both for the person forgiven, and the forgiver." Malone said he had faith in Carlivati's storytelling but that the story would have been different and possibly not romantic if he himself had been writing it. "Anyone can tell a story, and one of the reasons people mock soaps is because you can only read plot," he said. "Writing a story is about the depths of the character and the relationships of the character, and the beauty in which the story is told." On November 6, 2008, the writers followed through with their plan to have Todd engage in sex with Marty. As part of their agreement with RAINN, ABC aired a rape-themed PSA after the sex scene. Viewers and critics were outraged by the show's decision to allow the sex scene, and called the scene the "second rape of Marty" and Marty's "re-rape/rapemance". Not long after the scene, Marty discovers Todd as her rapist. Characters within the series, including Marty herself, interchangeably refer to the incident as rape and as "having had sex". Despite Todd and Marty's dark history, fans of the couple emerged; critics cited this as an irresponsible result of the storyline and the majority of these fans as young teenagers. They called the storyline reprehensible. Ed Martin of The Jack Myers Report'' said he had to agree with fans complaining about the storyline. "This tale, though well told, has been sickening given the history of these characters," said Martin. "I don’t believe that sex between two adults can be mutually consenting when one of the people involved has no idea what’s really going on, and especially when one of the two is a depraved brute who previously attacked the other." He added, "The writers had already established the inner conflict Todd was experiencing in the moments before he had sex with Marty. (He was even having flashbacks to the gang rape)." Martin argued, "Rather than take her to bed, he should have broken down, confessed everything to her and taken her rage. There would have been no question at that time that Todd had indeed changed." In December 2008, Todd is officially charged with several crimes, including rape. The rape charges, as well as others, are eventually dropped when character Téa Delgado is allowed to question Marty at the hearing and subsequently "proves" the sex to have been consensual, regardless of Marty's mental state. However, on February