this is "nightline." >> tonight, deception in the dark. >> i woke up to someone touching me. >> a young woman tricked into having sex with a man posing as her boyfriend. even after admitting to it, his name cleared. >> just because they're lying or being deceptive doesn't make it rape. >> the outrage sparking a national conversation about consent. plus spinoff success. >> oh, good crazy people. >> the edgy, mouthy conners continuing their story bought their feisty star. a backstage tour through television history. >> these may be the original pickled eggs but i think they've been in this cabinet for about 30 years. >> with the cast of the familiar faces tackling tough topics from

that iconic living room. and "aquawoman." the real winner of the golden globes. how a fiji water photo bomber stole the show. but first the "nightline 5." no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so try febreze fabric refreshener. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine for whole home freshness. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening.

thanks for joining us. we begin with an accusation of rape by fraud in a college dorm. it's a tale of deception hashed out in a courtroom. why the verdict is igniting a new conversation about consent. here's abc's linsey davis. >> i woke up to someone touching me. >> reporter: abby phinney still has trouble talking about that night two years ago. >> obviously i assumed that was my boyfriend, because i fell asleep with him. >> reporter: only it wasn't. abby discovered the man in bed with her, the man she'd had sex with, was not her boyfriend. it was his friend, grant ward. you believe that you were raped? >> yes. >> reporter: but the man she says raped her was acquitted in court. his record cleared. even after admitting he tricked abby. >> just because they're lying or being deceptive doesn't make it rape. >> reporter: this case exposes a legal loophole in sexual assault laws across the country, sparking a national conversation

about rape by fraud. >> the jury didn't get it wrong. the law needs to be changed. >> reporter: by the time abby arrived at purdue university in the fall of 2016, she was ready. >> i had graduated high school, valedictorian of my class. >> there's always something to learn from every situation in life. >> i was just excited to start college. >> reporter: abby chose a computer science major and moved into the dorms the first street towers where she met her boyfriend. >> i've always been just a very adventurous person. and not afraid of things. >> reporter: but surveys show 1 in 5 women experience sexual assault at some point during college, and studies reveal the highest risk period is in the first few months of their first and second semesters in school. statistics abby would come to learn firsthand. february 2017, you're at your boyfriend's, what happens? >> people are pretty much hanging out. playing video games. >> reporter: by 2:00 a.m., she fell asleep in bed with her

boyfriend. his friends crashed on the futon below. abby says she's a very heavy sleeper, but something woke her. at some point you wake up and someone is groping you? touching you in a sexual way? >> yes. >> you're assuming it's your boyfriend? >> uh-huh. >> so then what happens? >> reporter: the man was spooned behind her and abby says the touching turned into sex. >> i needed to go to the bathroom at some point. so i left the bed. when i went to go get back into bed, then i saw that grant was in the bed instead of my boyfriend. >> reporter: grant was one of the guys in the room. her boyfriend's friend. when you returned and see grant in the bed, does he say anything? >> i just remember him smiling at me. that's part of why i thought it was a joke. >> reporter: panicked and confused, abby went to her dorm room where she found her boyfriend asleep. >> i told him that i wasn't

really sure what happened. but that i had sex with someone that i thought was him. and it was his friend. >> did he believe you? >> at first i think he was just kind of in shock. because this was someone he really trusted. >> reporter: her boyfriend went to confront his friend. abby stayed in her room trying to figure out what to do next. >> i ended up going to the hospital to get a rape kit done. >> some people are watching are going to say, couldn't you tell by smell or the way your boyfriend might normally touch you that this was a different person? that maybe there was a way to know that this was not the normal person that you would be with? >> well, first of all, my boyfriend and i hadn't been together that long. but even if we had, i think people overestimate how aware they are when they're just waking up. >> reporter: within hours, police picked up donald grant ward. the affidavit shows ward told police after abby's boyfriend left the room, he climbed up

into the bunk with her, quote, ward indicated he had sexual intercourse with victim number one, knowing she believed him to be her boyfriend. with that statement on record, many felt the case was open and shut. >> if you are having sex with someone and it turns out that that person is not the person you believed you were having sex with, you clearly did not consent to having sex with that person. so in my mind, nonconsensual sex is rape. >> reporter: but the law in indiana isn't so simple. the hoosier state defines rape in only three circumstances. one, if the person is compelled by force or threat of force. two, if the person is unconscious or unaware sex is happening. or three, if the person so is mentally disabled that they cannot consent. >> i was so angry. >> reporter: sally seacrest was the state state representative

for the district covering purdue university. >> the general bepublic had no idea that our rape laws were so narrow that there were rapists being turned loose. >> reporter: she found a woman, joyce short, who's been fighting legal loopholes like these for years. short runs a website, consentawareness.net. >> my absolute ultimate goal is to see the world understand that n nonconsensual sex is sexual assault, and consent is freely given, knowledgeable, and informed agreement. 76% of the states and territories of the united states have no definition of consent in their laws. >> reporter: she calls what happened to abby rape by fraud, or rape by deception. do you think that it happens a lot more often than we think? >> oh, it happens all the time. >> reporter: but only a few states have laws covering rape by deception. abby found out during the trial, indiana is not one of them. >> he ends up being found not

guilty because it didn't fit within the law. >> reporter: at the time, ward's defense lawyer told station wlfi, tricking someone into sex may be immoral, but it's not illegal. at least not in indiana. >> she unzipped my boy's pants and knew what she was doing. she wasn't unaware of the sex. >> i was really disappointed. because i felt like i gave a lot of myself for that trial. and i -- sorry. >> no, it's okay. >> it just felt like a waste. >> reporter: after the trial, and ward's acquittal, his record was expunged. in a legal sense, it's as if the event on february 12th, 2017, never even happened. abby says she's not free. she's the one paying the price. >> i suffer from ptsd and depression. >> did you have to take time off fr school? >> i did. spring semester is when the trial happened. and afterwards i just had a

really horrible like depressive episode, and i was just in bed for months. >> so really, the not guilty kind of caused trauma a second time? >> yes. >> what would you think would be a reasonable punishment for grant? >> i think he should be on the sex offender registry, just because i want to protect people in the future from things like this happening to them. >> do you think that the indiana law failed you? >> yeah. >> the fact that indiana's law was not worded to cover abby's rape does not negate the fact that she was raped. >> reporter: she's trying to change that, writing legislation to make rape by deception a crime, pushing it even after she lost re-election. >> i absolutely think that if we don't change the law, this acquittal says we don't care if you were raped in the state of indiana, our laws are not going to protect you. >> reporter: but critics say

changing the law is a slippery slope. >> so every time a guy lies and says, honey, i love you, you're going to prosecute him for rape? just because they're lying or being deceptive doesn't make it rape. >> he should know be lawyer. and as a lawyer, he understands that the bar is very, very high for prosecuting any kind of fraud or deception. not only do they have to have a reasonable basis for believing it, but they have to also have significant proof. >> reporter: we could not reach ward directly for comment on this story and his attorney did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. however, his family released a statement saying, this case should not be used as an example of impersonation to support an agenda for changing the law. for now, abby is back in school still with her boyfriend, now trying to rebuild her life. what would you tell young women or older women who are perhaps still wrestling with something that happened to them? >> just know that it's not your

fault. i'm sharing my story because -- i think people need to see rape victims as people. it's a lot easier to comment on facebook about how horrible this girl is when she's just a nameless, faceless person versus like a real-life person. out there telling their story. >> our thanks to linsey. up next, behind the scenes with the conners. the feisty family moving forward without their leading lady. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief

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you know the conners have been a family on screen and off for 30 years. after grieving the loss of its matriarch, the reboot is still among the season's number one new comedies. proving that if laughter helps heal all wounds, then this clan is going to be just fine. >> and here we are, the magic of television. in our classic kitchen -- >> reporter: there's museum-quality nostalgia on the set of "the conners." >> these may be the original pickled eggs but i think they've been in this cabinet for about 30 years. >> reporter: it's like walking back in time. >> here is our iconic living room. >> reporter: into television history. >> of course here's our afghan. it feels like my living room. >> reporter: lacy corenson knows every nook and cranny of this set. she's been playing becky conner since she was a teen. >> the set dressers ask us for

personal photos. and this was a photo of me and sarah on our way to the people's choice awards. i don't know what kind of bizarre madonna thing i'm rocking with the shoulder pads. >> reporter: sarah, of course, is sara gilbert, cast as roseanne's daughter darlene as a precocious child star. >> i had it in my nose all day! >> reporter: today she's the boss, serving as both actor and executive producer. >> i don't even think of myself as a boss. i just think of it like helping to organize and keep this thing going and try to help keep it on track. >> reporter: of course a lot has changed. now the conners are moving on after losing their matriarch, roseanne. >> i don't want to leave this house. because -- because -- i don't want to leave her. >> this family, like all families who go through this, are trying to survive and define their new roles.

deal with the loss in an honest way. >> we keep telling people we're grieving until we figure out how to feed ourselves. >> reporter: john goodman reviving his role as dan, now a widower. in the scene where you put your arm over the empty pillow, it helps, i guess, the audience grieve when the whole show is about grief? >> to help me. this is a lot like widowhood for me. my main working partner, scene partner, pal, is not here. >> reporter: but if their foul-mouthed and feisty mom taught them anything, it was to dust off and keep moving. >> laughing inappropriately is what mom taught us to do. >> reporter: the show staying true to its comedic core. edgy, unfiltered, unafraid. >> blue wave 2020! >> how does "the conners" tackle politics? >> we're not talking about any specific politician or any specific platform.

but just what is it like to be a working-class family in america, and what issues do you naturally deal with? >> roseanne od'd on opioids. >> reporter: gone are the trump references. but the thorniest issues still front and center. >> i found these pills in mom's closet. >> reporter: even roseanne's death a cautionary tale about opioid addiction. >> these aren't even prescribed to her. >> dan's anger is impotence at not being -- there's nobody to be angry at. there are several things, but it's just too big. it's a blind rage. >> reporter: darlene's drama involves a marriage unraveling, forced to deal with her ex's new lover blue, played by juliette lewis. >> david told me you would probably be upset, come here. >> don't touch me! >> i was so knocked out by how you're bringing to life again something from before, but it's

timeless. >> reporter: lori metcalf's aunt jackie as discombobulated as ever. >> do you feel like you're the new matriarch or half the new matriarchky in this family? >> i don't think jackie is necessarily fit to step into anybody's shoes. >> come on, she's a life coach now. >> yeah, well. she says she has a job as a life coach, we've yet to see that. >> you have a new love interest seated next to you. >> matthew broderick guest stars. >> why say yes? >> suddenly i got a phone call. i think the next morning i was on a plane here. and i wanted to work with lori. i think she's an absolutely wonderful actor. one of the greats. >> reporter: all the actors get to dig into dramatic storylines. goranson's character becky coming to grips with her own addiction. >> zero tolerance policy for alcohol. >> what was that scene like for you to play that out with her? >> people with alcoholism don't listen to advice.

and they have to, as they say, crash or bottom out on their own before they seek help. there's not much dan could tell her about it. she's got to find her own way, unfortunately. >> reporter: for michael fishman, who plays becky's brother, it's a relationship that extends nearly 30 years, both on and off the set. >> here we have my tv brother. >> you woke up like this? >> yes, i woke up like this. >> reporter: d.j. has a family of his own now. >> what's the funnest part of the show? >> maybe the last studio tapings. >> reporter: jaden plays roseanne's granddaughter. mya lynn robinson is his wife. >> when was the last time she was in church? >> it's funny the tricks time can play on you. >> do you think it says a lot about how far we have come, that we've broken through the taboo and have this very mainstream, interracial marriage? >> i think it's important -- >> i think we have a lot farther to go. ♪ >> reporter: this family has never shied away from tough conversations. >> did you ever like a boy?

>> no. >> does it bother you that i do? >> no! >> tell me about the scene you have with your grandpa where you basically come out to him. >> yeah. >> he says what took you so long? >> mark is still figuring things out. he's not someone who wants to be labeled or is going to label anyone else. >> reporter: a classic ensemble show, the conners showing how families can overcome loss and move forward. up next, a thirsty stunt at the golden globes. now serving a viral frenzy. touch shows how we really feel. but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz, the first and only treatment of its kind

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finally tonight, the unlikely star of the golden globes. kelith coltsberg, one of the four models hired to hand out fiji water on the red carpet, stole the show. she photo bombed star after

star, serving water and looks. the fiji water woman showing us how quickly a star is born in hollywood, becoming an online sensation following her stunt. thanks for watching "nightline." don't forget you can be sure to stay on trend by keeping up with our full episodes streaming on hulu. good night, america.