'In the criminal justice system,
'sexually based offences are considered especially heinous,
'In New York City, the detectives who investigate these vicious felonies
'are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
'These are their stories,'
'911, what is your emergency?'
I've just been raped,
Er, that's me. Gotta go.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you goin'? Hey, hey. Hey.
That was incredible.
Well, don't get used to it.
Hi, Olivia Benson, Special Victims Unit. I'm looking for the 10-34.
- Which one? - 29-year-old female. White.
- I guess that's me. - Hi, I'm Detective Benson.
Harper Anderson. It's nice... Well, it's not really nice to meet you.
- How long have you been waiting? - 45 minutes.
Where's the officer that brought you in?
I sent him to the cafeteria. He was getting on my nerves.
I'll ask for a statement later but for us to do the exam, Miss...
Harper. Please.
Just talk to me.
OK. I need you to describe the assault.
Erm... He, erm...
He grabbed my ankles.
He grabbed my wrists.
He hit the side of my face.
- Did you lose consciousness? - No.
Did he penetrate you?
Vaginally.
That's it.
Did he use a condom?
He, erm... He ejaculated on my stomach
and then he wiped it off with one of my shirts.
- Have you showered since the attack? - Not since he made me take one.
OK. Will you give me a minute?
I'm Detective Benson. I need a rape kit done.
- There was a head-on MVA... - Are they stable?
- Yes. - OK. Then we're next.
Oral swabbing, fingernails, you combed her pubic hair,
took vaginal swabs and did blood work.
Right.
I'll bag this and we need to do a UV on her stomach.
A what?
We need to do a UV light and check for semen on her stomach.
- We don't have one. - It's a small box,
looks like a hardback book with a cover...
- I know, and we don't have it here. - Argh!
Just forget it. He made her take a shower anyway.
This is Ovral. It will prevent pregnancy, in case...
- I know, I know. - Take two more in 12 hours.
We'll have your STD and AIDS test results within 24 hours.
You'll need to re-test at three and six months.
Who's, erm, paying for all this?
The State is.
What else?
I need a formal statement. But if you're tired and want to go home...
- I just want this to be over with. - I can take you now if you're ready.
Ready.
- What'd you find? - Her face could've been worse.
He used the least amount of force possible.
He ejaculated on her stomach, then made her shower, DNA chances are...
- Slim. - If that.
- Are you here about the rape? - Yeah. Thanks.
I was in the cafeteria, and when I came back...
- You left her? - She asked me to.
She'd been through enough.
I don't care. You don't leave a rape victim alone.
- Got it. - Good. Crime scene?
Secured. We just need to know what to look for.
We'll get a statement. Can you voucher the rape kit?
- I'll take it straight to the ME. - Thanks.
- Can I get you anything to eat? - No.
Thanks.
So, Harper, tell me what happened, from the beginning.
Erm... there was a street fair that night.
I guess that would be last night.
Which is still... tonight.
Er...
It was loud, so I put earplugs in. I couldn't hear anything.
I woke up and...
there was this guy, standing there staring at me,
holding one of my shirts in his hand.
He told me to shut my eyes.
He told me he had a gun.
He got on top and jammed his knees on either side of my legs
to keep them closed.
It happened so... slowly.
But I looked at the clock. The whole thing took 42 minutes.
He, er, took my nightgown and shoved it over my head.
My arms got... tangled in it.
He...
He took my ring.
The gown was over my face, over my eyes.
He had stretched it tight over my eyes.
He kept pushing it up so the bottom half of my face was showing.
Then he tried to kiss me.
I jerked away.
That's when he hit me.
I should've kicked him! I should've run away!
If he had a gun, you didn't have a chance.
What did he do next?
I heard him unzip his pants.
When he was ready, he moved hard five times.
He said, 'Is this the way you like it?'
And he ejaculated on my stomach.
He told me I was gonna have to take a shower,
so he...
He got off me. He zipped up his pants.
He told me to get up.
And then he said,
he said,
'Please,'
So I got up, I walked across the room.
My arms were still over my head in my gown.
I was cold. He ran the water.
He asked me if it was too hot.
It was, so...
he adjusted it till it was just right.
And then he gently...
took off my gown so I could see to get in.
And then he washed me.
He told me I had pretty hair.
He touched my stomach.
He, er...
He touched everything.
He handed me a towel.
He, er, he... handed me the robe. He told me to get on the floor
and look away.
Count to 20.
He said he wasn't going to insult me
by asking me not to call the police.
Thoughtful, wasn't it?
- Do you live with your boyfriend? - No.
- Does he have keys to your place? - No, but I have keys to his.
Tell us about the gun he was carrying.
I didn't see it, but he, er, he held it to my head
when he caught me looking at him in the shower.
- What did he look like? - Tall, thin, white...
- Sandy hair. - Tell me about his eyes.
Cold.
- How tall? - I don't know.
Erm... Tallish.
How old do you think he was?
Around... my age, I guess,
like someone I would know, someone I'd hang out with.
- Did you know him? - No.
Anything unusual happen recently to suggest this might happen?
Strangers around the neighbourhood, odd phone calls?
No.
- Was he nervous? - No.
- He wasn't nervous. - What did he smell like?
Erm...
He was wearing cologne.
Subtle, not cheap.
Could you identify him in a line-up?
Absolutely.
He took your ring. Could you describe that for us, please?
Erm, it...
It's very rare. Platinum.
It has a small branch with diamond leaves curling over the band.
It was my grandmother's.
- Did he take anything else with him? - Er...
My wallet. It was on the dresser next to my jewellery box.
He wiped your stomach with a T-shirt. Did he leave that behind?
No. He must've taken it from the drawer before.
My Rosie The Riveter.
You know, the, er... the girl flexing her bicep?
'We can do it,'
Near the restaurant where I wait tables.
What laundromat do you use?
Can I get you anything?
No.
OK, we are done. Thank you.
- What now? - We can drive you to a friend's.
- Or if you have family in town? - No.
- I'll go to my boyfriend's. - Have you called him yet?
No, I didn't, er... I don't know what to say.
- I got it from here. - Oh. OK.
I'm going to meet my partner at your apartment.
- Tell him thanks for the coat. - Sure.
It'll be a mess when we're done but we'll be done soon.
- Great. - The State will pay for a locksmith
to change your locks. I'll give you the keys.
A counsellor will call today to set up an appointment.
- Standard procedure? - Yeah.
This is my pager number. Call me any time, day or night, I mean it.
Shall I come up with you, talk to your boyfriend?
No. No.
OK.
- Hey! - Hey.
I didn't know how long you'd be so I thought I'd call him in.
- Find any prints? - No.
- How'd he get in? - Window, off the fire escape.
This one doesn't lock. From the looks of things, it hasn't for a while.
See that? Afterwards he lets himself out through the front door.
OK. So... he come in through the window, sees her sleeping.
- He pushed her nightgown up? - Yeah. And?
Well, how did she see the clock?
Before and after.
He takes a wallet, then he grabs one of her T-shirts.
Maybe she gets high.
Maybe he was high.
He wouldn't have had the time. Harper didn't mention him smoking.
She didn't mention pot at all.
Check for saliva, see if there's two types of DNA.
He immobilises her, takes her ring and rapes her.
- We haven't found her underwear. - Think he took that, too?
- Trophies. - Maybe.
Then he takes her to the tub.
- Shower curtain's wet. - Soap's not.
No. I know where you're going.
Women who stage rapes wet the shower curtain but forget the soap.
- Harper didn't stage this. - I dunno.
- What's this feel like to you? - A curling iron.
- Or a gun. - No.
Look, we have no seminal fluid, no vaginal trauma.
You think Harper made those bruises herself?
Maybe she was high, paranoid, freaked out.
Today she said it felt like it never happened. That what you wanna hear?
No. Maybe that's the truth.
- I can't believe you. - It's my job to question situations,
recreate how a crime occurred if a crime occurred.
There isn't enough evidence to suggest it didn't.
- There isn't much evidence at all. - It is still an open case, so let's proceed.
The victim lived in a second-floor unit. Point of entry?
- Window. - We're looking for a stranger.
- Someone who doesn't have access. - No fingerprints.
- No DNA. - That's a start. Got a profile?
White, thirty-something, sandy hair, approximately 5'8'.
She was hit on the left side of her face, so he's a rightie.
Narrowing our suspect pool to 80 percent of the population.
He smelt subtle, which means expensive.
- Not a junkie looking to score. - Smart. Took the best jewellery.
- He was careful to leave no traces. - He planned this.
- Or he's had a lot of experience. - Then, he'd match other open MOs.
Unless Harper's his first victim to report a rape.
Ring any bells?
There've been nine robbery rapes on Upper West Side.
The West Side guy doesn't talk to his victims.
This guy tried to kiss her, wanted to know if she liked it, said please.
In his fantasy world, he's the perfect gentleman.
- A power rapist. - A real charmer.
Harper lives at 101 Moore Street. There was a carnival going on.
I'll run a licence check on the vendors to check for priors.
Used a fire escape. Maybe get a witness.
I'll also check pawn shops and look for a leafy platinum ring.
You gotta go back to Harper and ask her about the drugs.
- The pot makes me nervous. - We're not gonna bust her on that.
Canvass her neighbours. Talk to the super about break-ins.
Ask about gentleman loiterers. But first talk to Harper.
If she's lying, you'll know. Gut feeling is your best guide.
- I'm gonna kill whoever did this. - Stay calm for us, Ben.
- You two been going out long? - A while. What kind of perv...?
We're talking to everybody in her building.
I knew she should've moved in with me.
Right now what Harper needs is your unconditional acceptance,
about everything. Now we need to talk to her. Where is she?
She couldn't sleep. She took a shower and went to work.
How much pot did you smoke last night?
Why?
You think I got paranoid? Just lost it?
No. We're just wondering why you didn't mention it.
- It's routine for the investigation. - Pot is not part of my routine.
I had a job interview. I was just trying to mellow out.
Nothing that happened last night is part of my routine.
- We just need to be thorough. - Great. Thanks for your hard work.
That went well.
- The city pays for this, right? - It'll be taken care of.
Right. Nothing like this ever happened as long as I been here.
A few domestics, a dead body in the dumpster once, but never like this.
Have you noticed anyone lately who doesn't belong here?
- No. - Maintenance, workmen, meter readers?
No. Ask the tenants what they saw. I'm sure I'll lose some over this.
I didn't see anything but I know someone who did.
Look. Second window on the left!
Uh-huh. Great. Thanks.
Sam Lardner, three previous collars for trespassing.
I wonder if last night makes four.
Harper Anderson, about 5'5', long blonde hair.
Er, no. No, sorry. No, I don't know her.
She's single, lives alone. She lives in this building right here.
I hardly know the people in my own building.
It's a great apartment, red walls, just there on the third floor.
- Er, second. - So you do know it?
No. You just described it just now.
Mm-hm. Last night, were you watching her?
- Last night? No. - So you got tired of watching?
- Took a stroll across the street? - Wait, wait,
- I was here. Er, I saw everything. - What did you see?
Don't I need a lawyer?
For being a Peeping Tom? Just a shrink.
- What did you see? - I saw this guy climb the fire escape.
The previous tenant had broken the lock on the window.
She was laying there asleep.
Then she woke up.
And he pulled the gown up over her eyes.
She... erm...
- She what? - She doesn't wear underwear
when she sleeps.
He raped her on the bed.
Then he took her into the bathroom.
Why didn't you call the police?
Then what?
I couldn't see.
- What did he look like? - I really couldn't see him.
You can see a broken lock, a nightgown, but not the rapist's face?
I wasn't looking at him.
Not at him.
What are you gonna do to me?
The same thing you did for her.
I've cross-checked Harper's CSAAT for victims who used her hair salon,
- grocery store, dry cleaner. - Find anything?
I found victims, but none of their attackers had similar signatures.
Is Harper the kind of woman who would buy $500-worth of meat?
- Not even on sale. - Someone used her credit card.
Munch and Cassidy are bringing the suspect over.
- This is Ron Johnson. - Yeah. Meat lover.
Hey, Olivia.
- You left this behind last night. - Oh, right. Thanks very much.
Whoa, whoa, wait, wait. I, erm, I wanna see you again.
Erm, Cassidy,
we went to Maloney's, we got drunk, and I wanted it to happen
as much as you did, but that's all I wanted to happen.
This is about what happened at Harper's apartment. My doubting...
Not doubting, but my questioning you and questioning Harper,
that was just a job, it wasn't personal.
You know what? Neither was last night.
- Where's the meathead? - Interrogation.
- 500 pounds of meat. - Think he'd be more creative.
- Buy a DVD player or somethin'. - Lottery tickets, up his chances.
- Can you imagine if he won? - You know, I can.
How long you been sleeping with Cassidy?
Er, I'm not.
Your stomach just dropped two floors. Olivia. Your unconscious doesn't lie.
I'm not lyin'.
- Not much. - Mm-hm.
Is it that obvious?
I'm your partner, for better or worse.
Everybody knows too much about everybody else in here.
I broke the personal rule, and he wants to see me again.
- Can you blame him? - I just can't do it right now.
I didn't mean for this to... I guess you never do.
Sometimes you do.
Be nice to him, maybe even overnice.
He'll be cold, but he'll get over it.
It happens.
- Really? - Really.
Cragen's waiting for us.
Rap sheet reads like a how-to on robbery,
from five-fingered discounts to B and Es.
Which escalated to rape.
Boredom? Opportunity?
He fits the attacker's description. She's on her way to make an ID.
What time did you get up?
- I don't know. Eleven? - What did you do then?
Had a bowl of cereal, took a shower, and kinda walked around.
- Where'd you kinda walk around? - You know, around.
- What did you do then? - Hung out.
- What d'you do last night? - What's the big deal?
- A guy who looks like you... - Who had nothing better to do...
.. broke into a woman's apartment and raped her.
Whoa, I did not rape anybody.
You were usin' her credit cards.
I've done a lot of things, but I never done that.
Last night, I was in a holding cell.
- What for? - Jumped a turnstile to get on a 19.
- What time did you get out? - Like, 1 am.
- Where'd you get her credit cards? - Found a wallet in a garbage can,
corner of Moore Street, picked clean of cash.
I took that wallet, but I never, never raped anyone.
His arraignment's not here.
What time did you get the print-out?
- Around 5:30. Why? - Because they update the records...
- Every day at 5pm. - There it is.
Damn! That's the best lead we had.
No DNA, no fingerprints. It's the only lead we had.
Look, I got paperwork coming out my ears.
- We're looking at a dead case, here. - Detective Benson?
Harper,
Where is he?
- We don't have him. - But you said...
We were wrong.
I erm... I am so sorry,
Er, we changed the locks on your apartment.
So he's still out there.
- You look nice. - Oh, thanks.
- Goin' out? - Yeah.
You know, six months ago you didn't have time for a relationship.
- Oh, come on, Bri, it's not you. - Obviously.
It's my policy. Never fall in love with people you work with,
no matter how great the sex was.
- So now you're in love? - If I'm lucky.
- You'll be bored. - I'll still have my job.
- Whoever you marry... - If.
You will. While you have this job, your marriage will be an affair.
Benson, can I see you for a minute? I really think you wanna hear this.
Detective Benson, meet Detective Halligan, robbery, the 3-1.
Listen to what he told me. Four days ago, a guy breaks into an apartment,
finds a woman alone. He wears a mask. Tells her he has a gun.
He whacks her and pushes her on the bed. But he's polite, says 'Please'.
Stuff like that. To his surprise, she has a gun between the mattresses.
She pulls it, flips on the lights. What was he using for a gun?
- A curling iron. - She has a .22, he has an iron.
- It's Harper's guy. - Maybe.
We had a similar case six months ago, a rape case. Did she shoot him?
She froze up. He stumbled downstairs and limped down the street.
- We picked him up. - Could she ID him?
We had her close her eyes, had the guy say, 'Please', Nothin'.
- Where is he? - Out.
- Out? - Guy didn't have a mask or gloves.
- Had a fantastic lawyer. - That's just it.
This guy has enough money to have a lawyer on a retainer. Why B and E?
Same area, Tribeca. Same MO. Came off the fire escape,
used a curling iron instead of a gun, said please.
- He had a mask. He's getting better. - And more violent.
But he didn't rape Jane Tyler.
- In my gut I know it's him. - His address is in that file.
We're gonna have to get an ID from Harper Anderson.
Look, before we bring him in, get a statement from Jane Tyler.
Make sure the MO matches up as much as you think it does.
We don't have any forensics on this guy.
OK.
You know, this really could wait till morning.
My guess is she's not sleeping.
And I'm sitting there holding this gun on him, and I can't...
Even after everything he did to me.
- I can't pull the trigger. - That's OK.
He took off through the front door, and I managed to call 911.
He took my father's watch. It had his name on it, Leo.
That isn't in your police report.
I know. They got here and I couldn't talk.
Jane, what else isn't in your police report?
Did he rape you?
Did he use a condom?
No, he, er...
Did he ejaculate on your stomach?
Yes.
He made me take a shower.
I told the police that I'd just gotten out of the shower when I found him.
Why wasn't the rape in your police report? That or the watch?
The police were touching everything, looking for fingerprints.
I wanted them gone.
It was so embarrassing.
He kept saying, 'Isn't this how you like it?'
When he was pushing inside of me,
Ibought that gun for self-protection and I didn't even...
Jane.
You did the one thing you're supposed to do when somebody threatens you.
Survive.
You sure this is the right address?
This is the address he gave police.
- Hello? - Hi.
- We're looking for Kenneth Cleary. - Kenneth!
- I'm Kenneth. - Detectives Benson and Stabler.
Elliot, her ring.
I'm just such a klutz.
I stepped off the kerb and my ankle went from under me.
What were you doing on Leonard Street at 2:45am?
- Clearing my head. - Uh-huh.
A couple of accounts are weighing me down.
Leonard Street's 18 blocks from where you live.
Yeah. They're big accounts.
Were you trying to clear your head at Jane Tyler's?
- I'm sorry. Who? - Beautiful woman. Blonde.
Six months ago, you did someone else.
Please,
What kind of cologne do you use?
Whatever my wife buys me. I don't know the names.
Where'd you buy your wife's ring?
About that, I think I should talk to my lawyer.
Yeah, he's on his way down. So, where'd you get it?
I probably shouldn't say. Er...
I bought it on the street.
I knew it was hot but I'd bought a Rolex before...
What about your watch?
- Been in the family for years. - May I see it, please?
Sure.
Who's Leo?
Oh, that's my astrological sign.
Hm.
- Who's your jeweller? - TJ.
TJ!
He's a black guy. He's between Canal and Mott Street.
Canal and Mott intersect. He can't be between Canal and Mott.
Er...
Why don't you just diagram it out for us, where TJ is?
He smells expensive.
'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I ask you to smell the defendant,'
How many rapists do you know smell expensive?
Well, depends where they shop.
The watch, the ring, these are trophies from the victims.
Victim. See, we don't have two victims here
because only Harper reported her rape and reported anything stolen.
- But Jane told me... - Come on!
You and I know we are not going to reopen her case!
There's no forensic evidence and she can't ID him!
No jury will convict him.
All right, look, Cleary's wife was wearing Harper Anderson's ring,
so we might get him for possession of stolen property.
But without Harper, we don't even have him on that.
She'll ID her ring.
More importantly, she said she can ID Cleary as her rapist.
Well, you'd better get her here now.
He'll get a speedy arraignment, which, in New York,
thanks to a few expensive lawsuits, means 24 hours.
And that 24 hours started at 9am,
- Where's Harper? - Never spent another night here.
- When did you move in? - A few months back.
I couldn't rent the apartment to anyone else.
- You know where she went? - No, I still have her deposit.
She didn't leave a forwarding address.
I tried to be understanding. I did, really.
But... it got to the point where it couldn't work any more.
Why?
She stopped eating.
She'd lost her job because she hardly ever slept.
At first, she could only sleep during the day.
When she slept at night every light had to be on,
which meant I couldn't sleep. My boss was getting on my case.
Must've been very hard for you.
She couldn't sit through a movie.
She started working out like a fiend,
dressing differently.
She always wore her running shoes.
Even when she would sleep. Even under the covers.
She thought if she'd had them on, maybe she could've...
Did she see a therapist?
She never shed a tear. We never had sex again.
A few months ago, she broke up with me.
You know where she went?
New job. New place.
Whole new Harper,
Harper?
Harper, it's Detective Benson,
I don't care what you want.
Don't ever come here again,
Oh, Cleary's wife was no help.
She always remembers him sleeping through the night.
Munch and Cassidy find out anything about this TJ?
There's not one TJ. There are five.
And, funny thing, they're all tax-paying citizens
- who deal in electronics. - No jewellery?
- No. - And no knowledge of Kenneth Cleary.
What about a warrant? Maybe we'll come up with other trophies.
- There are no more victims. - We just don't know about them.
You don't know what to look for so I can't get you a warrant.
Isn't there some legal way we can compel Harper Anderson to talk?
Outstanding parking tickets or moving violations?
Olivia!
I'm not going to rape her a second time.
That's not what I meant.
As it stands, we have no forensics on either rape.
As far as the State's concerned. Jane Tyler's rape never happened.
What Cleary does have is Harper Anderson's ring.
But no priors and a great lawyer
who'll plead him out on possession of stolen property.
Six months ago, Harper told me that she could absolutely ID her rapist.
Now she won't even talk to us.
You'll have to use your powers of persuasion because I can't help you.
- Thanks, Abbie. - All right.
Thanks,
Stabler's digging up anything he can on Cleary
while Munch treads water with his lawyer,
but they haven't given anything up.
Get his picture into a photo array.
Get it to Harper. Take Cassidy with you.
OK.
You know, it's almost midnight. In a few hours, we let Cleary go.
Aggressive accounting doesn't mean illegal accounting,
although it raises an eyebrow every now and then.
- Aggressive accounting. - I'll show you.
Kenneth...
You make, what, probably a good 50 a year?
80 with overtime.
You're a Cancer, not a Leo.
All right. It was a nickname.
- For whom? - You don't have to answer.
My grandfather.
His name's Percy.
Wouldn't you prefer Leo to that?
Now, no wedding ring means you're single or divorced.
Let's say single with a disposable income.
With the market like it is, I could get you 20%.
- 20%? - You get to Tribeca a lot?
You don't have to answer that.
What questions can he answer?
Matters of public record, I wanna know what he's being charged with.
You don't have to answer that.
Harper, we need to talk to you.
We're perfectly happy to stay here all night.
I almost prefer homicides to rapes.
You don't have the relentless pain of the victim.
- It's awful. - And it's not over.
Harper, I'm just as stubborn as you are,
Fine.
We've picked up a guy that raped a woman almost exactly how you were.
Only he was wearing a mask, so the woman couldn't make a positive ID.
We need you to look at this photo to see if it's the same man.
- I don't wanna see him. - Harper!
- What about the other woman? - I don't care.
You're the only eyewitness we have on this guy.
Other women, and there are others, either haven't come forward
- or weren't able to ID him. - Without you, we have no case.
- What good would that do me? - We could put him away!
Is that going to change anything for me?
Is that supposed to give me some sort of closure?
I've made peace with what happened to me.
I did the one-on-one therapy, the yoga.
I cut my hair, I lit a candle. And guess what! I'm over it!
- God, what a mess. - Mightn't be the guy who did her.
Did me?
'The guy who did me'? He raped me, you ass!
Why don't you do something about it?
I did everything I was supposed to do.
And you are obviously not fine.
Who are you to tell me I'm not fine?
Because closure is a myth.
- I've heard survivors. - That survivor stuff is crap.
They say you never get over this.
- I have. - You think you're back to normal?
When was the last time you slept without wearing running shoes?
The truth is, everybody changes every day.
And some things are more devastating than others.
But we never are the same.
There are two ways to deal with these changes. You either accept them
or you fight them like hell all the way.
Now please, come with us back to the station
and just take a look at this guy.
It's gonna help you more than you know.
I don't want any more help.
Then, come back with us for us.
I will be right there with you.
OK,
Would you each say, 'Is this how you like it?', starting with number one.
- Is this how you like it? - Is this how you like it?
'Is this how you like it?'
Is this how you like it?
- Are you sure? - He's not here.
Have a seat,
- Harper, I have something... - Oh, wow,
.. that I wanna show you.
I'm so happy he wasn't in there,
Where did you get that?
From a man you couldn't identify,
He was in there?
I thought so,
I always thought I would recognise the man who did this to me.
My mother died a horrible, long death,
and I always thought that because of that, you know,
that nothing else bad could ever happen to me,