Katie Harris is a woman who was raped and mutilated.
Background[]
The violence was bad enough that she was left physically scarred, down to a deep slash on her left cheek leaving a permanent mark. Stabler was assigned the investigation and found Victor Tate as a suspect, Katie falsely identifying him as the rapist. Victor was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, serving ten years of that sentence after his life "just stopped", in his words, when the case ruined it.
Unstable[]
The rape and torture of Rena West, which starkly resembled the rape and torture of Katie, was eventually connected, revealing Victor was innocent all along. Katie was presented a photo array of suspects, including the real rapist, a serial rapist and murderer named Mark Foster, but Katie just picked Victor again. She was horrified by the notion the wrong man was in prison, refusing to believe the truth out of denial and not wanting to face more pain and danger.
When Foster was captured, Katie heard his confession through the interrogation room window. She started to cry, saying she didn't recognize him, but still devastated an innocent man took the fall for the worst event of her life. Victor was arranged to get out of prison with Foster's recorded testimony. The travesty of it all was Foster died from a fall out a bathroom window, which meant only a recorded confession couldn't be admitted into court. Stabler was horrified Victor was left to serve the rest of the sentence he was penalized to.