Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 1, Episode 14 - Limitations - full transcript

In the criminal justice system,
sexually-based offenses

are considered
especially heinous.

In New York City, the
dedicated detectives

who investigate these
vicious felonies are members

of an elite squad known
as The Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

Seven robberies,
all electronics stores,

all by a pot-bellied man with a
handgun, all just before closing.

Yes, sir, that is correct.

And when did your
robbery unit determine

these robberies
were part of a pattern?



After the third one.

But you didn't write it up
until the seventh had occurred.

No, sir.

And as a result, when a similar
robbery occurred in Queens,

they were unable to
connect it to your pattern.

We made a mistake.

Yes you did.

It seems robbery is
not your strong suit.

Accordingly, I would
ask that you report

to the personnel
office for reassignment.

That is all.

Okay, let's hear
from Special Victims.

Captain Cragen?

- Good morning,
Commissioner Morris.
- Good morning, Captain.



I understand we have a man who likes
to masturbate on the 3rd Avenue bus.

We used to.

Detectives Benson and Stabler
made an arrest yesterday.

You're sure he's the guy?

Yes, sir, his name
is Olaf Vargas.

He has a long list of priors.

Good. Let's hope
they clean the seats.

Slide.

Do you recognize these
addresses, Captain Cragen?

No, sir, I do not.

Let me refresh your memory.

Three break-in rapes,
in less than a week.

Last week, DNA backlog

matched them up to the
same unknown assailant.

- Do you remember now?
- No, sir.

If you'd read your circular,

you'd recognize this as
newly identified rape pattern

four-1995.

1995, sir? I was in
Homicide in 1995.

But it's still yours.

Have you done anything
on these three cases, lately?

No, sir, they were
considered cold.

You realize, if no
progress is made

very soon on
these cases, we'll be

time-barred from
proceeding with prosecution?

Sir, I am, of course,

aware of the five-year statute
of limitations on rape, but...

Have you or your people
talked to any of the victims

since you took
command of the SVU?

- No, sir.
- Well, now is
your opportunity, Captain.

One of them has volunteered
to address us, today.

Ms. Kraft?

My name is Victoria Kraft.

On February 8th, 1995,

while I slept,

a man broke into my apartment,

stripped, and
climbed into my bed.

He forcibly had sexual
intercourse with me,

he maced me, then left.

I immediately
notified the police,

but no arrest was ever made.

Commissioner Morris
recently informed me

that the same man
raped two other women.

No arrest was made
in either of their cases.

I don't understand why,

but rape carries a five-year

statute of limitations.

It's harder to dodge
a parking ticket.

If he's not arrested soon,

then the man who attacked
me will never be punished.

I urge the NYPD,

and especially the
Special Victims Unit,

to revisit my case

before the statute expires.

Thank you, Commissioner,
for the opportunity to speak.

Captain Cragen?

Thank you, Ms. Kraft.

I promise you we will assign
your case the highest priority.

(theme music plays)

- Jeffries: Hey,
how was Compstat?
- (Cragen sighs)

- That bad?
- That bad.

Compstat's like
having the IRS audit

your case files
every three weeks.

Yeah, Compstat is the worst
system, except for all the others,

It's a pain in the
ass for guys like me,

but it does weed out the slackers
who aren't pulling their weight.

Munch: I'm working on
the 3rd Avenue Jerker.

The typing can wait. I've got
something else I want you and Jeffries on.

Her name is Jennifer Neal.
She was raped in her apartment.

Benson, Stabler, you take the other
two victims... same doer, same MO.

This stuff is from 1995.

Cragen: The ME is working
through the DNA backlog

on 12,000 Vitullo kits
from unsolved rapes,

matching them against every offender
in the system or not in the system.

So what we have
are three open rapes,

never before
connected to each other,

all done by the same
guy in less than a week.

- Do we have a name?
- Cragen: No.

But we do have
this genetic profile

so for now we'll use
the lab's designation...

John Doe 121.

His MO's this, he breaks
into women's apartments,

climbs into bed with
them while they're asleep,

they wake up, his face is covered
with a stocking, rapes them.

Then he maces 'em, dresses
and walks out the front door.

So he did three
and then stopped?

- Maybe he started
using a condom.
- A very thoughtful rapist.

White male,

in his 20s, maybe
in his 30s now.

Between 5-10, 6-1,

his weight is 160.

Obviously that might
have changed by now.

He had long brown or black hair.

Only now he could be a tub
of lard with a graying buzz-cut.

These are almost
five years cold.

The statute of limitations
is going to expire...

That's exactly the point.

While you are
reinterviewing the victims,

I'm going to go to the DA and
see if we can file an arrest warrant.

An arrest warrant on a nobody?

Not nobody, we'll try to
get the warrant on his DNA

John Doe 121. It
might stop the clock.

They're trying
that in Wisconsin.

These are the days

until the statute of limitations

expires on each case.

So, if we fail,

and the courts deny us,

then in four days, John Doe 121 is
going to get away with three rapes.

Benson: I know
it's been five years,

but there might have been
something that came to you...

Something you realized
about the attacker.

He was wearing a stocking mask.

Yes, that's in the
detective's notes.

Maybe something you saw
later that reminded you of him?

No, I don't think so.

Two other women were
raped by the same man

and both of them reported that
he left through the front door,

but your file doesn't
say how he left.

That's a good question.

This is the floor
plan of the apartment

where you were living in '95.

Take a look.

Oh, yeah,

I forgot, see, in
my old apartment

to get to the bedroom, you
had to go through the bathroom.

How did he leave?

I guess he went
out the front door.

I don't remember. I'm sorry.

Lois, we're on your
case full-time now,

so I'm going to give you my card

and if anything comes
to you, anything at all,

please call.

I wasn't much help, was I?

No, no, no, Lois,

you did great, great. We
appreciate you taking the time.

- You're looking
at a three-time rapist.
- What do you want me to do?

Pursue a judge to issue
a warrant for his arrest.

- We have no name.
- We have a unique
genetic profile.

What, the Wisconsin maneuver?
There's no case law in New York.

Well, somebody's
got to be first.

This man raped the women in their
beds and then maced them on the way out.

When the precedents were created, no one
anticipated these scientific advancements.

- You are looking
at a lot of legal work.
- Let me put it this way,

every time you get into a cab,
John Doe 121 might be the driver.

The rape was the worst thing
that ever happened to me.

That's what you
always hear and it's true,

but that's not the whole story.

What do you mean?

What happened
afterwards changed my life.

I received so much love

and support from so many people,

it reaffirmed my
faith in humanity.

You seem to have
adjusted very well.

I went to a very dark place.

I wanted to die,

but the people in my
life saw that happening,

and they took care of me.

Once I thought I was alone,

but now I know I'm
part of a community.

- We're reopening your case,
Ms. Neal.
- Oh?

We just learned from DNA that two of
the women were attacked by the same man.

Oh, no.

- When did it happen?
- Within a week of your attack.

We thought if we
cross-referenced the three stories,

we might be able to
make some headway.

One of the other victims reported the
attacker seemed to know personal details.

- You reported the same thing.
- Yes, he knew my dog's name.

And he knew the restaurant
where I sometimes ate breakfast.

Is there anything you've
remembered since,

or some detail you may have
failed to report or came to you later?

Nothing that I didn't tell
the detectives back then.

It's not a period of my
life that I like to revisit.

I understand and we're
sorry to have to bring this up,

but we only have a
small window of time.

- Why?
- In rape cases,

charges have to be
brought within five years.

I just want this to end.

- Excuse me, Your Honor,
we need an arrest warrant.
- I need to eat lunch.

- This is urgent.
- Where's his name?

It's a John Doe warrant.
You've issued those before.

I issued one yesterday.
Four guys robbed a bank,

we arrested three, I issued
a warrant for the fourth guy

based on his gang name and
his description Who's your guy?

He's raped three women.
Identifying information is right here.

- It looks like a lab report.
- It is, it's his DNA.

The ME's labeled
him John Doe 121.

- Oh, like the case in...
- Wisconsin.

Right. Wisconsin doesn't have
New York's powerful defense bar.

Why don't we just let
this case run its course?

It won't be litigated until
the suspect's apprehended.

And the statute of
limitations runs out tonight.

Then you've had
about five years.

So, at least you can give me till the
end of the day to make a decision?

To tell you the truth,
I was disappointed

at the detectives originally
assigned to my case.

What was disappointing?

I never got the impression they
were the best or the brightest.

They were overloaded
with other cases.

And the man who
raped me is still out there.

I can't speak for them but I'm
sure they were trying their best.

I disagree, so I hired
a private investigator...

Someone who answers only to me.

These are copies
of all his reports.

First off, he found the security

in my building deficient,
but that's another matter...

I've got a suit
going against them.

- Then there was the guy
on the bike.
- What guy?

One of my neighbors in the
building where I used to live

saw a kid speed away
right after it happened.

We'd like to talk to him.

You should.

I was standing out
here smoking a butt

maybe midnight, 1:00 a.m.

Then from the alley, this kid
speeds out on a green bike,

sees me, swerves, wham,
he falls to the ground.

I think, "Maybe he's hurt."

Go to see, he's got
a cut on his elbow,

but he just gets back on
his bike and speeds away.

- What kind of bike?
- An R-500, touring bike.

Fenders, drop handlebars,

reflectorized lime-green paint.

You really know your bikes.

I ought to, I worked in a
bike shop over 28 years.

Did you get a look at the rider?

He was wearing a
motorcycle helmet on a bike,

and a...

jump suit?

- Maybe a uniform?
- I don't know.

It's been five years.

Counsel Eastman, Captain Cragen,

I find your application for
an arrest warrant ingenious.

The statute of limitations

has a long history
in common law.

It exists to ensure the
defendant receives a fair trial,

to make sure the
recollections of witnesses,

if any, are fresh,

to pressure the government to
file charges in a timely manner,

and so that rightly or wrongly,

accused citizens need
not live their life in fear

of the government pursing
them after a long delay.

But when these
laws were codified,

we did not have the technological
marvels that exist today.

Your application
is a novel idea,

however, it is not
the role of this court

to evaluate novel ideas

and as such I cannot
grant your application.

Your Honor, Ms.
Kraft will not see justice

unless an arrest
warrant is issued.

- Are you going to appeal
this decision?
- Eastman: Yes, Your Honor.

Good, because I've already
passed the paperwork

on to an appellate term judge
in anticipation of an appeal.

- You have?
- Yes, I have.

Because if my
decision is reversed,

I hope it's done soon
enough to do you some good.

- This hearing
is adjourned.
- (Gavel strikes)

Ms. Kraft, you didn't hear
the rest of his decision.

- It's going to be appealed.
- It's going to be okay.

It's not okay.

You people fell down on the job

and you thought you'd use some
legal trickery to cover your mistakes?

- That's not true.
- You waited five years

for this half-cocked
legal maneuver.

Is that supposed to mollify me?

Am I the only one to
know the law's an ass?

I endured the rape exam.

I let you know intimate
details of my personal life.

It was embarrassing,
but I did it,

and the promise was you
would do something for me.

Today, yet another person

in a long line of incompetents

tells me, "Sorry, Vicky,

you got raped, we're not
going to do jack about it."

Thank you for making this

the second worst
day of my entire life.

I think you know
what the first was.

Vicky Kraft was
raped by John Doe 121

five years ago today.

She will never see him

stand trial for that rape.

What do you want us
to do with her case, now?

Let's stick with it. It doesn't
matter how we get him,

maybe we can get him
on one of the other cases.

And she can still testify at the
other victims' trial under Molineux.

Another right-wing end
run around the Constitution.

Cragen: Whose side
are you on, John?

I want this creep
as much as anyone,

but in the name of
cracking down on crime,

sometimes we throw
civil liberties to the wind.

Hold on, John,
what are you saying?

That if John Doe 121
marched in here right now

and confessed to
Vicky Kraft's rape,

you'd be okay
with letting him go?

Not at all. The same law
that protects you and me...

Against what?

There was a time I was a
thorn in the government's side

so I'm glad they can't capriciously
decide to arrest one of us

for old crimes,
real or imagined.

John, we're not capriciously
arresting anyone. We have DNA.

Cragen: We're not
arresting anyone

unless we make a case
on one of the other rapes.

We're going to talk to some of the
detectives who originally investigated.

Munch, that okay with you?

Sure, it'd be like visiting the Special
Victims Unit alumni association.

All the people that used
to sit at these desks.

Where are they now?

Of course I remember
Vicky Kraft's rape.

It was one of those frustrating,
no-lead, dogs of a case.

It was one of the
reasons I transferred.

Frustration?

No, she sued me and my partner.

Vicky Kraft sued you?
On what grounds?

She got some
high-priced attorney to say

we were derelict in our duties.

The PBA lawyers handled it.

The lawsuit was
thrown out, but, boy.

Talk about no good
deed goes unpunished.

She was just angry that we
weren't making any headway,

but we were on her case 24-7.

- Did you have any suspects?
- No, we weren't even close.

But I had a pretty
clear mental picture

of the kind of guy he was.

What was your thinking?

He gets past two locked doors,

and this one of those buildings

where you have to get
buzzed in the front door

and then buzzed in
again for the elevator.

But none of the tenants remember letting
anyone in, even though somebody had to.

- The kind of guy
nobody notices.
- Right.

White guy, underemployed,

filled with
resentment... A nobody,

like a paperboy
or a meter reader.

- Yeah, now he's
a triple nobody.
- What do you mean?

Jeffries: DNA matched
him to two other open rapes.

Yeah, I hate to hear that.

When you worked a case,
complainant's name was Jennifer Neal.

Oh, yeah, real nice lady.

We've reopened her case...
Anything you remember

that might not be in her
file, we'd appreciate it.

- This guy,
he knew all about her.
- An acquaintance?

That's what you'd think,
but she didn't know him.

What kind of things did he know?

What kind of car she
drove, where she worked,

where she shopped,
what she liked to buy.

- Where'd he get that info?
- We never found out.

I thought maybe he tapped
her phones or read her mail,

but it never makes sense till you
get the guy in the interrogation room.

- You know what I mean?
- Yeah, all too well.

- We tied her rape
to two others.
- Oh, man.

Who caught the other rapes?

Ruby Mazzanti had Kraft's.

Ruby, great gal.

We never made the
connection. Who got the other?

- Detective Dan Latimer.
- Ah, hell.

- Why, what about him?
- What can I say?

You know the type... think
maybe he should leave the job,

- but you're not going
to badmouth another detective.
- Stabler: What did he do?

He said most rapes
were fantasies.

He screwed up
on a different case,

was given the choice to
retire or to be fired. He retired.

- Where is he now?
- He runs this place,
"The Ten Thirteen"...

It's a cop bar in Queens, old timers
go there to bitch. You should talk to him.

So, Roy, what made you
get out of Special Victims?

On my last case, the victim
is raped and murdered.

All in a day's work, right?

But there's plier
marks all over her body,

like she was tortured for
a week before she died.

Her name is Jojo.

Nobody sees what we see.

Man: Sex crimes cops
are garbage collectors.

Do your two years and
get out. That's what I say.

We want to talk to you
about one of your old cases.

- Hey, I retired.
- Yeah, but the rapist didn't.

Department didn't
do me any favors.

Six months shy of my 20
and they squeeze me out

so that they can screw
me on the pension.

- Bastards.
- Yeah, watch your back.

Snake-pit of politics...
That's what that is,

but I tell you what,
we've been stuck with it

so we were hoping
you could help us out.

Cop to cop.

Yeah, the little Trekkie.

Benson: You hardly
made any notes.

- You'll learn.
- Learn what?

Self-preservation,
how to pick your shots...

You go all out on
every so-called rape

you'll wear yourself
into the ground.

What do you think of the case?

Right there's the
whole story, ONS.

ONS?

One-night stand. She's
the bookworm type.

If she did catch a guy she wouldn't
know what to do with him, right?

What's that got to
do with anything?

She gets laid,
feels bad about it,

makes up this mysterious
stranger who knows

all these intimate details about
her personal life. Give me a break.

So you're saying that
nothing happened?

Well, she did get lucky...

Probably with some
pimply little bookworm,

but the rape, eh,
that's a stretch.

Stabler: You're
pretty sure of yourself.

Morning-after regrets.

You know what, Dan?

What?

DNA matched her attacker's
semen with two other rape victims.

We're filing an arrest
warrant on the genetic ID.

So I made a mistake.
Let me buy you a drink.

Counselor, you've
made a solid case

for the certainty with which
DNA identifies an individual.

One in seven
billion, Your Honor.

That's probably about
as specific as having

John Doe 121's name, address,
social security, and phone number

- Yes, Your Honor.
- Why not file a warrant
on every rape?

I'm not following
you, Your Honor.

It's the future, right?

You just get a little smear
of genetic information,

file a John Doe and catch
the perpetrator at our leisure.

Your Honor, the people are
only making this application

because of the unique
circumstances of this case.

But if the court
says yes this time,

why not go all the way?
Why stop at rapists?

We could make out arrest
warrants for every mugger,

turnstile jumper
and sidewalk spitter

using little swatches
of genetic code.

Your Honor, he raped three women

and the statute of limitations
on his crimes expires in two days!

The court understands the
danger he may be to the community,

but that does not mean we can
circumvent the law to apprehend him.

The application to file an arrest
warrant for John Doe 121 is denied.

(gavel strikes)

Lois, are you all right?

"Fear is the little-death
that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear. I
will permit it to pass..."

- Lois, let's sit down. Let's sit down.
- (sobbing)

Benson: Shhh.

Lois: I was 24, and the biggest
thing that had ever happened to me

was when Brandon Lee died
making the movie "The Crow."

My girlfriend and I went
to see it again and again

because it was
beautiful and tragic

and we loved him and I
was really just still a girl.

I want you to tell
me what he did.

The sex wasn't the worst thing.

- I'm not queasy
about that.
- (Teapot whistles)

I'd even thought
about what I would do

if I were raped. It was just...

something that happened.

But, it was what he said.

What did he say?

He knew I liked Brandon

and he wanted to
talk about "The Crow."

He was eavesdropping.

Why did he have to do that?

I gave him the sex, I wanted him to
just leave, leave, and then he wanted

to talk about all of the
things that were mine.

And I was scared.

We talked about Brandon...

and then he says,

"You're a sweetheart,
Loli," and he leaves.

The only person that calls
me Loli is my grandmother.

How does he know that?

That's what we're
trying to find out.

The other two survivors,

they reported a
similar experience.

The other detective, the
one who came before,

I told him and he said, maybe
I should talk to a counselor.

- A rape crisis counselor?
- No, a shrink!

Like it didn't happen.
Like I was crazy.

You're not crazy and you can
help us find the man that did this.

Do you think somebody
tapped your telephone?

Read your mail?

That's what one of the
other women thought.

No, 'cause he knew about things

that I never talked
about on the phone,

like where I went
rollerblading in the park.

Do you think he could've
been on a bicycle?

Yes. Yes!

A green bicycle, yes.

I told the other detective
about that and he said

that for a while, I
would be seeing

every man on the
street as the rapist.

No, Lois, I can assure you,

he was real.

I knew it was him

because he was always
around and I kept seeing him.

Before... months before
he came into my room.

I knew it was him.

The man on the green bike.

Vicky Kraft, huh?
I'm drawing a blank.

- She was raped.
- You talked to a witness
who saw a green bike.

And?

You billed her for 87
hours at $100 an hour.

A retiree saw a
green bicycle, yeah.

I thought maybe it was
a messenger service.

There was this one, Green
Machine Bike Messengers.

Did you interview the messenger
service? 'Cause it's not in your report.

No, they'd gone out of business.

But the employees didn't
fall off the face of the earth.

You guys are cops. You got
resources I can only dream about.

I tried.

You think John Doe 121
is a bicycle messenger?

Messenger, voyeur, stalker.

He followed these women for weeks,
months before he attacked them.

- What is he, invisible?
- He's seen but not seen.

He follows them
around on his bike.

He watches Creen in the
park with her grandmother.

He learns her secret name.
He watches Neal calling her dog.

He knows where they go
because he follows them.

Textbook power-reassurance
rapist behavior.

Spying's just a prelude to the
rape. He learned their schedules.

And then when he knows
that they're home... alone...

He breaks into their
secured buildings

by conning them, simply saying,
"Oh, I have a package for you,"

goes in, rapes them,
walks out calmly, rides away.

I've been ordering a lot
of books over the Internet

and I couldn't describe one of the
delivery guys that drops them off.

There you go, a
perfect disguise.

Hey, I found his old boss.

The owner of the bankrupted
Green Machine Bicycle Messenger

now runs a laundromat.

All my guys wore the jump
suit and rode green R-500s.

Sounds pretty snazzy. How
many employees did you have?

Whoo, I don't know.

40 at any given day, probably 100 or
so during the whole run of the business.

If we gave you addresses, would you be able
to tell us if you made deliveries there?

Sure, it would take
a couple of weeks.

We were thinking look it up on a computer...
we only want to check five or six addresses.

(grunts)

Munch: These are your records?

I was a better cyclist
than I was a businessman.

What happened to your company?

I forgot to pay all the taxes.

Kinda got busted on that,
one of my guys got hurt,

I didn't have all
the right insurance.

We were very
good at what we did.

We just weren't too
good with the paperwork.

Right. Listen, can
we take these?

Keep 'em. If I
get audited again,

I'll tell 'em, "Cops
took the records."

Perfect excuse.

These are the individual
messenger receipts.

The middle line is where
the delivery was made.

We'll never get
through this in time.

The statute on the last
case runs out in two days.

We just need to know if a messenger
was sent to a particular address.

Let's just look at
the billing records.

What was the name of the
company where Neal used to work?

Magnitude Insurance Services.

That's what I thought. Four
deliveries in the week before her rape.

We got a messenger's
name on this?

No, but we never talked to
Neal about a messenger service.

Maybe this will jog her memory.

Your old company
took four deliveries

from a place called Green
Machine Bicycle Messengers.

I remember them.

Do you remember anything
about the particular messengers?

I'd rather not say.

We're asking about the
messenger because we believe

he may be the man
who attacked you.

I didn't misunderstand you. I just
don't want to answer your question.

Why?

In five years a lot
of things can change.

Yes they can.

What if...

I think it's wrong
to pursue this.

Maybe it's time to let it drop.

If you're worried about
testifying at the trial,

that probably isn't
even necessary.

We can make a case
on the DNA alone.

That's not it.

This five-year rule,
maybe that's a good thing.

You try the best you can, but
then you say, "Time to let it go.

Time to move on
to other things."

But the five years aren't even
over yet. We can still get him.

No. I don't think you should.

Jennifer, this man
raped two other women.

He's still a danger to others.

What if he isn't?

You know who he is.

Stabler: Do you?

We met by accident.

He didn't recognize
me, but I recognized him.

I talked to him.

What did you talk about?

His life.

It wasn't a pretty
picture either.

When I was satisfied that he
had changed, I told him who I was.

Why didn't you call the police?

He wanted to turn himself
in. I talked him out of it.

Why?

He's a changed man.

We prayed together.

You prayed with your rapist?

Yeah.

To turn him in after
that would be a betrayal.

I don't know what he told you,

but these guys do not change.

He is still a danger.

I disagree.

What religion are you?

I'm a member of The
Society of Friends.

- And what's that?
- The Quakers.

We have a long
history of pacifism.

We believe that
if you sit silently,

there are times when God
will speak to you in your heart.

And you think your attacker
was one of those people?

I believe he reformed.

Jennifer, that's
for a jury to decide.

No. "Love your
enemy" is in the Bible.

And it's easy to pay
lip service to that ideal

but very hard to live it.

I know a little bit
about the Quakers

and they created the penal system
in this country. Is that correct?

Yes, but it's been perverted
beyond recognition.

The prisons are filled
with unspeakable violence.

Maybe they are, but
this is not the arena

to fight that fight, Jennifer.

If you're serious about prison
reform, then join Prison Watch.

But you're not changing
anything by protecting

a rapist from being prosecuted.

I came to peace
with what happened.

Maybe you did,

but what about
his other victims?

What about the women
in this community?

Don't you feel some sense
of responsibility towards them?

I have thought this through.

I'm not turning him in...

Not to satisfy some
abstract concept of justice...

This is not abstract, Jennifer.

These women were
sexually assaulted

and maced

and they want their
attacker brought to justice.

They want to know.

You have to at
least listen to them.

Jennifer, it's okay if I
call you Jennifer, isn't it?

Sure, please.

You're not the only one
who was attacked by this guy.

He also broke into my apartment

and Lois', and
probably lots of others.

- I know what
you've been through.
- Just tell us his name.

I made a personal
spiritual decision.

To keep him all to yourself.

No, that's not it.

Come on, this is better
than having him in jail.

He knows you can drop
the dime on him at any time.

It's revenge. You have the power of
life and death over this piece of crap.

I don't want that kind of power.

But it's true, isn't it?

So just drop the lamb of
God rap and tell us his name.

I deserve a shot at
him, so does Lois.

I just want to know who he is.

Finding out his name
won't give you peace.

Believe me, I found
out. It changed nothing.

Do the people you work with

know you're harboring
a fugitive from justice?

The people in my life who need
to know, support my decision.

Eastern Health Services, right?

That's where I work.

One of my companies has 600
employees insured by Eastern.

Lee Doyle runs the
group plan, right?

What are you saying, Vicky?

I'm not sure that I can
keep my business at a place

who employs someone
who's a betrayer of women.

Benson: Ms. Kraft,
sit down please.

Lois: Who is he?!

Don't you know what it's
like never leaving the house,

thinking any man on
the street could be him?!

I want him to pay
for what he did to me!

Where is he?

Tell me his name,
you stupid bitch!

Ms. Neal, let's go.

Lois, I hope you find peace.

Shut up, you freak!

Shut up! (sobbing)

Neal's not going to talk.

We've got something
like 15 hours.

You've tried every
form of persuasion?

Emotional, spiritual, moral...

Then it's time for legal.
She may not know it,

but she does not have
the right to remain silent.

That's only against
self-incrimination.

Now let's just forget for one
second that she is a victim.

She is also the only
witness to a felony rape.

We'll ask a judge for a
material witness order.

And compel her to talk.

We've never forced a rape victim

to testify who didn't want to.

You want this guy to walk?

Judge: Ms. Neal, please
approach the bench.

You have information which
is material and necessary

to the investigation
of a felony.

Yes, Your Honor.

You were raped and you know the
name of the man who assaulted you.

Yes, Your Honor, I do.

Would you please
tell the court his name?

I would prefer not to.

You realize that I
will put you in civil jail

unless you cooperate.
What is his name?

I respectfully
decline to answer.

You have information
critical to an ongoing

criminal investigation.

You refuse to share
that information

and your refusal
constitutes contempt of court.

Jennifer T. Neal,
you will report

to the Women's House of
Detention until this order is revoked.

Bailiff, please remove
the prisoner from the court.

- Adjourned.
- (gavel strikes)

You could speak at his
trial, you don't have to do this.

I do have to do this. How do
you know what your values are

until you're put to the test?

- Just give me his name.
- No.

You're just trying to do what
you think is right and so am I.

We just happen to disagree.

You okay?

We just sent a rape
victim to the lock-up.

No, I'm not okay.

- Commissioner Morris?
- Captain, we need to talk.

Would you please close the door?

You put a rape
victim in the lock-up?

Yeah, yeah we did.

Every effort has to
be made to ensure

that the investigation
of the crime

does not further
traumatize the victim.

This is news?

I know what you're doing, Don,

but I still have to file a letter
of complaint for the record.

For the record or
for appearances?

Who's putting you up to this? The
victims’ rights groups? The press?

And the mayor. And
the police commissioner.

I'm taking flak from
this on all sides.

She's our only witness
and she won't talk.

Our back is against the wall.

I just wanted to ensure
that we proceed in a way

that allows the victim
to retain her dignity.

You want to cover your ass
in case we don't bust this guy,

which is increasingly likely

seeing as we have
almost no time left.

- I resent the implication...
- I resent that you waited

until Compstat to tell me
about the DNA match-ups.

Which was in the
published circular.

You sat on it until you
could make political hay.

You robbed me of three days I
could've spent looking for the perp.

You are dangerously close
to insubordination, Captain.

- Then either write me up...
- Or what?

Or get the hell out
of my station-house!

'Cause until you take
this job away from me,

I've got work to do.

If we don't find a
name for John Doe 121

by tonight, midnight,
we never will.

Man: After Jennifer was
attacked, I counseled her.

My role in the meeting is
only part-time and voluntary.

I'm also a psychologist.

Stabler: Did you advise her
not to cooperate with the police?

No, never.

I know the statistics on
recidivism as well as you do.

I tried to persuade her
to put the man in prison.

That doesn't conflict with
the Quaker philosophy?

Not at all. Quakers
sit on juries.

There a Quaker judges, Quaker
lawyers, Nixon was a Quaker.

He put plenty of
people in prison.

Some were even guilty.

Jennifer Neal is in jail because
she won't give us the rapist's name.

Do you think that
you could talk to her?

I told you, I don't
agree with what she did,

but this was a
decision of conscience.

She persuaded me to
stand aside in the matter.

She said that she
prayed with her attacker.

He may be a member
of your meeting.

If we could take a look
at the list of your members

we may be able to find him.

- I'm sorry,
I can't do that.
- Why not?

The meeting house
is a sanctuary.

We have a long history
of civil disobedience.

We opposed slavery. We
opposed the Vietnam War.

And we're trying to
stop a sexual predator.

And I hope you
do, but not like that.

If I give you the list
you'll have it forever.

That compromises the
privacy of all of our members.

We can get a warrant to
compel you to give us that list.

If that's what you have
to do, get your warrant.

But be prepared,

when you return
I won't be alone.

Other circumstances,

I might be on the steps
protesting the police.

I feel very
uncomfortable about this.

It's okay, we're
not the bad guys.

Mr. Garrick, it's
Detective Benson.

Please let us in.

Sir, it's NYPD. We
have a search warrant.

(knocking)

Mr. Garrick, don't make this
more difficult than it has to be.

Office is probably in the back.

I urge you, please,

turn around, go back
to the police station

or sit and worship with us.

Excuse me.

Woman: Please, don't do this.

We all value the separation of
church and state in this country.

A man raped three women.

He broke into their
apartments while they slept

and he forced himself on them.

I'm just trying to
bring him to justice.

So excuse me.

Ma'am, please give this to me.

Thank you.

Jeffries: We narrowed
down the bike messengers

to 36 possibles who were
working during the periods

leading up to the rapes.
These are their names.

Benson: We're
looking for a match

with the church
membership list. Here.

"A," Abernathy,
through "F," Fulton.

Cragen: All right.
Let's go people.

We got a little over six hours.

I have a Harvey
Denis with one "N."

On the bike list I have
same name two "N" s.

I got the original.

Jeffries: Let me check this out.

(typing)

Harvey Dennis,
two "N" s, not one.

Wait a minute.

- You got the employment
application in there?
- Yeah, yeah.

Harvey Denis, one "N." The
owner must have copied it wrong.

I'll go with one "N."

(computer beeps)

Bingo, here he is right in
the system with that spelling.

Arrested February 21st, '95,

for attempted... burglary.

Burglary.

What happened was
the guy was going

in for rape number
four and he got caught.

Did he serve any time?

15 months. Paroled
September '96...

'cause he was hospitalized
for forcible sexual injury

during incarceration.

Oh, he was raped in prison.

Yeah, I'll cry about that
later. Here's his address.

He was right under
our nose the whole time.

I walk past the place every day
on the way home from the gym.

Five hours left until
he gets away with it.

I want to see the look on this dirtbag's
face when he knows he's going down.

May I help you?

We're looking for Harvey Denis.

I'm right here.

You're under arrest
for the crime of rape.

Now stand up and put your
hands where we can see them.

Hands up! Up!

Whoa, don't shoot.

I'm going to buzz you in.

(buzzing)

You got me.

Just lift me in. Doesn't hurt.

Can't feel anything
from the rib cage down.

How'd it happen?

I was on my bike, 11th and 3rd.

Pick up, took a right,

big side mirror
smashed my spine.

That's what happened.

Chair folds up, you
can put it in the trunk.

You have the right
to remain silent.

If you refuse that right,

anything you say
can and will be used

against you in a court of law.

You have the right
to an attorney...

(theme music plays)