Celeste Returned News Today

After celeste reported her sexual assault, she quickly sensed that her fellow marines did not believe her, and she began to spiral. for the first time in her life, she checked into a mental hospital on base. the doctor diagnosed her with ptsd and described eight different medications. >> i started going to a darker hole with depression and started thinking suicidal thoughts. one night, i decided to overdose on pills. >> celeste only has vague wrecks -- recollection of what happened later that ni...

This is a leadership issue, and we will lead. now, we wait, to see if actions follow words. the path to reform has maddeningly slow. but several months after we completed filming, celeste came one step closer to justice. there has been a big break in her sexual harassment claim against her superior officer. other survivors have come forward against him with their own allegations of abuse. for celeste, its validation that shes not in this fight alone. and now, she can take steps toward healing. >...

But she didnt anticipate what would happen with a fellow marine who she considered a friend. one weekend in 2020, celeste and a friend took a sight seeing trip off base. >> he had this girl he wanted to see. they met on tinder. after we ate we were going to go to some club, but we decided to get a hotel. it was a two-bed room. the girl fell asleep and it was just me and my friend. and we were just talking. and we had a few drinks. i struggle with sleep a lot. and i took sleeping medicine. and it...

I started yelling, i am being sexually assaulted. they told me to calm down but i didnt calm down. >> the next morning celeste woke up in the psychiatric hospital. she says no one talked about what happened the night before. a month later, she attempted suicide again. this time, the marine corps locked her up in a military jail own as the brig. celeste was charged with violating military code on the night she o.d.d and assaulted three officers. did you even know why you were being sent to the br...

This military, you are going to be reprimanded one way or another. >> would you say that the military intentionally tries to discredit victims? >> i dont know if i would say intentionally, but i would say habitually. it is the social retaliation. it is professional retaliation. so while you are telling your story over and over to investigators, suddenly now you are a problem child because you are experiencing trauma and you are being sent to mental health to see if they can force you out that wa...

Reservation with her twin thor and her parents. >> get muddy, get dirty, oh, well, we will watch the clothes. they would have so much fun. >> celeste was such a happy, happy little girl. always a doer, always a leader. >> in high school i was into my studies. i took six a.p. classes my senior year. i was in the navy rotc at school. >> after graduation she followed had her fathers footsteps and joined the military. she became the first woman in hadar family to become a marine. >> i was actually p...

The american southwest. it has a special connection to military heroes. during world war ii, the marines enlisted navajo men from this area to transmit hundreds of coded messages in their native language across enemy lines. known as the navajo code talkers, they helped lead america to victory and one of them was private james largo, great grandfather to 21-year-old celeste. the marines have been part of your family history. has it been a source of pride for you? >> yes, my grand grandpa was a na...

Received while on active duty. >> it could affect their the rest of their lives. >> the rest of their lives. >> at this point there is not much more she can do. the military has dropped the investigation into her alleged rape for lack of sufficient evidence. >> we are in a battle with celestes offenders. >> and those trying to keep it quiet. fighting against them as well. >> i think it could have been very easy, celeste, for your spirit to have been broken. but is your spirit broken? >> it was. ...

One of the most common things we hear is oh, this is a he said-she said case. it immediately discounts the allegation, makes it sound like it is unprosecutable. there is definitely a culture of disbelief, where very little credit is given to the victim. >> i felt like i was going crazy because no one was listening. >> all of a sudden, it was, i dont like it here. and that was a big shock to me. i said, whats going on? she goes, well, my knee hurts. i said, celeste, please, why do you want to get...

Were trying to down play the impact of her rape. the day after celestes second suicide attempt, the hospital ended up saying that celeste was in no acute distress. despite there being record of her being diagnosed with ptsd and having multiple suicide attempts. inside the brig, another doctor claimed celeste showed no sign of recent trauma, then diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder. that to me just doesnt -- it doesnt sit well. these detailed letters she wrote to her command are ve...