Carlos Guzmán was a man who tracked down and beat Theodore Murtaugh, a pedophile who molested his nephew. However, Carlos was the prime suspect in the abuse of his girlfriend's son.
Background[]
As a young child, Carlos was assaulted by his third-grade teacher, Tony Delgado, who took advantage of his vulnerability, due to the absence of his father. The abuse carried on until he reached middle school and he never told anyone of his experience.
Carlos was able to keep his issues buried and went on to have a girlfriend.
Burning With Rage Forever[]
Twenty years later, Carlos saw on the news that Delgado had died in a house fire. It caused him pleasure to let him know his abuser was dead but also made the memories of his abuse flood back. As a result, Carlos would leave his nephew alone and visit his girlfriend and her son, Andre.
Unfortunately, Carlos' own nephew, Tino, who's the son of Carlos' brother Sebastian was abducted and sexually abused by another pedophile named Theodore Murtaugh. Feeling guilty, Carlos obtained a receipt that his nephew stole from Murtaugh's car and used the address on it to track him down. Carlos broke in the apartment and confronted Murtaugh, who showed no remorse and voiced his crimes with pride, even showing the video. Carlos attacked Murtaugh savagely, projecting his past abuse on him by stabbing him in his gut and groin repeatedly. He then left the unconscious Murtaugh handcuffed to a radiator but he was found and taken to a hospital by the SVU detectives.
Carlos lied to the cops that he had no idea of what happened but he was later found on camera shoving Murtaugh in his house. In interrogation, he revealed details of the attack and voiced how he regretted not killing him.
Because of his actions and confession, Carlos was arrested, much to the protest of his brother and Elvis Baktashi. However, he was able to get himself a deal after being told there was a chance Murtaugh could be released. As a result, he supplied ADA Carisi with Murtaugh's cellphone, which contained the incriminating video of the sexual abuse Murtaugh subjected Tino to, stating he stole it because he didn't want anyone to see it. This leads to Murtaugh being imprisoned for the rest of his life. Carlos was released on bail, staying with his girlfriend but he got drunk and molested her son Andre in the shower afterward (it is implied in the show that, between the molestation of his nephew and the news coverage of his rapist's death, he was triggered into continuing the cycle of abuse). This came to light after Andre saw Carlos on the television and disclosed this one instance of abuse to his mother, who confronted Carlos and then took her son to the Manhattan SVU office.
After getting further drunk, he became overwhelmed with guilt and refused Baktashi's offer to appear on the radio. Carlos subsequently planned to jump off the roof and was found by the SVU detectives. Carlos confessed that his rape of Andre stemmed from his childhood rape by his teacher in the third grade. He became disgusted with following the cycle of abuse before attempting to jump. Captain Benson was able to talk him down.
Taken to a hospital, Carlos explained his past trauma and was questioned if he started the fire that killed Delgado. He truthfully denied any involvement in the fire but expressed joy that his old teacher was dead. Carlos also voiced shame at becoming the same type of person his teacher became and that his nephew also suffered the same abuse. Overhearing all of this, Sebastian was horrified by what his brother endured and wished that he would have known to help him.
Against his lawyer's protests, Carlos takes a plea deal was ultimately imprisoned for four years for sexual assault on Andre and his assault on Murtaugh. (SVU: "Burning With Rage Forever")