Karl Patton is a mentally ill man who was obsessed with the Infinity Rapist. His obsession drove him to become a sexual predator and attack a couple.
History[]
Ever since, he was a teenager, Patton was obsessed with the books detailing Infinity Rapist that were written by journalist Claire Newbury. He would find work as a computer programmer but because of his mental instability, he worked from his sister's house, and she was often disgusted by his nature.
He later joined a chatroom, dedicated to Infinity, claiming to be the real Infinity. He later purchased letters from Infinity from a crime memorabilia shop.
Dear Ben[]
On the 25th anniversary of the Infinity Rapist's last attack, Patton emulated Infinity's M.O., raping a woman named April Baker and tying up her husband Gavin. He also took her hairbrush, as a trophy. As a result of the attack, the Special Victims Unit initially thought the Infinity Rapist had returned.
Eventually, however, the detectives identified Patton as the assailant and arrested him once finding the brush. Patton took credit for the rapes and claimed to be the real Infinity, but SVU knew he was delusional, as he was born a year after Infinity's first attack. This was witnessed by Lieutenant Olivia Benson and A.D.A. Peter Stone who both remarked that he could likely get off the hook with an insanity plea.
At arraignment, he tries to proclaim he was Infinity and take credit for the other assaults but was silenced by the judge who had him remanded. The guards took him away while Patton was smug by his arrest, to the disgust of Stone. Nevertheless, media coverage of Patton's crime, including an interview he had with Claire Newbury, inspired the real Infinity Rapist to return. Karl was either imprisoned or institutionalized for his crimes. (SVU: "Dear Ben")