The victim, who had an intellectual disability and was later determined to have an IQ of 64, left her house the afternoon of the incident to go play basketball in Carteret Park.

When she arrived at the park, many of the school's athletes were there, either watching or participating in an informal baseball practice.

The first staff member to report the incident was a teacher who overheard a student discussing the rumors with a classmate.

Byron realized she would need independent corroboration, because the victim might not make a convincing witness in a trial.

A pretrial ruling lifted New Jersey's rape shield law to allow testimony about the victim's past sexual history.

Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino referred to the defendants as threats to their community and asked the judge to revoke their bail.

This strategy was received poorly throughout the trial due to its implications of victim blaming and the defense lawyers' nonchalant attitudes during courtroom breaks.

While they agreed early on that the woman was incapable of saying no due to her disability, it took three more days for the jurors to determine whether or not the defendants were or should have been aware of this.

[11] In 2004, after all three had served their prison sentences, they again appealed their convictions to try to clear their names and to stay off New Jersey's sexual offender registry.

The book attributes many of the problems with the football players to their society's (as well as the town's and the parents') heavy emphasis on winning and success rather than on personal character.

[13][14][15] The film, directed by Guy Ferland, stars Ally Sheedy, Eric Stoltz and Heather Matarazzo and is an adaptation of Bernard Lefkowitz's book.

Some of the things events and details described in Lefkowitz's book were omitted from the film, out of respect.