Law & Order Special Victims Unit s23e04 Episode Script
One More Tale of Two Victims
1
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Detective Velasco, just take any empty desk.
I just want to say, again, what an honor it is to be here, Captain Benson.
- Not that desk.
- Fin We're glad that you're here.
Trust me, we could use the help.
And Sergeant Tutuola and Detective Rollins will help you get settled in.
Coffee here is bad.
Nominally better in the break room.
- I'm good with bad.
- Great.
So I will be back in a couple hours.
- What did I do? - Don't take it personally.
That was Kat Tamin's old desk.
On second thought, how about I grab something from outside? Good choice.
So Chief McGrath planted a spy in our squad room? Fin, we're short-staffed.
Please play nice.
I did research.
The rumor is that the guy's good.
Yeah, rumor is, he started that rumor.
When are you gonna get back from PT? I wish it was PT.
Be less painful.
- McGrath called a meeting.
- About what? About McGrath making sure that when he calls, I show up.
Can I get a swirl with sprinkles please? - Yep.
- Hey, mami.
You got a nice swerve on you.
In front of her kid, man? Come on.
Have some respect.
My fricking kid is right here.
- Come on, bro.
- All right.
Sorry about those guys.
Here we go, little man.
Chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles.
- $3.
- Okay.
Here you go.
- Aw.
- There you go [GASPS.]
Oh, no! I am - oh, it's okay, papi.
- It happens.
I'll make another one on the house; don't worry about it.
Sorry it took so long.
Got the good stuff.
Light, extra sweet.
Thanks.
I don't know what kind of donuts you like.
I got a dozen assorted.
I, actually, I don't do donuts.
Tell you what, though.
You want to get on the Sergeant's good side? - He has one? - He likes jelly.
Oh, I I looked for you at your old office.
I didn't - Didn't realize.
- Garland's is bigger.
You know, once I get the walls painted Did he hire a decorator or something? Okay, uh, let's start with your DD5s.
Nine-year-old girl molested by her uncle.
Yeah, he confessed, pled to seven years, avoids putting the girl on the stand.
Um Co-workers, woman's claiming rape.
Her apartment, 2:00 AM.
She invite him in? She did.
But he was her boss, and, she sustained injuries from the attack.
Okay.
You okay, Captain? [TENSE MUSIC.]
Uh, I Look, I gotta say, I'm just not used to going over every one of my cases with the SVU chief.
Well, acting chief.
You've had a lot of autonomy, I get that.
Look, after you and I have gotten into a rhythm, I'll loosen the reins.
All right? By the way, I wanted to say that I appreciate how welcoming your squad has been to Velasco.
He said that? Well, he's been a UC for a long time.
Just glad that he's getting some experience with a functioning unit.
[CHUCKLES.]
And this is where you say, "Oh, well, we're happy to have him, Chief, thanks.
" All right, where were we? [UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC.]
Wow, you're a really good dancer.
That's not the only thing I'm good at.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
How about I show you? [INHALES.]
Sure we can't go back to your place? No, I want you right here, right now.
Oh, you're gonna love this.
Congressman Howard prefers not to go to Green Haven.
Why is that? Because of his asthma? He also has special diet requests.
Detective Rollins.
- Sorry to interrupt.
- No worries.
I've got the DD5s on the girl and her uncle.
These could have waited until the morning.
Sorry you had to come over so late.
No problem.
Least I can do is walk you out.
Give me a minute.
We're just finishing up Congressman Howard's plea deal.
So, uh, how was your day? Well, they finally got us some help.
Velasco's covering.
I thought he was a UC.
Well, Fin thinks he might be McGrath's UC in our office.
Is that what you think? I don't have a problem with Velasco, but I do know that anything you say around him, even about us, straight to McGrath.
- Copy that.
- Okay.
- Safe home.
- Okay.
Thanks for walking me back.
I had fun.
- Party doesn't have to end.
- Oh, I'm sorry, I have to let the sitter go.
Sitter? Is that for real? I'll call you, okay? Oh, baby.
- Tell me you want it, Crystal.
- Yes, I want it.
[SNIFFLES.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
How about we put him in his room? I like him here.
It's okay, papi.
Mommy's just playing a game.
It's just a game.
Best part of the game? If he cries, he dies.
[WHIMPERS.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
A woman raped in front of her kid.
Her three-year-old.
What kind of sick animal does that? Welcome to SVU.
There's the responding officer.
Okay, I'll take him.
- You talk to the vic.
- Got it.
Who who do I go with? Stick with me.
Vic is Crystal Nuñez, 28, single mom.
Of a three-year-old boy.
Where's the kid now? In social services? Actually, she called the father.
He was pissed when he got there.
That his son's mother was raped? You left the boy with him? It's his kid too, Velasco.
How'd the perp get in the apartment? He rang the bell, said he was with Con Ed, a neighbor reported a gas leak.
She opened the door, he pushed in.
- Did he have a weapon? - No.
She said he made her put on a nightie.
Told her to pretend to enjoy it, or, uh, he'd kill her son.
CSU on the scene? Okay, we'll meet them there.
Now what? We tear that apartment apart, hoping the guy left some DNA.
It was dark I couldn't see his face clearly.
He was white, skinny.
- Did he say anything? - He knew my name.
he made me pretend like, I liked him, like we were just, having sex, so I did For Manny.
You did what you had to do, Crystal.
We're gonna need to run a rape kit, all right? Yeah.
- But he used a condom.
- Okay.
You said he he knew your name and where you lived.
It could be that, he followed you.
Can you walk me through your day? I was with Manny most of the time.
Most? At night, I went to a party.
All last year, I didn't go out much.
I just wanted to have a good time.
And I was home by midnight for the sitter.
I'm a single mom too, Crystal.
I get it.
Anything happen at the party? I had a few drinks, no more than two.
- I danced.
- With somebody in particular? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
No.
Okay And when you left, did you notice anyone following you? No, I didn't see anyone.
Okay.
A couple of neighborhood guys were harassing me earlier, while I was buying Manny an ice cream.
So they saw you with your son.
Oh, my God.
What if whoever did this comes back, and they try to hurt Manny? We're gonna do everything we can do to make sure that that doesn't happen.
Okay? Do you have a place to To go tonight? A friend's house or maybe Manny's father? No, I'm definitely not going there.
I just want to go home.
Lot of final notices.
Single mother, money's tight.
Letter from a lawyer's office.
Looks like she's in a custody battle.
Profile the rapist, not the vic.
Copy that.
Bag any clothes on the floor.
She told me she was wearing a nightgown.
What's going on? He's cutting the mattress.
That's how we test for DNA.
Sergeant.
CSU found this under the bed.
Sex toys and a pipe.
- She's got a lot of stuff.
- So does everybody.
None of this matters.
Profile the rapist.
Got it.
Pushed in with force, damaged the wall.
Any chance he left a partial? We can hope so.
Hey Dust the door jamb for prints.
Enough of this.
Wall-to-wall coverage, about a woman who was raped in front of her child.
McGrath has called me three times, so please tell me that we have something.
We fine-toothed the apartment.
We're waiting to hear from the lab.
The vic couldn't give much of an ID aside from the perp knowing her name.
And she said that she let the guy in? I mean, I know that it was a Con Ed ruse, so You obviously followed up on that.
They didn't send anybody to the building that night.
And there was no reports of a gas leak.
Similar M.
O.
's in the neighborhood, recently released sex offenders? No and no, and no security cams in the building.
For what it's worth, she's in a custody battle with her ex, Eduardo Sosa.
In 2019, they were both arrested, for a public argument.
Neither pressed charges.
Does the ex have an alibi? Yeah, he was home that night with his girlfriend.
He picked up the kid.
Then I'm not interested in the backstory.
Here's something.
Lab got a hit off a print.
- From the doorjamb? - CSU found multiples at the scene, but none were in the system except for a Travis Hillsdale.
- Who is? - Hold on.
Travis Hillsdale, busted last year for dealing marijuana out of his Swirly City ice cream truck.
Crystal said she was bothered by some guys in the park when she was buying Manny ice cream.
Okay, but it doesn't explain why the ice cream guy's in her apartment.
So an ice cream truck shouldn't be that hard to find.
Enjoy.
Have a good day.
Travis Hillsdale? Yeah, afternoon, officers.
How can I help? Uh, we're investigating an attack.
The vic said she may have been harassed at the park at Pitt Street the other day, buying ice cream.
We're hoping you saw something.
I'll be right out.
Hey, uh, how can I help? You recognize her? Uh, actually, yeah, that's Crystal, she's a regular.
Her kid likes rainbow sprinkles.
Did she get her kid a cone on Friday? You know what, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You notice any guys bothering her? Was it those idiots? - What'd they do? - You know them? Okay, they hang out, harass these moms in front of their kids.
Every day, I have to tell them to leave my customers alone.
I got one more question.
You ever been over to her apartment? Oh, she say that? I mean, 'cause, actually, yeah, I was there, but I didn't see her.
Just, you know, Manny dropped his sippy cup.
- And I returned it.
- How'd you know where she lived? Yeah, one of the other moms.
Brought the cup back, gave it to Manny's sitter.
Travis, you seem like a nice guy.
And we're trying to get whoever did this off the street.
We have a suspect down at that station.
Would you mind coming down, helping us with an ID? Take your time, Crystal.
I kind of recognize number 2.
As the man who raped you? From somewhere else, I'm sorry, I don't think it's him.
I don't think it's any of, I - It was dark - It's okay, it's okay, Crystal.
- Let's find a seat.
- Thank you.
No luck? Well, she did recognize Travis.
But maybe because she's a regular at his ice cream truck.
- Then why didn't she say that? - Who knows? He keeps his mask on at work.
He did volunteer to help us with the lineup.
What about prints? We confirmed with the sitter.
He returned the sippy cup last week.
All right, so he's either a good Samaritan, or He's casing her apartment.
Either way, Crystal did not ID him, and the fingerprint isn't probative.
Now if we find any unknown DNA on that bed, maybe we can test him? Velasco, before Travis leaves, ask him if he would like a soda.
Get his DNA.
On it, Captain.
Uh, Crystal's lab results came back.
Please tell me, it's good news.
Just the opposite.
Uh, between the rape kit and her bedding, three different semen samples.
- Anybody in the system? - None.
When you asked her, she didn't mention having anyone special in her life right now? Just her son.
How long does semen last? Long enough.
There were three samples.
Hopefully, one of those samples will be Your rapist.
But we do need you to walk us through, who the other two might be, so we can eliminate them as suspects.
Oh, my God.
This is why I didn't tell you, all right.
My ex is trying to get custody of Manny, and, - if he finds out - You're a single woman.
He kind of thinks we're still together.
So your ex is one of the samples.
Probably.
He came by, two days ago, it It always puts him in a better mood.
Okay, who else can you tell us about? Up the mountain in five, four, three [WORKOUT MUSIC.]
Raif Tawari? There you go, keep breathing.
Three minutes, everybody.
Okay, push, don't stop.
Don't stop.
Yeah? What is this about? You were at a party on a rooftop, Loisaida, Friday night? Yeah.
Again, what is this about? You hook up with anyone? That was totally consensual.
Is that her? Crystal, right? - What's she saying? - How about we ask the questions? Okay, look, we were dancing.
Hot.
She was, like, into it.
In control.
We took the party to another location.
Her apartment? No, a corner of the roof.
After, I walked her home.
She said I couldn't come up.
She had to let the sitter go.
I didn't even know she had a kid.
Life's full of surprises, huh? Any chance you went back anyway? Doubled back for round two? - No big deal.
- No.
Man, no.
Look I went home to my wife.
We were in bed by midnight.
You're not gonna tell either one of them, are you? Am I in trouble? You tell me, Arlo.
How about we start with your relationship to Crystal Nuñez.
Well, she's my upstairs neighbor.
We know that.
And? She sometimes calls me her her "minute man.
" - Minute man.
- Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Not like that.
We started hooking up, during Covid.
We'd get together whenever she had a little bit of downtime, and her kid was napping.
She texted, I'd come up.
It was a lonely time and, we needed each other.
- It was sweet.
- I'm sure it was.
And when was the last time you were in her apartment? A few nights ago.
Manny was asleep.
And she was, well, you know.
"Few nights ago"? Like, two nights? Friday? No, n-no way.
- I-I swear.
- Why not? Because every Friday, I go home and have dinner with my mother.
Spend the night at my old house in Babylon.
And sh-she does my laundry.
Yeah.
How's Crystal doing? I'm worried about her, she makes a lot of bad decisions.
- When's the last time you saw her? - This afternoon.
She wanted Manny back.
I brought him back.
Her apartment, was a crap show, I gotta tell you.
What about two nights ago, Friday? You mean the night she was attacked? - Find that guy yet? - We're still investigating.
I'd kill him myself, I had any idea.
Mr.
Sosa, you told us earlier you were home with your girlfriend that night? Yeah.
What's it to you? Well, we since found out you, and Crystal have been hooking up.
Maybe you came over earlier.
She got angry for some reason, - called the cops.
- Are you kidding me with this? Look, man, you have a DV complaint against you.
- We gotta ask these questions.
- That was more her, than me, okay.
We were drunk, loud.
Crystal pushed me.
Couple Karens called the cops.
We scream, but I ain't never lay a hand on Crystal.
You accusing me of something, say it.
We confirm with your girlfriend you were home, and we take you off the list.
I don't want her involved in this.
What's really going on? Hmm? Crystal said that she was raped in front of my kid.
- If she's lying - Mr.
Sosa, calm down.
No, no, no, we're talking about my son.
Don't you tell me to calm down.
Crystal Nuñez had sex with three different men, and failed to disclose that? She was worried about her ex-husband finding out about her private life.
Because she was still having sex with him? Look, how do we know that this isn't just, uh, some kind of domestic dispute? Her ex-husband and the two other men she was with that week alibied out.
So that's three.
And what about this This-this ice cream vendor? His DNA is not a match.
But, Chief, the rapist may not have left DNA.
She said he wore a condom.
- Or there was no rape.
- Okay.
Look Her three-year-old son was in the bed next to her.
So she says, but, come on, we've been here before.
She brings someone home she shouldn't have.
She's worried about the ex finding out.
So she cries rape, throws in a story about the kid, to, you know, for sympathy She's not a perfect victim, but she is not making this up.
Well, let's hope so.
'Cause that would be a terrible headline for us, wouldn't it? [TENSE MUSIC.]
Unless you get something on somebody, just slow the roll.
Slow the roll? There's no case here, Captain.
Yes, Rollins, yeah, Fin is right.
McGrath is not eager to pursue.
I know, I know, look.
We need to check in with Crystal, so I will meet you at her apartment.
I'm almost done with the NYPD doctor.
Yeah, okay, thanks.
- Doctor, how you doing? - Hey.
I, uh, I really need to get back to work.
I'm hoping that you can clear me so I can be off this, limited duty.
Well It's not that simple.
But I'm I'm able to walk short distances now.
I see.
But your ankle is badly fractured, and you're not going to be chasing a perp across a rooftop anytime soon.
Look, have you ever considered it's time to move on? Move on? Retirement.
I'm considering it myself.
I am nowhere near Moving on or retirement.
Look, I I still have so much work to do.
I'm raising a young son on my own, - I'm - You could spend a lot more quality time with him while he's young, like I wish I'd done with mine.
I need to work.
I love my job.
Olivia, we both know it's not the same job it was when we signed on.
The last few years, the stress, the turnover.
I heard about the new interim chief.
Your accident on your way to the courthouse at 10:00 PM, that makes it job-related.
So I can mark you fit for duty right now.
Or I could put you on the fast-track to 3/4 pay.
Tax-free.
Full bennies.
For life.
Just think about it.
Eduardo's freaked out.
He wants Manny to go stay with him.
I shouldn't have called him that night.
I'm so sorry, Crystal.
I don't want to make things worse with Eduardo, but I don't think Manny wants to go.
Ever since that night, he's gotten clingy or he's hitting me.
Well, we could get you a referral from Victim Services, for counseling.
For you and for Manny.
There'd be no charge.
You want to send my son to a shrink? Just think about it.
All I can think about is whoever raped me coming back.
He's still out there.
And we are still investigating.
Why haven't you caught him? How hard are you even trying? You think because I didn't tell you about the other guys that I lied - about my rape? - No.
No, Crystal.
Look at me.
We believe you.
Just, you have to understand that cases like this, they They take time.
[PHONE BUZZES.]
Captain, we got a call.
[TENSE DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
A 1013? - Who got shot? - Nobody.
A woman was raped in front of her 18-month-old baby.
They wanted a high-level response.
- "They"? Who made the call? - I did.
The vic is one of our own.
Captain, let me introduce Deputy Inspector Grogan.
You need to find the son-of-a-bitch who did this.
- Do you know the vic? - That's my daughter.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
He knocked on my door.
Said he had a MetroBnB confirmation, for my apartment on his phone.
I looked through the peephole, just a Plain-looking guy.
Had you ever rented your apartment before? Never, my father would have had a Chernobyl meltdown.
Okay, well, we'll follow up with the company, but, can you tell us what happened next? I never should have opened the door.
He pushed in, grabbed me, asked me where my daughter was.
So he knew that you had a baby.
I begged him to leave her alone.
I would do whatever he said.
But he forced me into her room, and he Threw me down on the floor.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
I am so sorry.
Cara started fussing.
She woke up from her nap.
I asked if I could take care of her.
God, I can't stop crying.
Peggy, Peggy.
Look, take as much time as you need.
- Okay? We're here.
- [SNIFFLES.]
My father insisted I keep a gun.
I have a Colt .
25 in my nightstand.
I told the guy I had to go to the bathroom.
I-I grabbed the gun.
He must have followed me.
That was so stupid.
I fought, scratched him, but he took it away.
Pistol-whipped me.
Said if I tried anything like that again, he would shoot the baby.
I know this is difficult, Peggy, but if there's any details that you can remember his age, - or build - White.
Average-looking.
Okay.
Okay, did he say anything? Yeah.
He said, "If she cries, she dies.
" I'll never forget that.
I was so scared after that, I just did what he wanted.
Captain, please don't tell my father that I was crying.
I-I-I don't want him to be any more upset.
Okay.
We're looking at the same guy.
So now McGrath's gonna take this seriously.
- How's my daughter doing? - She is strong.
She's a survivor, she Protected your grandchild.
The worst is over.
Did she give you anything to go on? She gave us a good description of a nondescript white male.
- She didn't recognize him.
- Of course she didn't.
And there's no men in her life? What about the baby's father? That piece of crap? No way it's him.
He's on an oil rig in the Bering Strait.
I gave him two choices.
It was that, or straight to Sing Sing, on two outstanding bunco warrants.
Okay, well, you protect your daughter.
I'm gonna go see her.
He threatened to kill her baby.
Exact same phrase as the Crystal Nuñez case.
But there's more to go on here.
He took Peggy's gun.
Now, we're turning that apartment inside out.
We'll find something.
Fingerprint, touch DNA.
She also said that she scratched him.
Oh, good girl.
Good for Peggy.
All right, rush the rape kit, the scene, and once we find this animal, she's gonna make a solid witness.
Last night, the daughter of one of our own was viciously raped in front of her infant daughter.
We are joined by our brother unions to offer a $100,000 reward for any tip So, we know that there are a lot of eyes on this case.
We know, and the lab knows.
They're rushing their report as fast as they can.
Okay, so while we're waiting for forensics, we're probably looking at the same perp.
White male, thin, 30s.
He has an M.
O.
He targets single mothers of young children.
And he told both the moms, "If the kid cries, it dies.
" - That wasn't in the paper? - No.
So what are the points of intersection between Peggy Grogan and Crystal Nuñez? The Nuñez case? I thought the chief said to slow-roll that.
He did, but now that we know that we're looking at a pattern Of course.
Got it.
Peggy and Crystal, they're They're both East Side.
One's Lower East, the other's Yorkville.
Their kids attend different daycare facilities.
Aside from being single mothers, they're as different as their neighborhoods.
Double check all social media accounts.
Any friends that they may have in common, guys.
- There's gotta be a connection here.
- Okay.
Sorry it's so messy in here.
My father wanted us to move back home, but I just feel like that's giving in.
He's very protective.
I'm sure he's putting extra pressure on you to solve this.
But just so you know, I don't really care.
You may feel that way right now I'm alive.
My daughter's alive.
I don't ever want to think about him or that night ever again.
But my sense is telling me that we are looking at a serial.
He may have done this to somebody else before.
I saw that case on the news.
The woman with the three-year-old boy? My father told me she has custody issues, - that she lied about her sex life? - Even so, we're trying to figure out if you two might have anything in common.
Well, I don't usually go out.
I don't party.
I do part time bookkeeping for a pediatrician on Zoom.
I got to Mass three times a week.
I take Cara to daycare, pick her up, we go to the park.
- Which park? - John Jay Park, usually.
Do you meet anyone, or go to a class, watch a performer? We just go to the swings, sometimes the sandbox.
And on the way home, we get ice cream.
Ice cream? From any vendor in particular? Uh, Swirly City.
The guy there is so generous.
I order a small, he gives me a large.
With rainbow sprinkles.
Yeah.
Give you the, uh, sprinkles, no charge.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Oh, hey, Sergeant, hey.
What can I get for you? Hey, Travis, I need another favor.
Can we talk for a second? Yeah, I'll be right out.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTS.]
Gun! - [SCREAMS.]
- He's got a gun.
Police, watch out.
Oh! Freeze, man.
- No.
- Yep, put it down.
Put down the weapon.
No one needs to get hurt, all right? - No.
- There's kids here.
No, I'm gonna get out of here, do you understand? All we want to do it talk.
So just put it down.
You put it down! - [SHOUTS.]
- [WINCES.]
Waving a gun around in a park full of kids, huh? What the hell is the matter with you? Ah! Take it easy, man! [YELPING.]
You're hurting me! You're hurting me! Okay, Velasco, we got him.
It's over.
- Stop him! - Okay.
It's over! [GROANS.]
All right, I got him.
I'll take it from here.
I swear on my mother's grave, I didn't do this.
You got the wrong man.
[UNEASY MUSIC.]
Peggy's a cop's daughter.
She knows to pay attention.
- She'll ID this guy.
- Even if she doesn't, we have his DNA under her fingernails, her hand gun in his possession.
Can't stand the idea of him walking.
I could Tell by the way you arrested him.
I may have overreacted.
- Mm.
- Sarge say anything? You didn't help yourself out with him.
Let him know it's not gonna happen again.
Copy that.
Thanks, Rollins.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Take your time, Peggy.
I don't need time.
Number three.
[KNOCKS THREE TIMES.]
Good job, honey.
"Honey"? You gotta be kidding me.
Who's this, the girl's father? He's on the job, and you got bigger problems.
He could have tipped her off.
I'm bringing this up at trial.
You take this to trial with what we have, he goes away for life.
- What do you have? - A lot.
But we're willing to hear your client's side of the story.
I had them put your rapist in interrogation room one, Counselor.
Don't call him that.
Give him a few minutes with his lawyer.
Well, it's not gonna do him any good.
- Can I go home now? - I'll take you.
Thank you, Captain, Counselor.
Don't let that son of a bitch - get away.
- We won't.
And don't forget to give Velasco an "attaboy.
" Top-notch work.
Told you Velasco was a keeper, huh? Yes, you did.
First of all, this is a rush to judgement.
You have the Captains Endowment Association all over you, so you pick up the nearest donut His DNA was all over the scene, and don't even try the sippy cup excuse.
Wait, ho-hold on.
What are we talking about? What, your client didn't tell you that we picked him up two days ago, as a suspect in another rape in front of a woman's child? Relax, abogado, she couldn't ID me.
- Who are we talking about? - Crystal Nuñez, remember her? Yeah, and I already told you, I sold her ice cream.
I never raped her.
These guys, their minds are already made up.
I told the detectives about those kids at the park who've been harassing these women.
They didn't do anything.
We didn't find their DNA under Peggy Grogan's fingernails.
How do I know you didn't just put it there? Fake news, fake clues.
Real jury.
Um, Travis, I think we're done here.
Great.
So are we.
We're gonna send your client to Central Booking.
Okay, no, I'm not going with that cowboy who arrested me yesterday.
- So we arraign him now? - What's the rush? Let him stew in Central Booking for the night.
Tomorrow, we'll arraign him on both rapes.
Both? No, no.
Chief, it's the same pattern, same perp.
I'm aware, Captain, but there's a bigger picture here.
We know we can get a grand jury to indict on Peggy's rape.
The DNA, her gun in his possession.
Let's not muddy the waters with the-the-the Crystal Nuñez case.
Come on, why don't you let my office worry about that, Chief.
How much do we actually need to hold the guy, huh? No need to show all your cards just for arraignment.
Nice work, all of you.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
What in the hell was that about? Crystal's case has too many holes in it.
They don't want to introduce reasonable doubt into any part of this guy's M.
O.
Yeah, well, the last time I checked, McGrath is a cop.
He's not the DA.
It's not up to him.
He makes one call, and it is.
But, time might be on our side here.
We never ran touch DNA on Crystal's apartment.
I'm not sure, but we can now.
This guy sells ice cream.
He's not a mastermind.
He left prints.
He left touch DNA, somewhere in that bedroom.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
So it was him.
And I missed it.
All this time, he was just right in front of me, talking to me, to my son, and I should have known You can't blame yourself, Crystal.
You'd never seen him without a cap and a mask.
Well, I know it's him now.
Can I do the lineup again? No, you've seen news coverage.
But we can still make a case here, okay? We need to prove that he was in your bedroom.
We're gonna run touch DNA.
You haven't done that already - Why not? - We should have, but Oh, I get it.
Now that a cop's daughter's been raped, you pull out all the stops.
But when it's a single mom - from Loisaida - We're here now, Crystal, and I'm sorry it's gonna be inconvenient, but CSU is gonna go through every inch of your bedroom.
What else can they take? They stripped the bed, cut my mattress.
Let me ask you something, Crystal.
Manny was in the bed with you? I told you over and over.
He was sleeping with me, and I begged that Travis guy to put him in the other room.
So he had his blanket with him.
Yes, he always sleeps with his woobie.
He had it with him that night.
Counselor We've got something.
You're cutting it close, I'm doing arraignment now.
- What do you got? - Good news.
Velasco's hunch paid off.
The lab found touch DNA and semen on Manny's baby blanket.
Both a match from Travis Hillsdale.
I hear you say that out loud, I can't believe I just said, "Good news.
" Well, if it means I can arraign Travis on Crystal's rape, it is.
Let me check with the Eighth Floor.
I'll call Crystal.
Docket number 3814, People versus Reese on first degree rape and assault.
Where the hell is this guy? [DOORS OPENING.]
There he is.
[INTENSE MUSIC.]
What did they do to him? We're ready, Your Honor.
People versus Travis Hillsdale on the two counts of rape in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
- How do you plead? - Excuse me, Your Honor.
I have late breaking news for Mr.
Carisi.
This is the guy I was talking about, all right? Mr.
Carisi.
Um Your Honor, I've just been informed At this time, we are withdrawing the charges pertaining to the first assault, Jane Doe number one.
Is that me? What's what's going on? Why are they dropping the charges? I I'm not sure right now.
Very well.
Always interesting in here.
All right, on the one charge of rape in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child, how do you plead? What the hell happened? You had his DNA.
I was willing to testify.
He wasn't even charged with my rape? I'm sorry.
The powers that be, are concerned that your case could create reasonable doubt.
So my rape, - doesn't count? - He's gonna do time, Crystal, at least 15 years.
But not for my rape.
We could never have even arrested him if you hadn't come forward.
Is that supposed to make me feel better? We can recharge him on your case.
- This can still go to trial.
- Stop! All your talk.
I'm on my own.
I should be used to that by now.
She's not wrong.
Yeah, by which you mean she's right.
And we're wrong.
Captain.
Nice work, you two.
Well done.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
- I heard Travis was pretty beat-up.
- Yeah Yeah, he was.
I don't care what the guy did.
He was in police custody.
There is no excuse for that.
Agreed.
Hey, Sarge, speaking of rough stuff, what happened at the arrest, that's not gonna happen again.
Good.
It better not.
No, no, no, no, I owe you.
And, uh, and tell the DA I said thanks, huh? [KNOCKS.]
Yeah, all right, bye.
Captain.
We didn't have anything scheduled till tomorrow, did we? We didn't.
You know, Chief, I'm just I'm trying to piece together why Travis wasn't charged in Crystal's rape.
You do know he's gonna do serious prison time, right? I do.
Crystal not testifying might be a good thing, given her ongoing custody battle.
Can I ask how you heard about that? Was that, um was that from Detective Velasco? [CHUCKLES.]
It's my job to know what's going on in your unit.
Honestly, I didn't think you'd be so upset about this.
I am very upset.
[SOLEMN MUSIC.]
Chief I need to run my unit the way I see fit.
Of course.
The Crystal Nuñezes of the world, they matter, in my unit.
They matter in my squad, just as much as a white shirt's daughter.
And no one is saying that they don't.
But when I give my word, I keep it.
And I won't be part of this double standard ever, ever again.
SVU's obligation is to help victims become survivors, not traumatize them all over again.
Don't you think a trial would traumatize Crystal? I think that it should have been her decision.
Not yours.
And just to be clear, as I told you before in my office, I won't turn my back on any victim.
- Nor would I - And if you stand between me and any victim of sexual assault ever again, you can take my shield and my gun.
In fact, if that's not understood, take it now.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[CHUCKLES.]
Okay.
Okay, Captain Benson.
Okay, I think we understand each other.
I hope so.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[WOLF HOWLS.]
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Detective Velasco, just take any empty desk.
I just want to say, again, what an honor it is to be here, Captain Benson.
- Not that desk.
- Fin We're glad that you're here.
Trust me, we could use the help.
And Sergeant Tutuola and Detective Rollins will help you get settled in.
Coffee here is bad.
Nominally better in the break room.
- I'm good with bad.
- Great.
So I will be back in a couple hours.
- What did I do? - Don't take it personally.
That was Kat Tamin's old desk.
On second thought, how about I grab something from outside? Good choice.
So Chief McGrath planted a spy in our squad room? Fin, we're short-staffed.
Please play nice.
I did research.
The rumor is that the guy's good.
Yeah, rumor is, he started that rumor.
When are you gonna get back from PT? I wish it was PT.
Be less painful.
- McGrath called a meeting.
- About what? About McGrath making sure that when he calls, I show up.
Can I get a swirl with sprinkles please? - Yep.
- Hey, mami.
You got a nice swerve on you.
In front of her kid, man? Come on.
Have some respect.
My fricking kid is right here.
- Come on, bro.
- All right.
Sorry about those guys.
Here we go, little man.
Chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles.
- $3.
- Okay.
Here you go.
- Aw.
- There you go [GASPS.]
Oh, no! I am - oh, it's okay, papi.
- It happens.
I'll make another one on the house; don't worry about it.
Sorry it took so long.
Got the good stuff.
Light, extra sweet.
Thanks.
I don't know what kind of donuts you like.
I got a dozen assorted.
I, actually, I don't do donuts.
Tell you what, though.
You want to get on the Sergeant's good side? - He has one? - He likes jelly.
Oh, I I looked for you at your old office.
I didn't - Didn't realize.
- Garland's is bigger.
You know, once I get the walls painted Did he hire a decorator or something? Okay, uh, let's start with your DD5s.
Nine-year-old girl molested by her uncle.
Yeah, he confessed, pled to seven years, avoids putting the girl on the stand.
Um Co-workers, woman's claiming rape.
Her apartment, 2:00 AM.
She invite him in? She did.
But he was her boss, and, she sustained injuries from the attack.
Okay.
You okay, Captain? [TENSE MUSIC.]
Uh, I Look, I gotta say, I'm just not used to going over every one of my cases with the SVU chief.
Well, acting chief.
You've had a lot of autonomy, I get that.
Look, after you and I have gotten into a rhythm, I'll loosen the reins.
All right? By the way, I wanted to say that I appreciate how welcoming your squad has been to Velasco.
He said that? Well, he's been a UC for a long time.
Just glad that he's getting some experience with a functioning unit.
[CHUCKLES.]
And this is where you say, "Oh, well, we're happy to have him, Chief, thanks.
" All right, where were we? [UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC.]
Wow, you're a really good dancer.
That's not the only thing I'm good at.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
How about I show you? [INHALES.]
Sure we can't go back to your place? No, I want you right here, right now.
Oh, you're gonna love this.
Congressman Howard prefers not to go to Green Haven.
Why is that? Because of his asthma? He also has special diet requests.
Detective Rollins.
- Sorry to interrupt.
- No worries.
I've got the DD5s on the girl and her uncle.
These could have waited until the morning.
Sorry you had to come over so late.
No problem.
Least I can do is walk you out.
Give me a minute.
We're just finishing up Congressman Howard's plea deal.
So, uh, how was your day? Well, they finally got us some help.
Velasco's covering.
I thought he was a UC.
Well, Fin thinks he might be McGrath's UC in our office.
Is that what you think? I don't have a problem with Velasco, but I do know that anything you say around him, even about us, straight to McGrath.
- Copy that.
- Okay.
- Safe home.
- Okay.
Thanks for walking me back.
I had fun.
- Party doesn't have to end.
- Oh, I'm sorry, I have to let the sitter go.
Sitter? Is that for real? I'll call you, okay? Oh, baby.
- Tell me you want it, Crystal.
- Yes, I want it.
[SNIFFLES.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
How about we put him in his room? I like him here.
It's okay, papi.
Mommy's just playing a game.
It's just a game.
Best part of the game? If he cries, he dies.
[WHIMPERS.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
A woman raped in front of her kid.
Her three-year-old.
What kind of sick animal does that? Welcome to SVU.
There's the responding officer.
Okay, I'll take him.
- You talk to the vic.
- Got it.
Who who do I go with? Stick with me.
Vic is Crystal Nuñez, 28, single mom.
Of a three-year-old boy.
Where's the kid now? In social services? Actually, she called the father.
He was pissed when he got there.
That his son's mother was raped? You left the boy with him? It's his kid too, Velasco.
How'd the perp get in the apartment? He rang the bell, said he was with Con Ed, a neighbor reported a gas leak.
She opened the door, he pushed in.
- Did he have a weapon? - No.
She said he made her put on a nightie.
Told her to pretend to enjoy it, or, uh, he'd kill her son.
CSU on the scene? Okay, we'll meet them there.
Now what? We tear that apartment apart, hoping the guy left some DNA.
It was dark I couldn't see his face clearly.
He was white, skinny.
- Did he say anything? - He knew my name.
he made me pretend like, I liked him, like we were just, having sex, so I did For Manny.
You did what you had to do, Crystal.
We're gonna need to run a rape kit, all right? Yeah.
- But he used a condom.
- Okay.
You said he he knew your name and where you lived.
It could be that, he followed you.
Can you walk me through your day? I was with Manny most of the time.
Most? At night, I went to a party.
All last year, I didn't go out much.
I just wanted to have a good time.
And I was home by midnight for the sitter.
I'm a single mom too, Crystal.
I get it.
Anything happen at the party? I had a few drinks, no more than two.
- I danced.
- With somebody in particular? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
No.
Okay And when you left, did you notice anyone following you? No, I didn't see anyone.
Okay.
A couple of neighborhood guys were harassing me earlier, while I was buying Manny an ice cream.
So they saw you with your son.
Oh, my God.
What if whoever did this comes back, and they try to hurt Manny? We're gonna do everything we can do to make sure that that doesn't happen.
Okay? Do you have a place to To go tonight? A friend's house or maybe Manny's father? No, I'm definitely not going there.
I just want to go home.
Lot of final notices.
Single mother, money's tight.
Letter from a lawyer's office.
Looks like she's in a custody battle.
Profile the rapist, not the vic.
Copy that.
Bag any clothes on the floor.
She told me she was wearing a nightgown.
What's going on? He's cutting the mattress.
That's how we test for DNA.
Sergeant.
CSU found this under the bed.
Sex toys and a pipe.
- She's got a lot of stuff.
- So does everybody.
None of this matters.
Profile the rapist.
Got it.
Pushed in with force, damaged the wall.
Any chance he left a partial? We can hope so.
Hey Dust the door jamb for prints.
Enough of this.
Wall-to-wall coverage, about a woman who was raped in front of her child.
McGrath has called me three times, so please tell me that we have something.
We fine-toothed the apartment.
We're waiting to hear from the lab.
The vic couldn't give much of an ID aside from the perp knowing her name.
And she said that she let the guy in? I mean, I know that it was a Con Ed ruse, so You obviously followed up on that.
They didn't send anybody to the building that night.
And there was no reports of a gas leak.
Similar M.
O.
's in the neighborhood, recently released sex offenders? No and no, and no security cams in the building.
For what it's worth, she's in a custody battle with her ex, Eduardo Sosa.
In 2019, they were both arrested, for a public argument.
Neither pressed charges.
Does the ex have an alibi? Yeah, he was home that night with his girlfriend.
He picked up the kid.
Then I'm not interested in the backstory.
Here's something.
Lab got a hit off a print.
- From the doorjamb? - CSU found multiples at the scene, but none were in the system except for a Travis Hillsdale.
- Who is? - Hold on.
Travis Hillsdale, busted last year for dealing marijuana out of his Swirly City ice cream truck.
Crystal said she was bothered by some guys in the park when she was buying Manny ice cream.
Okay, but it doesn't explain why the ice cream guy's in her apartment.
So an ice cream truck shouldn't be that hard to find.
Enjoy.
Have a good day.
Travis Hillsdale? Yeah, afternoon, officers.
How can I help? Uh, we're investigating an attack.
The vic said she may have been harassed at the park at Pitt Street the other day, buying ice cream.
We're hoping you saw something.
I'll be right out.
Hey, uh, how can I help? You recognize her? Uh, actually, yeah, that's Crystal, she's a regular.
Her kid likes rainbow sprinkles.
Did she get her kid a cone on Friday? You know what, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You notice any guys bothering her? Was it those idiots? - What'd they do? - You know them? Okay, they hang out, harass these moms in front of their kids.
Every day, I have to tell them to leave my customers alone.
I got one more question.
You ever been over to her apartment? Oh, she say that? I mean, 'cause, actually, yeah, I was there, but I didn't see her.
Just, you know, Manny dropped his sippy cup.
- And I returned it.
- How'd you know where she lived? Yeah, one of the other moms.
Brought the cup back, gave it to Manny's sitter.
Travis, you seem like a nice guy.
And we're trying to get whoever did this off the street.
We have a suspect down at that station.
Would you mind coming down, helping us with an ID? Take your time, Crystal.
I kind of recognize number 2.
As the man who raped you? From somewhere else, I'm sorry, I don't think it's him.
I don't think it's any of, I - It was dark - It's okay, it's okay, Crystal.
- Let's find a seat.
- Thank you.
No luck? Well, she did recognize Travis.
But maybe because she's a regular at his ice cream truck.
- Then why didn't she say that? - Who knows? He keeps his mask on at work.
He did volunteer to help us with the lineup.
What about prints? We confirmed with the sitter.
He returned the sippy cup last week.
All right, so he's either a good Samaritan, or He's casing her apartment.
Either way, Crystal did not ID him, and the fingerprint isn't probative.
Now if we find any unknown DNA on that bed, maybe we can test him? Velasco, before Travis leaves, ask him if he would like a soda.
Get his DNA.
On it, Captain.
Uh, Crystal's lab results came back.
Please tell me, it's good news.
Just the opposite.
Uh, between the rape kit and her bedding, three different semen samples.
- Anybody in the system? - None.
When you asked her, she didn't mention having anyone special in her life right now? Just her son.
How long does semen last? Long enough.
There were three samples.
Hopefully, one of those samples will be Your rapist.
But we do need you to walk us through, who the other two might be, so we can eliminate them as suspects.
Oh, my God.
This is why I didn't tell you, all right.
My ex is trying to get custody of Manny, and, - if he finds out - You're a single woman.
He kind of thinks we're still together.
So your ex is one of the samples.
Probably.
He came by, two days ago, it It always puts him in a better mood.
Okay, who else can you tell us about? Up the mountain in five, four, three [WORKOUT MUSIC.]
Raif Tawari? There you go, keep breathing.
Three minutes, everybody.
Okay, push, don't stop.
Don't stop.
Yeah? What is this about? You were at a party on a rooftop, Loisaida, Friday night? Yeah.
Again, what is this about? You hook up with anyone? That was totally consensual.
Is that her? Crystal, right? - What's she saying? - How about we ask the questions? Okay, look, we were dancing.
Hot.
She was, like, into it.
In control.
We took the party to another location.
Her apartment? No, a corner of the roof.
After, I walked her home.
She said I couldn't come up.
She had to let the sitter go.
I didn't even know she had a kid.
Life's full of surprises, huh? Any chance you went back anyway? Doubled back for round two? - No big deal.
- No.
Man, no.
Look I went home to my wife.
We were in bed by midnight.
You're not gonna tell either one of them, are you? Am I in trouble? You tell me, Arlo.
How about we start with your relationship to Crystal Nuñez.
Well, she's my upstairs neighbor.
We know that.
And? She sometimes calls me her her "minute man.
" - Minute man.
- Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Not like that.
We started hooking up, during Covid.
We'd get together whenever she had a little bit of downtime, and her kid was napping.
She texted, I'd come up.
It was a lonely time and, we needed each other.
- It was sweet.
- I'm sure it was.
And when was the last time you were in her apartment? A few nights ago.
Manny was asleep.
And she was, well, you know.
"Few nights ago"? Like, two nights? Friday? No, n-no way.
- I-I swear.
- Why not? Because every Friday, I go home and have dinner with my mother.
Spend the night at my old house in Babylon.
And sh-she does my laundry.
Yeah.
How's Crystal doing? I'm worried about her, she makes a lot of bad decisions.
- When's the last time you saw her? - This afternoon.
She wanted Manny back.
I brought him back.
Her apartment, was a crap show, I gotta tell you.
What about two nights ago, Friday? You mean the night she was attacked? - Find that guy yet? - We're still investigating.
I'd kill him myself, I had any idea.
Mr.
Sosa, you told us earlier you were home with your girlfriend that night? Yeah.
What's it to you? Well, we since found out you, and Crystal have been hooking up.
Maybe you came over earlier.
She got angry for some reason, - called the cops.
- Are you kidding me with this? Look, man, you have a DV complaint against you.
- We gotta ask these questions.
- That was more her, than me, okay.
We were drunk, loud.
Crystal pushed me.
Couple Karens called the cops.
We scream, but I ain't never lay a hand on Crystal.
You accusing me of something, say it.
We confirm with your girlfriend you were home, and we take you off the list.
I don't want her involved in this.
What's really going on? Hmm? Crystal said that she was raped in front of my kid.
- If she's lying - Mr.
Sosa, calm down.
No, no, no, we're talking about my son.
Don't you tell me to calm down.
Crystal Nuñez had sex with three different men, and failed to disclose that? She was worried about her ex-husband finding out about her private life.
Because she was still having sex with him? Look, how do we know that this isn't just, uh, some kind of domestic dispute? Her ex-husband and the two other men she was with that week alibied out.
So that's three.
And what about this This-this ice cream vendor? His DNA is not a match.
But, Chief, the rapist may not have left DNA.
She said he wore a condom.
- Or there was no rape.
- Okay.
Look Her three-year-old son was in the bed next to her.
So she says, but, come on, we've been here before.
She brings someone home she shouldn't have.
She's worried about the ex finding out.
So she cries rape, throws in a story about the kid, to, you know, for sympathy She's not a perfect victim, but she is not making this up.
Well, let's hope so.
'Cause that would be a terrible headline for us, wouldn't it? [TENSE MUSIC.]
Unless you get something on somebody, just slow the roll.
Slow the roll? There's no case here, Captain.
Yes, Rollins, yeah, Fin is right.
McGrath is not eager to pursue.
I know, I know, look.
We need to check in with Crystal, so I will meet you at her apartment.
I'm almost done with the NYPD doctor.
Yeah, okay, thanks.
- Doctor, how you doing? - Hey.
I, uh, I really need to get back to work.
I'm hoping that you can clear me so I can be off this, limited duty.
Well It's not that simple.
But I'm I'm able to walk short distances now.
I see.
But your ankle is badly fractured, and you're not going to be chasing a perp across a rooftop anytime soon.
Look, have you ever considered it's time to move on? Move on? Retirement.
I'm considering it myself.
I am nowhere near Moving on or retirement.
Look, I I still have so much work to do.
I'm raising a young son on my own, - I'm - You could spend a lot more quality time with him while he's young, like I wish I'd done with mine.
I need to work.
I love my job.
Olivia, we both know it's not the same job it was when we signed on.
The last few years, the stress, the turnover.
I heard about the new interim chief.
Your accident on your way to the courthouse at 10:00 PM, that makes it job-related.
So I can mark you fit for duty right now.
Or I could put you on the fast-track to 3/4 pay.
Tax-free.
Full bennies.
For life.
Just think about it.
Eduardo's freaked out.
He wants Manny to go stay with him.
I shouldn't have called him that night.
I'm so sorry, Crystal.
I don't want to make things worse with Eduardo, but I don't think Manny wants to go.
Ever since that night, he's gotten clingy or he's hitting me.
Well, we could get you a referral from Victim Services, for counseling.
For you and for Manny.
There'd be no charge.
You want to send my son to a shrink? Just think about it.
All I can think about is whoever raped me coming back.
He's still out there.
And we are still investigating.
Why haven't you caught him? How hard are you even trying? You think because I didn't tell you about the other guys that I lied - about my rape? - No.
No, Crystal.
Look at me.
We believe you.
Just, you have to understand that cases like this, they They take time.
[PHONE BUZZES.]
Captain, we got a call.
[TENSE DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
A 1013? - Who got shot? - Nobody.
A woman was raped in front of her 18-month-old baby.
They wanted a high-level response.
- "They"? Who made the call? - I did.
The vic is one of our own.
Captain, let me introduce Deputy Inspector Grogan.
You need to find the son-of-a-bitch who did this.
- Do you know the vic? - That's my daughter.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
He knocked on my door.
Said he had a MetroBnB confirmation, for my apartment on his phone.
I looked through the peephole, just a Plain-looking guy.
Had you ever rented your apartment before? Never, my father would have had a Chernobyl meltdown.
Okay, well, we'll follow up with the company, but, can you tell us what happened next? I never should have opened the door.
He pushed in, grabbed me, asked me where my daughter was.
So he knew that you had a baby.
I begged him to leave her alone.
I would do whatever he said.
But he forced me into her room, and he Threw me down on the floor.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
I am so sorry.
Cara started fussing.
She woke up from her nap.
I asked if I could take care of her.
God, I can't stop crying.
Peggy, Peggy.
Look, take as much time as you need.
- Okay? We're here.
- [SNIFFLES.]
My father insisted I keep a gun.
I have a Colt .
25 in my nightstand.
I told the guy I had to go to the bathroom.
I-I grabbed the gun.
He must have followed me.
That was so stupid.
I fought, scratched him, but he took it away.
Pistol-whipped me.
Said if I tried anything like that again, he would shoot the baby.
I know this is difficult, Peggy, but if there's any details that you can remember his age, - or build - White.
Average-looking.
Okay.
Okay, did he say anything? Yeah.
He said, "If she cries, she dies.
" I'll never forget that.
I was so scared after that, I just did what he wanted.
Captain, please don't tell my father that I was crying.
I-I-I don't want him to be any more upset.
Okay.
We're looking at the same guy.
So now McGrath's gonna take this seriously.
- How's my daughter doing? - She is strong.
She's a survivor, she Protected your grandchild.
The worst is over.
Did she give you anything to go on? She gave us a good description of a nondescript white male.
- She didn't recognize him.
- Of course she didn't.
And there's no men in her life? What about the baby's father? That piece of crap? No way it's him.
He's on an oil rig in the Bering Strait.
I gave him two choices.
It was that, or straight to Sing Sing, on two outstanding bunco warrants.
Okay, well, you protect your daughter.
I'm gonna go see her.
He threatened to kill her baby.
Exact same phrase as the Crystal Nuñez case.
But there's more to go on here.
He took Peggy's gun.
Now, we're turning that apartment inside out.
We'll find something.
Fingerprint, touch DNA.
She also said that she scratched him.
Oh, good girl.
Good for Peggy.
All right, rush the rape kit, the scene, and once we find this animal, she's gonna make a solid witness.
Last night, the daughter of one of our own was viciously raped in front of her infant daughter.
We are joined by our brother unions to offer a $100,000 reward for any tip So, we know that there are a lot of eyes on this case.
We know, and the lab knows.
They're rushing their report as fast as they can.
Okay, so while we're waiting for forensics, we're probably looking at the same perp.
White male, thin, 30s.
He has an M.
O.
He targets single mothers of young children.
And he told both the moms, "If the kid cries, it dies.
" - That wasn't in the paper? - No.
So what are the points of intersection between Peggy Grogan and Crystal Nuñez? The Nuñez case? I thought the chief said to slow-roll that.
He did, but now that we know that we're looking at a pattern Of course.
Got it.
Peggy and Crystal, they're They're both East Side.
One's Lower East, the other's Yorkville.
Their kids attend different daycare facilities.
Aside from being single mothers, they're as different as their neighborhoods.
Double check all social media accounts.
Any friends that they may have in common, guys.
- There's gotta be a connection here.
- Okay.
Sorry it's so messy in here.
My father wanted us to move back home, but I just feel like that's giving in.
He's very protective.
I'm sure he's putting extra pressure on you to solve this.
But just so you know, I don't really care.
You may feel that way right now I'm alive.
My daughter's alive.
I don't ever want to think about him or that night ever again.
But my sense is telling me that we are looking at a serial.
He may have done this to somebody else before.
I saw that case on the news.
The woman with the three-year-old boy? My father told me she has custody issues, - that she lied about her sex life? - Even so, we're trying to figure out if you two might have anything in common.
Well, I don't usually go out.
I don't party.
I do part time bookkeeping for a pediatrician on Zoom.
I got to Mass three times a week.
I take Cara to daycare, pick her up, we go to the park.
- Which park? - John Jay Park, usually.
Do you meet anyone, or go to a class, watch a performer? We just go to the swings, sometimes the sandbox.
And on the way home, we get ice cream.
Ice cream? From any vendor in particular? Uh, Swirly City.
The guy there is so generous.
I order a small, he gives me a large.
With rainbow sprinkles.
Yeah.
Give you the, uh, sprinkles, no charge.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Oh, hey, Sergeant, hey.
What can I get for you? Hey, Travis, I need another favor.
Can we talk for a second? Yeah, I'll be right out.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTS.]
Gun! - [SCREAMS.]
- He's got a gun.
Police, watch out.
Oh! Freeze, man.
- No.
- Yep, put it down.
Put down the weapon.
No one needs to get hurt, all right? - No.
- There's kids here.
No, I'm gonna get out of here, do you understand? All we want to do it talk.
So just put it down.
You put it down! - [SHOUTS.]
- [WINCES.]
Waving a gun around in a park full of kids, huh? What the hell is the matter with you? Ah! Take it easy, man! [YELPING.]
You're hurting me! You're hurting me! Okay, Velasco, we got him.
It's over.
- Stop him! - Okay.
It's over! [GROANS.]
All right, I got him.
I'll take it from here.
I swear on my mother's grave, I didn't do this.
You got the wrong man.
[UNEASY MUSIC.]
Peggy's a cop's daughter.
She knows to pay attention.
- She'll ID this guy.
- Even if she doesn't, we have his DNA under her fingernails, her hand gun in his possession.
Can't stand the idea of him walking.
I could Tell by the way you arrested him.
I may have overreacted.
- Mm.
- Sarge say anything? You didn't help yourself out with him.
Let him know it's not gonna happen again.
Copy that.
Thanks, Rollins.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Take your time, Peggy.
I don't need time.
Number three.
[KNOCKS THREE TIMES.]
Good job, honey.
"Honey"? You gotta be kidding me.
Who's this, the girl's father? He's on the job, and you got bigger problems.
He could have tipped her off.
I'm bringing this up at trial.
You take this to trial with what we have, he goes away for life.
- What do you have? - A lot.
But we're willing to hear your client's side of the story.
I had them put your rapist in interrogation room one, Counselor.
Don't call him that.
Give him a few minutes with his lawyer.
Well, it's not gonna do him any good.
- Can I go home now? - I'll take you.
Thank you, Captain, Counselor.
Don't let that son of a bitch - get away.
- We won't.
And don't forget to give Velasco an "attaboy.
" Top-notch work.
Told you Velasco was a keeper, huh? Yes, you did.
First of all, this is a rush to judgement.
You have the Captains Endowment Association all over you, so you pick up the nearest donut His DNA was all over the scene, and don't even try the sippy cup excuse.
Wait, ho-hold on.
What are we talking about? What, your client didn't tell you that we picked him up two days ago, as a suspect in another rape in front of a woman's child? Relax, abogado, she couldn't ID me.
- Who are we talking about? - Crystal Nuñez, remember her? Yeah, and I already told you, I sold her ice cream.
I never raped her.
These guys, their minds are already made up.
I told the detectives about those kids at the park who've been harassing these women.
They didn't do anything.
We didn't find their DNA under Peggy Grogan's fingernails.
How do I know you didn't just put it there? Fake news, fake clues.
Real jury.
Um, Travis, I think we're done here.
Great.
So are we.
We're gonna send your client to Central Booking.
Okay, no, I'm not going with that cowboy who arrested me yesterday.
- So we arraign him now? - What's the rush? Let him stew in Central Booking for the night.
Tomorrow, we'll arraign him on both rapes.
Both? No, no.
Chief, it's the same pattern, same perp.
I'm aware, Captain, but there's a bigger picture here.
We know we can get a grand jury to indict on Peggy's rape.
The DNA, her gun in his possession.
Let's not muddy the waters with the-the-the Crystal Nuñez case.
Come on, why don't you let my office worry about that, Chief.
How much do we actually need to hold the guy, huh? No need to show all your cards just for arraignment.
Nice work, all of you.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
What in the hell was that about? Crystal's case has too many holes in it.
They don't want to introduce reasonable doubt into any part of this guy's M.
O.
Yeah, well, the last time I checked, McGrath is a cop.
He's not the DA.
It's not up to him.
He makes one call, and it is.
But, time might be on our side here.
We never ran touch DNA on Crystal's apartment.
I'm not sure, but we can now.
This guy sells ice cream.
He's not a mastermind.
He left prints.
He left touch DNA, somewhere in that bedroom.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
So it was him.
And I missed it.
All this time, he was just right in front of me, talking to me, to my son, and I should have known You can't blame yourself, Crystal.
You'd never seen him without a cap and a mask.
Well, I know it's him now.
Can I do the lineup again? No, you've seen news coverage.
But we can still make a case here, okay? We need to prove that he was in your bedroom.
We're gonna run touch DNA.
You haven't done that already - Why not? - We should have, but Oh, I get it.
Now that a cop's daughter's been raped, you pull out all the stops.
But when it's a single mom - from Loisaida - We're here now, Crystal, and I'm sorry it's gonna be inconvenient, but CSU is gonna go through every inch of your bedroom.
What else can they take? They stripped the bed, cut my mattress.
Let me ask you something, Crystal.
Manny was in the bed with you? I told you over and over.
He was sleeping with me, and I begged that Travis guy to put him in the other room.
So he had his blanket with him.
Yes, he always sleeps with his woobie.
He had it with him that night.
Counselor We've got something.
You're cutting it close, I'm doing arraignment now.
- What do you got? - Good news.
Velasco's hunch paid off.
The lab found touch DNA and semen on Manny's baby blanket.
Both a match from Travis Hillsdale.
I hear you say that out loud, I can't believe I just said, "Good news.
" Well, if it means I can arraign Travis on Crystal's rape, it is.
Let me check with the Eighth Floor.
I'll call Crystal.
Docket number 3814, People versus Reese on first degree rape and assault.
Where the hell is this guy? [DOORS OPENING.]
There he is.
[INTENSE MUSIC.]
What did they do to him? We're ready, Your Honor.
People versus Travis Hillsdale on the two counts of rape in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
- How do you plead? - Excuse me, Your Honor.
I have late breaking news for Mr.
Carisi.
This is the guy I was talking about, all right? Mr.
Carisi.
Um Your Honor, I've just been informed At this time, we are withdrawing the charges pertaining to the first assault, Jane Doe number one.
Is that me? What's what's going on? Why are they dropping the charges? I I'm not sure right now.
Very well.
Always interesting in here.
All right, on the one charge of rape in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child, how do you plead? What the hell happened? You had his DNA.
I was willing to testify.
He wasn't even charged with my rape? I'm sorry.
The powers that be, are concerned that your case could create reasonable doubt.
So my rape, - doesn't count? - He's gonna do time, Crystal, at least 15 years.
But not for my rape.
We could never have even arrested him if you hadn't come forward.
Is that supposed to make me feel better? We can recharge him on your case.
- This can still go to trial.
- Stop! All your talk.
I'm on my own.
I should be used to that by now.
She's not wrong.
Yeah, by which you mean she's right.
And we're wrong.
Captain.
Nice work, you two.
Well done.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
- I heard Travis was pretty beat-up.
- Yeah Yeah, he was.
I don't care what the guy did.
He was in police custody.
There is no excuse for that.
Agreed.
Hey, Sarge, speaking of rough stuff, what happened at the arrest, that's not gonna happen again.
Good.
It better not.
No, no, no, no, I owe you.
And, uh, and tell the DA I said thanks, huh? [KNOCKS.]
Yeah, all right, bye.
Captain.
We didn't have anything scheduled till tomorrow, did we? We didn't.
You know, Chief, I'm just I'm trying to piece together why Travis wasn't charged in Crystal's rape.
You do know he's gonna do serious prison time, right? I do.
Crystal not testifying might be a good thing, given her ongoing custody battle.
Can I ask how you heard about that? Was that, um was that from Detective Velasco? [CHUCKLES.]
It's my job to know what's going on in your unit.
Honestly, I didn't think you'd be so upset about this.
I am very upset.
[SOLEMN MUSIC.]
Chief I need to run my unit the way I see fit.
Of course.
The Crystal Nuñezes of the world, they matter, in my unit.
They matter in my squad, just as much as a white shirt's daughter.
And no one is saying that they don't.
But when I give my word, I keep it.
And I won't be part of this double standard ever, ever again.
SVU's obligation is to help victims become survivors, not traumatize them all over again.
Don't you think a trial would traumatize Crystal? I think that it should have been her decision.
Not yours.
And just to be clear, as I told you before in my office, I won't turn my back on any victim.
- Nor would I - And if you stand between me and any victim of sexual assault ever again, you can take my shield and my gun.
In fact, if that's not understood, take it now.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[CHUCKLES.]
Okay.
Okay, Captain Benson.
Okay, I think we understand each other.
I hope so.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[WOLF HOWLS.]