Original subtitles

- 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.

- [sighs]

[rings doorbell] Trick or treat!

[laughter] Hi, Mom.

- Ellis, honey, come in.

- There you go. - Oh! Patrick, look!

Aren't these beautiful? - Ooh, nice.

both: Hey!

- Oh, wow. Mm.

[sniffs] Oh, I should have never moved out.

- Yeah, but then who would bring me very expensive wine?

- You like it? Bordeaux.

It's mostly cab, a little Merlot.

My boss recommended it...

Right after he gave me a promotion.

- What? - Yep, you're looking at

Goldman Sachs' newest fixed income trader.

- What is that, 200, 300 grand a year?

Double what I make.

- Oh, honey, we're so proud of you.

- Thanks, Mom. Thanks. - Oh, let's celebrate.

[cell phone vibrates] - Yeah, yeah,

I can't stay too long. - I know.

It's Halloween weekend. You've got parties.

- Don't be too hungover tomorrow morning.

We are going to clean that garage.

Unless, of course, you are too big time

to help out your old man.

[laughter]

- Hi. I'm Ellis.

Who are you supposed to be? - My cousin, Janie.

And we're going to dance.

Without you.

- Wait. He's cute. - [chuckles] No.

- Hey, here. Let me.

Secret stash.

- Okay. Uh, Jordan Spieth.

- [laughs] Oh, this isn't a costume.

It's just what I wear.

Plus, my--my hairline is way more solid.

Do you like golf? - No.

- No? - See you out there.

- [sighs]

Oh, I'm--I'm sorry.

The door was unlocked.

Are you all right?

- I know you. Evan.

- [laughs] Ellis. - Oh. [laughs]

You--

It's really hot in here.

- [chuckles]

- Hey, get off me. - Get away from her.

- What are you doing? - What's your problem, dude?

All right, dude. It's cool. - I'm not looking

to get into it with you, mate. - Okay, then get

the hell out of here, mate.

- What? Are you kidding? What? you called the cops?

- One of you call 911? - I did.

- Nothing's going on here, okay?

- This guy raped that girl. - No, no, no.

What are you talking about?

No, I did not, I-- - Step back, sir.

- I did not, no, listen! This is crazy.

Okay, this is-- I didn't do anything.

I did not-- I did not do anything.

[cell phone beeps]

I didn't--

- Hey, Lieutenant.

- Hey, I'm on my way home. What do we got?

- Possible attempted rape, 122. - No, that's not what happened.

- Where's the vic? - Mercy. Rollins is on her way.

- [sighs] Put him in interrogation.

- Let's go. - Go on to the interview room.

- Yeah, he did not witness anything.

- All right, hey, would you just have a seat?

- No, the English dude, okay, what he thought he saw,

he was mistaken.

Okay, just let me explain. This'll all go away.

All right? - Eh, I don't think so.

It's already gone viral.

[dramatic music]

♪

- Okay, Rollins. Yeah, keep us posted.

- Our vic, Janie Spears, still unconscious,

high blood alcohol.

And this kid's claiming consensual?

- Yeah. Ellis Griffin, says he met Janie at a party.

They were having al fresco sex in the park,

when a tourist, Brian Dancy, "misinterpreted,"

called 911.

- A he-said, he-said, she-can't-say.

- Okay. And Ellis was drinking, too?

- Yeah, from the smell of it, a lot.

- He ask for a phone call? Lawyer?

- Nah, he's eager to tell us his side.

- All right, let's get him some coffee.

Get a statement.

Fin? - British Brian, on it.

[sighs]

[cell phone beeps] - Hey, Lucy, I'm so sorry.

I'm gonna be even later. Bye.

- Hey, Ellis. - Hi.

I brought you some coffee. - No, I'm okay.

- I'm Lieutenant Benson.

We just wanted to make sure that you're clear-minded enough

to answer some questions.

So, Ellis, why don't we start by you telling us

what happened tonight.

- I was at a Halloween party.

Janie--Janie and I met.

We were dancing, we were hanging out, drinking,

dancing, etcetera.

- Ellis, uh, we need details.

So it'd be helpful if you could expand on

that whole "etcetera" part. - I'm a little nervous.

Not 'cause I did anything wrong--

- Ellis, take your time. All right?

Just--just tell us what happened.

- Uh, I, uh, it really started um, when I ran into her

in the bathroom.

She said she wanted some air, so we went outside.

- Okay, you remember what time that was?

- I don't-- after midnight?

I don't know. She seemed drunk,

but she was fine. - "Fine"?

"Fine"? What does that mean? - She was, uh, she was talking.

She was laughing.

Um, yeah, so we walked through the park.

That's when she kissed me.

Yeah, but I swear to God, she was into it.

- That girl was not into it. - How could you tell that?

- She wasn't moving. He was on top of her, thrusting.

- Okay, so what did you do?

- I shouted, "Stop." Perv didn't hear me.

He was getting off on a helpless girl.

So I called 911.

- What'd you do till the cops showed up?

- I went to pull him off her, he stood up, zipped his fly.

Said, "She's fine." - But she wasn't.

- All right, so you and Janie are kissing.

- Mm-hmm. - Right. So how does it--

how does it move past that?

- Um, so--

Yeah, we--we-- we were getting into it

and, uh, yeah, I felt her pull at my belt.

- Keep going.

- She fell back onto a pile of garbage bags that were--

were stacked up.

Okay, and I-- [sighs]

I fell on top of her, and when we--

when we got our bearings, it-- [laughs]

And we--it felt kinda romantic, you know?

And--

I kissed her again. And--and then we--

- And you-- - We started--

we started to have sex.

Okay, I know it-- it's not great.

It's not great to have sex like that by the garbage, I know.

But that--that's what it was. That is what it was.

It was sex between two consenting adults.

- She consented?

You heard her say, "Yes"? - Yes.

Yes! Yes, we were enjoying each other the whole time.

Until the--the British guy started yelling at us

and the cops showed up. - Okay, Ellis,

well, the British guy, our witness,

he said it seemed like she was unconscious to him.

- [sighs] Oh, yeah, maybe-- maybe she fell asleep.

Okay, but saying I raped her, that is crazy.

- Okay, Ellis, I can see why you might feel that way.

- [sighs] I feel like that because that is the truth.

[cell phone dings] - Ask Janie.

- Uh, we will.

Janie just came to.

Be right back.

- Janie, do you know why you're here?

- Because I'm an idiot and got alcohol poisoning.

- You were found in the park, um, last night,

lying next to some garbage bags.

- That's why my hair stinks.

- And when you were found, you were unconscious.

Do you remember being there with--with anyone?

- No, I don't.

Like who? - A witness said

they saw you with a man.

Do you recall having sex last night?

- No. I don't.

I didn't, okay? I-I remember--

I remember being at the party.

- Did you leave there with someone?

- I don't know who I was with.

Oh, my God, that's why I'm sore down there.

- We'd like to do a rape kit. - A rape kit?

I don't have insurance.

How much is it?

- It's no charge.

- Uh, there's a Leah Simes here.

- That's my cousin. - Okay.

She was at the party. - Yeah, she's been calling you.

- Can I see her, please? - Yeah.

- You're Detective Rollins? - Yeah.

- Talking to Janie about what happened.

- Janie, are you okay? - Yeah, what happened to me?

- You were raped. - How do you know that?

- It's all over the Internet. People have been

tweeting about it, calling her Garbage Rape Girl,

thrown out with the trash.

- They're saying that somebody had sex with me

while I was passed out?

- Janie, you had a lot to drink last night.

Now do you remember consenting to sex?

- No, I never would have said "Okay" on the ground like that.

- He raped her.

That son of a bitch raped my cousin.

[door opens]

- Someplace you gotta be on Saturday?

- Uh, I'm supposed to help my father clean out the garage.

- Ellis, um, we spoke with Janie.

And she doesn't remember what happened.

- Maybe I could talk to her.

All right, I'm sure she'd remember if she sees my face.

- Yeah, well, that may be, but we can't do that right now.

- But we would like is to take a DNA sample from you.

Now, you can volunteer. - Or we can make a call.

We can get a warrant. - No, no, no, no, no.

No, you don't have to do that. - Okay, good,

'cause I'll need your consent. - I really, really

have to get out of here.

- Well, this will be quick.

Open your mouth.

- Liv, we have a situation.

Carisi, you may want to step out, too.

- What's up? - Kid's father's shutting down

the interview. - Well, he can't do that.

Ellis is 22. He didn't ask for a lawyer.

- Who is this guy? - He says he's on the job

from Nassau County, PD.

- Patrick?

- Olivia. - Patrick Griffin.

- You two know each other?

- Um, my first partner.

- I didn't know that you had a son.

- Ellis didn't show up this morning.

He wasn't answering calls, so I traced his cell

and I thought maybe he was mugged or worse.

- He's fine. He's unhurt. - Why is he in

an interrogation room? - He's under investigation.

- For what? - For rape.

- He is not answering any more questions.

- Okay, he won't be questioned further

without an attorney present.

- I want any statements that he's made thrown out.

- You know that I can't do that.

Look, he came in voluntarily.

This isn't a custodial situation.

He didn't ask for a lawyer.

He didn't tell us that his father was a cop.

- I'm taking him out of here. - Okay.

- Shoot me straight.

Is there any evidence there or--

- We have a witness who puts him

on top of an unconscious vic.

- I see. So this must be a mistake.

- Okay.

[door opens] - Dad, what are you doing here?

- Don't say another word. We're leaving.

- Ellis, please don't leave town.

- Dad, I swear to God, I did not rape her.

I've been trying to explain. - I know. Stop talking!

Olivia, I wish I could say it was nice to see you.

Let's go.

- You okay? - Yeah.

Griffin and I go way back.

When I got out of the Academy, I was assigned to the 55.

And he looked out for me, you know?

He--he taught me a lot.

- We went by the book, Lieutenant.

- Why didn't the kid tell us his father was on the job?

First thing I taught my son was never talk to the cops.

- Well, he doesn't think he did anything wrong.

- That was his second mistake.

His first mistake was humping a passed out girl.

- We got Ellis' side of the story.

I wanna hear Janie's.

- I'll let Rollins know.

- Hi, Janie.

I'm Lieutenant Benson, from SVU.

How are you feeling? - A little better.

When can I get my clothes back?

- When we're done processing them.

It's part of the rape kit.

- That sounds so weird.

That I was raped.

I guess I was.

- So, Janie, it's been-- it's been a few hours

since you regained consciousness.

Were you able to remember anything else?

- Not really.

It's still fuzzy.

- Well, memory can be a tricky thing.

So anything you do recall would be very helpful.

- I vaguely remember a guy barging into the bathroom.

Leah knows him.

Ellis.

- Okay, I'd like to, um--

I'd like to show you some photos

and so you can make an ID.

- Him.

Yeah, Ellis.

It was him?

- Well, Janie, Ellis says that you followed him outside,

willingly, and then you kissed him.

And then you had consensual sex.

- I remember kissing him.

- Okay, do you remember having sex?

- No, I remember feeling guilty about kissing him.

- Yeah, but you did kiss him willingly?

- Yes. I mean, I think so.

- Why were you feeling guilty?

- I broke up with my boyfriend a week ago.

I texted him last night.

I don't think that I would hook up with

somebody else so soon, especially somebody

who dated Leah.

- Uh--Ellis dated your cousin?

- Yeah, just like, once.

- I'll talk to Leah.

- Okay. So, Janie, what I'd like to do is--

is go over everything that you do remember

from the beginning.

Is that okay?

- Ellis and I hooked up last year.

He seems nice up front, but he's aggressive.

- Aggressive in what way? - Sexually.

- Let's get back to Janie.

Did you see her and him interact at the party?

- Janie thought he was hot, but she was too drunk

to realize what she wanted.

- When a girl says she just broke up with her boyfriend--

- Ellis told you Janie said that?

- Yeah, and then I saw Janie pull Ellis to the door.

- So it looked like Janie was initiating?

- Absolutely.

She was all over him.

- Did she seem drunk? - Not anymore than anyone else.

- I'm friends with Ellis. What he's being accused of

is impossible. - Why's that?

- He's super cute. He's got a great job.

Girls throw themselves at him, including me.

He wouldn't need to take advantage of anyone.

- Janie and I were going to share a ride home.

I went to say goodbye to my friends.

When I got back, Janie and Ellis were gone.

I heard the cops are talking to Ellis about rape?

- We're just trying to figure out exactly what happened.

- [sighs]

Ellis kept trying to dance with Janie.

Uh, trying to hook up.

She was so wasted, I guess he got what he wanted.

- Well, the witnesses were a wash.

Some say that Janie was too drunk to consent

and some say that she was completely fine

and hanging all over Ellis. - The rape kit?

- Oh, it's positive for semen and a match to Ellis.

But he's not denying the sex.

- Just the consent. - Yes.

- Which Janie still doesn't remember giving.

- Yes. And our British witness is sticking to his story

that Ellis was seen having sex on top of the victim,

who appeared unconscious.

- Well, if he's credible, that should be enough.

So listen, the father, your old partner,

you--are you two close? - Yeah, we were.

- Yeah. - He was my mentor.

He was--and a friend.

And now I have to call him up and let him know

that I will be arresting his only son for rape.

- [sighs] Okay.

- Thank you for coming in.

- We're here voluntarily.

I'm gonna sit in, unless there's a problem.

- No, not if Ellis is okay with it.

- Ellis requested that his lawyer and father be present.

- Okay.

Okay, so, um,

I should start by telling you that this is serious.

That Janie Spears has been consistent.

That she has no memory of consenting.

- And the rape kit confirms it's Ellis' DNA.

- Which is consistent with his story

that they had consensual sex.

- We also have a witness who saw Ellis on top of Janie

and she appeared to be incapacitated.

- That is not what happened-- - Ellis, Ellis.

So why are we here?

- The DA's office will be charging Ellis with rape.

So we're giving you an opportunity as a courtesy.

Ellis, if there is any part of your story

that you wanna change, any part of your story

that you left out, now is the time.

Maybe we can resolve this. - I didn't leave anything out.

What I said-- - No, no.

No more talking, Ellis.

You're not trying to resolve this.

You're trying to bury him.

- Patrick, that is not what's happening here.

- We're just trying to give him one more chance.

- Before what?

Before you arrest him?

I assume that you're gonna extend him the courtesy

of letting him say goodbye to his mother?

- Patrick, you need to listen to me.

- On my shield, he will be here first thing tomorrow morning.

We want nothing more than to prove his innocence.

- 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. - Okay.

[knocks on door] - Olivia, can I have a word?

- Patrick, I'm trying to be as straight with you as I can.

The evidence indicates rape.

- Please, sit down. Please.

Don't do this, Olivia. - [sighs]

- I am asking you as someone who used to be your friend.

Your partner.

You and I both know that you can make this go away.

- I can't.

- This is our only child.

It will destroy my boy.

- I'm sorry, Patrick.

But this is where we are.

- Our first bust, you followed a perp into a room alone.

He claimed missing cash, missing drugs.

- You and I both know that I didn't pocket

those drugs or that cash.

- Yeah, but if I hadn't have testified at IAB

that I was in that room-- - I would've been jammed up

for a rookie mistake. - Exactly.

Just like you, Ellis made a rookie mistake.

- [sighs] - She was drunk.

He should've known better. - Yes, he should've.

This is not the same as you and me.

This is different.

Your son raped an unconscious girl.

This isn't going away, Patrick.

- Then you are looking at the fight of your life.

You and the DA

and your whole damn department.

- The whole case comes down to consent.

- Janie still doesn't remember,

but she says she definitely would have never had sex

under those circumstances. - Okay, when is the last time

you talked to her, though?

'Cause memory comes back in pieces.

- Well, I've gone over her story a half a dozen times.

She doesn't recall consent. - Yeah, but also,

she doesn't recall not consenting.

- Lucky for us,

we have the British witness in the hotel room,

on NYPD's dime, waiting to testify.

- All right, and he was 20 feet away; it was dark.

So are we sure that his story is solid?

- You want us to go over it again?

- Yes, I do. And I want to make sure

that we aren't missing any other witnesses.

Double check the traffic cams by the park.

See if TARU can track down whoever took

this internet picture.

Maybe they know something. - Copy that.

Look, I'm just trying to be thorough

and make sure that we give you all of the evidence.

- Liv, I get that you and the father were partners.

I'm sure there was a bond. - There was.

Before all of this.

[sighs]

My first bust, Patrick was upstairs securing two dealers.

I was downstairs, arresting the third,

by myself in another room.

There was a pile of cash, a pile of drugs.

The perp accuses me of stealing it.

Obviously, I didn't, but IAB came after me hard...

until Patrick testified that he was with me the whole time.

- He lied to save your ass.

In my world, that gets you disbarred.

- Yeah, in my world, it gets you a promotion.

- Look, you don't owe him anything, Liv.

You're not pulling facts out of thin air.

There's your victim.

Were you expecting her?

- No. - ...as soon as possible.

- Janie.

- They're calling me "dumpster slut" all over the internet.

- Okay, and we can't control the media.

But just do your best to ignore that.

- I--I can't eat. I can't sleep.

I feel anxious all the time. - Of course, Janie,

because what happened to you is a violation.

And it never, never should have happened.

We can get you counseling.

- I'm already in therapy. I go every day.

It isn't helping.

I just want him to know what he did.

And not tell his lawyers, tell the press,

that the "nameless intoxicated female"

is just as responsible as he is.

Just because I don't remember what happened

doesn't mean I wasn't hurt.

- And we know that, and you can tell that to the jury.

- I don't wanna tell the jury.

Why should it be on me to get up there

and make people believe that? He should do it.

- Are you saying that you want us

to ask the DA for a deal?

- I don't want to testify.

I just want an apology.

- Okay. We'll talk to the DA.

- And Ellis and his family.

- In the interest of sparing the victim

the ordeal of a trial,

we're willing to offer Rape Three.

- An E felony. He'd go on the registry.

- Yes. For a sexual offense, that's non-negotiable.

- Jail time? - None.

Ten years probation. - And Ellis,

the victim has made a request

that you make a statement of apology

after you allocute. - He's supposed to apologize

for something he didn't do? - Patrick, please.

- If this goes to trial, we have an eyewitness,

a credible victim.

- Liberal New York jury pool

ready to hang the privileged rapist high.

- If he's convicted, your son could be facing seven years.

- Yeah, fine. Mom and I were talking.

What if the worst happens?

She said she cannot handle it if I go to jail.

- You plead guilty to a felony, go on the registry.

You will lose your job.

- We both know the realities of state penitentiary.

- Your future is gone. - For God sakes.

- We're trying to help you here.

- Ellis, this is a one-time offer.

Or you can roll the dice, go to trial.

- Dad--

- Ellis Griffin, I understand

you'd like to plead guilty to rape in the third.

Do you make this plea knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily?

- Yes, I do.

- Has anyone coerced or forced you

to accept this plea?

- No, Your Honor.

- Once it is accepted by the court,

you will be convicted of rape in the third degree,

wherein the sentence includes probation and community service.

You will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Do you understand? - Yes.

- Are you aware that by pleading guilty,

you forego your right to a jury trial,

as well as almost all rights to appeal?

- Yes. - I understand you'd like to

make a statement of apology?

You may do so when you're ready.

- [clears throat] Ladies and gentleman,

on Friday night--

uh, on Friday night, October 28th,

I was at a party, and uh--

[sighs] Uh, what I really want to say to the--

to the victim is, um--

Is, uh-- I--I can't, I can't.

I take it back, all right?

I'm not--I'm not guilty.

I--I take it back, I can't.

- What?

- Mr. Griffin, are you retracting your allocution?

- Yes.

- The People rescind their offer.

- Understood. Mr. D'Angelo, it appears as though

your client is sticking to his plea of not guilty

to rape in the second, is that correct?

- [clears throat] Apologies.

Yes, uh, that is correct.

- A trial date will be set.

As of now, I'm calling for a recess.

- Why couldn't he just say he's sorry?

- Hey, I thought we agreed to a deal.

Did you tell him to back out?

- I told him to think about it.

That if he raped that girl,

he should admit it, take the punishment.

He doesn't think he did, so I stand behind his decision.

- It doesn't matter if he thinks that he's guilty, Patrick.

The law is the law. The evidence is strong.

- That's why his mother and I are gonna

sit here in this courtroom, every day,

and look every juror in the eye

and make sure that they know that we believe in our son,

and refuse to let him be railroaded

by you or anyone else.

- Let's go.

- Okay. Come on, baby, let's go.

- [sighs]

[crowd chattering]

- You keep your head up.

- Rapist! - Raper!

- Rapist! [crowd shouting]

- You piece of trash! [indistinct shouting]

- Rapist!

- She wasn't moving. Her eyes were closed.

- And when you went to pull Mr. Griffin off the victim,

did she react? - No.

She just laid there, sprawled out.

That's when the cops arrived.

- People's Exhibit Three, Your Honor.

A crime scene photo,

taken by the responding officers.

Does this photo accurately represent

the state you saw the victim in?

- Yes. She was completely passed out.

- Thank you.

- That photo was taken, what, fifteen minutes

after you called 911? - More or less.

- And when you saw her lying on the ground,

how could you tell she was unconscious?

- It just looked like she was.

- "Looked like"? In the dark?

From 20 feet away?

Did you check her pulse? Try to revive her?

- No. I called the cops.

- Not an ambulance or a doctor?

- No. - So you wanted to be a hero.

But only up to a point. - Objection.

- Withdrawn. Nothing further.

- Do you remember having sex with the defendant?

- No.

- Do you remember consenting to have sex with the defendant?

- No, I must have been passed out.

- Thank you.

- Good afternoon, Ms. Spears.

How are you feeling?

Not too anxious, I hope?

- I'm fine. - Okay, great.

So just to be clear, you don't remember the sex.

You don't remember consenting.

- That's right.

- Do you remember not consenting?

Uh, telling Mr. Griffin to slow down?

Or stop? - No.

- Okay.

Phone records indicate that you called your cousin

at about 12:30, uh, Defense Exhibit Seven.

- Leah, it's Janie. I'm about to call Max

but I called you so you could stop me.

My boyfriend. Ex.

This guy is not my boyfriend.

- Is that your voice?

- Yes. - Speaking incoherently,

but clearly conscious.

- [sighs] Yes.

- And do you remember making that call, Ms. Spears?

- No, I don't. - No, you don't.

- You don't remember making that call, but you did.

Just like you don't remember consenting, but you did?

- Objection. - I'll allow it.

Witness may answer.

- [sniffs] I was passed out.

No matter what I said or didn't say,

that means he raped me.

- That means he raped you?

Or is that what the SVU detectives and the DA told you?

Or is that what the internet said?

Or is that what your liberal, feminist,

social justice warrior girlfriends

who hate my client said?

Withdrawn.

- [sniffs]

- Nothing further.

- Redirect, Your Honor.

Janie, why do you believe you were raped?

- Because I never would have consented to a guy I just met

on the ground, by the garbage.

I was passed out and he did what he wanted anyway.

- Nothing further.

The prosecution rests.

- We'll adjourn for the day.

Reconvene tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.,

when the defense will present their case.

[gavel bangs]

- Approach, Your Honor?

- What?

- What do you mean the defense added their own eyewitness?

- Impossible, we did a thorough canvass.

- Diego Perez. His name mean anything?

- Not anyone we talked to.

- I wanna know where this witness magically came from.

- Okay, so run the name. Find out anything

and everything about this Perez.

- Copy that. - Keep me posted.

- You doing okay?

- Yeah, you know, long week.

- Go home. You got a kid, you got a man.

- Yeah. - How's that going,

you and Tucker?

- [sighs] It's complicated.

[knocks on door]

- Lieutenant. - Look, I'm sorry

to interrupt your evening, but it's important

and, uh, you may not want your wife to hear.

[door closes]

[sighs]

- What's going on? - Well, you weren't

in court this afternoon.

And, uh, at the end of the day,

the defense calls a surprise witness to testify tomorrow.

- That's right. D'Angelo said.

Someone came forward.

A good citizen who saw the whole supposed rape.

- Yeah. A good citizen? - Yeah.

- He's a career drug dealer

who became a snitch at the 55, your old precinct.

- I don't know what you're talking about.

- Do you really wanna do this?

It's witness tampering.

Obstruction.

- Again, I have no idea.

- You're putting your job at risk.

Your pension. Not to mention, you could face criminal charges.

- Like when I lied to IAB for you.

- We're still investigating this witness.

We're running his phone records, his, uh, bank statements--

- Okay, I get it.

He's my son. He's 22 years old.

He graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth.

He has a six-figure job.

And you wanna destroy his life...

because he had sex with some drunk girl.

You drove a long way for nothing.

- Mr. Perez, can you tell us what you saw

on you walk home through the park

at approximately 12:45 on October the 28th?

- I was coming around the gate, and it's a shortcut.

I saw a man and a woman. They were having sex

on the ground. - Do you see

those individuals here today?

- There and there.

- I'll let the record reflect, Mr. Perez pointed

at the defendant, Ellis Griffin,

and the alleged victim, Janie Spears.

And were you able to see if both parties

were awake and conscious?

- Yes, awake. She might remember me.

I caught her eye. I was less than 15 feet away.

- And was there anything that made you think

the woman might be in trouble?

- No, she was really into it, moaning.

She says, "Keep going." Halloween weekend,

people do crazy things.

Having sex in the park.

- Nothing further.

- Mr. Perez,

um, five years ago, you were arrested

for criminal sale of a controlled substance.

A felony. Is that correct?

- Objection. Relevance.

- It goes to credibility.

- Overruled. Witness will answer.

- Yes, I was arrested.

- That was your third offense.

Yet you were able to avoid jail time

by agreeing to become a confidential informant.

- Yeah, so? I'm not one anymore.

- Who was your control officer?

- Dennis Marino. - A detective at the 55.

- That's right. But like I said, I'm not a CI anymore.

I haven't talked to Marino in years.

- Sure. When you were a CI,

did you meet any other detectives at the 55?

- A few.

- Did you ever meet Patrick Griffin?

The father of the defendant.

A former officer at the 55.

- Objection! - Again, goes to credibility.

- I'll allow. - Let me ask you again,

Mr. Perez, and I will remind you, you are under oath.

Did you ever meet Patrick Griffin?

- No.

- But Griffin and Marino worked together in the 55.

Did you know that? - Asked and answered.

Your Honor. - I'll allow.

Witness will answer.

- Like I said, I never met the man.

- Sergeant Griffin didn't approach you

or coerce you in any way to testify

on his son's behalf?

- He's lying, he wasn't there! He's making it up.

Janie never said "Keep going." - Ellis, Ellis!

Sit down. - No, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for what I did and for what my father's doing now.

- Ellis! No more talking!

- No, I knew you-- - Order! Order!

- You--you were passed out. And I couldn't stop myself.

I was--I was wrong, Janie.

I was so wrong, and I am so sorry.

I raped you.

And I'm just--I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

- Everyone, my chambers. Now.

- Is your client changing his plea, Mr. D'Angelo?

- No. - You're not a part

of this preceding, Mr. Griffin. - My son wants me here.

It's his right. - No, I don't.

Get out.

Leave me alone.

[sighs]

I just--I just want this to be over.

- Are you changing your plea, Mr. Griffin?

- Can we have a few minutes, Your Honor?

- The People have no objection.

- I don't need any more time.

Or any more help.

I just wanna plead guilty in front of everyone.

- I think you already did, son.

I'm prepared to accept a plea of guilty

to rape in the second degree.

We'll reconvene this afternoon.

You're certain you're making this plea

freely and voluntarily? - Yes.

- Before I commence with sentencing,

I understand the victim has a statement.

- At first you didn't think you did anything wrong.

You blamed alcohol.

I'm glad you now understand

alcohol didn't push my dress up,

get on top of me, and force itself inside of me.

I'm glad you know what you did.

That you said, "I'm sorry. I raped you."

I choose to put this behind me.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

If both parties have said all they want to say

I will now impose a sentence.

Mr. Griffin, you have pled guilty

to rape in the second degree.

Taking your acknowledgement of wrong-doing into account,

in addition to your age

and the fact that this is your first arrest,

I sentence you to 24 months in prison.

Court is adjourned. [gavel bangs]

- [sobbing]

all: [together] Two years, not enough!

Two years, not enough! Two years, not enough!

Two years, not enough!

Two years, not enough!

- So now what?

You arrest me for witness tampering?

- No. I talked to Barba.

But, Patrick, what were you thinking?

- That I needed to save my son.

No matter what. No matter how.

I'm a cop.

I protect people I don't even know.

And here's my son,

my best friend in the whole world,

about to go down for ten seconds of stupidity.

So I thought if the jury just heard a witness say

that she was awake, there'd be reasonable doubt.

- I'm just gonna pretend that I didn't hear any of that.

- This whole system is rigged against him.

Protesters.

I could see the way the women on that jury box

were looking at him.

Even now,

they want Ellis' head on a platter, okay?

I failed him.

- You're still his father.

No matter how he feels about you,

about himself,

for these next two years, be there for him.

I'm sorry, Patrick.

If there were something I could have done--

- There was.

And you chose not to do it.

I went to bat for you.

- And the truth is,

I wish you hadn't.

I wish you would have just told the truth.