| "Making a Rapist" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 18.02 | → |
| Production number: 18002 First aired (US): 28 September 2016 First aired (UK): 23 October 2016 First aired (CAN): 28 September 2016 First aired (AUS): 27 October 2016 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Kevin Fox Directed By Michael Pressman | ||
Summary[]
Newly tested DNA evidence leads to the exoneration of a prisoner who served 16 years for a rape conviction. However, he's investigated again one month later in the wake of a shocking new crime.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
Recurring Cast[]
- Delaney Williams as Defense Attorney John Buchanan
- Jenna Stern as Judge Elana Barth
- Erica Camarano as Officer Rachel Ortiz
Guest Cast[]
- Kelli Williams as Melanie Harper
- Cody Kostro as Charlie Dobkins
- Henry Thomas as Sean Roberts
- Joe Biden as Himself
- Alexis Collins as Ashley Harper
- Alok Tewari as Doctor Ranjit Singh
- Ryan Jonze as Jeff Nichols
- David Spadora as Zach Brenner
- Meredith Handerhan as Marie Dobkins
- Haskiri Velazquez as Shyvon Stevens
- Sarah Malone as Woman
- Jim Forsha as Doctor
References[]
- Detroit
Quotes[]
- Tutuola: Melanie, what happened?
- Melanie Harper: [scared out of her mind] Oh, my god. Oh, my god. I came down here and I... I found her like this.
- Tutuola: Did you see anything or hear anybody?
- Melanie Harper: [as her daughter is rolled past on a gurney] Here, I'm right here. [to Fin] I heard a man.
- Tutuola: Did you recognize his voice?
- Melanie Harper: [following the gurney out] I think it was Sean.
- Rollins: [having entered] Sean Roberts? The guy we just got out of prison?
- Barba: We got a guy on trial who was wrongfully convicted on bad eyewitness testimony, and you don't tell me that the kid waffled on the ID or the time.
- Rollins: He waffled. He did not lie. There is a big difference.
- Barba: Now you're parsing degrees of deceit.
- Benson: [to Rollins] Listen, Buchanan is gonna turn this into you manipulating the kid to defend Fin.
- Rollins: Charlie's telling the truth. He saw Sean leave the house, toss the knife after he and his girlfriend had sex, which was around 1:15 or so. That's the truth. I can't help it if the kid has a crush on me, or...
- Benson: Hold on, so you were aware that he had an affection for you, that he had a desire to make you happy?
- Carisi: Lieutenant, listen. I was there, all right? Rollins didn't lead him.
- Barba: Don't make excuses for her. That's not what the jury thinks.
- Rollins: Oh, come on.
- Carisi: You know what, Counselor? It's not Rollins's fault that Buchanan spun that kid upside-down and you didn't know how to stop him.
- Benson: Okay, thank you. We're done.
- John Buchanan: You must be embarrassed about sending an innocent man to prison for 16 years.
- Tutuola: I didn't convict anyone. I just arrested him. And no, I'm not embarrassed.
- Melanie Harper: [to Fin after he testifies in court] How'd it go?
- Tutuola: As well as it could have. Jury looks at a guy who was put away innocent, they hesitate.
- Melanie Harper: They should.
- Tutuola: Not this time, Melanie. He's guilty. There's no question about this.
- Melanie Harper: No, but that's what you said last time. None of us saw what happened. I mean, if you really think about it, I mean, we're all just we're just guessing. We're just filling in the blanks and and connecting the dots.
- Tutuola: I found Ashley's ring in his drain. How else could it have gotten there?
- Melanie Harper: According to Sean's lawyer...
- Tutuola: I did not plant that ring, okay? Why would I? Think about it.
- Melanie Harper: I'm sorry, I'm just... I was just... I was so sure last time, and then I was wrong, and I just... I just can't trust myself.
- Tutuola: Did you hear Sean and Ashley speaking that night? Yes or no?
- Melanie Harper: I'm not sure now.
- Tutuola: That's not what you told me that night at the crime scene. No one's asking you to say if he's guilty. That's the jury's job, not yours.
- Melanie Harper: He already served 16 years. What if I'm wrong again?
- Barba: Look, guys. This isn't about Melanie. It's about her daughter. We need to get justice for her with or without cooperation.
- Barba: Ms. Harper, you blame yourself for your daughter's death, don't you?
- Melanie Harper: Excuse me?
- Barba: You caused Ashley's death. You sent him to prison where he was victimized and abused for 16 years. Thanks to you, he learned how to become a killer and a rapist.
- John Buchanan: Objection. Is there a question anywhere here?
- Judge Elana Barth: Get to the point, Mr. Barba.
- Barba: The point is, if you had not made that false identification 16 years ago, he never would've gone to prison which means he never would've killed Ashley.
- Melanie Harper: That's not true.
- Barba: That's not true or you don't want it to be true? Because in your mind, if he killed Ashley, you killed her and that's too painful to accept. That's why you don't want to testify.
- Melanie Harper: [crying] I-I sent him there. Every time he was beaten or raped, it was my fault. I turned him into a rapist, a monster. And it was my fault. I'm the... I'm the guilty one here.
- Tutuola: I'm good. Bad guy went down, that's all that matters.
- Benson: Well, if you ever feel like talking...
- Tutuola: Talking's overrated.
Background Information and Notes[]
- Then-Vice President and later President Joe Biden appeared as himself at the beginning of the episode, in which he spoke about untested rape kits and the success of acquitting Sean Roberts of a rape he never committed.
- The episode features a walk-on role by Sarah Malone, a cancer survivor and SVU fan, as a woman who points Carisi and Rollins to the location of a possible suspect.[1]
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Apartment of |
125 West 74th Street |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
References[]
| Previous episode: "Terrorized" |
"Making a Rapist" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 18 |
Next episode: "Imposter" |