John Regis is a priest and serial rapist who targeted adulterous women.
Background[]
When he was a child, he witnessed his father kill his mother after discovering she was having an affair, using his belt to strangle her. As a result, he gained a great hatred for women who cheat on their husbands. When he became an adult, he worked to obtain the position of priest and would visit his mother's grave twice a week. While there, he would mostly confide in her about his latest life events. Regis would hear a woman's confession and learn of their adulterous nature. Feeling these women deserve punishment for their sins like his mother did, he would don a ski mask and attack them at the area they intended to meet their lovers, raping them while choking them with a belt. He would go on a spree for half decade and avoided detection, knowing the women would not be believed because of their adultery and how nobody would suspect a priest. He would then send his victims flowers, which he alleged was a form of comfort after their ordeal, but in reality, he was taunting them about the attack and making them keep quiet. Regis would then be transferred to another church and continue a new spree. At another point, he confessed his sins to fellow priest Ryan Duffy, while knowing full well that he could not report him because of church vows regarding confessions.
Confess Your Sins to Be Free[]
The Manhattan Special Victims Unit suspected that either he or Duffy were the rapist of Audrey O'Neill after they realized she had confessed to one of them about how she had been having an affair. Regis initially believed they were going to find but was relieved after Duffy was arrested at a spot, where SVU and set up a sting with Mia Ruz to catch the rapist, making the detectives believed he was the perp because he knew of the location. SVU soon realized Duffy was not the culprit and that the real rapist confessed to him, with Duffy really going to stop him from committing a sin. They looked into Regis' past and realized he was the culprit from previous attacks and from tracking the flowers he sent to the women. Duffy was unwilling to break his vows but did tell the detectives of who else Regis confided in.
With Duffy taking the blame for Audrey's attack, Regis would visit his mother's grave and voiced how both she and his father paid for their crimes while his sins were not going to be revealed. However, SVU detective Joe Velasco and Sergeant Odafin Tutuola had arrested him on the spot. Regis believed that Duffy finally reported him and stated his words would be inadmissible in court, but they revealed that they placed a recorder on the grave, meaning they have his full confession on tape. Regis was horrified to hear this, as the detectives take him away. Duffy's name was then cleared, and A.D.A. Dominick Carisi, Jr. revealed to him that Regis would be taking a plea to avoid trial, confessing to at least seven rapes. Duffy also revealed that the church officially cut ties with Regis because of his crimes.
Known Victims[]
- At least five unnamed women
- Rita Ortega
- Audrie O'Neill