Mark James is the widower of Amy James, who committed suicide from the grief of being raped by anchor and serial rapist Harold Coyle. When Heidi Sorenson accused Coyle of rape and an investigation started, Mark personally came to the Special Victims Unit to report Amy's rape and suicide.
Heidi briefly mentioned Amy disparagingly when hoping to not lose her career from the allegations. When she was fired, she was ready to charge Coyle, along with several other women taking Coyle to trial. Coyle took a plea when Margery Evans, previously supporting Coyle's defense, was nearly raped again on a recording after trying to get the tape of her being raped back. (SVU: "The Newsroom")