounds of cruelty—blaming Saskia, positioning himself as victim and using the divorce as leverage to undermine her criminal testimony (07:25–08:11).
  • Quote – Saskia: “I think that he assumed that I would accept some kind of deal for alimony in exchange for not testifying. It would be easy to throw some cash my way and this would all go away.” (08:11)
• Saskia refuses, choosing justice over a settlement: "If the condition is that I don't testify, there's no way. I don't care. I'll be destitute. We're going to follow through with this." (08:34)

3. The Divorce Trial: Character Assassination

• Only 5% of divorces go to trial; this one does—despite criminal conviction (09:34–10:01).
• Mike, representing himself in an orange jumpsuit, insists on his innocence in the divorce trial, making it an arena to try to clear his name and gaslight Saskia (10:01–11:00):
  • Quote – Saskia: "It really felt like I was the one on trial.” (07:43)
• Strategy: Attack Saskia’s credibility by highlighting instances of depression, substance use, and mental health history (“She was very depressed. Was unable to get out for work…” – Mike, 11:40).
  • Quote – Saskia: "I felt like I was in the twilight Zone. The fact that the judges were even listening to these things was blowing my mind." (12:43)

4. Societal Scripts: The Perfect Victim Myth

• Interview with Professor Deborah Turkheimer (Northwestern Law), who deeply critiques the “perfect victim” myth in sexual assault cases (22:39–26:26). She explains how courts (and society) expect victims to be unimpeachable—never drinking, always fighting off the perpetrator, remembering every detail.
  • Quote – Deborah Turkheimer: "It's unfair to impose a set of rules that, for the most part, can't be followed and aren't followed." (24:26)
  • On societal tropes: “The regretful woman… the gold digger… the hysterical woman. It’s one of the oldest and most effective ways to discredit a victim.” (24:47–25:15)

5. Contesting Consent: The Use (and Misuse) of Evidence

• Mike and his attorney present over 200 photographs and videos to argue Saskia was a “willing participant” in their sex life and online activities—contradicting both criminal conviction and Saskia’s testimony (33:11–34:54).
  • Saskia acknowledges that some consensual images existed, but the vast majority she did not remember and did not consent to (34:28–34:59).
• Even with damning evidence, proving consent or lack thereof is fraught with cultural and judicial bias toward doubt (35:13–36:08).
  • Quote – Deborah Turkheimer: “There's an initial default to doubt that is sort of culturally ingrained in us.” (35:13)

6. Painfully Public Trauma

• A particularly disturbing photo leaves the host and Saskia reeling, with Saskia’s eyes open but clearly not present (37:16–37:52).
  • Quote – Andrea Gunning: “It's so hard to describe as anything other than horrific, like, yeah, she's not there.” (37:19)
  • Quote – Saskia: “The idea that images like this, where her eyes are open were being used to say that she was awake and consented to everything is so disturbing.” (37:52–37:58)
• The trial devolves into Saskia being forced to watch and answer for her own assault, further compounding the trauma (40:56–41:16).
  • Quote – Saskia: “It made me feel like a fool. It made me feel like less than a person.” (40:56)
  • Quote – Saskia: "It's heartbreaking to think that he put everybody through that just so that he could get away with humiliating me." (41:09)

7. Judgment, Vindication, and the Lingering Toll

• In the end, the judge credits Saskia’s testimony and discredits Mike’s, granting the divorce on grounds of cruelty and stating unequivocally that Saskia was victimized and Mike had lied (43:51–44:53).
  • Judge's Decision: “This court credits defendant's testimony and expressly discredits plaintiff's testimony… The plaintiff betrayed his spouse in the worst type of way. He then lied about it and continue to lie about it.” (43:51–44:48)
  • Final grounds for divorce: “This court can think of few actions that warrant a divorce on this ground, more so than the rape and sexual exploitation that occurred here.” (45:53–46:02)
• Saskia’s experience highlights that even legal vindication feels hollow and exhausting after years of being doubted and forced to defend oneself.
  • Quote – Saskia: “Of course, yes, she found that he was not credible and that I was credible, but it still didn't take away from what I had been through in this divorce and would have been taken away from me.” (45:02)
  • Quote – Deborah Turkheimer: “…along the way, that process can be enormously difficult, degrading, even traumatic.” (45:31)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "He was actually saying that I was complicit in all this... pages and pages of allegations that him and I were a team camming together." – Saskia Inwood (06:16)
• "It really felt like I was the one on trial." – Saskia Inwood (07:43)
• "It was to his advantage to keep her in this drunken, drugged up, bad mental health state because the more vulnerable she became, the easier it became for him to take advantage of her." – Heather, Saskia’s friend (19:20)
• "It's unfair to impose a set of rules that, for the most part, can't be followed and aren't followed." – Deborah Turkheimer (24:26)
• "The plaintiff betrayed his spouse in the worst type of way. He then lied about it and continued to lie about it." – Divorce Judge, reading the final judgment (44:48)
• "It made me feel like a fool. It made me feel like less than a person." – Saskia Inwood (40:56)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:00 – Recap of Mike’s guilty plea and sentencing
• 05:57 – Saskia is served with divorce papers
• 07:43 – Saskia reflects on feeling like the trial’s real defendant
• 11:40–12:27 & 18:05–18:42 – Mike’s efforts to paint Saskia as unstable and unreliable
• 22:39–26:26 – Interview with Professor Deborah Turkheimer about “the perfect victim” myth
• 33:11–34:54 – Introduction of “200 photographs and videos” as putative evidence of consent
• 37:17–37:58 – Reaction to the disturbing photo which became key “evidence” in the trial
• 40:56–41:16 – Saskia's testimony about being re-traumatized in court
• 43:51–44:48 – Excerpt and summary of the judge’s ruling
• 45:31 – Deborah Turkheimer on how victory in court can still feel traumatic for survivors

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Conclusion

"Credibility" peels back the layers of trauma that victims endure, not just through abuse, but in relentless battles for belief and justice in the aftermath. It exposes both the destructive impact of legal strategies that rely on blaming and discrediting survivors, as well as the larger cultural scripts that shape (and often stymie) justice for victims of sexual violence. Despite legal vindication, Saskia's account reveals the immense, lasting toll of having to prove victimhood against a barrage of doubt.

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For resources on sexual violence, visit RAINN

Transcript

[Andrea Gunning]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Mike Levengood]

It was clear to me that Ms. Inwood was comatose. Not asleep, but comatose, unconscious. Absolutely.

[Narrator/Host]

Any technicalities in the law didn't matter. The videos spoke for themselves. To Judge Jill Cummins, this was rape.

[Mike Levengood]

You were a predator to Ms. Inwood, and I completely understand it. The damage done to her is probably irreparable. Do you understand that by pleading guilty this morning, you are waiving or giving up that presumption of innocence? Yes, I do. Do you still wish to plead guilty this morning? I do, you, Honor.

[Narrator/Host]

Okay.

[Mike Levengood]

And are you pleading guilty today, sir, because you are in fact, guilty? Yes, you, Honor, of the one count.

[Narrator/Host]

You'd think that would have been the end of it, but for Saskia, things were about to get much worse. Mike was just getting started. I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is betrayal. Season 5, Episode 6 credibility Mike's guilty plea marked the end of his criminal proceedings. But his sentencing hearing wouldn't be his last time in court. It wouldn't be Saskia's either. For a year, the criminal matter took center stage. But the whole time, there was another case playing out. Saskia and Mike's divorce. We're going to rewind a bit to before Mike's plea deal, before he was even charged with a crime. It was November 1, 2018, just four days after Saskia discovered the videos of her being sexually assaulted and went to the police. On that day, Saskia was Back at the courthouse finalizing her protective order. But before she could leave the building,

[Saskia Inwood]

I got served the divorce papers.

[Narrator/Host]

At first, having those papers in hand was a relief. She wanted a divorce as quickly as possible. But as Saskia sat in the courthouse lobby reading the documents Mike sent, she realized this wasn't just any divorce filing.

[Saskia Inwood]

He was actually saying that I was complicit in all this and I knew about chatterbait and it's pages and pages of allegations that him and I were a team camming together.

[Narrator/Host]

Just four days after Saskia realized what Mike was doing to her. Four days after Mike left the house, he filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty, Saskia's cruelty towards him. Mike said that Saskia's allegations that he raped her, secretly videotaped her and posted nude images of her without her knowledge were all false. Saskia was making it all up, the divorce complaint reads. The parties would spend evening time posting and watching other couples doing the same. This was a regular activity that the parties engaged in openly. These acts were all consensual.

[Saskia Inwood]

To get this divorce complaint just floored me. I knew that this was going to be really ugly.

[Narrator/Host]

These divorce proceedings were completely different than the criminal case Mike was about to face. That case was the State of Maryland vs. Mike Levengood. It was the state's job to prove Mike's guilt. This divorce case was Mike Levengood versus Saskia Inwood.

[Saskia Inwood]

It really felt like I was the one on trial.

[Narrator/Host]

Mike could have gone for a no fault divorce. Instead, he was determined to take Saskia down and this path had a lot to offer him. His criminal trial hadn't taken place yet, so the divorce was a bargaining chip. Saskia thinks that Mike was using the divorce case to get her to back down and make his criminal troubles disappear.

[Saskia Inwood]

I think that he assumed that I would accept some kind of deal for alimony in exchange for not testifying. It would be easy to throw some cash my way and this would all go away.

[Narrator/Host]

Saskia could have used that money she was dipping into her 401k just to pay her divorce attorney. But that kind of deal she'd never accept.

[Saskia Inwood]

If the condition is that I don't testify, there's no way. I don't care. I'll be destitute. We're going to follow through with this.

[Narrator/Host]

The criminal proceedings went ahead with Saskia as an active participant in the case. But even after Mike pled guilty, even after the criminal matter was closed, he charged ahead with the divorce on the grounds of cruelty. Saskia wanted a Divorce, too. But like I said earlier, this was no typical divorce. Mike was saying Saskia was a liar, and there was a lot at stake. If a judge believed him, Saskia could owe Mike, her rapist, tens of thousands of dollars. She could even be charged with false reporting or sued for defamation. In this case, there were lengthy depositions, requests for documents, and then in January

[Saskia Inwood]

of 2021, the divorce actually went to trial.

[Narrator/Host]

This is extremely rare. Only about 5% of divorce cases make it to trial. It was the middle of COVID so much of the trial took place over zoom. Saskia sat at her kitchen table, staring at Mike through her screen.

[Saskia Inwood]

He was sitting there in an orange jumpsuit after pleading guilty to rape.

[Narrator/Host]

At this point, Mike had been convicted. But in spite of that, at this divorce trial, Mike would claim he was innocent. That's why he was so determined to see this case through. You see, Mike couldn't win his freedom through his plea. He'd waived much of his right to an appeal. But convincing this new judge that Saskia was lying could help him clear his name. If he won the divorce, he could have an official document that proved Saskia made the whole thing up. A document he could take to employers, friends, and family to say, this is what really happened. The divorce judge saw the truth. On the surface, the divorce trial was all about money, as most divorces are. Who'd get the house, the cars. But really, the trial rested on who the judge believed. Mike or Saskia.

[Saskia Inwood]

Mike looked very arrogant and cocky and had no emotion or feeling. I think he thought that it would be just a wash.

[Narrator/Host]

When Mike and his attorney opened their case, their strategy was turn the spotlight off Mike and onto Saskia. Their goal was to undermine Saskia's credibility. But what does that really mean? Well, they would have to prove she wasn't believable. They'd introduce patterns of behavior, aspects of her character that would show she wasn't a reliable narrator. How would they do this? By saying she'd lost her mind.

[Mike Levengood]

She was very depressed. She was unable to get out for work. I'm depressed. I can't take it. I can't work. Work is stressing me out. The kids are stressing me out. Like this stuff in the house.

[Narrator/Host]

This is the courtroom audio from the divorce trial. That's Mike's real voice you just heard. And calling out Saskia's anxiety and depression wasn't the only way he tried to undermine her credibility. He also talked a lot about her use of drugs and alcohol.

[Mike Levengood]

She drank a significant amount. There was drug use on her part more than mine. It very quickly snowballed into seven, eight, nine drinks. She also received Adderall from a friend. When she starts drinking, she doesn't stop.

[Narrator/Host]

All of this was to introduce doubt about Saskia. Saskia's lawyer objected to a lot of this testimony, arguing that Mike's side was trying to enter character evidence unfairly. But the judge allowed Mike to continue

[Saskia Inwood]

I felt like I was in the twilight Zone. The fact that the judges were even listening to these things was blowing my mind.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Mike Levengood]

She was very depressed. There was drug use on her part, more than mine. Then she starts drinking. She doesn't stop.

[Narrator/Host]

Saskia sat through hours and hours of this testimony, listening to Mike drag out every time she drank too much and Every time she couldn't get out of bed. It wasn't that these moments hadn't occurred. It was that Mike was using them to say Saskia was responsible for everything that happened to her. He was telling the story of the worst period of her life. But in this story, it was all her fault. She was the one causing chaos.

[Saskia Inwood]

These things were so dehumanizing and so dismissive of what I had been through in my pain.

[Narrator/Host]

I have to admit, it's hard for me to listen to Mike make this argument without feeling angry. Mike knew her family's mental health history and how Saskia was determined to remain stable, to not walk the same path as her dad. Saskia thought Mike was on her team and yet Mike had been exploiting her mental illness, her use of alcohol and drugs for years. Saskia's friend Heather put it best it

[Andrea Gunning]

was to his advantage to keep her in this drunken, drugged up, bad mental health state because the more vulnerable she became, the easier it became for him to take advantage of her.

[Narrator/Host]

But as Mike testified and his attorney spoke, his culpability faded into the background. He zeroed in on her behaviors, her imperfections, to show that she shouldn't be trusted and even that she was to blame. I want you to hear Mike's account of October 27, 2018, the night of the Halloween party, the night Saskia saw what was on Mike's computer screen. The audio isn't perfect, so listen closely. Here's his story of that night.

[Mike Levengood]

We've been having a party, ping pong. We're both stuck. And ended up looking at database website.

[Narrator/Host]

When they got home, they went onto Chatterbait, the camming website. But just as they were logging on,

[Mike Levengood]

she got up and wanted it off. So turned it off, went to bed and that was it for the evening. The next morning he was very, very educated, wanted to look at the website which we gave and then became very focused on my use of pornography, meaning looking at the website without her. The pembroke became very emotional and started saying all kinds of things. And that's at the point where she stood there in front of the dresser and she looked at me and she said, you know, I now know who to do. And it was just such a shock. And out of nowhere, it just completely floored me that moment when I realized that there's a mental illness that was going on here.

[Narrator/Host]

In Mike's memory, he and Saskia were at a party, they were both drunk, looked at a website. The next day, Saskia went crazy on him. Out of the blue there could only Be one explanation for all of this. Saskia was mentally ill. In court. This strategy is often effective. It plays on misconceptions we all have about what it means to be a rape victim. If you've watched any crime show or any courtroom drama, you're probably familiar with the character of the perfect victim.

[Andrea Gunning]

As sure as I live and breathe, William Harris is the man who raped

[Narrator/Host]

me in that alley. Think of law and svu. There's the perpetrator, the bad guy, and then there's an innocent victim. She's written to be brilliant, beautiful, and beyond reproach.

[Andrea Gunning]

I tried to get away, but I couldn't.

[Sponsor/Advertiser Voices]

He just left me there.

[Narrator/Host]

Storytellers love this archetype. The protagonist is clear, and audiences love it, too. We know exactly who to root for. There's no room for doubt.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

The problem is that most victims don't behave the way this imaginary perfect victim behaves.

[Narrator/Host]

That's Deborah Turkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

I am a former prosecutor, and I handled cases involving special victims.

[Narrator/Host]

Deborah wrote a book called why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers. She's an expert on sexual violence. She says the perfect victim character doesn't just live on screen. She's the benchmark, the standard that all rape victims are judged against in the courts, in circles of friends, everywhere.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

The perfect victim standard includes misconceptions about how victims behave and how they ought to behave before, during, and after the abuse. Before, there ought to be no drinking, no drug use.

[Narrator/Host]

And Saskia, as we know, was on a lot of substances when she was raped.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

During the abuse, the horrific victim fights. She fights back. She fights hard.

[Narrator/Host]

But Saskia was knocked out.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

And then afterwards, the perfect victim. She's able to recall with precision every

[Narrator/Host]

single detail of what happened, which, again, Saskia couldn't. In every way, Saskia failed to rise to the perfect victim standard. The reality is, most victims do.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

It's unfair to impose a set of rules that, for the most part, can't be followed and aren't followed.

[Narrator/Host]

And yet the rules remain and they serve abusers like Mike. Because when victims aren't perfect victims, we can write them off and we can turn them into other characters.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

The regretful woman. So someone who had consensual sex and then decided it was a mistake and so is now, quote, unquote, crying rape. The gold digger, Someone who is making this up because she wants money.

[Narrator/Host]

And then there's the hysterical woman, someone

[Deborah Turkheimer]

who just really doesn't know what's going on and doesn't Have a firm grasp of reality.

[Narrator/Host]

It's one of the oldest and most effective ways to discredit a victim, to make the judge question their sanity and doubt what happened to them. Here's Alice Perret, Mike's attorney from the divorce trial.

[Mike Levengood]

What did you see that makes you believe that she was struggling? He was very depressed. He was unable to get out from work. Many, many times he was struggling to take care of the kid. Ms. Inwood says, I'm feeling like shit. How often would she tell you something like that? So many times I could not even count. And were there any particular reasons why she felt like shit? Because of, I'm anxious, I'm depressed, I can't take it, I can't work. Work is stressing me out. The kids are stressing me out. Out. Wipe this stuff to me out.

[Narrator/Host]

By Mike's account, Saskia wasn't composed or stable or credible. She was a woman in the midst of a breakdown. Her word couldn't and shouldn't be trusted. She had to have lost touch with reality because according to Mike, he and Saskia were camming together, having sex on camera all the time.

[Mike Levengood]

How many times have the two of you cammed on chatterbait? You know, two to three dozen times. And how many times had you observed other people camming on Chadabake? Three, four dozen times. The sex life became extremely adventurous with nothing. A lot of limits. There were no boundaries. That was something that I did not experience previously in any relationship.

[Narrator/Host]

But Mike wasn't asking the judge to take his word on all this. His divorce attorney, Alice Perret, said she could prove it. She had a plan.

[Mike Levengood]

I would like to really admit all of the pictures and all of the videos because I think the. How much of them is relevant into my client's case.

[Narrator/Host]

And when Alice said all, she wasn't just talking about the videos from the criminal trial, the ones detective rule recovered from 2017 and 2018.

[Mike Levengood]

There are hundreds of photographs, hundreds of videos, and they take place over the course of years and years, six or seven or more years.

[Narrator/Host]

There was more evidence, much more. And Alice claimed it would show Saskia consented to everything, every sexual act, every video.

[Mike Levengood]

What's happened is the defendant has under oath in pleadings and requested responses to admissions, just denied everything, never posed for pictures, never participated in videos. And you say this never happened. And there is a picture of a living color or video of it in moving motion, it's relevant.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Narrator/Host]

In the criminal trial There were about 30 videos recovered from Chatterbait. These videos were the key to prosecuting and convicting Mike. But in the divorce trial, Mike said he never raped Saskia or took images of her without her consent. She agreed to all of it, and to back that up, he said that he and Saskia often made pornography together,

[Mike Levengood]

which was done over the course of seven years to the tune of over 200 photographs and videos.

[Narrator/Host]

200 photographs and videos. His divorce attorney, Alice Perret, seemed confident

[Mike Levengood]

the evidence will convince the court that she was a willing participant in these matters.

[Narrator/Host]

While working on this episode, we reached out to Alice Perret. She declined to comment. In these additional images, it wasn't just that Saskia's eyes were open. As we've talked about in previous episodes, Alice claimed that in lots of instances, Saskia was awake and she was posing and performing for the camera. If Saskia was saying she'd never consented, she was lying or she was delusional. From the early days of reporting this season, I knew that there were some pictures Mike took of Saskia. Consensually, Saskia was open about that with us and with detectives too. The kids would be out of the house and they'd be drinking, having a good time. Then Mike would pull out his phone. You heard about one of these incidents in episode one?

[Saskia Inwood]

I remember one time he Took a picture of me and showed me how good my butt looked, or something like that. And I explicitly asked him, what are you doing with that picture? And he's like, well, of course I'm going to erase it. I would never show it to anybody.

[Narrator/Host]

But she can only remember this happening a handful of times. Mike said he had 200 photographs and videos, and most of these images, I

[Saskia Inwood]

don't remember taking them, and I never knew of their existence.

[Narrator/Host]

All of this brings up another painful truth about rape cases. No matter the corroboration, no matter the amount of prosecutors, family members, and experts standing behind a victim, there's an initial

[Deborah Turkheimer]

default to doubt that is sort of culturally ingrained in us.

[Narrator/Host]

That's law professor Deborah Turkheimer. Again, she says doubt is built into the crime of rape.

[Deborah Turkheimer]

It's really difficult in the criminal setting to get past that very high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And that's true of every crime. But it's especially true of rape. Historically, there were special instructions that were given to juries that said, you should be even more cautious about convicting in this case because accusers are so untrustworthy. Now, those formal instructions aren't given, but we still have a default to doubt when someone comes forward.

[Narrator/Host]

That's true even in a case like this, where there's so much evidence, even

[Deborah Turkheimer]

sometimes when it's on video. Right. There are questions of interpretation.

[Narrator/Host]

No judge or jury can turn back the clock to be in the room at the time a rape happened, and no one can get into the minds or bodies of the people involved. And that's also a challenge for us as reporters. That's my producer, Kaitlyn Golden.

[Saskia Inwood]

We can't go back in time.

[Andrea Gunning]

And so in understanding this story, the only thing we can do is rely on the evidence that is available to us.

[Narrator/Host]

When it comes to images like these, attorneys will always make arguments of what was really going on. But our team didn't understand the degree to which these were just arguments until we saw the images for ourselves. After months of reporting, we finally got access to the case files from the divorce and the criminal case. We saw the kinds of photos we heard so much about from Mike's attorney, ones where Saskia's eyes were open. One in particular has stuck with us.

[Andrea Gunning]

I remember the first time I saw

[Saskia Inwood]

that photo and I had to immediately

[Andrea Gunning]

close my laptop because, I mean, it's so hard to describe as anything other than horrific, like, yeah, she's not there.

[Narrator/Host]

No, no, she. She isn't there. I hate even describing it, but the only way I could describe what I saw is, it's like a corpse with her eyes open. It's really upsetting. So when I look at that photo, I think, of course she doesn't remember this. Yeah.

[Saskia Inwood]

And the idea that images like this, where her eyes are open were being

[Andrea Gunning]

used to say that she was awake and consented to everything is so disturbing.

[Narrator/Host]

Seeing this image, it felt clearer than ever. What happened to Saskia is real. It matters. And Mike, not Saskia, is to blame. But in the divorce trial back in 2021, there was only one person that needed to be convinced of all this. That was the judge. And Saskia was unsure what she'd make of these images.

[Saskia Inwood]

I knew that I wasn't going to be given the benefit of the doubt.

[Narrator/Host]

Before Mike's attorney could show the videos, the judge asked to review the content herself. She stepped into her chambers to watch in private. As everyone waited for the judge to return, Saskia sat in her kitchen, staring at Mike through her screen. The man who'd hurt her was now in jail. He was just a little box on zoom, and yet he had the power to make her feel so small. He was the one behind bars. But the judge was deliberating over Saskia's actions, her character.

[Saskia Inwood]

It felt ridiculous and absurd and dehumanizing that I had to go through that, but I also knew that I just had to get through it.

[Narrator/Host]

Saskia knew the truth. The truth is always the best defense. She just hoped the judge would see the truth, too. After a brief recess, the judge returned.

[Mike Levengood]

So I have gone through the additional videos and it looks as though Ms. Inwood knows she at points that pictures are being taken, and I'm not sure about knowing she's being videotaped because I don't think I saw anything that expressly shows that. So this could very well be a situation where, you know, consenting couple agree to take pictures of each other. And I don't think that that is going to challenge Ms. Inwood's credibility, but I do believe that Mr. Levengood's attorney should have some opportunity to examine her about that.

[Narrator/Host]

The judge couldn't say for sure that Saskia did or did not know she was being filmed or whether she knew this content was being shared. So she asked the officers of the court to turn around and Mike's attorney, Alice Perret, pulled up the evidence. She wanted to show Saskia the videos and make her answer for them. In front of everyone. Saskia looked at the video on her screen. Despite what Alice said, this was a video of her being Violated a video that was now being shown to a room full of strangers.

[Saskia Inwood]

It made me feel like a fool. It made me feel like less than a person.

[Narrator/Host]

The whole time, she couldn't stop thinking about Mike.

[Saskia Inwood]

It's heartbreaking to think that he put everybody through that just so that he could get away with humiliating me.

[Narrator/Host]

With Saskia on the stand, the judge let Mike's attorney, Alice Perret, proceed.

[Mike Levengood]

Ms. Inwood, do you recall this video? No, I don't. Do you recall when it was taken? Objection.

[Sponsor/Advertiser Voices]

She just said no. She doesn't recall.

[Mike Levengood]

Home rule. Ma', am, do you recall when this video was taken? No, because I don't recall the video.

[Narrator/Host]

The attorneys fought back and forth on objections and relevance as Saskia just sat there.

[Saskia Inwood]

It was so re. Traumatizing to have to defend myself. It's dehumanizing to have your life whittled down to that and to have people talking about things that are affecting your life and you can't do anything. You're just sitting there helpless, having to listen to it. And it's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

[Narrator/Host]

Alice continued cross examining Saskia for just a couple more minutes, asking Saskia if she posed for pictures for Mike. And then the judge popped in.

[Mike Levengood]

You Go ahead, Ms. Perret. Anything else you want to ask? No. No other questions of Ms. Inwood?

[Judge]

None.

[Mike Levengood]

I will save my time for Mr. Levitt. All right. All right. Any. She didn't ask much. Any redirect? No, you, Honor. All right, thank you. Okay.

[Narrator/Host]

Alice spent her remaining time questioning Mike again. Before long, she ran out of time. Both sides closed their cases. In the weeks that followed, Saskia waited and waited for the divorce decision. She wasn't expecting any kind of big win. She just wanted those papers in hand.

[Saskia Inwood]

I had no faith in the justice system anymore. I just wanted it to be over. I was already so disheartened about everything and not hopeful at all. It was like I was waiting for the time to run out. Everything was just getting in the way of me just being divorced from this monster. I wanted nothing more than to be divorced and be able to move on. And I could really say that this is not my husband. This is a monster who was posing as my husband. And now he's totally con.

[Narrator/Host]

Finally, a few months later, the judge released her decision. We're going to have a producer read part of it for you. And remember, Mike is the plaintiff here. Saskia is the defendant.

[Judge]

The judge wrote this court credits defendants testimony and expressly discredits plaintiff's testimony.

[Narrator/Host]

In other words, she didn't believe Mike. She believed Saskia.

[Judge]

Plaintiff attempted to convince this court that defendant was aware of the site and aware that she was being sexually penetrated and otherwise manipulated by the plaintiff. The court is unconvinced. The evidence revealed defendant had struggled during the party's marriage and before with addiction and mental health issues, making her particularly vulnerable to mistreatment by someone she trusted. Defendant learned only after very personal images were broadcast to the world on the Internet that she was married to someone whom she could not trust. The plaintiff betrayed his spouse in the worst type of way. He then lied about it it and continue to lie about it.

[Narrator/Host]

Another judge saw through Mike's lies and came to the same conclusion. On paper, she won, but in reality,

[Andrea Gunning]

to Saskia, it didn't matter.

[Saskia Inwood]

Of course, yes, she found that he was not credible and that I was credible, but it still didn't take away from what I had been through in this divorce and would have been taken away from me.

[Narrator/Host]

It was exactly how Saskia felt after Mike's plea deal. She was told that this was a good outcome for the court system, but it didn't feel that way. Professor Deborah Turkheimer says that's often how these cases go, even in the end,

[Deborah Turkheimer]

if the survivor is found credible and there's that vindication that comes along with it along the way, that process can be enormously difficult, degrading, even traumatic.

[Narrator/Host]

Saskia was granted a divorce on the grounds of cruelty. The judge wrote.

[Judge]

This court can think of few actions that warrant a divorce on this ground, more so than the rape and sexual exploitation that occurred here.

[Narrator/Host]

But she had to live through two and a half years of proceedings to get there. When he'd already been convicted in criminal court, she spent two and a half years defending herself, having to answer for every drink she had, every hospital stay, having all of her vulnerabilities put on display when Mike had raped her. And this crime isn't unique to Saskia.

[Mike Levengood]

You can see his hands, his wedding ring.

[Saskia Inwood]

And then I realized that I am in these images.

[Narrator/Host]

On the next episode of Betrayal, we meet other survivors. It has been a real journey for me to get to the point of realizing that it's not my gut that's broken, it's him that's broken. For resources on sexual violence, visit rainnn.org betrayal that's R A I N N.org betrayal. You can also get free confidential 24. 7 support through RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline. Just text HOPE to 64673 or call 1-800-656, hope you are not alone. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team or want to tell us your story, email [e-mail] that is betrayalpodmail.com or follow us on Instagram etrayalpod to access us additional content and to connect with the betrayal community. Join our [e-mail] we're grateful for your support. One way to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and review Betrayal. Five star reviews go a long way. A big thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Faison, hosted and produced by me, Andrea Gunning. Written and produced by Kaitlyn Golden. Our supervising producer is Carrie Hartman. Our story editor is Monique Laborde. Also produced by Ben Fetterman. Associate producers are Olivia Hewitt and Leah Jablo. Production management by Cross, Kristin Melchiori. Additional support by Curry Richman. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Krynczyk. Audio editing by Tanner Robbins with additional editing and mixing by Matt d'. Alvecchio. Special thanks to Saskia, her friends and family and special thanks to Will Pearson and Carrie Lieberman. Betrayal's theme is composed by Oliver Baines Music library provided by My Music and for more podcasts from the iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is sponsored by Virgin Voyages. There's something about the ocean. It creates space. And sometimes space is exactly what you need. Virgin Voyages is adults only. No kids, no chaos, no buffets, just beautifully designed spaces, award winning food and room to actually breathe. Over 20 restaurants are included, plus entertainment, Wi Fi, fitness classes all covered. No surprises. No emotional or financial whiplash. It's not just a vacation. It's perspective. It's reset. It's choosing yourself. And sometimes that's the bravest thing you can do. Plan your escape@virgin voyages.com lost support through

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Janice Torres here, and I'm Austin Hankwitz. We host the podcast Mind the Small Business Success Stories, produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.

[Andrea Gunning]

We're back for season four to talk to some incredible small business owners.

[Sponsor/Advertiser Voices]

The big thing about working at tech is that it's ever evolving, ever changing. Everyone's a rookie, that's how fast the industry is changing. So what I'm really excited about is to be part of that change. So listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrea Gunning]

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