Law & Order Special Victims Unit s23e13 Episode Script
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
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.
Honestly, they're both pretty.
You're not even looking, Dad.
This anxiety is not about the dress.
That's not helpful, Mom.
Just remember, this may be complicated for her.
I know, for both of us.
You could tell from her emails? I just think once we meet in person, things are just gonna make sense.
Now, just let it be what it's going to be.
Ashley? Oh, my God.
Michelle Mom.
Oh! Look at you, you're so beautiful.
I knew it was you right away.
Hey, I need another pan, you got another pan? - You're out of burners.
- Yeah, that's another problem.
Hey, sweetie, what's going on? Uncle Sonny, Billie has a question.
Yeah, sure, what is it? She wants to know if you're her daddy.
You tell your sister, if she has a question, she needs to come out here and ask it herself, okay? Dinner's almost ready, baby.
You know, I have, I have been around a lot.
Sooner or later, we're gonna have to deal with this.
- Morningside Heights.
- Okay, Upper West Side, till I was fifteen.
Then, we had to move.
Excuse me, could I get another, please? - So you moved, where to? - Mhm.
Sorry, Jersey.
Me and my mom.
My dad, he'd already walked out on us.
- It's a long story.
- Is your mom still alive? - She is, she is.
- She still in Jersey? Mm-hmm, I didn't tell her we were meeting, but Honestly, she's kind of a slice.
Yeah, I get it.
Oh, in your last email, you said you got early admission to SUNY Binghamton? - I did.
- Your folks must be so proud.
I'm going to be studying social justice.
Social justice, that's a new one.
Where did you go? Did I get in the way of that? No, I tried a few times.
No degree.
Still have the debt though.
I mean, you could always go back.
Thank you so much.
Someday.
I work long hours at Macy's with fragrance.
Oh, my God, you could use my friends and family discount.
- Really? - I mean, if you want.
Okay, yeah, that would yeah, cool! Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, actually, speaking of family, is it okay to ask about my biological father? Mm-hmm.
Fin and Velasco are still quarantined? Yeah, a few more days, but Hate Crimes loaned us Khaldun.
Made a fresh pot.
Rollins, you still like it light and sweet? - Thank you.
- Captain? I'm good, thanks.
Everybody have a good weekend? Yeah, my son and I did.
We met Jacob deGrom at a kid's birthday party.
- Jacob deGrom? - Yeah.
- Wow.
- Hedge-fund dad.
Excuse me, are you all with SVU? We are.
I'm Captain Benson.
I'd like to report a rape.
- Okay.
- Not mine, my mother's, the night I was conceived.
The rapist is my father.
So your mother knows that you're here, Ashley? I left her a message.
Michelle's my birth mother.
I met her for the first time yesterday.
And she told you she was raped? More like blurted it out, said she was fifteen, passed out at a party.
She was five months pregnant before she knew.
That's rape, right? It is if she didn't consent.
Do you know if she reported it? She didn't even tell her parents, she said I mean, it must have been so hard for her.
I just want to do something.
Okay, well, we can talk to her.
She said she doesn't remember anything and I don't think she really wants to, but she should.
She seemed hurt, drank a lot.
Maybe you can help her.
So Ashley, even if we do find your birth father, there's no guarantees what will happen.
Some guy raped her when she was fifteen.
Her life's never been the same because of me.
I need to make it right.
An alleged rape from 2003 and the victim won't talk? We've left messages, but her daughter may have been conceived from the sexual assault, which makes her a victim too.
Theoretically, but that's semantics.
She wasn't the one who was raped.
Have you ran her DNA for a paternal match? We did; nothing in CODIS.
Any way you can indict the paternal DNA - from Ashley's sample? - Actually, no.
We'd need the alleged rapist's DNA.
Even then, I can't get an unsubstantiated John Doe indictment.
So you want her to remember the details of a sexual assault that she's been trying to forget for the past eighteen years? Unfortunately, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Hey, Carisi.
I know, I was too insensitive.
That, too.
Look I called my shrink, and she said that, Billie might just be testing boundaries, and we don't really need to bring it up again, unless she does.
That's what Dr.
Hanover said, or is that what you heard? Sorry to interrupt, Michelle Young has agreed to talk.
I promised myself, I was just going to tell Ashley, that it was a one-night stand, so I'm sorry she wasted your time.
She didn't, Ms.
Young, and if you want to tell us what happened I don't.
I want you to stop calling.
Your daughter reported that you were assaulted so we have to follow up.
I was nervous with Ashley.
I shouldn't have put this on her.
I've spoken with Ashley.
Your daughter, is quite an impressive young lady.
My sense, she just wants to do the right thing by you.
Or she had a romanticized idea, about how wonderful her parents were going to be, and I screwed that up.
- Have you talked to her since? - I will, but this really isn't any of your business, is it? Counselor, come in.
I've been doing a deep dive into the case law.
We can prosecute this case, but we'd need witnesses, or we need Michelle's cooperation.
Well, that is going to take time.
I mean, meeting the daughter, that she gave up for adoption, and now this? That's That's a lot.
Yeah, but she did bring it up.
And as you'd tell me, that means, at least part of her is ready to deal with this.
It might be good for her to hear that from someone who's lived it.
Oh I told the other detectives I don't want to pursue this.
Will you give me five minutes, and after that, if you're done, then you're done, and we won't bother you again.
Just just five minutes? Thank you.
Ashley keeps texting me.
Is she okay? She will be.
She's smart and - Brave.
- So the opposite of me.
No.
God, Ashley, was such a tiny baby, she was two months premature.
I did not expect her to grow up to be such a force of nature.
When I was that age, I I did not need to tell her.
She did not need to know.
You know, um, my personal experience, being the child of rape, is that it's, it's a lot to process, and I can't imagine meeting, meeting your birth mother, for the very first time, and then, finding that out.
But Ashley is not only meeting the moment, she wants to help you, deal with this.
I was never there for her her entire life.
So be there for her now.
Michelle Whether or not, you want to know what happened, Ashley does.
What difference will it make for her? Look, you've been living under the shadow of this for 18 years.
She wants to walk through this with you.
Give her that Give yourself that chance.
Michelle agreed to go forward with this? - How can I help? - Ashley, Michelle isn't sure that, you know, she wants you to be a part of this right now.
But I am a part of it.
This is my life.
None of this would be happening if I hadn't told anyone.
Maybe give Michelle some time, okay? Okay, It's still good news.
How is this good? - Tony, just listen.
- To what? How the police are looking for my daughter's biological father, who may be a rapist? Thank you for coming in, Mrs.
Young.
I told Michelle, I want nothing to do with it.
Why is she dredging this up? I think she's looking for closure, for herself, and for her daughter.
Her daughter? We don't need some stranger in our lives.
Okay, I just have to ask Is there anything that you remember, from the summer that your daughter got pregnant? Who she was friends were? You mean who she was having sex with? She was raped, Mrs.
Young.
She told me she didn't remember what happened.
She also told me it was all my fault, since I was away that summer.
I don't, I don't think that this is about blame.
I think that she just wants to find out what happened to her.
I couldn't control Michelle back then, any more than now.
I love her, but, it was bad enough when my husband left.
After Michelle got pregnant, we ended up moving out of the city.
I gave up my job, lost touch with my friends.
And none of that sounds easy.
I told Michelle she never should have agreed to meet this girl.
I've seen that walk before.
Did she wipe the chair down before she sat in it? - Practically.
- Why'd she even come here? So if anyone asked, she could say that she was supporting her daughter.
Any luck with the contacts Michelle gave us? One classmate was in camp, the other was in Europe.
The two others that Michelle said she kept in contact with haven't called back.
Keep trying.
Michelle Young? Yeah, I think that she was a classmate of yours.
I guess.
- Is she in trouble? - No, no, no, um, I'm just calling about something that happened to her.
I'm wondering if you remember any parties that you two may have gone to together.
From when I was in ninth grade? Not really.
No, we weren't that close.
I think she left school that year, and we lost touch.
I never saw her again.
How could she say that? We were friends.
She was there that night.
Wait, she put me in a cab the next morning.
How could she not remember? Because nothing happened to her.
What about the other girls in my class? Actually, Mavis was the only one that called back.
She was there, I knew it, look.
Some guy had a vintage Polaroid.
That's me and Mavis.
It had to be that night, Mavis brought fake IDs.
Where was this bar? Dublin House, Upper West Side.
Yeah, it's still open.
And this party that you went to afterwards, - did you take the subway? - No, we walked.
I remember because I fell, like, twice, and Mavis helped me up.
Can you call her again, and show her this? I have another idea.
So we're still nowhere on this? What am I gonna tell Ashley's father? He's calling me, he's still freaked out.
And I don't blame him.
I think everybody would have been better off if none of this had ever come up.
Of course you'd think that.
- Of course.
- What's that supposed to mean? Come on, Rollins.
You won't tell the people we work with, or your kids, that we're involved.
You haven't even told Billie who her father is Okay, easy, easy.
I get it, you grew up having to compartmentalize, - it's a survival mechanism.
- What are you, my shrink now? No, I'm not your shrink, I just I don't want to be Uncle Sonny forever.
- You're not gonna - We're nine months in, Amanda, and your kids still don't know who I am to you? So which is it, do you want me to disclose our relationship to NYPD, or just to Jesse and Billie? My dad? How about your parents? How come I haven't met them yet? Because you don't want my mom to know that you're my girlfriend.
I'm going to bring a "colleague" home, for Sunday dinner? Do you know how strange that would be? - I don't want that pressure on us.
- On us, or on you? I'm sorry, I just don't want to live like this anymore.
I feel like I got a live hand grenade in my pocket, and if this comes out during a trial, - that's gonna blow up in our faces.
- Okay, so, what, you want me to take a full-page ad? - I don't want to leave SVU.
- You don't have to.
I floated this to HR, as a hypothetical, and it turns out, if we both disclose to our bosses, we're fine.
Do we have to do that now? Okay, when then? One year? Five? Look, Amanda, I I don't want to push you someplace that you don't want to go, but what are we doing here? Are we going to try and make this work or not? Are you, are you seriously asking me that? 'Cause I've never been this open, honest in a relationship.
- It's Benson, I gotta go.
- Yeah.
Sorry I'm late.
This cognitive reenactment, Michelle wanted to do it? - She did, why? - 'Cause just because we can do something, should we? Sorry, I know this is loaded for you.
Rollins, what's going on? This is it, this is it! This is where the party was, I remember the red door.
Okay.
My wife and I just bought the place.
We're still moving in.
Thank you for letting us look around.
Take your time.
I remember someone helping me walk up these stairs.
There were fireworks, and, there were people in the courtyard singing that song, "Crazy in Love," I think.
Is this the bedroom? There was some kind of lion.
I was on the bed, and he was next to me.
Michelle, did he say anything? I told him it was my first time, that I wasn't ready.
He said, "Good, then you'll always remember me.
" Oh, they kept the color, China red.
We lived there until the kids went to college and my husband passed.
So you were there the summer of 2003? Summer, no, I would have been in Southampton, with my daughter, Katie.
My sons, Zach and Josh, stayed in the city.
Do you recognize this girl from around that time? Michelle Young? No Maybe she was a friend of my youngest, Josh.
Why? She's applying for a federal position.
We have to do a background check.
She says the only time that she did drugs was at a summer party at your townhouse.
Just is something we gotta run.
Oh Well, as I said, I wasn't home.
You know, you should talk to my eldest, Zach.
He's a lawyer.
Look, you guys got off to the wrong foot with my mother, so, why don't you tell me what this is really about? Michelle Young, we believe she was at a party at your townhouse, on July 4, 2003.
And let me guess, she's not up for a federal job.
No, but We think that she may have been sexually assaulted, the night of that party.
That's awful, but, uhm.
Honestly, I'm not sure I even remember her being there.
Well, you know, we certainly get that, but do you have any idea who else may have been at that party? It's not like there was a guest list.
Word got out there was a party, no parents home, people just showed up.
Okay, how about who was in your social group at the time? Can we start there? You know what, I'm not really comfortable just giving out names.
How about I'll make some calls, and find out if anybody remembers this girl? So Zach Wilcox is going to make some calls? - I won't hold my breath.
- And there's no way we can get a warrant, for his phone records? Not from an MCI flip phone from 2003.
Both Zach and the mother admit there was a party, and the youngest brother, Josh, was there.
Where is he? He works as a park ranger in Vermont.
We're trying to track him down now.
- Any corroboration? - Well, not yet, but, she did have a visceral reaction when she walked into that bedroom.
I mean, something happened to her.
Captain? - You're Captain Benson? - I am.
I'm Josh Wilcox.
You called me about Michelle Young? - So you know her? - I used to.
I always wondered what happened to her.
I really liked her.
That's her.
Almost forgot how pretty she was.
Michelle, ma belle.
So can you tell us about your relationship with her? She wasn't my girlfriend or anything.
We were at different schools, but we hung out a little that spring.
What about the Fourth of July? Yeah, actually, um, that party was the last time I ever spoke to Michelle.
I tried calling, she never called me back.
Then I heard she moved.
Did something happen to her? Is it possible that the two of you had sex that night? Well Oh, we, we made out a little, but why? What's she saying? Well, here's the thing, Josh.
Michelle doesn't remember having sex that night, but then five months later, she found out she was pregnant.
Oh, wow.
I had no idea.
She had a baby, that's why she moved? - Mm-hmm.
- She had a little daughter.
She gave it up for adoption, and, they just recently connected.
You think I might be the father? Can you tell us what you remember? I was kinda high.
We were in my bedroom.
Your bedroom, was that upstairs? No, no, it was the ground floor, at the front.
We were fooling around, and I kind of, you know Came - Can I say that? - Yeah.
It was the first time I ever kissed a girl.
It's okay.
I always thought that's why she never called me back.
So So you think it's possible I'm the father? Would you mind giving us a DNA sample? No, of course not.
I mean, if I have a daughter, I want to know.
Josh, I remember him.
We might have, made out at the party.
- Do you remember having sex with him? - No, you think he could be the father? It's a possibility.
We're running the DNA.
So this was just some kind of accident? If you don't have any memory of sex I don't think he would do that.
He kept trying to call me after.
You never called him back? After that party, I was so embarrassed.
I didn't talk to anybody.
This whole time I thought I was raped and I wasn't? Oh, my God, Ashley, she's going to think I'm crazy.
For now, hold off on telling her.
Michelle remembers Josh, but not having sex.
Is it possible that this is two 15-year-olds - just fooling around? - I don't know.
The way she reacted in that bedroom? Yeah? - How is she? - She's worried about Ashley.
I mean, can you imagine being a kid and finding something out like this I did not mean to It's okay, Rollins.
I remember that night.
The night my mother, Serena, just she just lashed out at me.
She was so drunk, and so angry.
I was 13 years old, and she She looked at me, and she said She said, "I wish I'd never had you.
" Because of the rape.
I am so sorry.
Did you ever wish that she hadn't told you? At the time, I did.
But it's informed my whole life.
Ashley Peters is here.
She's kind of hyper.
Okay, send her in.
- Ashley.
- Michelle told me the good news, about my biological father.
We actually haven't gotten - the DNA back.
- Oh, no, no, I know that it's him Josh? We FaceTimed.
How did you two get in touch? Mom friended him on Facebook, and he looks like me, and he likes the outdoors, and I like the outdoors.
I actually hiked in the national park where he works.
What did Michelle tell you? That she was wrong, she wasn't raped.
She said she felt really bad about getting me involved, but I told her that none of this would have happened if I hadn't gone to the police.
We wouldn't have found Josh.
Ashley, we don't know what happened that night.
I'm actually about to go meet them for dinner.
Michelle didn't want to go at first, but I convinced her.
And he's single, too, so Anyway, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.
You're right, she's pink clouding.
Now what? Call the M.
E.
, put a rush on that DNA.
I know we probably shouldn't have met so soon.
We're all just really excited.
Yes, I know.
Ashley told me.
Am I in any kind of trouble? 'Cause, my brother told me I was an idiot, - to come here with no lawyer.
- No, you're You're not in any trouble.
Josh, we do have to tell you that we got the DNA, and you're not Ashley's biological father.
- You sure? - Yeah.
Ashley and I, we have so much in common.
She even looks like me.
We're, uh, we're sure.
I'm sorry.
It's all my fault, I shouldn't have said anything - until we were sure.
- No, it's okay.
It's not like you brought a stranger into our lives.
He's a friend of yours, and he still likes you, so I don't know - What happens now? - That's up to you.
SVU can keep investigating, try to find out who else was at the party.
I'm the only person who even remembers that party, but I don't remember what happened.
I want to help, but, who even knows how many people were at that party? We know that your brother Zach was there.
Yeah, but we didn't really hang out, so Your DNA cleared your brother too.
Okay, good.
Do you remember what happened, after you and Michelle were in your room? We went to the kitchen, there were idiots going through my parents' wine collection.
I had to kick people out.
Was Michelle with you? No, I lost track of her.
Oh, my God, - that's when she got - Michelle said, that she remembers being in an upstairs bedroom.
Were people allowed to go up there? No, upstairs was off limits.
That was my parents' bedroom and Zach's.
Did Zach have any friends, who he might have let into his room? No.
Maybe Cole.
Yeah, he stayed with us that summer.
It was Cole Eaton, he was Zach's roommate at Yale.
And where did Cole sleep? Well, he was supposed to sleep in my sister's room, but, he said it was too girly, so, he used my parents'.
And do you know where Cole is now? Yeah, he's family.
He married my sister, Katie, and Zach is the counsel, for his hedge fund.
Cole Eaton.
The apple didn't fall far.
I knew his father.
Big Securities and Exchange lawyer in the '80s.
- Cole's a suspect? - He is.
We asked Michelle, and she said, that she remembers seeing Cole in the kitchen, when her friend Mavis helped her down the stairs the next morning.
And Mavis corroborates? Reluctantly.
She hedged at first.
Turns out, they're friendly with each other.
Their kids go to the same school.
Huh.
I'm sure they do.
Cole Eaton is a prominent New York businessman.
Major campaign donor, multiple charity boards.
So he's got a lot to lose.
As do we all.
Michelle Young? I'm not good with faces, I can't say I remember her.
No, well, she remembers you.
Look, we're all busy.
If you guys have something you want to ask me, just come out and ask.
Did you hook up with Michelle Young at a Fourth of July party in 2003? - At Zach's? - Mm-hmm.
You're asking me who I may have had sex with at a party two decades ago? We are.
I was 19, working as an intern on Wall Street.
I must have slept with a dozen women that summer.
We're just asking about Michelle.
Possibly.
Probably.
It might not look like it now, but back then I was catnip.
Girls came on to me, I didn't have to try.
Enthusiastic consent, all summer long.
Good for you.
Now we ask for DNA.
We can get a warrant, but, as you said, we're all busy, right? Great, thank you.
DNA's a match.
I'll call Carisi.
Carisi's gonna say that we don't have enough to arrest.
Cole made it a point of using the phrase, "enthusiastic consent.
" I wonder, if he'd be able to say that to Michelle's face.
- Thank you for meeting me.
- Sure.
I'd have picked a better restaurant.
So Your detectives tell me that I apparently fathered your child in 2003.
What do you want? What I want? Money, I'm assuming.
Not that I owe you, or this Ashley, she's eighteen, right? Anything.
You didn't even tell me you were pregnant.
I didn't know.
I had no idea you were the one who had sex with me.
Thanks a lot.
You seemed enthusiastic at the time.
- Did I? - Yes.
Walk me through it.
How did I end up in that bedroom? You'd had a few.
I tried to be a nice guy, I walked you up, I put you in a bed.
And you figured since I was half passed out, - you'd have sex with me? - Hey, I was drunk too.
I'm sorry I didn't send you flowers.
Is she gonna be okay? Controlled meets are never easy.
Look, Michelle, I know you've got college loans, you're working double shifts at Macy's, maybe I can lift that burden.
You think I want money? What else could this be about? An acknowledgement.
You knew I was half-unconscious? - No.
- Yes.
You laughed.
You said, "Your first time? You'll never forget me.
" So you remember that? Well, which one is it, you remember this or you don't? - I never would have said yes! - Shh.
I was fifteen, I was a virgin, and you raped me! Okay, Michelle.
I know this is being recorded, so for the record, I didn't do anything you didn't want.
And I have a lot more money than time, so Just Give me a number, I'll wire it.
You think you can just leave money on the dresser and make everything okay? You know what? Missed your chance.
Story of your life.
Hey, Cole Eaton? NYPD.
We need you to come with us.
For Christ's sakes, am I under arrest? If you want, we can cuff you behind your back right here, frisk you.
Save it.
Tell your captain and your ADA I'll meet them at the station.
- You okay? - Yeah.
Screw him.
And I have a lot more money than time so just give me a number, I'll wire it.
- You get the gist.
- So does Cole.
It's a bad case no tox report, no outcry, no witnesses.
She didn't consent.
And if she'd had any memory of consenting to Cole Eaton, she could have shaken him down years before.
Even so, I can't guarantee a win.
You don't have to.
In 1968, I was a freshman at Radcliffe, and my dorm mates and I were invited to a "jolly up," which was a party that was thrown by the Harvard Porcellian Club.
It was at an alum's house, and there were, um, no adults, spiked punch.
This boy, he was a senior, he invited me on the On the garden tour, and we ended up in um, the potting shed.
While I was looking at the tulip bulbs, he latched the door, and I screamed, but, we were so far away from the house, and I doubt anyone would have come anyway.
And you never reported it.
No, no, I just I-I went back to the party and There was dirt on my dress, and I was I was mortified.
So just I cleaned myself up, and that was that.
The Porcellian Club was the most prestigious social club at Harvard, and this boy was a multiple Multiple generation legacy, and his father was one of the trustees.
I've never told a soul about this.
Until today.
I'm so sorry.
What do you want us to do, Ms.
Maxwell? Take Cole Eaton down.
I believe you know Anya Avital, formerly with the Southern District? Yeah, we've met.
We're here on good faith.
My client has no obligation to Michelle Young or her daughter.
We have him on tape offering a bribe.
More like compensation.
Ashley is my daughter.
I'd like to do right by her.
Maybe at some point, she'd like to meet her half-siblings.
Let's not forget that you raped her mother.
Uh, so she claims, 18 years after the fact, after both asserting she has no recollection of what happened, and at the same time, remembering exactly what he said to her.
Hey, Anya, you and I both know, that it's not uncommon, for a survivor's memory, to come back in bits and pieces.
And sometimes suddenly in whole cloth when the accused is wealthy.
Michelle maintains that she didn't consent.
Now, we agree to a plea, or we take this to trial, rape one.
Are you out of your mind? - Let's go.
- Well, actually, you're under arrest.
- Turn around.
- Well, you don't have a case.
Josh has agreed to testify, Mavis too.
That's more than enough for a grand jury indictment.
So your client is going to become a headline.
Your friends, your family, your work.
- Threats? - All gonna find out.
- You're in over your heads.
- Cole.
I'll call Lorraine, this'll goes away.
Lorraine? Oh, Ms.
Maxwell.
She already signed off on your warrant.
Let's go.
I'll have to testify? And it won't be easy.
He's got a team of lawyers.
He'll drag this out.
- But we have to try.
- Do we? Michelle What do you want? I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him what he did to me.
I did, so maybe you should take the money.
I don't want money.
Okay, but you were searching for your birth family.
- You have half-sisters - I don't care about them, I want justice for you.
You know what justice for me is? Seeing you happy.
She's waiting for us.
Ashley.
And you're Cole.
It's nice to meet you.
Why don't we all sit down? Have a seat here.
God.
You look like your sisters.
That's Madeline.
She's ten, and That's Ava, she's eight And a half, she'd say.
I understand you might want to meet them.
I'd like that too.
Okay.
What do they know about me? Over time, I'd tell them that, you're my daughter.
From a prior relationship.
Relationship? No, you have to admit the truth.
To Michelle, that you raped her.
Ashley, I didn't We're never going to agree on this.
What matters now is, I'm your father.
You're not my father.
I have a father.
You're my birth mother's rapist, and until you admit that, I don't want anything to do with you.
So thank you all for coming in.
We have a deal on the table.
To avoid a trial, Cole Eaton has waived the statute of limitations and agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, endangering the welfare of a minor.
- Will he go to prison? - No, but he'll do two years' probation and 400 hours of community service.
He's also offered to pay for Ashley's college tuition, and Michelle's college debt.
What about his relationship to Ashley? No contact, unless Ashley initiates.
We have not signed off on this deal yet, so if you want to take this to trial, that's still an option.
So Michelle, we want to know if you're okay with it, and, if you all want a moment to discuss this together, that's fine.
If Ashley's good, I'm good.
I'm good.
Yeah, I'm good.
So How are you? Relieved.
Unbelievably relieved.
Michelle? You're coming, aren't you? On my way.
For the first time in 18 years, my life has Possibilities.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Ashley and her parents and Michelle are all going out to dinner.
It's the new normal.
Speaking of which, I need to tell you something.
Carisi and I are involved.
Okay.
He's going to disclose to his bosses too.
Good, that is a very smart thing to do.
And Rollins? I'm very happy for you.
Well.
She didn't seem very surprised.
I think she knew all along.
Ms.
Maxwell didn't.
I'm not sure what she ever thinks.
So So you free tonight? Yeah.
Go home, make some dinner, maybe Maybe talk to Billie and Jesse? That sounds nice, Counselor.
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.
Honestly, they're both pretty.
You're not even looking, Dad.
This anxiety is not about the dress.
That's not helpful, Mom.
Just remember, this may be complicated for her.
I know, for both of us.
You could tell from her emails? I just think once we meet in person, things are just gonna make sense.
Now, just let it be what it's going to be.
Ashley? Oh, my God.
Michelle Mom.
Oh! Look at you, you're so beautiful.
I knew it was you right away.
Hey, I need another pan, you got another pan? - You're out of burners.
- Yeah, that's another problem.
Hey, sweetie, what's going on? Uncle Sonny, Billie has a question.
Yeah, sure, what is it? She wants to know if you're her daddy.
You tell your sister, if she has a question, she needs to come out here and ask it herself, okay? Dinner's almost ready, baby.
You know, I have, I have been around a lot.
Sooner or later, we're gonna have to deal with this.
- Morningside Heights.
- Okay, Upper West Side, till I was fifteen.
Then, we had to move.
Excuse me, could I get another, please? - So you moved, where to? - Mhm.
Sorry, Jersey.
Me and my mom.
My dad, he'd already walked out on us.
- It's a long story.
- Is your mom still alive? - She is, she is.
- She still in Jersey? Mm-hmm, I didn't tell her we were meeting, but Honestly, she's kind of a slice.
Yeah, I get it.
Oh, in your last email, you said you got early admission to SUNY Binghamton? - I did.
- Your folks must be so proud.
I'm going to be studying social justice.
Social justice, that's a new one.
Where did you go? Did I get in the way of that? No, I tried a few times.
No degree.
Still have the debt though.
I mean, you could always go back.
Thank you so much.
Someday.
I work long hours at Macy's with fragrance.
Oh, my God, you could use my friends and family discount.
- Really? - I mean, if you want.
Okay, yeah, that would yeah, cool! Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, actually, speaking of family, is it okay to ask about my biological father? Mm-hmm.
Fin and Velasco are still quarantined? Yeah, a few more days, but Hate Crimes loaned us Khaldun.
Made a fresh pot.
Rollins, you still like it light and sweet? - Thank you.
- Captain? I'm good, thanks.
Everybody have a good weekend? Yeah, my son and I did.
We met Jacob deGrom at a kid's birthday party.
- Jacob deGrom? - Yeah.
- Wow.
- Hedge-fund dad.
Excuse me, are you all with SVU? We are.
I'm Captain Benson.
I'd like to report a rape.
- Okay.
- Not mine, my mother's, the night I was conceived.
The rapist is my father.
So your mother knows that you're here, Ashley? I left her a message.
Michelle's my birth mother.
I met her for the first time yesterday.
And she told you she was raped? More like blurted it out, said she was fifteen, passed out at a party.
She was five months pregnant before she knew.
That's rape, right? It is if she didn't consent.
Do you know if she reported it? She didn't even tell her parents, she said I mean, it must have been so hard for her.
I just want to do something.
Okay, well, we can talk to her.
She said she doesn't remember anything and I don't think she really wants to, but she should.
She seemed hurt, drank a lot.
Maybe you can help her.
So Ashley, even if we do find your birth father, there's no guarantees what will happen.
Some guy raped her when she was fifteen.
Her life's never been the same because of me.
I need to make it right.
An alleged rape from 2003 and the victim won't talk? We've left messages, but her daughter may have been conceived from the sexual assault, which makes her a victim too.
Theoretically, but that's semantics.
She wasn't the one who was raped.
Have you ran her DNA for a paternal match? We did; nothing in CODIS.
Any way you can indict the paternal DNA - from Ashley's sample? - Actually, no.
We'd need the alleged rapist's DNA.
Even then, I can't get an unsubstantiated John Doe indictment.
So you want her to remember the details of a sexual assault that she's been trying to forget for the past eighteen years? Unfortunately, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Hey, Carisi.
I know, I was too insensitive.
That, too.
Look I called my shrink, and she said that, Billie might just be testing boundaries, and we don't really need to bring it up again, unless she does.
That's what Dr.
Hanover said, or is that what you heard? Sorry to interrupt, Michelle Young has agreed to talk.
I promised myself, I was just going to tell Ashley, that it was a one-night stand, so I'm sorry she wasted your time.
She didn't, Ms.
Young, and if you want to tell us what happened I don't.
I want you to stop calling.
Your daughter reported that you were assaulted so we have to follow up.
I was nervous with Ashley.
I shouldn't have put this on her.
I've spoken with Ashley.
Your daughter, is quite an impressive young lady.
My sense, she just wants to do the right thing by you.
Or she had a romanticized idea, about how wonderful her parents were going to be, and I screwed that up.
- Have you talked to her since? - I will, but this really isn't any of your business, is it? Counselor, come in.
I've been doing a deep dive into the case law.
We can prosecute this case, but we'd need witnesses, or we need Michelle's cooperation.
Well, that is going to take time.
I mean, meeting the daughter, that she gave up for adoption, and now this? That's That's a lot.
Yeah, but she did bring it up.
And as you'd tell me, that means, at least part of her is ready to deal with this.
It might be good for her to hear that from someone who's lived it.
Oh I told the other detectives I don't want to pursue this.
Will you give me five minutes, and after that, if you're done, then you're done, and we won't bother you again.
Just just five minutes? Thank you.
Ashley keeps texting me.
Is she okay? She will be.
She's smart and - Brave.
- So the opposite of me.
No.
God, Ashley, was such a tiny baby, she was two months premature.
I did not expect her to grow up to be such a force of nature.
When I was that age, I I did not need to tell her.
She did not need to know.
You know, um, my personal experience, being the child of rape, is that it's, it's a lot to process, and I can't imagine meeting, meeting your birth mother, for the very first time, and then, finding that out.
But Ashley is not only meeting the moment, she wants to help you, deal with this.
I was never there for her her entire life.
So be there for her now.
Michelle Whether or not, you want to know what happened, Ashley does.
What difference will it make for her? Look, you've been living under the shadow of this for 18 years.
She wants to walk through this with you.
Give her that Give yourself that chance.
Michelle agreed to go forward with this? - How can I help? - Ashley, Michelle isn't sure that, you know, she wants you to be a part of this right now.
But I am a part of it.
This is my life.
None of this would be happening if I hadn't told anyone.
Maybe give Michelle some time, okay? Okay, It's still good news.
How is this good? - Tony, just listen.
- To what? How the police are looking for my daughter's biological father, who may be a rapist? Thank you for coming in, Mrs.
Young.
I told Michelle, I want nothing to do with it.
Why is she dredging this up? I think she's looking for closure, for herself, and for her daughter.
Her daughter? We don't need some stranger in our lives.
Okay, I just have to ask Is there anything that you remember, from the summer that your daughter got pregnant? Who she was friends were? You mean who she was having sex with? She was raped, Mrs.
Young.
She told me she didn't remember what happened.
She also told me it was all my fault, since I was away that summer.
I don't, I don't think that this is about blame.
I think that she just wants to find out what happened to her.
I couldn't control Michelle back then, any more than now.
I love her, but, it was bad enough when my husband left.
After Michelle got pregnant, we ended up moving out of the city.
I gave up my job, lost touch with my friends.
And none of that sounds easy.
I told Michelle she never should have agreed to meet this girl.
I've seen that walk before.
Did she wipe the chair down before she sat in it? - Practically.
- Why'd she even come here? So if anyone asked, she could say that she was supporting her daughter.
Any luck with the contacts Michelle gave us? One classmate was in camp, the other was in Europe.
The two others that Michelle said she kept in contact with haven't called back.
Keep trying.
Michelle Young? Yeah, I think that she was a classmate of yours.
I guess.
- Is she in trouble? - No, no, no, um, I'm just calling about something that happened to her.
I'm wondering if you remember any parties that you two may have gone to together.
From when I was in ninth grade? Not really.
No, we weren't that close.
I think she left school that year, and we lost touch.
I never saw her again.
How could she say that? We were friends.
She was there that night.
Wait, she put me in a cab the next morning.
How could she not remember? Because nothing happened to her.
What about the other girls in my class? Actually, Mavis was the only one that called back.
She was there, I knew it, look.
Some guy had a vintage Polaroid.
That's me and Mavis.
It had to be that night, Mavis brought fake IDs.
Where was this bar? Dublin House, Upper West Side.
Yeah, it's still open.
And this party that you went to afterwards, - did you take the subway? - No, we walked.
I remember because I fell, like, twice, and Mavis helped me up.
Can you call her again, and show her this? I have another idea.
So we're still nowhere on this? What am I gonna tell Ashley's father? He's calling me, he's still freaked out.
And I don't blame him.
I think everybody would have been better off if none of this had ever come up.
Of course you'd think that.
- Of course.
- What's that supposed to mean? Come on, Rollins.
You won't tell the people we work with, or your kids, that we're involved.
You haven't even told Billie who her father is Okay, easy, easy.
I get it, you grew up having to compartmentalize, - it's a survival mechanism.
- What are you, my shrink now? No, I'm not your shrink, I just I don't want to be Uncle Sonny forever.
- You're not gonna - We're nine months in, Amanda, and your kids still don't know who I am to you? So which is it, do you want me to disclose our relationship to NYPD, or just to Jesse and Billie? My dad? How about your parents? How come I haven't met them yet? Because you don't want my mom to know that you're my girlfriend.
I'm going to bring a "colleague" home, for Sunday dinner? Do you know how strange that would be? - I don't want that pressure on us.
- On us, or on you? I'm sorry, I just don't want to live like this anymore.
I feel like I got a live hand grenade in my pocket, and if this comes out during a trial, - that's gonna blow up in our faces.
- Okay, so, what, you want me to take a full-page ad? - I don't want to leave SVU.
- You don't have to.
I floated this to HR, as a hypothetical, and it turns out, if we both disclose to our bosses, we're fine.
Do we have to do that now? Okay, when then? One year? Five? Look, Amanda, I I don't want to push you someplace that you don't want to go, but what are we doing here? Are we going to try and make this work or not? Are you, are you seriously asking me that? 'Cause I've never been this open, honest in a relationship.
- It's Benson, I gotta go.
- Yeah.
Sorry I'm late.
This cognitive reenactment, Michelle wanted to do it? - She did, why? - 'Cause just because we can do something, should we? Sorry, I know this is loaded for you.
Rollins, what's going on? This is it, this is it! This is where the party was, I remember the red door.
Okay.
My wife and I just bought the place.
We're still moving in.
Thank you for letting us look around.
Take your time.
I remember someone helping me walk up these stairs.
There were fireworks, and, there were people in the courtyard singing that song, "Crazy in Love," I think.
Is this the bedroom? There was some kind of lion.
I was on the bed, and he was next to me.
Michelle, did he say anything? I told him it was my first time, that I wasn't ready.
He said, "Good, then you'll always remember me.
" Oh, they kept the color, China red.
We lived there until the kids went to college and my husband passed.
So you were there the summer of 2003? Summer, no, I would have been in Southampton, with my daughter, Katie.
My sons, Zach and Josh, stayed in the city.
Do you recognize this girl from around that time? Michelle Young? No Maybe she was a friend of my youngest, Josh.
Why? She's applying for a federal position.
We have to do a background check.
She says the only time that she did drugs was at a summer party at your townhouse.
Just is something we gotta run.
Oh Well, as I said, I wasn't home.
You know, you should talk to my eldest, Zach.
He's a lawyer.
Look, you guys got off to the wrong foot with my mother, so, why don't you tell me what this is really about? Michelle Young, we believe she was at a party at your townhouse, on July 4, 2003.
And let me guess, she's not up for a federal job.
No, but We think that she may have been sexually assaulted, the night of that party.
That's awful, but, uhm.
Honestly, I'm not sure I even remember her being there.
Well, you know, we certainly get that, but do you have any idea who else may have been at that party? It's not like there was a guest list.
Word got out there was a party, no parents home, people just showed up.
Okay, how about who was in your social group at the time? Can we start there? You know what, I'm not really comfortable just giving out names.
How about I'll make some calls, and find out if anybody remembers this girl? So Zach Wilcox is going to make some calls? - I won't hold my breath.
- And there's no way we can get a warrant, for his phone records? Not from an MCI flip phone from 2003.
Both Zach and the mother admit there was a party, and the youngest brother, Josh, was there.
Where is he? He works as a park ranger in Vermont.
We're trying to track him down now.
- Any corroboration? - Well, not yet, but, she did have a visceral reaction when she walked into that bedroom.
I mean, something happened to her.
Captain? - You're Captain Benson? - I am.
I'm Josh Wilcox.
You called me about Michelle Young? - So you know her? - I used to.
I always wondered what happened to her.
I really liked her.
That's her.
Almost forgot how pretty she was.
Michelle, ma belle.
So can you tell us about your relationship with her? She wasn't my girlfriend or anything.
We were at different schools, but we hung out a little that spring.
What about the Fourth of July? Yeah, actually, um, that party was the last time I ever spoke to Michelle.
I tried calling, she never called me back.
Then I heard she moved.
Did something happen to her? Is it possible that the two of you had sex that night? Well Oh, we, we made out a little, but why? What's she saying? Well, here's the thing, Josh.
Michelle doesn't remember having sex that night, but then five months later, she found out she was pregnant.
Oh, wow.
I had no idea.
She had a baby, that's why she moved? - Mm-hmm.
- She had a little daughter.
She gave it up for adoption, and, they just recently connected.
You think I might be the father? Can you tell us what you remember? I was kinda high.
We were in my bedroom.
Your bedroom, was that upstairs? No, no, it was the ground floor, at the front.
We were fooling around, and I kind of, you know Came - Can I say that? - Yeah.
It was the first time I ever kissed a girl.
It's okay.
I always thought that's why she never called me back.
So So you think it's possible I'm the father? Would you mind giving us a DNA sample? No, of course not.
I mean, if I have a daughter, I want to know.
Josh, I remember him.
We might have, made out at the party.
- Do you remember having sex with him? - No, you think he could be the father? It's a possibility.
We're running the DNA.
So this was just some kind of accident? If you don't have any memory of sex I don't think he would do that.
He kept trying to call me after.
You never called him back? After that party, I was so embarrassed.
I didn't talk to anybody.
This whole time I thought I was raped and I wasn't? Oh, my God, Ashley, she's going to think I'm crazy.
For now, hold off on telling her.
Michelle remembers Josh, but not having sex.
Is it possible that this is two 15-year-olds - just fooling around? - I don't know.
The way she reacted in that bedroom? Yeah? - How is she? - She's worried about Ashley.
I mean, can you imagine being a kid and finding something out like this I did not mean to It's okay, Rollins.
I remember that night.
The night my mother, Serena, just she just lashed out at me.
She was so drunk, and so angry.
I was 13 years old, and she She looked at me, and she said She said, "I wish I'd never had you.
" Because of the rape.
I am so sorry.
Did you ever wish that she hadn't told you? At the time, I did.
But it's informed my whole life.
Ashley Peters is here.
She's kind of hyper.
Okay, send her in.
- Ashley.
- Michelle told me the good news, about my biological father.
We actually haven't gotten - the DNA back.
- Oh, no, no, I know that it's him Josh? We FaceTimed.
How did you two get in touch? Mom friended him on Facebook, and he looks like me, and he likes the outdoors, and I like the outdoors.
I actually hiked in the national park where he works.
What did Michelle tell you? That she was wrong, she wasn't raped.
She said she felt really bad about getting me involved, but I told her that none of this would have happened if I hadn't gone to the police.
We wouldn't have found Josh.
Ashley, we don't know what happened that night.
I'm actually about to go meet them for dinner.
Michelle didn't want to go at first, but I convinced her.
And he's single, too, so Anyway, thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.
You're right, she's pink clouding.
Now what? Call the M.
E.
, put a rush on that DNA.
I know we probably shouldn't have met so soon.
We're all just really excited.
Yes, I know.
Ashley told me.
Am I in any kind of trouble? 'Cause, my brother told me I was an idiot, - to come here with no lawyer.
- No, you're You're not in any trouble.
Josh, we do have to tell you that we got the DNA, and you're not Ashley's biological father.
- You sure? - Yeah.
Ashley and I, we have so much in common.
She even looks like me.
We're, uh, we're sure.
I'm sorry.
It's all my fault, I shouldn't have said anything - until we were sure.
- No, it's okay.
It's not like you brought a stranger into our lives.
He's a friend of yours, and he still likes you, so I don't know - What happens now? - That's up to you.
SVU can keep investigating, try to find out who else was at the party.
I'm the only person who even remembers that party, but I don't remember what happened.
I want to help, but, who even knows how many people were at that party? We know that your brother Zach was there.
Yeah, but we didn't really hang out, so Your DNA cleared your brother too.
Okay, good.
Do you remember what happened, after you and Michelle were in your room? We went to the kitchen, there were idiots going through my parents' wine collection.
I had to kick people out.
Was Michelle with you? No, I lost track of her.
Oh, my God, - that's when she got - Michelle said, that she remembers being in an upstairs bedroom.
Were people allowed to go up there? No, upstairs was off limits.
That was my parents' bedroom and Zach's.
Did Zach have any friends, who he might have let into his room? No.
Maybe Cole.
Yeah, he stayed with us that summer.
It was Cole Eaton, he was Zach's roommate at Yale.
And where did Cole sleep? Well, he was supposed to sleep in my sister's room, but, he said it was too girly, so, he used my parents'.
And do you know where Cole is now? Yeah, he's family.
He married my sister, Katie, and Zach is the counsel, for his hedge fund.
Cole Eaton.
The apple didn't fall far.
I knew his father.
Big Securities and Exchange lawyer in the '80s.
- Cole's a suspect? - He is.
We asked Michelle, and she said, that she remembers seeing Cole in the kitchen, when her friend Mavis helped her down the stairs the next morning.
And Mavis corroborates? Reluctantly.
She hedged at first.
Turns out, they're friendly with each other.
Their kids go to the same school.
Huh.
I'm sure they do.
Cole Eaton is a prominent New York businessman.
Major campaign donor, multiple charity boards.
So he's got a lot to lose.
As do we all.
Michelle Young? I'm not good with faces, I can't say I remember her.
No, well, she remembers you.
Look, we're all busy.
If you guys have something you want to ask me, just come out and ask.
Did you hook up with Michelle Young at a Fourth of July party in 2003? - At Zach's? - Mm-hmm.
You're asking me who I may have had sex with at a party two decades ago? We are.
I was 19, working as an intern on Wall Street.
I must have slept with a dozen women that summer.
We're just asking about Michelle.
Possibly.
Probably.
It might not look like it now, but back then I was catnip.
Girls came on to me, I didn't have to try.
Enthusiastic consent, all summer long.
Good for you.
Now we ask for DNA.
We can get a warrant, but, as you said, we're all busy, right? Great, thank you.
DNA's a match.
I'll call Carisi.
Carisi's gonna say that we don't have enough to arrest.
Cole made it a point of using the phrase, "enthusiastic consent.
" I wonder, if he'd be able to say that to Michelle's face.
- Thank you for meeting me.
- Sure.
I'd have picked a better restaurant.
So Your detectives tell me that I apparently fathered your child in 2003.
What do you want? What I want? Money, I'm assuming.
Not that I owe you, or this Ashley, she's eighteen, right? Anything.
You didn't even tell me you were pregnant.
I didn't know.
I had no idea you were the one who had sex with me.
Thanks a lot.
You seemed enthusiastic at the time.
- Did I? - Yes.
Walk me through it.
How did I end up in that bedroom? You'd had a few.
I tried to be a nice guy, I walked you up, I put you in a bed.
And you figured since I was half passed out, - you'd have sex with me? - Hey, I was drunk too.
I'm sorry I didn't send you flowers.
Is she gonna be okay? Controlled meets are never easy.
Look, Michelle, I know you've got college loans, you're working double shifts at Macy's, maybe I can lift that burden.
You think I want money? What else could this be about? An acknowledgement.
You knew I was half-unconscious? - No.
- Yes.
You laughed.
You said, "Your first time? You'll never forget me.
" So you remember that? Well, which one is it, you remember this or you don't? - I never would have said yes! - Shh.
I was fifteen, I was a virgin, and you raped me! Okay, Michelle.
I know this is being recorded, so for the record, I didn't do anything you didn't want.
And I have a lot more money than time, so Just Give me a number, I'll wire it.
You think you can just leave money on the dresser and make everything okay? You know what? Missed your chance.
Story of your life.
Hey, Cole Eaton? NYPD.
We need you to come with us.
For Christ's sakes, am I under arrest? If you want, we can cuff you behind your back right here, frisk you.
Save it.
Tell your captain and your ADA I'll meet them at the station.
- You okay? - Yeah.
Screw him.
And I have a lot more money than time so just give me a number, I'll wire it.
- You get the gist.
- So does Cole.
It's a bad case no tox report, no outcry, no witnesses.
She didn't consent.
And if she'd had any memory of consenting to Cole Eaton, she could have shaken him down years before.
Even so, I can't guarantee a win.
You don't have to.
In 1968, I was a freshman at Radcliffe, and my dorm mates and I were invited to a "jolly up," which was a party that was thrown by the Harvard Porcellian Club.
It was at an alum's house, and there were, um, no adults, spiked punch.
This boy, he was a senior, he invited me on the On the garden tour, and we ended up in um, the potting shed.
While I was looking at the tulip bulbs, he latched the door, and I screamed, but, we were so far away from the house, and I doubt anyone would have come anyway.
And you never reported it.
No, no, I just I-I went back to the party and There was dirt on my dress, and I was I was mortified.
So just I cleaned myself up, and that was that.
The Porcellian Club was the most prestigious social club at Harvard, and this boy was a multiple Multiple generation legacy, and his father was one of the trustees.
I've never told a soul about this.
Until today.
I'm so sorry.
What do you want us to do, Ms.
Maxwell? Take Cole Eaton down.
I believe you know Anya Avital, formerly with the Southern District? Yeah, we've met.
We're here on good faith.
My client has no obligation to Michelle Young or her daughter.
We have him on tape offering a bribe.
More like compensation.
Ashley is my daughter.
I'd like to do right by her.
Maybe at some point, she'd like to meet her half-siblings.
Let's not forget that you raped her mother.
Uh, so she claims, 18 years after the fact, after both asserting she has no recollection of what happened, and at the same time, remembering exactly what he said to her.
Hey, Anya, you and I both know, that it's not uncommon, for a survivor's memory, to come back in bits and pieces.
And sometimes suddenly in whole cloth when the accused is wealthy.
Michelle maintains that she didn't consent.
Now, we agree to a plea, or we take this to trial, rape one.
Are you out of your mind? - Let's go.
- Well, actually, you're under arrest.
- Turn around.
- Well, you don't have a case.
Josh has agreed to testify, Mavis too.
That's more than enough for a grand jury indictment.
So your client is going to become a headline.
Your friends, your family, your work.
- Threats? - All gonna find out.
- You're in over your heads.
- Cole.
I'll call Lorraine, this'll goes away.
Lorraine? Oh, Ms.
Maxwell.
She already signed off on your warrant.
Let's go.
I'll have to testify? And it won't be easy.
He's got a team of lawyers.
He'll drag this out.
- But we have to try.
- Do we? Michelle What do you want? I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him what he did to me.
I did, so maybe you should take the money.
I don't want money.
Okay, but you were searching for your birth family.
- You have half-sisters - I don't care about them, I want justice for you.
You know what justice for me is? Seeing you happy.
She's waiting for us.
Ashley.
And you're Cole.
It's nice to meet you.
Why don't we all sit down? Have a seat here.
God.
You look like your sisters.
That's Madeline.
She's ten, and That's Ava, she's eight And a half, she'd say.
I understand you might want to meet them.
I'd like that too.
Okay.
What do they know about me? Over time, I'd tell them that, you're my daughter.
From a prior relationship.
Relationship? No, you have to admit the truth.
To Michelle, that you raped her.
Ashley, I didn't We're never going to agree on this.
What matters now is, I'm your father.
You're not my father.
I have a father.
You're my birth mother's rapist, and until you admit that, I don't want anything to do with you.
So thank you all for coming in.
We have a deal on the table.
To avoid a trial, Cole Eaton has waived the statute of limitations and agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, endangering the welfare of a minor.
- Will he go to prison? - No, but he'll do two years' probation and 400 hours of community service.
He's also offered to pay for Ashley's college tuition, and Michelle's college debt.
What about his relationship to Ashley? No contact, unless Ashley initiates.
We have not signed off on this deal yet, so if you want to take this to trial, that's still an option.
So Michelle, we want to know if you're okay with it, and, if you all want a moment to discuss this together, that's fine.
If Ashley's good, I'm good.
I'm good.
Yeah, I'm good.
So How are you? Relieved.
Unbelievably relieved.
Michelle? You're coming, aren't you? On my way.
For the first time in 18 years, my life has Possibilities.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Ashley and her parents and Michelle are all going out to dinner.
It's the new normal.
Speaking of which, I need to tell you something.
Carisi and I are involved.
Okay.
He's going to disclose to his bosses too.
Good, that is a very smart thing to do.
And Rollins? I'm very happy for you.
Well.
She didn't seem very surprised.
I think she knew all along.
Ms.
Maxwell didn't.
I'm not sure what she ever thinks.
So So you free tonight? Yeah.
Go home, make some dinner, maybe Maybe talk to Billie and Jesse? That sounds nice, Counselor.