Sam Cavanaugh is a sodomy victim of pathological, prolific pedophile Roy Barnett.
History[]
He was recruited by the Special Victims Unit to assist in the apprehension of Barnett in a confession in a sting. When Barnett manipulated Cavanaugh into giving up the operation, making him afraid to testify, Barnett was still arrested.
The squad struggled to council Cavanaugh through the process, and despite his testimony, it wasn't enough to guarantee Barnett's conviction on court. It was only made worse when Cavanaugh attempted suicide by overdose, which broke his mother Linda's heart. But the detectives, without a search warrant, found tapes Barnett mailed to Cavanaugh of other boys' sodomies. Since the property was no longer Barnett's when reaching the Cavanaugh home, it was allowed in court and Barnett was imprisoned.
Cavanaugh was last known to be in a coma from the overdose. (SVU: "Guilt")