Melanie Harper is a woman who was raped when she was younger in 2000, with Sean Roberts being wrongfully convicted in part due to the rape kit collected from Melanie not being tested for years. Once DNA evidence was tested in 2016, Roberts was exonerated and released. She and her daughter, Ashley, would attend a speech given by US Vice President Joe Biden on the rape kit backlog with Roberts. Ashley would even offer to make amends to Roberts by extending an invitation to her wedding.
Melanie's lamenting horror would turn into grief when her daughter Ashley would end up raped and murdered. Roberts was revealed to be guilty, trying to make a pass at Ashley but becoming more violent, which partly came from being raped and tortured in prison and leaving prison with rape trauma syndrome.
Roberts was convicted and imprisoned, with Melanie's life in shambles. (SVU: "Making a Rapist")