As Taylor Auerbach was smashed in the witness box – the television producer was called a liar, a hater, a cheat, a man who couldn’t even be honest with his psychologist – it became clear, if evidence was ever needed, why sexual assault victims avoid the law.

A victim, he said, of crimes against basic decency, Auerbach made a different decision. This week, the 32-year-old altered the trajectory of the almost-irresistible force that is an all-but-over high-profile court case, and put television on trial.