27x19 - Impropriety

[bunniefuu]

- 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.

[tires screeching]

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- No!
No!

No, I think she hit her head!
Oh, no!

- Let's go!

- Wait, I don't think
she's breathing, man!

- Get back in the car!

- Come on,
let's get out of here.

- Let's go!

♪ ♪

[engine rumbles]

♪ ♪

- Help! There's a girl
on the ground over here!

She needs a doctor!
Over here!

Help!

♪ ♪

- He's a waffle guy.
- Oh, I'm good with coffee.

Thanks.

Like I said, looked through
hundreds of cases.

- I'm sure you did.

- And, uh,
are there minor mistakes?

Yeah, sure.

License plate numbers
transposed,

paperwork misfiled,
small stuff.

I mean, you could find worse
in my jacket.

- Could we now?

- It's not like there was
incompetence or corruption.

- I'd like to decide
for myself, Jake.

May I have the file?

Thank you.

- You're wrong about this.

You're wrong about Benson, OK?

And whatever chain of command
or BS you're hung up on,

let it go.

- Wow.

Six months as a detective,

and he's ready
to run the Bureau.

Do you remember when you had
that problem in high school

with that kid
and you called me?

- I'm not doing that.

No, this is not about
how many times you helped me

or how tight
you were with my dad.

I'm not gonna look
the other way

when you're doing
something wrong.

- What am I doing wrong?

- You're undermining
a good cop.

You're letting your ego
make decisions.

Yeah.

And when you can't get to her,

you go after someone
in her unit.

Then you set me up
to be the fall guy.

- That's untrue.
- I still don't understand why.

- If Captain Benson
asks you to do something,

and you did the opposite,

what do you think would happen?

- That's not the same thing.
- It's exactly the same thing.

I am not being unreasonable.
I'm not even being political.

I'm being a boss.

- If she does good,

you look good, right?

Why not just make her an ally?

- I tried.

Benson's only ever allied
with herself.

[phone buzzes]

- There's a teenage girl
in the hospital--

head trauma,
signs of sexual as*ault.

- Go
- [sighs]

- Jake,

you can leave the file.

- We found her school ID
in her pocket.

Emma Burns, 16,
attends Carlton Prep.

- How is she doing?
- Stable, but unconscious.

There's a subdural hematoma
from getting

tossed out of the car, bruising
and blood in her underwear.

Plus, the tox screen showed
Lorazepam in her system.

- Anybody get a good look
at the car that dumped her?

- Witness said it was an SUV.

We can get you
the security footage,

but they said it's not helpful.
- OK

- Sorry.
- Thank you so much.

All right,
Lorazepam is a benzo,

so that increases impulsivity,
and it induces memory loss.

- Basically a roofie.
- Yes.

Hey.
How was your breakfast?

- You know, like talking
to a charming brick wall.

- Yeah.
- You back with us?

- Told Cap
don't make me a cake,

but yeah, I'm back.
- Well, that's good to hear.

- So how about the two of you
go through

the security footage
and see if you can see

something that they didn't?

- Something's up with this kid.

- Think he knows something?

- Let's ask.

[dramatic music]

- Hey.

Hey, hey.
Hey, stop.

- Got me running
the first day back?

Seriously?
- Hey!

[thuds]

- Oh, and it's unlocked.

Thanks, kid.
- Hey, that's private property.

You can't take that.

- Technically,
it's abandoned property,

which we can search.
- Please, just give it back.

I didn't do anything wrong.
I'm just here visiting someone.

- Look at this--
"At the hospital.

"Cops here.

Nobody better snitch."

- You know what the first rule
about not snitching is?

Don't text about not snitching.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- You have to do it.
Oh, my God.

- Ethan's social media
helped identify

the kids in this video,
all seniors at Carlton Prep.

- Oh, I've heard of that.

It's a high-end private school.
- So these four--

Ethan Weiss, Matt Davis,
John Gallagher, Casey Stewart--

were all on the group chat.

- Possibly the ones that
took her to the hospital.

- And no luck with Ethan?
- I tried.

He's not talking.

- These private school kids
ain't gonna talk to the cops.

Their parents will pay for
the best lawyers in the city.

- Most of these kids
are 17 years old,

so we don't need their parents'
consent to talk to them.

Let's grab them
on the way to school.

- And ever since
she cut her hair,

she looks like a hippopotamus.
- Hey.

[grim music]

- What the hell, bruh?
- Come with me, bruh.

You too.
Let's go.

♪ ♪

- Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hey.
- Oh!

- All sticks and stems.

You got beat, kid.

- So let's start
with an easy one.

Where was the party last night?

- Look, I'd love to help you,
but I have no idea

what you're even saying
right now.

- Casey, your friend may
have been sexually assaulted,

and I think
that you can help her.

- And I think I'd like
to speak to my attorney.

- Just tell us what happened.

We'll forget about the weed.

- What weed?

- Wise guy, huh?

- Wise enough
not to talk to cops.

- So, John,

your friend, Emma,

she's in pretty bad shape.

She may have been
sexually assaulted,

and we're just trying to
figure out what happened.

So can you help me help her?

♪ ♪

- Lawyer.

- We know you care about Emma.

You came to the hospital
to check on her.

- You tried to help her, right?

You saw that
she was in trouble,

and you tried to help her?

- Listen, I swear--
[door opens]

- That's enough.

Ethan, I'm your lawyer.

Don't say another word.

[door shuts]

- Calm down!
- We are leaving

to Aruba tomorrow.

You need to release these kids
immediately.

- I'm not gonna let this get
in the way of my vacation.

- These kids are
not going anywhere.

- I want to speak to my son.

- You're not gonna give us
anything, Sergeant?

- I skipped donuts
at the courthouse for this?

What a mess.

- Well, they all lawyered up
and won't talk,

and we can't hold them.

- Which means we got no leads.

There's nothing you can do?

- All right,
put all the lawyers

in the conference room.

I got an idea.

- Just give us a minute,
all right, guys?

Thank you.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- So I wanted to give you
a heads-up.

I did some digging,
and I found the retired

IAB detective who investigated
your dad's sh**ting.

- Oh, yeah?

OK, the case I'm on
is a cluster.

- All right, that's fine.

It's best I talk to him anyway.
- I owe you.

- Yeah.
I take Venmo.

[indistinct chatter]

- Sonny, what's up
with all the theatrics?

You know you can't talk
to our clients.

- Well, you're right.

I'm not gonna talk
to all of them.

I'm only gonna talk
to one of them.

- What does that mean?
- Well, these kids are in deep.

And, uh, I'm gonna make
an offer to the first one

that comes forward
with useful information.

The rest can drown.
- Come on, Carisi.

- There's a teenage girl
in the hospital

because one of
your dumb-a*s clients

dropped her on her head.

This train is
leaving the station,

and I'm only letting
one kid ride.

You all have my number.

[door shuts]

[indistinct chatter]

I really thought
one would flip.

- Look, it was worth a shot.

We'll figure
something else out.

[phone buzzes]

- Ah, no need.

We got a bite.

- I keep seeing her face.

Her lips were blue.

- Yeah, we saw the video.

And we also saw that
you were drinking.

- Just tell them
what we talked about.

- We went to John's apartment
to party after school.

I only had one drink,
maybe two.

- We had no idea--
- I didn't get drunk.

- He told us it was
just him and John.

- Mr. and Mrs. Weiss,
just please,

let Ethan answer.

Go ahead.

- At some point, I fell asleep.

And then all of a sudden,
John and Casey

were shaking me awake,
saying that Emma might be dead.

- You didn't call 911?

- I wanted to,
but they didn't let me.

Like you said,
we had been drinking.

We just didn't want
to get in trouble.

- So you drove her to
the hospital yourselves?

- Yeah, but I didn't mean
for her to hit her head.

I--I lost my grip,
and she fell.

And then John and Casey
were yelling at me.

I didn't know what to do.
I tried to pick her back up--

- All right,
Ethan has given his statement.

Now, let's talk deal.

Full immunity for my client.

- If you want full immunity,

he's gotta give me
more than that.

- Hey, Ethan, it doesn't matter
if your intentions were good.

Emma almost died.

She may have been r*ped.

So if you know something,
you can help her.

- Ethan, you don't
have to say anything--

- It's OK, Ethan--
- OK, enough!

Emma started to act weird.

She seemed out of it.

And then I saw her go
in the guest bedroom...

with Matt.

[soft dramatic music]

- All right, according
to Ethan, Emma and Matt,

they were flirting
the entire night,

and then they snuck off
into the guest room together,

and Emma was unsteady
on her feet.

- OK, but Ethan
didn't intervene?

- Well, he didn't think
it was a big deal.

He figured if they were
going off together,

then Emma must have consented.
Excuse me.

- OK, but she was 16
and full of drugs.

Where'd the Lorazepam
come from, anyway?

- Ethan said that there
were no drugs at the party.

- Was Matt drunk, too?

- Ethan said that Matt
had one drink, possibly two.

- So he was sober enough
to know better.

- We have a suspect
and a crime scene.

Go check out the apartment.

- That was Matt's lawyer.
He wants to talk.

- All right.

- My client has come forward
of his own volition.

He's willing to cooperate.

But before you take him
into custody,

there's something
you should see.

- What's this?
- It's a toxicology report.

Matt woke up
the morning after the party

with no memory of
the previous night.

I ordered the report.

It shows Lorazepam glucuronide
in his urine

at a rate of 30 nanograms
per milliliter,

which is more than enough
to impair

decision-making and memory.

Since benzos only remain in the
urine for one to three days,

it is likely he ingested
the drug at the party

in question,
which Matt swears

he did not willingly do.

- So what are you saying?

- Our son was drugged.

- I had one drink
early in the night,

and I never took any drugs.

- Well, who do you think
would have drugged you?

- [sighs]

- He clearly
doesn't know anything.

- And if any sex occurred,
I suggest you...

[phone buzzes]
Look at my client as a victim,

not the perpetrator.

- OK, well, hopefully
we're gonna get to the bottom

of what happened.

Emma's awake.

- No, it's not true.

- I know that
it's hard to hear,

but your injuries
are consistent

with a sexual as*ault.

- Matt cares for me.
He would never r*pe me.

- OK. Do you have any memory
of--of the night?

Because one of your friends
said that they saw you

and Matt walking
into a bedroom,

and you were having
trouble walking.

- Oh, well, no.

I like Matt,
so if we did anything,

I would have wanted it
to happen.

- You had Lorazepam
in your system,

and that's a drug
that can cause

memory loss and confusion.

So do you remember taking
anything like that?

- No.
I don't take any pills.

I don't get wasted

because I just--

I don't ever want to feel
like I'm not in control, OK?

- OK, I believe you.

So how about you tell me
anything that you do remember

leading up to the party?

And nothing is too small.

You know, little things
can be important.

- We went to John's apartment
after school.

- So were his parents home?

- His dad died.
Talia was there though.

- And Talia is his mother?
- Yeah.

- Did she know
that you all were drinking?

- It's not a big deal.

And she--
she said that it's safer

to drink at her place,
rather than some, like,

back alley.
So she's cool.

- Uh-huh.

- She doesn't
treat us like kids.

- Was she drinking with you?

- [scoffs] Only a little,
but hardly anything.

- Right.

- Look, Talia is a good person.

She's like one of us.

She's a friend.

And she's the one who told me
that Matt has a crush on me.

- Oh.
When did she tell you that?

- At the party.

And, um...

[ominous music]

She told me to go for it,
and if Matt and I

wanted to use the guest
bedroom, that we could.

- Emma,
I think that you know that

it's inappropriate
for an adult to say that.

♪ ♪

OK, so what happened next?

♪ ♪

- I don't remember anything
after that.

♪ ♪

- NYPD.

We're looking
for Talia Federov.

- Who are you?

- Detective Griffin.
Sergeant Tutuola.

- We need to ask you
a few questions,

take a look around
the apartment.

- Why would you need to look
around my apartment?

- We think someone may have
been sexually assaulted here

at a party the other night.

- Oh, my God. Who?
In my home, here?

- We already have a suspect.

We just need to take a look
at the crime scene.

We'll be in and out
in five minutes.

- I would love
to help you guys out.

I really would, but my dad is
a retired judge, Owen Fedorov--

I'm sure you've heard of him.

And he would absolutely k*ll me
if I let law enforcement in

without a warrant, so I'm sorry.
- Good thing we brought one.

- All right, guys, come on in.
Spread out.

[tense music]

- Um, this is a mistake.
I'm sure of it.

You can't just waltz in here
and barge in

and start touching everything--
- Ma'am.

Griff, find the guest room.

- Copy.

- The guest room?

There's nothing
in the guest room

that you need to see.

♪ ♪

- So this is
your daughter's room?

- What?
No, I don't have a daughter.

This is--
this is my room.

Listen, I just let them
have a couple of drinks.

It's not a big deal.

I mean, wouldn't you rather
that than--

than having them drink
at some park unsupervised?

I just wanted to create
a safe space.

♪ ♪

- Hey, you got tweezers?

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

What you got?

♪ ♪

- Hidden camera.

- Detective, do you have kids?

So, I mean,
you would understand.

My son was bullied
all throughout school,

and so was I.

I tried to step in
and create a space for him

and his friends
to have some fun.

That's all.

I didn't do anything bad.

I just--
I'm a helicopter mom, I guess.

But I did it for my son.

- You know what
I never did for my son?

Roofie his friends.

Talia Federov,
you're under arrest.

Turn around.
- What?

I--
[sighs]

- The best you have
is endangering

the welfare of a child
for the alcohol,

a misdemeanor.

- Well, don't forget
about the Lorazepam.

- The medicine cabinet
wasn't locked.

It's not the first time
that kids helped themselves

to a parent's prescriptions.

- That doesn't explain
the hidden camera.

- Yeah, and the only device
the camera was connected to

was your cell phone.

- That camera was used
to check on her aunt,

who had dementia
and who was staying with them

until she passed away.

- OK, show us the video.

- Sorry, the camera only
streams the video directly,

so there are no recordings.

- Oh, so you were watching
teenagers have sex

in your guest bedroom live?

- That is
an outrageous accusation.

- OK, well, tell us about this

unlawful surveillance charge,



You would have been,
what, a college freshman?

- Is that when you picked up
your peeping kink, Talia?

- You were charged as
a youthful offender,

which is usually sealed.

But thankfully,
we got a grade A DA.

- Taking pics through
the dorm window

of football players
and cheerleaders.

- I was walking
down the street--

- No, Talia. Just be quiet.
- No.

Their curtains were wide open.

- Stop. Talia.
- This is--

- Talia.

- A YO plea
is hard to come by.

It must be nice to have a father

who's a judge with juice.
- Mm-hmm, must be nice.

That must be what
privilege buys.

- And what is that?

- Never having to face
consequences.

- Welcome back, Judge Federov.
- Oh, thanks, Sam.

I wish it was under
better circumstances.

- This is
calendar number three,

the People of the State of
New York versus Talia Federov.

Defendant's charged with
two counts of facilitating

a sexual offense
with controlled substance

and two counts of using a child
for sexual performance.

- Good morning, Your Honor.

Trevor Langan
for the defendant.

My client enters
a plea of not guilty.

- As to bail, Your Honor,
the defendant is accused

of a class D violent felony.
- I read the complaint.

Defendant has
no criminal record.

I'm going to release her
on her own recognizance

and assign this case
to Judge Kevin Ryan.

[soft dramatic music]

Next case!

♪ ♪

- Hey. What was that?

- Don't you know?

Talia's father was
the chief of criminal court.

- Oh. So I see that membership
still has its privileges.

[laughter]

- So what can I do
for you gentlemen?

- I appreciate the time, Judge.
Um--

I just--I wanted to discuss
your relationship

with the defendant's father.

- Well, it's common knowledge
that we were friends.

That was years ago.

I certainly don't see it
as a problem.

- Well, no, of course not.

But, um, I mean,
I just think we should

really try to avoid even the
appearance of impropriety here.

- Oh, so you're suggesting
there's something improper

about me trying the case.

- Everybody knows
he was your mentor, Judge.

- Mentor?

Judge Federov was close with
many judges in this building.

- Even so,
I think it would be wise

for you to recuse yourself.

- Denied.

Anything else?

- Uh, yeah, actually,
Your Honor,

I was hoping that this meeting
would be about

Mr. Carisi offering
my client a misdemeanor.

- A misdemeanor?
- Yeah.

- One of those kids
almost died.

That's never gonna happen.

- I appreciate your passion,
Mr. Carisi,

but if I were you,
I'd think on it.

- Thank you, Judge,

but no deal.

- Well, then,
I guess I will see

both you gentlemen in court.

- It's totally normal to
feel nervous, all right?

So ADA Carisi is gonna
prep you in his office,

and he's gonna go through
every single question with you

right before
you have to testify.

- Uh, will you be there, too?
- Oh, yes.

Absolutely.
- OK.

- Absolutely.

Here, why don't you
have a seat?

- Thank you.

- OK, can I--
can I make you a cup of tea?

- Yeah.
- Great. Great.

So Emma, is there, um--

is there something else
bothering you,

something you want
to talk about?

- No, it's fine.
I'll handle it.

[chuckles]

- OK.

You know, you mentioned
at the hospital

that you never wanted to feel
out of control, that--

it seems like it's something
that is very important to you.

- Thank you.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

- A lot of people
that I've talked to,

you know, survivors of trauma,
experience something

called hypervigilance.

And it's when your brain
works really, really hard,

right, scanning for threats

to make sure that they're safe,

and they sort of live
in a constant state

of fight or flight.

You ever--

you ever feel like that?

- Sometimes.

- I want you to know
that you can talk to me

because I know a little bit
about that.

- If I, uh--

if I tell you something,
do you--

do you have to tell
other people?

- Well, sometimes I do, yeah.

If you need me to keep it
between us, then--

then I will.

I promise
I'll keep it between us.

- OK.

When I was younger,

like--like 12, um...

my uncle, he--

he would--
he would touch me.

And he would have me, uh,
touch him.

I-I knew--
I knew it was wrong.

But I couldn't make him stop.

It was during,
like, seventh grade.

But that's it.
That's--that's what happened.

- I'm so sorry, Emma.

I'm so sorry
that that happened.

Would it be OK for me
to ask you a couple

of questions about that?

So where is your uncle now?

- He died last year.

- OK, and did you
ever tell anyone?

- My mom, the--

the summer after it happened.

- Mm, what did she do?

- I mean, never let me be
alone with him again.

But that's it.

- But did she call the police
or a doctor or--

- My parents were
having money problems.

And my uncle, he was rich.

He invented this app
or something.

And so he paid for everything,
paid for school.

But yeah, that's--
that's it.

That's all they did.

- That must have been
so hard and--

and so unfair.

And Emma, if you'd let me,

I'd love to talk
to your parents.

- No.
- Hold on.

Even if it's just to get
a good therapist...

- No, no, I--
- Who can help you.

- I can't handle
any of that right now.

OK?

So just--
just don't tell anyone.

- I did promise,
and I won't tell anyone.

I will keep it between us.

I promise you that.

- OK.

- I can't believe anybody's
asking about Jimmy Griffin.

How long has that guy
been dead and buried?

- Believe me, I know.

There's this unreliable
informant talking smack,

and I was told to track it down
and put it to bed.

- Doubtful
I remember much, Curry.

- It's all right.

See if anything
jogs your memory.

- [chuckles]

[rock music playing softly]

- Oh.

♪ ♪

You're--
you're missing stuff.

You sure you got all of this?
- What's missing?

- Well, photos for one.

We certainly had one of the g*n.

- OK, I'll dig around.

So it was an
officer-involved sh**ting.

You caught
the IAB investigation.

What happened?

- Jimmy and--and some skel
get into a beef in a bar,

uh, something about the guy owed
Jimmy, you know, money.

They take it outside.

Dummy pulls a g*n.

Jimmy pulls,
puts one in the guy's knee.

Good sh**t.
Guy survived.

End of story.

- The file says that the skel
was Dennis Reeves.

I looked into him.
He died in 2015.

But you remember
what he said back then?

- What do you think he said?

"Not my g*n.

Dirty cop planted it."

Made up some garbage about
Jimmy was on his payroll.

Nonsense.
- Any witnesses?

- It was Jimmy and his partner.

You probably know her.

She's the new chief of Ds,
Tynan.

- Yeah, I met her a few times.
She's solid.

She stand up?
- Yeah.

She said the same thing
Jimmy said--

you know,
pretty open-and-shut, you know,

two cops versus one skel.

You know, not a lot of
shoe leather on this, Curry.

- No-brainer, I get it.
- [chuckles]

- Reeves said that Jimmy was
on his payroll, right?

What, was he a bookie?

- Yeah. Um...
[sighs]

You know, I-I don't recall.

Anything else
I can help you with?

- Yeah, last thing.

Case file says that Reeves
caught a collar

for the ill*gal g*n.
- Yeah.

He had some night, right?

Got drunk,
pulled a g*n on a cop,

got shot, and arrested
for a g*n charge.

Just a, uh, great New York tale.

- Any idea what happened
to the g*n?

- Probably in a box in
a property warehouse in Queens.

- I checked.
It's not there.

- What can I tell you, Curry?

Sometimes things
just disappear.

- Looking a little dry there,
Sergeant.

Next one's on me.

Thanks for your time.

- I'm telling you,
I have nothing

but admiration for your work
with SVU, Mr. Carisi.

- Thank you, Judge. That, uh--
that means a lot to me.

- That must take a toll,

you know, a heavy load.

- You know what?

How about I tell you
all about it,

but after this trial?

Because seeing as
your daughter's the defendant

in this case, I don't think
it's even appropriate for us

to be speaking right now.

- I thought you might say that.

- Good day, Judge.

- Do you have children,
Mr. Carisi?

- Yes, I do.

- I'm sure you agree that you'd
do anything to protect them.

My suggestion is
a lighter load for you

makes a lighter load for me.

- With respect, Judge,

I'm not interested
in lightening anyone's load.

I just want to try a fair case.

- You know I was on the bench
for over 30 years.

That doesn't mean anything
to you?

- It means you know damn well
that your friend, Judge Ryan,

should recuse himself.

You have a good day, Judge.

And after the defendant gave
you this drink, what happened?

- I don't remember.
I-I blacked out.

- And did you submit
for a toxicology screen?

- Yes, and it showed I had
Lorazepam in my system,

which I never took.

- So the defendant
spiked your drink.

- Objection--
assumes facts not in evidence.

- Sustained.

- Matt,

did you see anyone
put Lorazepam in your drink

after the defendant
gave it to you?

- No.
- Thank you.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

- Mr. Davis,
tell the jury about the deal

you made with Mr. Carisi
to get you to testify.

- Objection.
He knows there's no deal.

- Overruled.

- Your Honor, assumes facts
not in evidence.

- Sit down, Mr. Carisi.

- Well, there is no deal.

- Isn't it true that
you were investigated

for the r*pe of Emma Burns?

- Yeah, I guess, but--

- Yeah, but you were never
arrested or charged

for that sexual as*ault,
correct?

- Correct.

- Who made the call
to not charge you?

- I-I guess, Mr. Carisi.

- [sobbing]
- Hey.

We're gonna have
to go out there now,

so I need you to take
a deep breath.

- Hey.

- I don't know what happened.
She was fine.

- She had trouble breathing.
- OK. Hey, Emma.

I'm here.
I'm here.

Hey, can you tell me
what happened?

- [hyperventilating]

- What's going on?

- All those people.

- OK, Emma, I'm gonna be
right there with you.

You just--
you just focus on me, OK?

I'm gonna be right there
in the gallery.

Deep breath.

[breathes deeply]

There you go. Deep breath.

- [panting]
- Huh?

[breathes deeply]
Deep breath.

- [sobs]
- Oh, geez.

It's OK.
- Honey, it's OK.

- OK.
Can you adjourn early?

- There's no way
Ryan's gonna go for that.

- [sighs]

- I can't put her
on the stand like this.

- You may not have to.

[soft dramatic music]

- Based on the evidence
and your years of experience,

do you believe that
the defendant drugged

two teenagers,
Emma Burns and Matt Davis,

in order to watch them have sex
on a hidden camera?

- Yes, I do.

- Thank you, Captain.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

- Captain,

is it fair to say
that the alleged victim

in this case was
under the influence

on the night in question?

- There's nothing alleged
about it.

The evidence proves
that Emma is a victim.

- But she doesn't remember
any of it.

So how do we know
she's not making it up?

- Well,
victims of sexual as*ault

often have trouble
remembering traumatic events,

especially when they're drugged
against their will.

- Did Emma ever mention
any other traumatic events

in her life?

- We spoke of many things.

- Any of those pertinent
to this case?

- Not that I can speak of.

- Captain Benson,
has Emma ever claimed

to have been sexually
assaulted before?

- Objection, Your Honor.

- Overruled.

Captain.

- My duty is to protect
the victim, Your Honor.

- You are under oath, Captain,

and you will answer
the question.

- I'm sorry, but I can't.

♪ ♪

- Ladies and gentlemen,

I'm gonna send you
on a short break.

We, uh, have some boring
legal matters to address.

Grab a coffee,
stretch your legs,

and we'll call you
back in shortly.

♪ ♪

- Your Honor,
the r*pe Shield Law

specifically limits
the defense's ability

to introduce
the past sexual behavior--

- This isn't about
past sexual behavior.

This is to establish
if the girl has lied

in the past
about sexual as*ault

and goes directly
to her credibility.

- I agree.

Captain Benson will answer
the question.

- I can't do that, Your Honor.
I'm sorry.

- Are you refusing to comply
with a court order?

- Legally, she cannot
answer that question.

- Sit down, Mr. Carisi.

Captain.

- I don't want to refuse.

I'm simply obeying
the r*pe Shield Law,

which was passed
to protect victims.

- If you refuse my order,

I will hold you
in contempt of court.

- Your Honor, Captain Benson
is following the law.

You can't do this.

- You don't tell me what
I can do in my own courtroom,

Mr. Carisi!

♪ ♪

It's your last chance,
Captain.

- My duty is
to protect the victim.

I can't and won't
answer the question.

♪ ♪

- Put her inside.

♪ ♪

[handcuffs clicking]

♪ ♪

- Hey, Liv.

Listen,
I'll defend your right

not to answer
that question in court,

but what the hell is going on?
- I'm sorry, Carisi.

I can't.
I can't say.

- No, it's OK.

You don't have to go
to jail for this.

- Don't worry about that, Emma.

I will not be manipulated
by that lawyer.

- I'm not going to either.

[solemn music]

Captain Benson knows

what Uncle Ian did to me.

♪ ♪

I can't keep it
a secret anymore.

And neither can you.

You have to tell everyone.

I'm not afraid anymore.

- OK.

OK.

- How did that lawyer
know about this?

- Because I told Talia.

- [sighs]

- She acted sympathetic
and kind.

And now she's gonna
use it against me.

I'm really sorry, Mom,
because I thought

that I could trust her.

♪ ♪

- You have nothing

to be sorry for.

♪ ♪

I'm sorry.

Oh, I am so, so sorry.

♪ ♪

[sighs]

- No charges were ever filed?

- No.

- She never even reported it?

- That's not uncommon in these
types of circumstances.

- So we just have to
take her word for it?

- She told her mother.

She also told your client.

- Is it fair to say that
charges were never filed

against the uncle
because her mother

didn't believe that she'd
been sexually assaulted?

- Objection, Your Honor.

- Overruled.
Answer, Captain.

- No.

That's not fair to say.

Emma is not a liar.

And her mother
couldn't protect her

because people with money

and people with influence
held all the power.

But that's what
this trial is for,

to even the odds

and to give power back
to the people

who deserve it the most.

- Emma,
do you drink alcohol often?

- Maybe a drink or two
if I'm at a party.

- Pretty normal for a teen.

I can't say that
I didn't steal a beer

out of the fridge in the garage

every once in a while
when I was a kid.

- Careful, Mr. Carisi.
- I'm sorry, Your Honor.

We weren't all
law-abiding teenagers.

Emma, was it strange

for an adult to be
giving you alcohol?

- At first, yes.

But we knew that Talia's father
was a judge, so we felt safe.

- And did you and Talia
become close?

- We did.

She said that she understood me

and that I could
tell her anything.

- What'd you talk about?

- I talked about the boys
that I liked

and school stuff.

And I, um--

told Talia
that my uncle molested me.

- And is this the secret
that Captain Benson

was willing to go
to jail to keep?

- Yes.

♪ ♪

- And why did you want
to keep it a secret?

♪ ♪

- I was ashamed.

I was afraid that it was gonna
make me and my family look bad.

And I told Talia because I--

I trusted her,

or I thought that I could.

But she used my--my secret,

my abuse to make me look
like a liar

to try and break me.
- Objection.

- Sustained.

The jury will disregard.

- Emma, why do you say that?

- Talia knew
I wanted to hide it.

I think she hoped that
it would make me fall apart.

♪ ♪

But it didn't, Talia.

I'm stronger than you think.

- Objection!

- Sustained.

The jury will disregard.

♪ ♪

- Hey,
just heard the good news.

Congrats on the verdict, man.

- I would have paid money
to see Judge Fedorov's face.

- Chief!

- Captain Benson,

you've done excellent work

throughout your years with SVU.

In your tenure as captain,

you've led this team
through difficult cases

with a steady hand.

It has been an honor
to work with you.

I am here to inform you
that you are suspended,

effective immediately.
- Chief, come on--

- Stand down, Detective.
- Are you kidding me right now?

- So what did you find, Chief?

Did I not file a report on time?

- This has nothing to do
with files, Captain.

You were found in contempt
and taken into custody.

- Wow.

- The department
cannot tolerate that

under any circumstances.

Please turn over your
service weapon and badge.

- Wow.

Wow.

- Chief, come on.

- Go home, Captain.

- Liv, we'll appeal it
first thing.

- Not the time.
Let her be.

[sighs]

[solemn music]

♪ ♪

[door opening]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[wolf howls]