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.
Today on wall street, for a third day in a row,
stocks fell on fears Europe still has
failed to tackle its debt crisis,
prompting worries the market is headed to new lows for the year.
Investors channeled cash into less risky--
fears that the global economy will fall into a recession.
Miriam.
What's going on?
Miriam, what happened to you? Are you okay?
Miriam.
May my grandchild be a boy.
Cin cin.
Call the police.
Munch, Fin,
I need you at the park Milano over by fifth.
- What's up? - Maid says a guest
sexually assaulted her in the presidential suite.
- We're on it, captain. - Yeah.
Olivia, I'm sorry about your weekend.
- No, it's fine. - Meet the vic at Bellevue.
Get a prelim. All right, listen.
Color inside the lines.
The suspect is Roberto Distasio,
odds-on favorite to be Italy's next prime minister.
- When did you last see the laptop, sir?
At the hotel. Turn around.
This traffic...
If you go back, you'll miss your flight.
Keep going. I will call the hotel.
Distasio checked out over an hour ago.
We're still trying to find a location on him.
Yo! Security says the desk
has Distasio on the phone right now.
He left his laptop in his room.
He's on his way to jfk.
Heard.
If he gets on that plane, he's gone for good.
Stall him. Have the hotel tell him they're bringing it to him.
Get there before wheels up. I'll call cutter.
- Oh, captain, captain cragen. - Excuse me?
I'm detective Amanda rollins.
You interviewed me last month.
You picked a hell of a first day.
I'll fill you in later.
You can fill me in now.
Hey, stash that for me somewhere, hon.
Thank you. I'm ready to work.
I was making the bed,
and he came into the room.
From outside?
Yes.
In a robe from the spa.
He--he--he locked the door behind him.
And then--then he-- he pushed me
onto the bed.
He--he--he hold my arm
behind my back,
but I get away.
I run.
- Okay. - He--he--he grabbed me.
I scratch him.
But--but...
He push me down again.
Where? Where was that?
Just outside the bedroom.
He--he--he put...
It's okay.
He--he--he put it in my mouth.
He--he hold my head so hard.
Until he finished.
And--and when I spit it out,
he laughed
and--and he said,
"this is the difference
between like and love."
Okay, Miriam.
Miriam, where did you spit it out?
Got something.
- What? - Could be blood.
Let's shoot this.
Hold up.
Let's get some scale here.
Vic said she spit it out in the bathroom.
Grazie.
Get ready to get happy.
Roberto Distasio.
Ah, finally.
You brought my laptop?
Not really.
You're under arrest.
Capisce?
Sync: rai
Adriano_CSI Addic7ed.com
Did he give anything on his way over?
he's claiming diplomatic immunity
based on the fact that he's the head
of the global economic trust.
Too bad stabler's still out. He would have loved
- to crack this guy. - Who wouldn't?
Benson is still taking the maid's statement.
We'll talk to Mr. Distasio when we know what we're looking for.
Or not.
Ah, Marvin exley.
When you absolutely, positively have to beat the rap.
He's all yours, counselor.
See you on the other side.
Mr. Distasio.
Marvin exley.
Yes, sir.
My wife says you're the best.
She's right.
Please.
So tell me, NYPD treating you okay?
These waters I'm in are very deep, Mr. exley.
I trust no one.
Well, you'll have to trust me.
The charges are substantial.
Only in America.
Berlusconi will do anything to stop me.
He's the geppetto. He's the one who pulls the strings.
They are looking at me like an insect
right now...Aren't they?
Well, they may be looking,
but they can't touch.
Marvin exley.
How do these guys always know who to get?
Alex, welcome back to the concrete jungle.
- Thank you. - How was the Congo?
Pray for them.
So another d.S.K.
It looks like it's open season on hotel maids, counselor.
Well, the victim made an immediate outcry.
Her story's been consistent.
And we found a mixture of semen and saliva at the scene
and we pulled out a nice juicy cocktail from the drain.
A.D.A. Cabot, detective rollins.
- Nice to meet you. - Pleasure.
Okay, well...It's enough to hold him for now.
Elam is six
and Joseph is eight.
And they're good boys?
They are good boys.
Now their father is... Still in Sudan?
No. Killed in the fighting.
This man who...
They tell me he is someone rich? Important?
Yes.
Miriam, uh...This isn't gonna be easy,
but as long as you tell me the truth,
I don't care who this man thinks he is.
He's going to jail.
Il signor Distasio is one of the continent's
most charming men.
To women, he is a magnet.
He is not a, um, stupratore... a rapist.
And yet we do have probable cause.
Perhaps I am being too obtuse.
Do you know what signor Distasio was doing yesterday afternoon?
Well, based on the complaints leveled his way today,
I'd hate to guess.
He was playing golf...
With your president.
How'd he do?
Mr. cutter, D.A.'S svu bureau chief,
this is Mr. fedeli, the Italian consul general.
Sorry to meet under these circumstances.
We all realize it's a delicate situation.
No, no, no. It is a farce.
As head of the g.E.T., Roberto has diplomatic immunity.
You cannot hold him.
You will have to take that up with the state department.
And if he does have immunity, it's from prosecution,
not arrest.
Mr. Fedeli, I assure you that Mr. Distasio
is being afforded the rights of any other suspect.
He is not any suspect.
Why else has there been this, uh, rush to judgment?
NYPD did their job, Mr. fedeli,
and I have to let my office do ours.
Tell me you know what you're doing.
We're gonna--
everyone is staring.
Yeah. Come on, we're just gonna be here for a few minutes.
Is he here in the station?
Miriam, why don't you just have a seat
right here, and I'm gonna come get you
when we're ready for the line-up, okay?
I'll be back in a second.
Detective Benson?
Hi. Amanda rollins.
Ah, transfer from Dallas, right?
Yeah--well, Atlanta.
You like Distasio for this?
Uh...He was there.
Well, I just--I-I just wanted to let you know
I'm really happy to be here.
I, um, I've studied a lot of your cases.
I used some of the stuff you did on the brown case--
the--the infant homicide.
Yeah. Yeah, I haven't briefed the captain yet, so...
- Sure. - Thank you.
Distasio charged his hotel to his personal account,
not to the g.E.T.
Bye-bye immunity.
Whoa, whoa, slow down, that's state's call.
So where are we on the victim's statement?
Solid, backwards and forwards.
Exam backs her up.
We need an I.D.
What's taking so long with the line-up?
Well, I got my guys out on park Avenue
trying to corral five men who match Distasio.
Okay. And what do we have on the maid?
Liv?
Sorry. Um, hard-working single mother,
no arrests.
Immigrated here three years ago from the Sudan.
Political asylum.
Go over her past with a fine-tooth comb.
Oh, I gotta take this.
Hillary's people.
I heard about the shooting.
Is stabler coming back?
That's up to him.
That is him. Number four.
- Take your time. - No, that is him.
Number four, that is him.
Okay. It's okay. Let's go.
And now I'm released?
Oh, no. You are going to the hospital.
There is nothing wrong with me.
It's not a check-up, it's a procedure.
On the word of a maid?
My grandmother was a maid.
It's been a tough few months.
We all know there's a bull's-eye on svu from the top down.
We are all under the microscope.
We work this case by the book,
like our jobs depend on it.
The D.A.'S office is gonna put the victim and her kids
up at a hotel, keep them away from the circus.
Good. Distasio's got a world-class p.R. Team.
He's gonna try to get to her or dirty her or both.
Romeo's ready for his forensic exam.
Don't let your feelings get in the way, detective.
You and liv take him out a side door.
No cameras, no perp walk.
No doubt. We're professionals, captain.
Sorriso per la camera.
I thought in America you were innocent u proven guilty.
But you let them take my picture.
Freedom of press, baby.
Next... Hair samples.
This may hurt.
So much care to make sure that the evidence is uncorrupted,
but you cannot see that the whole process is corrupted.
They will find no evidence of sex with that woman.
I've had a vasectomy.
Somebody told you wrong.
DNA is like God... It's everywhere.
Drop your shorts.
Hey, sergeant.
Worked up a timeline off the maid's keycard.
This guy's one of the most powerful men in the whole world,
and he throws it all away in less than 20 minutes?
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
I know Distasio's lawyered up,
but has anyone tried to small talk him?
Well, he's been oblivious to my charms.
Is that supposed to be lunch?
This might be better.
You know, you can't get real Italian food where I'm from.
If I may...
It seems you cannot get real Italian food here either.
No? They said it was good.
And they said they delivered.
A man is measured by his appetites.
A woman is...
Measured by cosmo.
I think you're right.
In some places, a man is...
Praised for the scope of his...Passions.
In other places, it's seen as a weakness.
Weakness is repellent to women
and anathema to success.
I wish it was the same for women.
Weakness...
Most men are turned on by weakness.
Ah, but it is not a woman's weakness.
The dance--the fantasy that she has relinquished something--
that is her power.
The parry holds as much power as the thrust.
I've gotta level with you.
This maid?
Her story?
You know you got a lot more to lose than she does.
There's an Italian saying,
"fatti maschi, parole femmine."
Man has facts, woman has words.
Exactly.
And all we have right now are this woman's words.
Sure would like to hear your facts.
I'm sorry, signorina.
I'm very tired.
But...Thank you for the meal.
No problem.
Maybe we can talk again later.
Later?
I will be free,
and you'll be out of a job.
Docket ending 1701,
people versus Roberto Distasio.
The charges are rape in the first degree,
assault in the second degree,
and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree.
How do you plead?
I am not guilty.
Not guilty.
People on bail?
We request remand, your honor.
Two hours after Mr. Distasio committed a violent crime,
he was apprehended on a plane bound for Italy.
That defines flight risk.
Your honor, my client has no criminal record
and prosecution is well aware
that there is an extradition treaty in place.
In place is not the same as in use.
I agree. Defendant is remanded to rikers.
Even in jail, he will find us.
They say...
He has agents from the CIA working for him.
He has a defense team, and they're going to try
to find out everything about you that they can.
- They will make accusations. - Officer...
Why don't you take the boys down to the snack machine?
I want my children here.
I promise you they'll be safe with the officer.
Just for a minute.
Hey, guys, come on.
Get up. Go with the officer.
Miriam...
The defense is going to say that you did this for money.
I would never.
Not for any money.
Okay, good,
but if there's any part of the story you are leaving out--
any miscommunication,
any misunderstanding--
no, he raped me.
And he's going to get away with it.
He can find me, do what he want to me,
just like the soldiers.
One year after my family escape over the border to Sudan,
men on horses come to my village
and killed everyone.
The missionary at the refugee camp,
he told me if I bring my sons to America,
there is no violence, no fighting.
Someone from Africa is the president of everything.
Everything.
What does I.A.B. Want?
That was a good shooting, captain.
Elliot was cleared.
On that one.
Now internal affairs wants to go over his entire jacket.
Let 'em.
There's nothing to find.
Liv...
If it was his first good shooting, okay,
maybe even his second,
but it's his sixth.
The whole squad is on notice.
So what, so he's the sacrificial lamb?
You're just gonna give him up?
You know me better than that.
He's like a son to me.
I've been pushing as hard as I can.
I just don't know how it's gonna shake out.
What does that mean?
That means, if Elliot wants to keep his job,
he's gonna have to submit to a psych eval,
anger management, a lot of hoops.
And he'll tell them to go to hell.
Don't ask.
Well, you look like you could use more bad news.
Team Distasio just swung an appellate court review
of his bail.
Great.
My client's release on bail
is the first act of due process since this whole charade began.
Let me just say something:
That we are quite confident
that once the D.A.'S office becomes aware
of its witness's serious credibility issues,
they will drop the charges.
Never for an instant have I doubted my husband's innocence.
He has many enemies
who will stop at nothing to discredit him.
Look, I don't wanna stalk you, but...
You know, if you need to talk, I'm here.
- Hey, liv. - Hey.
Hey, liv.
Hey, so... How'd the hand-off go?
Some house arrest. This cat's got a screening room.
So what's her story?
She must have some hooks to be transferred here from Atlanta.
She's cool.
Talked to Elliot?
No.
Good news.
The DNA came back.
It's a match for Distasio and the victim.
Well, that puts him in the room.
What is he gonna do now, plead consent?
Oh, yeah, he will.
In his world, sex is power.
To him it was all just a dance.
So whatever happened in that room, he doesn't see it as rape.
Elliot's probably afraid to talk to you, liv.
Doesn't want you to try to talk him out of it.
Out of what?
He's not gonna quit.
He shot a teenage girl.
He may not ever wanna put his gun on again.
You invite your boss for a drink?
Hey, Mike, what's up?
Thought you vetted your witness.
- She's in it for the money. - Not a chance.
That's the ledger.
They'll print anything to sell papers.
They got her on tape.
What? Who?
Another maid at the hotel just sold Miriam out.
This that did its to me
he is rich.
I can make him pay.
He had no right.
I know some good lawyers, eh?
They will hook you up with a fat civil suit.
How much do you think I can get?
I want to take millions from him.
Why is this in the newspaper?
Because your coworker taped you and sold it to them.
I have a right to make this man pay.
He is rich, living in a mansion,
when you told me he would be in prison.
But now the defense can say that you were not raped,
that this is a shakedown.
He raped me.
You promised miss cabot that this wasn't about money.
Have you hired a lawyer?
Terrific.
So you think she's angling for a payday?
She says no.
But exley's team will claim extortion.
Even on the tape, her story of the rape
is consistent all the way through.
These cases are about perception, not reality.
She's compromised.
They're digging up everything they can on her.
What about him?
Detectives, any progress?
Another g.E.T. Official who won't go on record.
What about you, rollins?
Well, two months ago in buenos aires,
a hotel maid, Isabel cortazar,
told her boss that Distasio pushed her onto the bed.
Started to attack her.
Only stopped when she screamed.
Is she willing to testify?
Well, I haven't reached her yet, but neither have they.
I checked.
All right, well, stay on it.
Let me know if you get anything.
Alex cabot please?
Good work, rollins.
Motion to suppress, your honor.
The police have no record of this crime.
This testimony is prejudicial.
The other maid's accusation occurred
within the last six months and is consistent
with the defendant's m.O.
Where is this miss cortazar?
We're making arrangements to fly her in from buenos aires.
Produce her, and I'll allow her testimony. Anything else?
Yes, your honor.
I have notarized police reports
from abyei province, South Sudan.
Where did you get this?
What part about South Sudan didn't you hear?
Prosecution's witness has a conviction for prostitution
in her home country.
This, if it's even legitimate...
It's legitimate.
Is inflammatory
and in clear violation of the rape shield law.
Ah, the rape shield law has an exception
if the claimant has a conviction within the last three years.
Why did you lie to me?
Because I am not a prostitute.
I was gang-raped.
They still have my husband's blood on them
when they attack me.
I beg them to kill me after,
but they said no.
They wanted something sweet to come back to.
I went to the police.
They call me a whore.
They say I broke sharia law,
and they will stone me to death
in front of my children.
Is there anyone who can confirm this story?
This is not a story.
It is why I come here.
But you will believe
what you will believe.
The maid from buenos aires just moved
to an exclusive gated community in cordoba
and won't return our calls.
For what it's worth,
Miriam says that she's telling the truth...
Now, that she was a victim of sharia law.
Doesn't matter.
What do you mean?
I don't see a win here.
I do.
When the jury hears her story,
they are gonna come back guilty on all counts.
She's heartbreaking,
but it doesn't mean that she's telling the truth.
Olivia.
I believe her.
I heard thousands of stories just like hers
when I was in Africa.
It's not getting that far.
The new D.A. Wants to drop the charges.
All I ever heard about
was how Mike cutter was a crusader for justice.
What happened to you?
If we press a case that we can't win,
we just tell the next victim
that she's better off staying silent.
If we let Distasio walk,
we send a message to the rest of the world that, in New York,
the law doesn't apply to the rich and the powerful.
We are here to even those scales,
not cut and run.
The prosecution witness are suspect
and frankly, I am confident that the evidence
will vindicate my client.
But sir, how do you feel about this trial?
I fight him.
He say, if I don't, he will have me fired.
When he finish, he push me away.
I-I crawl to the sink and...
It's okay.
What happened then?
I spit it out.
It taste like poison.
Miss deng, the defense has suggested
that you are in this for the money.
Have you ever been paid for sex?
No.
I never.
But you do have a conviction for prostitution in the Sudan.
Yes.
Can you please explain how that came about?
I was gang-rape by soldiers.
12 of them.
They still have my husband's blood on them
when they attack me.
Miss deng,
I'm truly sorry for all that you've had to go through.
Tell us about the soldiers who gang-raped you.
How many were there again?
12 of them.
12.
And before you came to this country,
you filled out an application
for political asylum, is that right?
- Yes. - And on that application,
did they ask you if you had ever been convicted of a felony?
Yes.
And how did you answer?
I--
so you lied on a legal document
where you had sworn to tell the truth.
Yes.
Just so we can be clear,
you're not lying about what happened
in that hotel room, are you?
No, I am not lying.
So in fact, you only lied once,
under oath, to the government of the United States.
Well, I guess we'll just have to take your word for it.
Objection!
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
Heard they beat her up in there pretty bad.
She brought it on herself.
She lied--repeatedly.
She did whatever she had to do to get asylum.
Maybe.
Her testimony about the gang rape...
You know, it's one thing to be consistent.
It's another to quote verbatim.
Everybody's ripping into her.
What's up with you?
You telling me you don't think he's good for it?
The woman offered herself,
and foolishly, I obliged.
After, she asked me for money.
Oh, and how did you respond?
I said I'm not accustomed to paying.
She became upset.
She said, "I know who you are."
She told me that, unless I give her $10,000,
she will say that I raped her.
Well, I told her that, in my life,
many have tried to blackmail me,
and this will not stand.
I was coming back from the spa in my robe.
I opened the door.
She was there.
How did she respond?
She asked if she was disturbing me.
I said "no.
I will dress in the other room."
Then...She offered herself to me.
Had you ever met miss deng before?
No.
Didn't you think it was odd
that a woman who you didn't know
who is 40 years your junior
offered herself to you so abruptly?
No.
Women see power...
And they find it attractive.
You mean they like it rough.
Objection.
Sustained.
I ask because, in evidence 407 and 408,
the jury saw photographs of miss deng's bruised forearms
and scraped knees.
Do you consider those injuries
to be a normal part of consensual sex?
The dance is different every time.
The jury also saw, in evidence 409,
a photograph of a scratch on your neck.
Was miss deng the one who scratched you?
Yes.
Also part of "the dance"?
She was very passionate.
Are you sure she didn't get those injuries
trying to fight you off?
I knew she did not want me to stop.
You knew?
How?
A man knows.
Did she tell you that?
No.
It's, uh, in a woman's eyes.
No matter what the words say.
Even if the word is "no"?
Even if she's fighting you?
Scratching you?
Even if she's calling for help
less than five minutes after you've fled your room,
after you raped her.
Did you see that in her eyes?
No further questions.
Mr. exley.
Well, your honor, I apologize.
We just were made aware that we have another witness.
Your honor, this hail Mary is a bald-faced attempt
to skirt proper discovery rules.
Why wasn't this witness, Mr. achok, on your list?
We only recently became aware of his existence, your honor.
He lives in the Sudan.
You had time to fly him in,
but you didn't have time to inform us?
We're doing that now.
You can take as long as you want to vet him.
We can wait.
Given the relevance of this witness's testimony,
I'm going to allow it.
Mr. achok,
you helped Miriam deng fill out her asylum application,
is that right?
Oh, yes, and many others.
It's very hard to get asylum.
When I told her what must be done,
she was very good,
very natural.
And what did you tell her?
The best way to get into the U.S. is to be raped.
The Americans cry so hard when they hear it.
They open their doors wide.
And on the application, she said
that she was gang-raped by a dozen soldiers.
This is what we said.
- "We"? - Oh, yes.
There's many dead parents in Sudan,
many rapes.
She told me one soldier had raped her.
I told her, "no!
"One dozen soldiers.
This is better."
And that's what she swore to on the application,
isn't that right?
Yes. We practiced for her interview,
how to say things.
She cried.
She tell the story of the rape by the soldiers,
she make me cry almost.
Was miss deng gang-raped by 12 soldiers?
No.
This was a lie.
I see.
Your witness, miss cabot.
It is your testimony
that you coach people to lie for a living.
Is that correct, Mr. achok?
Yes.
How much money did the defense pay you to testify today?
- Please. - Nothing.
Not one penny.
Is that what they coached you to lie, Mr. achok?
- Your honor... - Withdrawn.
Olivia, all rape victims lie about something.
You know that. How much they had to drink,
who they were with the night before, what their boyfriends--
she picked the wrong thing to lie about.
One lie is fine, even two,
but Alex, there's a pattern here.
I mean, how much damage control can you do?
Olivia,
do you think she's telling the truth about the rape?
Yes.
Something bad happened to her in that room.
That's all I need to hear.
My heart goes out to the accuser.
But she has made a habit of lying...
Lying about rape
to get what she wants.
She lied about rape to come to this country,
and when she saw Mr. Distasio,
she saw an opportunity.
Either he paid up
or she would cry rape.
You heard her on tape.
"We could take millions."
Tell me,
how does that smell to you?
Miriam deng is not a perfect witness,
but her life has been less than perfect.
She entered this country on a lie,
but only because the horrible truth
wasn't enough to grant her asylum.
It took a great deal of courage
for her to confront the man who raped her...
To tell him that, in America,
money and power do not tilt the scales of justice.
Miriam deng thought her nightmare had finally ended
when she entered this country.
It is up to the 12 of you to see that, for once,
she gets justice.
The jury is taking so long.
Is that a good sign?
We don't--we don't have to wait here.
Do you think they believe achok?
Any lie I told,
I did it so my sons could have a better life.
I never lie about what he did to me.
I understand.
Jury's back.
On the count of rape in the first degree,
has the jury reached a verdict?
Your honor, on the charge of rape in the first degree,
the jury remains unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Very well.
I accept your verdict.
On count two, has the jury reached a verdict?
On the charge of assault in the second degree,
we find the defendant
not guilty.
Order, order in the court.
On count three, what say you?
On the charge of unlawful imprisonment
in the second degree,
we find the defendant guilty.
Bailiff, please remove Mr. Distasio.
Roberto, please.
Control yourself.
The state of New York thanks the jury for its service.
We're adjourned.
We handed the jury a mess and they split the baby.
He's gonna appeal.
Claim that that perp walk was prejudicial.
We'll all take a hit.
But at the end of the day, with this judge,
he'll do a year at rikers for the lesser charge.
Got to come over on the mayflower
in order to make a rape charge stick.
How'd she take it?
Hard.
Liv.
Nice working with you.
I don't think that she was lying about being raped.
Would you shut the door please?
Elliot put his papers in.
There was nothing I could do.
He's earned it.
And then some.
You wanna talk?
No.
You wanna take a day?
I'm fine.
Liv...
I'm sorry.
You okay?
- Yeah. - Be right there.
Got a ten thirty-four on waverly.
Fin, take rollins.
No, I'll go.
Give me five, and we'll roll.