Hank Abraham is the former Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, who often clashes with SVU when their agendas don't match. He is eventually revealed to be a pedophile who is part of a child pornography ring.
Background[]
Not much is revealed about Hank's background, except that he and his wife, attorney Pippa Cox, have two children together. As mentioned by Pippa, some of their colleagues are unaware of their marriage. (SVU: "Collateral Damages") He is often abrasive and unpleasant towards the detectives and ADA Barba, as well as several other law enforcement and law officials, and is widely disliked within the NYPD; Olivia Benson regards him as "an angry prick".
On SVU[]
Hank is first seen at a fundraiser for mayoral candidate Alex Muñoz, serving as his campaign manager. He notices Muñoz's aide Eddie Garcia leaving the party and asks Muñoz about it, but Muñoz says it is a personal matter. After he finds out a woman named Lindsay Anderson is extorting money out of Muñoz due to an affair they had, he reassigns her and Garcia to positions in Tel Aviv so SVU can't investigate the matter further. Hank is later seen discouraging Muñoz from talking to Barba at the Five Boroughs Police Association Ball, but Muñoz does so anyway. After it is revealed that Muñoz has been sexting a teenage girl and is arrested for it, Hank tries to limit the media coverage, but the damage is done and Muñoz eventually loses the election. (SVU: "October Surprise")
Hank manages to persuade Muñoz's opponent to hire him as the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, so he could keep his enemies close. He later helps SVU get media coverage to find a missing boy named Nicky Moore.When it is discovered that his adoptive mother arranged Nicky to be sold to a child broker in Connecticut, he meets with Sergeant Olivia Benson and his wife A.D.A. Pippa Cox to discuss plans for a trial. Cox informs them that Connecticut has laws that make what she did legal. Hank refuses to accept that and demands they continue to work the case. Benson agrees and manages to work that since the father didn't consent, they can look for the boy on that premise. They eventually find him along with a few other children and an unnamed baby under the care of a couple of child pornographers. Abraham is pleased when the NYPD is garnered praise for this but he is dismayed to hear that no one has come forth to claim the children or a young infant. (SVU: "Wednesday's Child")
Hank later uses his position to arrange for Benson to be interviewed by legendary reporter Jimmy MacArthur to get good publicity, since Jimmy is a friend of the Commissioner and grants him full access to SVU and its cases. He is surprised when he sees Jimmy has already arrived at SVU when he is informing Benson. After Jimmy and Benson get acquainted, he leaves so the interview can begin. Hank later appears when Jimmy uses unnamed police sources to write unflattering stories about SVU's latest rape victim, Heba Salim, in an effort to discredit her. Hank goes to SVU's headquarters to try and stop the investigation after the uproar ensues, but they eventually go to trial. (SVU: "Criminal Stories")
When a CompStat meeting is convened on the Pattern 17 Rapist, Hank joins many of the administration in blaming Benson for not capturing him sooner. When Benson tries to bring up the backlog of untested rape kits, Hank cuts her off. When Deputy Chief William Dodds brings the meeting to a halt, Hank demands to know what to tell the press and Dodds counters by saying not to tell them that they have another crime scene. When another CompStat meeting is held after the rapist is caught, Hank attempts to reason that better communication between state jurisdictions is required, but Dodds counteracts with the nationwide backlog of untested rape kits and gives the floor to Benson to address the issue. (SVU: "Pattern Seventeen")
Hank later calls Benson and Barba into his office, where he tells them to back off their current investigation into Child Protective Services because the Commissioner doesn't want bad press. When Barba mentions issuing subpoenas, Hank tells him that the NYPD doesn't work for him. When they get up to leave, he mentions Benson being on the Lieutenant's list and congratulates her. He later watches in anger as Barba announces that he is ordering the arrest of several employees whose actions led to the death of a child. Hank is later seen at their arraignment, then catches up to Benson and Rollins, reprimanding Benson for not dropping the case. Benson calmly tells him that Barba ordered their arrests, not her. As Barba approaches, he demands him to plead this out. After Barba smugly reminds him that he doesn't work for the NYPD, Hank subtly mentions that this will blow up in Barba's face and walks away. (SVU: "Institutional Fail")
When several police officers shoot and kill an African-American suspect in a rape who later turned out to be innocent, Hank goes to Barba's office to convince him it was a good shooting. He then makes a snide comment to Benson about the rapist they haven't caught and she leaves while Hank tries to convince Barba that Manhattan isn't like the other cities where police officers kill African-American suspects. When Reverend Curtis Scott arrives with family of the deceased and their attorney, Louis Henderson, Hank leaves them in Barba's hands. (SVU: "Community Policing")
Arrest and Legal Proceedings[]
When former star athlete Teddy Hawkins is arrested for attempted rape and possession of child pornography, Hank arrives at the precinct to congratulate Benson and Barba. He later instructs them to give Hawkins a "perp walk", as 1PP wants an official win with the press. Unbeknownst to him, Teddy cuts a deal giving up other child porn traffickers, including Hank. That night, Hank attempts to load more photos onto his child porn site, Detectives Amanda Rollins and Dominick Carisi, Jr. barge into the home office of his apartment as Hank shuts his laptop but they already saw him in the act. When Pippa asks what is going on, he lies, saying it is department business. While the detectives talk to him, he subtly threatens Carisi and Internal Affairs Bureau Captain Ed Tucker to leave him alone. Hank is eventually taken to the precinct with his family while they search his house.
His attorney meets him at the precinct and they are put in interrogation while they wait. Hank tries to put up a facade, claiming that this is a political take-down and trying to blame the whole incident on him mixing signals with his neighbor. He continues by saying it only happened once but looks on in horror as Barba and Tucker reveals they know he visited the site multiple times and found two flash-drives loaded with child porn under his bedroom drawer; his attorney asks for more time with Hank. When Barba comes back, he tries to offer a plea to spare Hank's family from the scandal of an arraignment, but Hank refuses. He is in denial and refuses to admit his guilt, despite Barba pleading to him.
At the arraignment, the judge sets Hank's bail at $30,000, and requires Hank to be released to home detention, to wear an ankle bracelet, to relinquish his passport, and bans him from using any computers and cellphones. His arrest also causes his devastated wife to realize his true colors and leave him with the kids for her parents' house.
At his home, Hank finally admits his guilt while having a conversation with his attorney and Barba, where he tries to work out a deal in which he does no prison time. However, Barba informs him that it was too late because the federal authorities are trying to take the case and if Hank doesn't agree to jail time, they intend to charge him. He tries to offer up more pedophiles, but Barba says his arrest was too public and they would see it coming. At a loss, Hank tells both attorneys to leave.
Feeling he has no way out; he gets into the bathtub and slits his wrists in a suicide attempt. Pippa walks in on him while getting some clothes and calls 911, saving Hank's life. After recovering, he pleads guilty to multiple charges of possessing child pornography. As a result, he is sentenced to four years in prison and placed on the sex offender registry for a minimum of 20 years. Before being taken away, he shares one last look with his wife. (SVU: "Collateral Damages")
Appearances[]
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (3 seasons, 7 episodes):