The Tau Omega Fraternity is a fictional fraternity with chapters in Wallace University, Tompkins Square University (TSU), and Hudson University that often comes under investigation by the Manhattan Special Victims Unit.
History[]
This fraternity first came into SVU's crosshairs after a member of the frat at Wallace University named Tyler Henry was raped and murdered with a violin bow. It is later discovered that the killer, Will Caray, was himself a victim of rape at the hands of the pledge master, Rob Sweeney, while a pledge at the fraternity. Rob was charged and convicted of rape while Will was convicted of murder when the frat's ledger was revealed to the police and allowed in after a mistake by Rob's attorney, Xander Henry, a Tau Omega alumni. The ledger also documented other incidents and was like a how to manual for rape. Another member, Nathan Angeli, is convicted for helping to dump Tyler's body. (SVU: "Brotherhood")
A few years later at the TSU chapter, Taylor and Emily Culphers went to a party at Tau Omega where Emily was kidnapped by a man posing as a frat member named Peter. Taylor stayed at the frat and had sex with a frat brother named Meric, unaware of her age. Merc was later arrested by Detectives Amanda Rollins and Odafin Tutuola while they looked for the girls. (SVU: "Friending Emily")
The TSU frat came under scrutiny again when three Tau brothers, Travis Holmes, Wesley Grimes, and Carter Pressman were accused of raping a girl named Lindsay Bennett. After SVU detectives investigated they discovered the University had been burying rape complaints of other girls including Renee Clark and Alyson who were all raped by Travis and other brothers, including Joe Dawson. When Lindsay committed suicide, her rapists made a recorded internet confession. As a result, everyone involved in the rapes and subsequent cover-up were arrested. Renee started a college rape prevention organization called STAR not long after. (SVU: "Girl Dishonored")
When a girl named Lily Evans went missing, she was connected to a member named Diego and SVU sets up a sting to catch him using one of his Tau brothers. (SVU: "Melancholy Pursuit")
When Judge Charles Gallagher announced his run for state Attorney General, it was revealed that he had a history of assaulting women while he was a member of the Tau Omega chapter at Hudson University. Assistant district attorney Isaiah Holmes served as a bus boy at the Tau Omega frat house and overheard Charles and his fraternity brothers bragging and laughing about raping a fellow student named April Kelly while his frat brother, Tommy Burns, pinned her to a bathroom floor. Holmes chose not to report it for fear of losing his scholarship. (SVU: "The Long Arm Of The Witness")