"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." " $2.78 change." " Gracias." "Have a nice day." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Hold the door?" " Good catch." " No problem." "You look happy." "Sure, why not?" "Thanks." "Don't scream." "Go." "Sit." "I'm Sarah." "Can I get you something to drink?" "You got a beer?" "Yeah, I think so." "Oh, that's my boyfriend." " He might be coming over" " Leave it." "Go on." "You a musician?" "Yes, I could play something for you." "I have a test later." "I should" "No." "Money." "I only have a few dollars of cash, but we could go to an ATM" "I don't need your money." "Please don't kill me." "What do you want?" "Take off your clothes." "In there." "Okay." "But you don't need your gun." "I will do anything that you want me to." "Take off your clothes." "Lay down." "Sarah?" "Sarah?" "What time was that?" "Um, around 1:00." "This morning?" "Uh, yesterday afternoon." "Oh, okay." "Can you tell me why you waited so long to report?" "I had a jury at 4:00." "It's like a recital that gets graded." "And if I didn't go, I'd get" "I didn't yell." "I didn't fight back." "I mean, I didn't know if" "Sarah, you said that he had a gun." "It was rape." "You're alive." "You did what you had to do." "She's just a kid." "What happened?" "Sophomore at Manhattan Academy Of Music." "She was raped at gunpoint in her apartment yesterday." "Was there any outcry?" "She showered right after and went to a piano recital." "And you're the only person she's told?" "Great." "You and Amaro can take her for a rape kit." "Well, actually, I'm still getting her to trust me." "Okay, keep it small." "I'll send Rollins and Fin to the apartment with CSU." "Think you can get his DNA?" "He used a condom and flushed it." "Good luck." "Almost done." "Next, I'll use a special instrument that can take photos of any trauma." "Now, Sarah, you said that you gave him a beer?" "It's on my coffee table." "I haven't moved it." "It's in a plastic cup." "I thought that that might be better for DNA." "Actually, the bottle would've been better." "I'll remember that for next time." "I'm sorry." "I-I wasn't thinking." "Yeah, it's fine." "Hi, Sarah?" "I'm Jen, your crisis counselor." "Whoa, you can't just barge in here." " I'm here to help." " Can you move toward me?" "I'm sorry, but you're gonna feel a little pressure." "Okay." "Grab that cup off the table." "Let's go ahead and cut a sample from the mattress." " This is the last tube." " You're doing great, Sarah." "Sarah, as your advocate," "I wanna make you aware that one of your options is to not file charges" " Excuse me?" " You showered." "There's a lack of obvious physical violence." "Those cases can be difficult to prosecute." "They also give you a voice to say that this is not okay and to demand justice." "Prosecution is emotionally grueling" "Jen, can I talk to you for a second outside?" "Thank you." "What are you doing?" "It's my job to ensure the survivor knows everything about this process." "I don't sugarcoat." "And you've been a counselor for how long?" "Yeah, you've been doing this longer." "But I have fresher eyes." "The reality is the system doesn't always work." "I understand that, but that girl has just been robbed of all her power and all her humanity." "And your best advice is pretend it never happened and walk away?" "That's not--I meant" "It doesn't matter." "Jen says to call her if you want." "Thank you." "These reduce your risk of STDs and HIV." "This will prevent pregnancy." "Your choice." "I'll be right back." "Hepatitis B shots." "You okay?" "Sarah, you're not alone." "I will be here every step of the way." "They don't clean up when they're done?" "Yeah." "Sarah, is there anyplace else that you might be able to stay?" "Your parents or..." "No, not a good idea." "They were against me moving out of the dorms, especially into this neighborhood." "Okay." "This is a huge burden to bear, in my experience." "In your experience?" "Until you've been raped, you don't get" "I'm sorry." "I-I'm on edge." "I need some time." "Look, you have my number." "Call me?" "Sarah?" "Sorry." "Call me." "Thanks." "I'll be fine." "Low-grade image." "And the time code's all wonky." "Look for twos." "White girl, black guy." "She's carrying groceries." "There, that's her." "Slow it down." "Seems like he's been on that elevator before." "He knows where the camera is." "They're almost friendly." "She said she's never seen him before." "That's why I hate elevators, you know?" "No--no girl's gonna smile at some stranger who tries to get into her car." "All right, get a screen grab." "Start sweeping the neighborhood." "Sarah?" "You there?" "It's me." "Hey, babe." "Y-you still up for celebrating?" "Not a good time." "Rain check?" "What's going on?" "Um... uh..." "uh, bedbugs." "The exterminator was just... here." "I would offer to help, but" "I know." "It's--it's okay." "I get it." "Him?" "Maybe." "Yeah." "Hey!" "Hey." "NYPD!" "You, up against the wall." " What?" " You!" "Shut up." "Do what she says." "You know the drill." "Is he your protection?" "Turn around." "Now." "Come on, man." "Like, seriously, bro?" "Yeah, seriously." "Why don't y'all grab some too?" "Here you go, sweetie." "God, I'm sorry." "Um" "No problem." "It's okay." "He was just outside, hanging out, and he smiled at me." "He headed north how long ago?" "Five minutes?" "Jefferson projects are just up Amsterdam." "Look, Sarah, keep your eyes open." " There, that's him!" " You sure?" "I think so." "Yo, my man!" " Hey." "Conversation w-Hey, hey!" " Stay in the car." "Whoa, stop!" "Police!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Michael?" "Hey!" "What are you doing?" " Get down!" " Get off me!" " NYPD!" " Get off him!" "What was that?" "Was that a gun?" " Leave my boy alone!" " Don't move!" "You can't come up in here!" " Shut up." " Back up." "Get out of my house!" "I said, shut up!" "This is my baby!" "Don't hurt him!" "Everyone shut up!" "Now step back." "Now." "All this for some weed?" "It's not even a felony amount!" "That weed's the least of your problems." "Don't take him!" "He didn't do nothing!" "I'm going to drive by, you tell me if you see the man that raped you." "That's him." " Are you sure?" " Absolutely." "All right, take the son of a bitch in." "Copy that." "What happened with Ms. Cabot?" "Called away, your honor." "Rose Callier, for the people." " Statement?" " Your honor, the defendant forcibly raped Sarah Walsh at gunpoint in her apartment." "He has no job other than dealing drugs." "The people suggest bail be set at $50,000." "Response?" "Your honor, my client, Tom O'Brien" " His name is Michael!" " What?" " What's your name?" " Michael." "Wedmore." "Right." "Sorry, your honor." "Uh, this one just, eh" "Are you serious?" "Order in the court!" "Sit down." "Counselor, you need time to get your case organized?" "Just a second, your honor." "You gotta ask for a new lawyer." "Judge, can I get a new lawyer?" "Mr. Wedmore, you are entitled to a court-appointed attorney." "You are not entitled to your choice of attorney." "Can you afford to hire a lawyer?" "We have a lawyer, your honor." "Mom?" "Bayard Ellis?" "Counselor, to what do we owe this privilege?" "I'm here to represent Michael Wedmore... pro bono." " Your honor" " If it pleases the court." "This suitable to you, Mr. Wedmore?" "Yeah." "So ordered." "Will he get out on bail?" "Bail's set at $50,000." "That should hold him." "Hey, Mike." "Sarah, this is bureau chief Mike Cutter." "He's gonna be the lead prosecutor on the case." " Sarah." " Bureau chief?" "Is this because of Bayard Ellis?" "Why is he taking the case?" "Oh, don't worry about him." "Just means that we have to vet every detail." "Please, take a seat." "So let's start with the security tape." "Now, the, uh, the assailant entered the elevator with you." "Can I ask why you held the door for him?" "I just" "I didn't want him to think I was a racist." "Okay." "That's... fine." "Now... on the tape, you appear to be talking to him." "Hey, new guy." "Good work last night." "Oh, just got lucky." "This dumb kid didn't know better than to work his own neighborhood." "Can't be that dumb." "He's got Bayard Ellis defending him." "Wha--who's that?" "He's the go-to lawyer for drug kingpins." "Used to be until about six years ago." "He won a huge civil suit, walked away, took the money, and started the New York Center For Civil Liberties." "Trying to buy a clean conscience." "Ask me, he's still just putting criminals back on the street." "Only if we don't do our job." "Any funny business last night?" "Good." "Okay." "So go find out what he's going to find out before he finds it out." "After you showered, did you call anyone?" " Your boyfriend?" " No." "But you have one?" " Yes." " His name?" "Sarah?" "We're gonna need to talk to him." "Uh, I didn't tell him." "I didn't want him involved." "He's my piano teacher at the school." "He could lose his job." "Has she had a performance?" "Uh, yeah." "Sarah had a jury performance two days ago." "She was amazing." "Oh, was that different than normal?" "You know, musicians are a lot like boxers." "They tend to excel more quickly if they're from harder backgrounds." "She's from Long Island." "Now, did you notice anything off about her?" "She just accepted her praise and hustled out." "Playing that hard can be emotionally draining." "What's this about?" "Sarah?" "Sarah." "What?" "Uh, sorry, wh--um... what did you ask?" "The last time you had sex before the incident." "Uh, two weeks ago." "I've been focusing on my music." "Liv, can I speak to you for a second?" "Excuse me." "What's up?" "We went back to the bar where Sarah spotted her perp." "Turns out she was there the night before." "Yeah, I know." "She told me." "She has a fake ID." "She had a beer." "Well, it sounds like she was hitting it a little bit harder than that." "She was playing air keyboards, singing along to piano man." "Okay." "Anything else?" "Everything okay?" "So, Sarah, your bartender says that he saw you drunk and flirting with a guy the night before you were attacked." "Was that your boyfriend?" "No." "It was just some guy at the bar." "I was stressed about, uh, the recital." "Did you go home with this guy?" "No." "And I don't like being treated like I did something wrong." "Well, nobody's judging you, honey." "We just can't afford any surprises." "You wanna tell me what's going on with that detective?" "Um... no." "What the hell-- you've been secretive, distant." "Are you seeing someone?" "No, Paul." "I was raped." "In my apartment Tuesday." "Oh, God." "I mean, at least I'm playing better, right?" "I-I-I'm so sorry." "I-I was the one who told you to move there." "This isn't about you." "At all!" "Sarah." "Counselor Ellis." " Have we met?" " Sergeant John Munch." "I admire your second act." "Um, I'm not sure I get the joke." "I'm not joking." "You can be NYPD and believe in civil liberties." " Really?" " Yeah." "I'm about to put that to the test." "Okay." "Uh, Mr. Ellis is here on behalf of Michael Wedmore." "The, uh, elevator surveillance tape." "I'll need a copy of that." "Also the UF 250s from the stop and frisks." "Wait, what?" "Uh, detective, two nights ago, several young black men in Hamilton Heights were stopped and frisked by a blonde female and black male detective team." " That would be you and, uh-- - detective Tutuola." "We were looking for a rapist at large." "You can tell someone's a rapist by stopping and frisking them?" "I'll need a report on each individual stopped." "Rollins, Fin, take counselor Ellis into the interview room, and bring him whatever he needs." "Right this way, counselor." "It may take a while for us to get the reports in order." "I'm not worried." "Your partner here..." "I'm sure she keeps good notes." "You think a guy like that really found religion?" "There's not a lot of money in rape..." "or the fourth amendment." "Speaking of which, tell me about the gun bust." "It's clean." "I've worked narcotics, warrants." "Done hundreds of these." "And I've seen hundreds of dropsy cases get thrown out." "What, are you trying to say something, counselor?" "I'm asking the question." "I don't know you." "Detective second grade Nicholas Amaro." "He threw the gun under the couch." "I retrieved it." "Now, I'm not sure if the girl was raped." "But I do know there was a gun." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "We're all on the same team here." "Put 'em away." "It's not personal, detective." "Ellis wins this case, it's not just open season on my office but also NYPD." "Okay?" "Hey, Olivia." "It's Nick." "Hey." "Hey." "Uh, I'm sorry to bother you" " I'm--I'm not, uh" " No." "No, not at all." "Come in." " Thanks." " Yeah." " This is a nice spot." " Uh, yeah." "Thank you." "Are you okay?" "What's up?" "You know this, uh, Cutter?" "What's your take on him?" "Cutter, he's a good lawyer." "He's dedicated." "To his batting average or the team?" "Oh, no." "He's on our side." "But he knows that we are... in for a battle." "Are we clear on what happened with the gun?" "Yeah." "You yelled, "gun," and I drew on him." "Yeah, but you saw him throw it, right?" "No, you did." "I got there after." "It's Cutter." "Look, Amaro, we're gonna be fine." "We're gonna be fine." "Benson." "You gotta be kidding me." "Hello?" "Hello." "I'm calling from the VINE service." "You're registered to receive updates about an offender." "Last name, Wedmore." "First name, Michael." "I'm calling to tell you that there has been a change in this offender's custody status." "This offender has been released from custody." "If you have any concerns about your immediate safety, contact your local law enforcement agency." "Or, if you have an emergency, call 911." "For more information, contact Rikers Island in Bronx County." "Ellis posted Michael's bail, but I don't want you to worry about it." "He knows where I live." "There's a pending restraining order, and I'm sending a unit over to you right now." " No, I have to go." " Sarah." "Sarah." "Hey." "I'm so glad you came." "You know your father and I love it when you stay with us at the house." "We miss our little girl." "Sarah." "Honey?" "Um, I'm-- I have to go." "I'm-I'm late for practice." "I heard Wedmore posted bail." "How's your girl?" "She wants to go at it alone." "She doesn't want anyone to know." " What is she, 20?" " 19." "God." "Remember when you thought you were strong enough, you could handle anything by yourself?" "What's up, sergeant?" "Ellis is doing his due diligence." "And then some." "He's moved for a Mapp hearing on the recovery of the gun." " You'll both need to testify." " Well, I'm ready." "He's also moved for a wade hearing, challenging the fairness of the ID." "That would be you two again, as well as Fin and Rollins." "You can carpool." "That was good police work." "What's this guy trying to do?" "Death by a thousand paper cuts." "We conducted a show-up identification within a reasonable time of the victim seeing the suspect." "It's standard NYPD procedure." "Why didn't you bring Mr. Wedmore in for a line-up?" "Your honor, the court has upheld show-up IDs time and time again." "My client was ID'd while handcuffed and standing with the detectives." "It's inherently suggestive." "The victim was held by her rapist for almost an hour." "She has good eyesight." "It's a clean ID." "Your honor, the New Jersey State Supreme Court has acknowledged a troubling lack of reliability in eyewitness identifications, particularly those involving a difference in race." "This is not New Jersey." "I'm going to agree with the prosecution." "Motion denied, the identification stands." "He continued into the Jefferson projects, ran up the stairs into his apartment, he tried to slam the door on me." "Then I took him down." "Did you see him throw the gun?" "I saw him fling his arm, and I heard it slide across the floor." "You heard it?" "With the child crying, Mr. Wedmore's family screaming?" "Yes, and I saw it go under the couch." "Did you know it was a gun, or think it was a gun?" "I know what a gun is." "Did you see the gun, detective?" "It was chaotic, they were screaming." "There was a little boy there, it was very dark" "Yes or no?" "And I remind you, you're under oath." "No." "I heard my partner yell, "gun."" "So I pulled my weapon, and I held it on a suspect while he restrained him." "Your honor, Mr. Wedmore was in custody." "He was not a threat." "The police had already secured the room." "They should have requested a search warrant." "Your honor, the detective had reasonable cause." "The plain view doctrine applies here." "Plain view?" "Under the couch?" "Across the room?" "Motion denied." "Moving on." "Thanks for having my back." "I can't say that I saw something that I didn't see." "That's good to know..." "partner." "We've got the right man." "Not the right way." "Look, there's no big conspiracy here." "What's in this for you?" "Nothing, but if improprieties happen on ordinary cases like this, that means they happen all the time." "So you're gonna use this case to declare war on the NYPD?" "The NYPD declared war on young men of color a long time ago." "500,000 stop and frisks in one year?" "That son of a bitch raped her." "Last I heard, even if a black man is accused of rape, the burden of proof is still on the state." "You're not answering your phone." "I can't have you upsetting your mother like this." "You know how she gets." "I'm sorry." "I'll call her later." "I know I've been strict with you." "That can only explain your choice to live in this godforsaken neighborhood." "But don't punish your mother for that." "Uh, daddy?" "What's going on?" "Daddy, something's happened." "Evidence of vaginal fissures consistent with forcible intercourse." "But no foreign DNA on her person." "Well, she showered." "So it was worth a shot." "I did find Michael Wedmore's DNA on the cup." "Anything on the bed?" "Yes, fresh semen within 24 hours of the rape." "That's great." "We got him." "It's not Michael Wedmore's DNA." "Her boyfriend?" "She told us she hadn't had sex with him in two weeks." "Wasn't him either." "Are you sure?" "No-no-no, this doesn't make any sense." "She told us" "I don't remember his name." "It was just a one-night stand." "Was it the guy from the bar?" "Yes." "Please don't tell me he's black." "Yeah." "Did you take the elevator?" "Yeah." "We specifically asked you about this." "I've never picked anyone up at a bar before." "I just thought that it might look bad." "What looks bad is that you lied to us." "You know what?" "Studying music is hard." "You're alone, you're practicing all the time." "I mean, that's how I ended up dating my teacher." "There goes rape shield." "Wait, what does that mean?" "Your lie is in a report that we gave to the defense." "We have to inform them." "Ellis is gonna try to use the other man's DNA to create reasonable doubt." "I was just trying to be a normal college kid for once." "So what?" "Does this mean that you drop the case?" "No, he still raped you at gunpoint." "But you're saying the jury won't believe me." "Just tell the truth, and let me worry about the rest." "On a sunny afternoon, Sarah Walsh entered her apartment with her groceries." "When she turned to close her front door, she found the defendant pointing a gun at her." " Do you own a gun?" " No." "How do you explain the gun the detectives allegedly found in your girlfriend's apartment?" "All I know is, while one officer held me at gunpoint, the other one pulls this gun out of nowhere and says, "you shouldn't have run."" "Had you ever seen that gun before?" "No." "Look, I may be a pot dealer, but that's just so I can provide for my family." "I deal small quantities." "Misdemeanors." "Everybody knows a gun is a felony." "Mr. Wedmore held her at gunpoint." "He locked the door." "She offered him a beer, hoping that the kindness would keep him from killing her." "Were you in Miss Walsh's apartment?" "Yes." "I helped her in with her groceries." "She offered me a beer." "My mother always told me to stay away from white women." "But she seemed nice, so I took it." "He wouldn't leave." "With the gun still pointed at her, she offered him money." "But that's not what he wanted." "After she invited you into her apartment, offered you a beer, what happened next?" "I wanted to go." "I had to get back to work." "Then she started acting weird." "How so?" "She asked me if I wanted to have sex with her." "He told her to undress and lay on the bed." "Sarah, fearing for her life, did as she was told." "Did you have sex with her?" "No." "I love my girlfriend." "You okay?" "Your friend Ellis tried to shake my story on the gun." "I think He threw it under the couch." "There was a kid in the house." "What was I supposed to do?" "I get it." "We've all been there, heat of the moment." "Next time, cuff him, seal the room, and wait for a warrant, okay?" "Miss Walsh, is this you with my client in your elevator?" "Yes." "And you claimed you've never met my client before?" "That's correct." "Are you sure?" "You look so friendly." " Objection." " Withdrawn." "An hour later... is this my client leaving?" "Yes." "No torn clothing, no signs of struggle." "Would you agree?" "Yes." "After my client left, did you call the police?" " Or a friend?" " After he raped me, I" "You didn't call anyone, did you?" "No." "No." "Instead, you went to school." "You performed a piano recital." "I had to for the grade" "And you got an "A." Impressive." "Considering how late you were out the night before." "3:00 A.M." "Do you recognize this man, Miss Walsh?" "Yes." "Did you invite him into your apartment?" "Yes." "And you had sex with him on your bed that night, didn't you?" "Yes." "Is it possible the injuries you sustained were from vigorous sex with this man before you met my client?" "It wasn't rough." "It was consensual" "Would this man be able to come forward and testify to that?" "No." "And why is that?" "I don't know his name." "On the tape, he looks very similar to my client." "Mid-20s, athletic build, black." "Objection, your honor." "The defense" "Rephrase." "Uh, is it safe to say you have a type, miss Walsh?" "Watch yourself, Mr. Ellis." "Withdrawn." "Miss Walsh, why did you wait so long to file a police report?" "Because I didn't want anyone to know." "Anyone?" "You mean, your parents?" "Or your boyfriend?" "Yes." "So you didn't want them to know you were alone with my client, or you didn't want to let them know you were alone with some random man the night before?" "The one who left his semen on your sheets?" "Which is it, miss Walsh?" "Take your time." "It is confusing." "Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't 1970." "It's 2011." "And yet you wouldn't know it from the way the defense is putting the victim's personal life on trial." "It's the defendant's actions that matter here." "Now, he admits to being in the building but claims he was only there to deliver pot." "He admits entering Miss Walsh's apartment but claims he just had a beer." "But what he won't admit is the horrible truth..." "That in less than an hour, at gunpoint, he irrevocably changed a young woman's life." "Mr. Foreman." "It is my understanding that you have come to a decision." "Yes, your honor." "On the charge of criminal possession of a weapon, we find the defendant not guilty." "On the charge of rape, we find the defendant not guilty." "You black bastard!" "Order!" " Sarah" " Don't!" "Don't you dare tell me that that was worth it." "That was so ugly!" "Sarah, you didn't let him get away with it." "You accused him in public" "So what?" "He's going home with his family." "I would have never let anyone go through that." "That's true, and I know that that's how you feel right now" "You have no idea how I feel!" "Sarah, listen to me." "Sending him to prison isn't gonna heal you." "Healing begins when someone bears witness." "I saw you." "I believe you." "Come on, baby." "Let's go." "Congratulations." "Thank you." "I didn't ask for company." "But you got it." "You proud of yourself?" "You brought up every stereotype." "You shamed that girl about her sexuality." "You said that if a white girl in that neighborhood cries rape, she must have wanted it?" "Nice work." "And your case?" "The ID?" "The gun your partner heard slide under the couch?" "No DNA?" "If Michael were white, this never would've gone to trial." "Oh, wow." "You're still playing the race card, huh?" "84% of the young men in New York jails are black and latino." "He raped her!" "So she says." "We don't know." "Neither one of us was there." "The only thing we can do is believe our people, and we do it without question." "So that's it." "You're a true believer." "I am." "And so are you." "I just do my job." "Look, not everyone in the NYPD is like you, detective." "I wish they were." "I could retire." "This job, fighting this hard, it-- win or lose, it comes with a cost." "We both know that, don't we?" "You know, I look at the unis, all these kids in the squad room, and all I can think of is I'm so tired." "I get it." "This is what happens when you live for the job." "You need an escape." "I coach my daughter's softball team." "That must be hell on the ump." "Why don't you come out and catch a game?" "I do okay on my own." "You sure about that?"