Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 16x18

1. In the criminal justice system,

2. sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.

3. In New York City, the dedicated detectives

4. who investigate these vicious felonies

5. are members of an elite squad

6. known as the Special Victims Unit.

7. These are their stories.

8. Tonight on America's Worst Crimes...

9. We've heard these stories before.

10. A vicious rape on campus, an unresponsive university.

11. And yet, the details of this particular story

12. are even more horrifying than usual.

13. Just steps away from the hectic heart

14. of New York City stands Hudson University,

15. a venerable institution of higher learning.

16. A sanctuary of the mind.

17. For a freshman— we'll call her Jane—

18. away from her small Midwestern hometown for the first time,

19. New York City and Hudson were a dream come true.

20. But Jane's dream was about to turn into a nightmare.

21. It started out innocently enough.

22. Bill was a popular athlete

23. who seemed like real boyfriend material.

24. I thought he was one of the good guys.

25. But you were wrong.

26. About everything.

27. They went back to his room

28. in one of the most popular fraternities on campus.

29. What started as a romantic moment

30. quickly took a terrifying turn.

31. Jane suddenly found herself outnumbered

32. by four men twice her size,

33. all with malicious intentions.

34. I could not believe he'd do this to me.

35. But he did, didn't he?

36. He set the whole attack up.

37. And he gave his three friends permission

38. to do whatever they wanted?

39. At some point I just went numb.

40. She was viciously gang-raped for hours.

41. Her anguished cries for help went unanswered.

42. No! No!

43. I could tell I wasn't even human to them.

44. They took turns raping you.

45. Yes.

46. Sodomizing you.

47. Yes.

48. When they were done, they...

49. Okay, Noah, just to be clear,

50. you are not going to Hudson University.

51. No, no. What do you want?

52. I know this is difficult.

53. Here you go, sweetie.

54. They called me a whore.

55. They called me a slut.

56. They shoved me out of the door like I was garbage.

57. Did you call the police or campus security?

58. When I was up to it, I went to the school.

59. They asked me if I had been drinking,

60. if anyone could corroborate.

61. Milk?

62. I'd made a bad decision that night, and it was my fault.

63. Chief Dodds.

64. America's Worst Crimes? I'm actually just watching it.

65. Uh, no, I-I hadn't heard about it.

66. The mayor's wife was watching?

67. Well, that's just terrific.

68. Yup.

69. We're on it.

70. But for Jane, her ordeal had only just begun.

71. More from this nightmare on campus when we return.

72. But for Jane, her ordeal had only just begun.

73. More from this—

74. This is what you do with your Sundays off?

75. Me and Gracie Mansion, apparently.

76. And now, 1PP is pissed

77. because they got caught flat-footed on national TV.

78. America's Worst Crimes has a huge following.

79. This is gonna go viral. Yeah, I looked into it.

80. The report says the attack happened in December,

81. but NYPD's got no record of a complaint

82. from the vic or Hudson U.

83. She did say that Hudson University ignored her.

84. And God knows we've been down that road before.

85. I know that the tail wags the dog,

86. but these TV shows are in it for the ratings.

87. We don't know that any of this even happened.

88. Yeah, I'm all for overtime,

89. but don't we have enough work to do?

90. Guys, this isn't LMZ.

91. It is a legitimate national news magazine.

92. They interviewed her. She disclosed.

93. And I got a call from Dodds,

94. who got a call from the mayor.

95. So we are going to investigate.

96. We don't even know who this girl is.

97. America's Worst Crimes does.

98. Don't make me talk to reporters.

99. Detectives.

100. I'm guessing you're here about the Hudson story.

101. Yeah, well, you got everybody talking,

102. - including our bosses. - Well, that's gratifying.

103. And not just the Peabody buzz, but for AWC to be in a position

104. to amplify what's going on behind those ivy walls.

105. Yeah, well, you amplify, we investigate.

106. So we're going to need to talk to Jane.

107. Well, I'd love to help,

108. especially with what that girl had to suffer through.

109. But I can't give you her name.

110. Your report says she was gang-raped.

111. Now's not the time to hide behind the First Amendment.

112. I'm not falling on my journalistic sword.

113. The only way Jane would talk was if I promised her anonymity.

114. She's scared to death of those fraternity boys.

115. We can find a judge who will compel you

116. to hand over your sources and raw footage.

117. All right, look, I'll kick the footage request upstairs.

118. That's not my call.

119. As for Jane, I can put you in touch

120. with the woman who shopped me the story.

121. Maybe she can convince Jane to talk to NYPD.

122. Come on.

123. Really insightful work, Emma.

124. Professor Dillon? Hey.

125. Detectives Rollins and Detective Carisi.

126. We're from SVU.

127. - How can I help? - We just, um...

128. We wanted to talk to you for a minute

129. about the AWC segment last night.

130. Sure. I thought it was important, what they did.

131. I'm glad they started the dialogue.

132. Hey, listen, we were hoping that you could

133. get us in touch with—with Jane.

134. The reporter said you introduced them.

135. I thought it was crucial her story be heard.

136. But Jane already tried to disclose once, to the school.

137. Look, whatever happened between the victim—

138. Survivor.

139. Okay, the survivor and the university,

140. that's got nothing to do with us.

141. You have to understand,

142. this woman is still extremely fragile.

143. To subject her to harsh scrutiny,

144. - the legal system... - All due respect, Professor,

145. obviously we'd like to go through you,

146. but if you're just gonna get in the way,

147. we'll go over or around you.

148. Interesting phallocentric choice of language, Detective.

149. My partner is still a work in progress.

150. Listen, we all know that something terrible

151. happened to Jane.

152. We don't want these guys to get away with it.

153. I hear you. I do.

154. I just don't think that Jane wants to deal with any of this.

155. But I'll give her a call.

156. I see.

157. All right, thank you very much.

158. That was Professor Dillon.

159. Jane says she's not going to talk to us.

160. That she'll come forward when and where she wants.

161. What does that mean?

162. She's scared to make an official complaint.

163. And knowing what we know,

164. I can't blame her.

165. So that leaves us where?

166. Back at square one.

167. Dillon's no help.

168. Hey, speaking of which,

169. what was that crack about me still being a work in progress?

170. Oh, come on, Carisi. The lady's a rape advocate.

171. She's got a chip about male detectives.

172. I figured I could earn her trust if I align myself with her.

173. Hmm. Rape advocate.

174. I don't even get what that is.

175. I mean, there's no burglary advocate.

176. There's no carjacking advocates.

177. When's the last time a carjacking victim got asked,

178. "Are you sure you didn't want your car to get stolen?"

179. Okay, I get that.

180. - Hmm. - All right.

181. But still, she's just getting in our way.

182. Yeah, well, that's SVU. Get used to it.

183. - Where are you going? - Back to campus.

184. I don't want to tell the sarge we came up empty-handed.

185. No comment.

186. Yes.

187. Okay, good.

188. Grazie, ciao.

189. No comment to the Italian press? They're on this already?

190. I got to tell you, bad news in New York travels fast.

191. I mean, there are already Twitter campaigns,

192. calls for campus rallies and revoking the frat's charter.

193. Which explains why the mayor and the D.A. are all over this.

194. And me.

195. So have you managed to ID Jane yet?

196. Look, Carisi's still trying,

197. but the closest he and Rollins have gotten

198. is Jane's self-proclaimed advocate, Professor Dillon.

199. She's going to produce Jane?

200. No.

201. Look, Jane is scared of fraternity retribution

202. if she goes public.

203. And she doesn't trust the police.

204. So she's not going to talk?

205. I could subpoena the show or this professor.

206. There's got to be an easier way.

207. Jane said on the AWC piece

208. that she disclosed to the university.

209. But they didn't specify to whom.

210. So let's go to the top and find out.

211. Okay. You want me to come with?

212. Not necessary.

213. President Roberts and I have history.

214. I'm assuming this is about that broadcast?

215. It is.

216. So the victim said that she was shut down

217. by the university.

218. Do you know who she spoke to?

219. - I do. She spoke to me. - Oh.

220. I followed the Department of Education

221. sexual assault protocols to the letter.

222. And yet, here we are

223. investigating an unreported gang-rape

224. that occurred on your watch.

225. The first I heard of any gang was on that show.

226. When she came to me,

227. she mentioned only one individual.

228. - And who was that? - I'm not at liberty to say.

229. These reports are confidential.

230. It's university policy.

231. That anonymity ceases to exist when a crime has been committed.

232. What exactly did she say?

233. What she described was regrettable drunken sex.

234. Not rape.

235. With four men holding her down?

236. She mentioned one student only.

237. She admitted she was intoxicated.

238. She went willingly back to the fraternity with her date.

239. I asked her whether she was sure the sex wasn't consensual.

240. She proceeded to become defensive,

241. and then she left my office.

242. And you didn't bother to talk to her "date"?

243. Actually, I did.

244. He said the sex was consensual.

245. He seemed credible, he's well-regarded,

246. and has no prior complaints.

247. That was that.

248. The next I heard of this was last night

249. when we were blindsided on national television.

250. Well, now that these allegations have been made,

251. I will need her name and the name of the student

252. that she claims attacked her.

253. We are all Jane!

254. We are all Jane! We are all Jane!

255. So...

256. she hasn't come to you.

257. Which means, whatever happened,

258. she hasn't filed a criminal complaint,

259. which means my responsibility remains

260. protecting the confidentiality of both students.

261. We are all Jane!

262. We are all Jane! We are all Jane!

263. We are all Jane!

264. We are all Jane! We are all Jane!

265. Excuse me.

266. I have a firestorm on my hands.

267. We are all Jane!

268. We are all Jane!

269. - Hey, Sarge. - Hey.

270. So far on campus nobody's been any help.

271. Get anywhere with President Roberts?

272. You know, it's the usual.

273. First she blames the victim a little bit,

274. and then she hides behind the cloak

275. of protecting the students' confidentiality.

276. So we still don't even know who the girl is?

277. - No idea. I was told that

278. if my rapist made me feel uncomfortable,

279. I could switch classes or move to another dorm.

280. I kept my mouth shut,

281. and he graduated with honors last June.

282. Now, for the first time,

283. I'm speaking my truth, because of Jane.

284. Thank you.

285. All your stories have been so powerful.

286. There is one last survivor who wants to share her story.

287. She's someone you already know.

288. Hi.

289. Um, my name is Heather Manning.

290. I-I am the real Jane.

291. I want to tell you my story.

292. So much for anonymity.

293. Yeah.

294. Heather.

295. Thank you so much for coming in.

296. I hope you realize this does not mean we're pressing charges.

297. - "We"? - You know, Professor Dillon,

298. we think it's probably best if we speak with Heather alone.

299. Actually, Sergeant, could you and I talk?

300. Um, sure.

301. - Okay. - This way.

302. We just—we just want to get Heather's side of the story.

303. I was worried about bringing Heather to the police,

304. being re-traumatized.

305. But I've spoken to others in the community,

306. and they've all said that if anyone's

307. going to protect a survivor, it's you.

308. I will. And I promise you that I will look after her.

309. Heather was clear about wanting me to sit in with her.

310. She doesn't know you, but she trusts me.

311. December 12th. I was on a date

312. with an Alpha Zeta Pi hockey player.

313. Brian Mackey.

314. He's the team captain.

315. And—and the date was at his frat?

316. No, no.

317. First we went to a bar,

318. and then we went back to the house.

319. We were making out in the hallway

320. when he pulled me into his room.

321. Three guys were waiting.

322. And they jumped me.

323. Like a pack.

324. And Brian led you in?

325. He was in charge.

326. He had two guys hold my legs while he held my arms.

327. And did you know the others?

328. His buddies from the hockey team.

329. I-I'm not sure I want to tell you their names.

330. Okay. Okay, well, we— we can get back to that.

331. No problem.

332. And you were sure that there were four men?

333. Yes.

334. Okay, because President Roberts

335. told us that you only mentioned one.

336. President Roberts blamed Heather.

337. She didn't feel safe disclosing to her.

338. Well, you're safe here, Heather.

339. Okay?

340. All right, so what happened next?

341. Um...

342. then they took turns raping me.

343. Sodomizing me.

344. Um, sorry.

345. Go ahead.

346. We didn't talk about this part on TV.

347. They used an object.

348. The handle of a hockey stick.

349. And then...

350. And they high-fived each other and they left me there.

351. When I tried to pull myself together and leave,

352. the other guys in the frat threw beer cans at me

353. and they yelled at me to go to church.

354. They said that I should call my dad and apologize

355. for ruining his life.

356. It was so horrible.

357. Did you tell anyone?

358. Did you tell your parents or your roommate?

359. My parents still don't know.

360. Why is that?

361. They're in the Central African Republic,

362. fighting malaria.

363. Did you go to the doctor?

364. Is there anyone to corroborate?

365. Show them the text, Heather.

366. Oh. Um...

367. Brian sent me a text.

368. His attempt at an apology.

369. Here.

370. "Sorry about last night.

371. "My boys were out of control.

372. But you deserve better than what they did."

373. This is great, Heather.

374. So is there any other physical evidence?

375. Like, maybe the clothes you were wearing?

376. Anything like that?

377. Um, actually, one of the guys

378. handed me my panties back

379. before class that Monday, just to humiliate me.

380. And you kept them?

381. I shoved them in my backpack,

382. and then I threw them in my drawer when I got home.

383. - They might still be there. Okay, good.

384. So if you decide to give us the other boys' names,

385. that will be enough to get a DNA sample.

386. It—it still won't be easy.

387. No. It's okay.

388. I want to.

389. After the rally, all those other women

390. need to know that they can do this too.

391. The other names were Connor Howell,

392. Lance Mosconi, and Zach Franklin.

393. All on the hockey team.

394. This is where it happened.

395. Pick up all cell phones, laptops,

396. bedding, and hockey sticks.

397. - NYPD. - Glad to see you, officers.

398. You here about the brick coming through the window?

399. Nice try.

400. IDs, now. Turn that music off.

401. All right, we're looking for Howell, Mackey,

402. Mosconi, and Franklin.

403. Yes, sir! Ma'am.

404. Guys, STFU. Come on. I'm Brian Mackey.

405. This is Connor Howell,

406. Lance Mosconi.

407. Franklin's out of the country.

408. Thank you. We have a warrant

409. to search the premises,

410. which means all of you stay put.

411. Somebody wants to hear my side of the story? That's a first.

412. Brian, between you and me, there have been a lot of women

413. doing a lot of talking.

414. And sometimes, as guys, our side gets lost.

415. And I just want to hear yours.

416. Heather and I had sex.

417. Consensual.

418. Now, this went away months ago. And now she goes on TV?

419. Heather has wanted the business from Brian since rush week.

420. He finally threw her a bone.

421. Eight inches of it, brah.

422. How do you know?

423. You watch?

424. Heather wanted to stay and snuggle.

425. But I was kind of done.

426. So she just left?

427. No, I did. She was upset. You know, girls.

428. Middle of the night, she does her walk of shame.

429. She kind of had to run the gauntlet.

430. What are we talking about?

431. You call her a whore, you throw things.

432. We didn't hurt her.

433. Can't take the heat, don't be a thot.

434. You have sex with her?

435. And pick up Mackey's scraps?

436. I don't think so.

437. We're the ones getting screwed here, all right?

438. Search warrants, a fricking vigil outside?

439. Nobody raped this girl.

440. Okay, well, that search warrant

441. includes collecting your DNA.

442. Open up.

443. How was the boys' club?

444. Gamey. They're the victims.

445. She's a whore that woke up with regrets.

446. Anybody admit to consensual sex?

447. Brian Mackey. Connor and Lance deny.

448. And what about the fourth assailant?

449. Zach Franklin. He's 20.

450. He's a multi-sport scholar athlete.

451. He's on a culture tour of Cuba right now.

452. - Can we get him back? - From Cuba?

453. Sarge, TARU just found a video that Connor made that night.

454. He erased it from his cell, but they found it

455. on his computer's hard drive.

456. You're gonna want to see this.

457. Go to church! Go to church!

458. Go to church! Go to church! Go to church!

459. This has been another Connor Howell slut-shaming video.

460. That's harassment.

461. It's ugly, but it's not assault.

462. We have semen matching Connor and Brian's DNA

463. on Heather's underwear.

464. Anything on the hockey sticks?

465. Well, not after three months,

466. but between Brian's text and Heather's testimony,

467. you got enough.

468. Enough for probable cause.

469. Everyone wants these guys put away,

470. but this case is three months cold.

471. Heather's initial disclosure mentioned only one assailant.

472. President Roberts shut her down.

473. She can be extremely intimidating, believe me.

474. Heather knows what she's in for?

475. Bring in the hockey team.

476. There was no gang-rape, okay?

477. No assault.

478. Then why text her this?

479. "My boys were out of control.

480. You deserve better than what they did"?

481. Look, I know the guys, you know, like,

482. messed with her on the way out.

483. I felt badly.

484. The guys? You were there too.

485. That text was to check in on a friend.

486. That's not proof of a criminal act.

487. (Fin) How about the others, Brian?

488. We have DNA proof

489. that you weren't the only one.

490. You do? Then talk to them.

491. Not me. I told you,

492. I don't want to be Brian's Eskimo brother.

493. You're lying, Connor.

494. We have your DNA on Heather Manning's underwear

495. - from that night. - My DNA's all over that place.

496. I live there.

497. This underwear has an evidentiary chain of custody

498. from three months ago? Ask your client.

499. He handed it back to her in class,

500. in front of 20 students.

501. Which explains the DNA, doesn't it?

502. Doesn't explain his semen.

503. Lance, there's a reason that you're here,

504. and those other guys are in the box.

505. Because I didn't do anything?

506. Yeah, that's right. I mean, you just—you watched.

507. No, I wasn't even in the room with her.

508. Okay? I swear.

509. Well, today's your lucky day, because if you tell me

510. who was in the room, you could walk.

511. You called Cuba?

512. It's not like I have pull there.

513. Zach Franklin will be arrested when he returns

514. to American soil. - If he does.

515. Hey, Connor, I was just telling Detective Rollins here

516. that we don't need to talk to you anymore.

517. Between the DNA and one of your buddies

518. putting you in the room with Heather, you're done.

519. Okay, look, I didn't want to say this before,

520. because I thought it would look bad.

521. But after she finished with Brian,

522. she moved on to me like that.

523. Her idea. Totally consensual.

524. I didn't rape her.

525. Ask Brian.

526. So he was there? He saw you?

527. Oh, Brian, you forgot to tell us about your boy Connor.

528. - What is this about? - Connor just admitted

529. that he had sex with Heather right after you did.

530. How is that my client's problem?

531. He said that you knew about it, which means you lied to us.

532. So what else you been lying about?

533. Brian, you don't need to answer any more questions.

534. No, I want to explain. I did see Connor with her, but she w—

535. Enough.

536. Let him finish.

537. For her to be acting all prim and proper now?

538. She wants to act the whore on Saturday

539. and play the virgin on Sunday.

540. There you have it.

541. Detectives, so far we've extended every courtesy.

542. But now it's time for us to go.

543. Or let's say you could sign this, we could keep talking,

544. And maybe we could clear this whole thing up

545. without it having to go into the system, okay?

546. A temporary arraignment waiver? Get out of here with that.

547. Unless my client's under arrest, we're leaving.

548. Okay, you two stay here.

549. I'll see what my D.A. wants to do.

550. All three turned down the waiver.

551. Their lawyers think letting them talk's just going

552. - to make things worse. - Good. Arraign them.

553. The deeper into the system they get,

554. the harder it is to pull them out.

555. All right, we'll load them up now.

556. You know what? Hold up a half-hour.

557. Connor's a handsome boy with a smug smile.

558. Be good to get that face on the 11:00 news.

559. All right, here he comes.

560. Hey, Bri?

561. Hey, Brian, this way. Come here, Brian.

562. Are you going to plead guilty?

563. Connor, Brian, why did you rape Jane?

564. Are you the ringleader?

565. You guys were involved, Connor!

566. Do you realize what you guys did?

567. With us this morning is Skip Peterson.

568. He has an update now on that shocking story

569. of a gang-rape at Hudson University.

570. Skip, welcome. I understand that the school

571. has since suspended all fraternity activities?

572. Yes they have, and last night NYPD

573. arrested and arraigned three of the accused rapists:

574. Brian Mackey, captain of the hockey team,

575. and his teammates Connor Howell and Lance Mosconi.

576. And you had a chance to talk to the victim, Jane?

577. She's now bravely come forward.

578. We caught up with her at a campus rally late last night.

579. I am gratified to hear that three of the six men

580. who attacked me were arrested tonight by NYPD.

581. What they did that night was meant to dehumanize me.

582. When they said, "Who else wants to rape that?"

583. they weren't just assaulting me.

584. They were assaulting every woman on this campus.

585. Did she just say six men raped her?

586. I thought it was four.

587. Maybe she's counting the guys in the video,

588. the ones in the hall.

589. I don't know. Something feels off.

590. "Who else wants to rape that?"

591. Does that sound like something even a frat boy would say?

592. It's not what they said, it's what they did.

593. And you say there's more information still to come?

594. Sources have told me that police confiscated

595. a video of the assault, and that hockey sticks

596. used on her have tested positive for DNA.

597. It's just horrifying.

598. What about Heather?

599. Her words are just so powerful.

600. You told me they didn't find anything

601. - on those hockey sticks. - They didn't.

602. And there's no video of the assault.

603. So who's his source?

604. And why is Heather even giving an interview?

605. She's gone from reluctant witness

606. to being on every news show in 48 hours.

607. Once you tell your story, it can be empowering.

608. The floodgates open.

609. They opened and let in two extra assailants.

610. - She's up to six. - Right.

611. When you're dealing with PTSD, things come back in pieces.

612. I will talk to her.

613. In no way is this about silencing you.

614. But we're still making our case.

615. And we need to know that the public speeches you've made

616. won't contradict the statements you've made to us.

617. People need to know what those boys did to her.

618. Okay, but, first of all, let's get clear on the who.

619. You know who they are. You arrested them.

620. Are we really going to start picking apart

621. the survivor's story?

622. This is exactly why we were reluctant

623. I understand, Professor Dillon.

624. But, Heather, last night at the rally,

625. you said that there were six assailants.

626. Are there two others that we should be looking for?

627. Look, I don't know exactly what happened in that room.

628. People were hiding in the shadows,

629. chanting, throwing things.

630. - But the four you named— - Absolutely raped me.

631. Brian, Connor, Lance, and Zach.

632. I-I know Zach was there, because they kept calling him Stinky,

633. and he said, "Dudes, my name is Zach."

634. Can I ask why Zach wasn't picked up?

635. Because he's in Cuba, and they won't extradite.

636. But we do have a warrant out for his arrest.

637. Good. And again, I hope, going forward,

638. that we can kick apart their stories, not Heather's.

639. We can, and we will.

640. And I hope, going forward,

641. Heather, that you'll stop talking to the press

642. and at rallies about this, so we can do our job.

643. You understand?

644. There's only one problem with that.

645. Which is what?

646. I'm supposed to go on Anderson Cooper

647. and Rachel Maddow tonight.

648. Heather, you're going to have to cancel those.

649. That's impossible.

650. It's—it's too late.

651. These issues are finally being brought to national attention.

652. The whole country is waking up

653. to the rape epidemic on our campuses.

654. I thought that you said that you wanted

655. to bring your assailants to justice.

656. I did say that. I do.

657. But this is so much more than that now.

658. I'm the face of a movement.

659. She wants me to cancel the interviews.

660. (Fin) How'd that go? - Not good.

661. - She wants her story heard. - Which one?

662. Her story's falling apart.

663. Six guys, four guys, hockey sticks, no DNA.

664. She keeps talking, she's going to torpedo her own case.

665. (Fin) Zach Franklin just surfaced at his lawyer's office.

666. He's about to go live on LMZ right now.

667. Folks, just let me know when you're all ready,

668. and we'll get this going.

669. Hey, Liv, you know about this?

670. I'm John Buchanan, attorney for Zach Franklin.

671. Star athlete, scholar,

672. and unequivocally innocent of any and all charges

673. in the so-called Hudson University gang-rape.

674. Of course he is.

675. That's a big bluff, even for Buchanan.

676. Think he's got something?

677. Tell them where you were December 12th, 2014,

678. the night of Heather Manning's alleged assault.

679. I was nine hours away, in Kimball, West Virginia,

680. on the W.V. Hillmen soccer field.

681. The championship game was televised live

682. on SEN until 11:40 p.m. Eastern time.

683. If you missed it,

684. you'll be happy to hear Hudson won, 3-zip.

685. - Benson. - We didn't vet this?

686. He was in Cuba, Barba. Remember?

687. This was the exact time Heather Manning

688. was alleging my client

689. was engaged in a heinous crime against her.

690. NYPD and the D.A. are guilty of an outrageous

691. and utterly inept investigation and prosecution.

692. Zach, tell them where you were December 12th, 2014,

693. the night of Heather Manning's alleged assault.

694. I was nine hours away, in Kimball, West Virginia,

695. on the W.V. Hillmen soccer field.

696. "Alleged assault"? Heather was gang-raped.

697. If that's true, Zach Franklin was not involved.

698. I could have sworn he was there.

699. It was dark, but I heard his voice.

700. Because you told us that they called him by his nickname,

701. that you heard him respond.

702. Well, maybe that happened in a nightmare.

703. I haven't been sleeping.

704. Survivors have unclear memories.

705. But the other boys are guilty. You have their DNA.

706. They're claiming it was consensual.

707. And you believe them over Heather?

708. Professor Dillon, I think it's best

709. if Heather speaks to the A.D.A. alone.

710. I disagree.

711. I'm the only one who's been here for her.

712. You've advocated enough. It's our turn.

713. If you want this case to continue,

714. I need Heather to tell me exactly what happened to her.

715. And you need to tell Detective Rollins

716. exactly what Heather disclosed to you.

717. We told everything to Skip Peterson.

718. Mm-hmm. We're talking to him right now too.

719. I don't need you to tell me this thing is blowing up.

720. Hash tag "What else did Skip skip?" is trending.

721. I'm just as hurt by this as you are.

722. Look, our case is collapsing.

723. You took this on air.

724. Now you need to give us anything that you have

725. that can corroborate Heather's story.

726. Your notes, your interviews.

727. I can't do that.

728. We're way past the coy shtick, Skip.

729. You don't get it. I can't corroborate,

730. because I don't have anything to do so with.

731. Come on, you must have talked to the boys?

732. To people who saw Heather the next day?

733. - The school? - No.

734. I talked to Professor Dillon and Heather, in that order.

735. Isn't investigating the main component

736. of investigative journalism?

737. Three boys have been arrested and arraigned.

738. Their reputations damaged, possibly beyond repair.

739. Now, I know that that's on us, too, but—

740. 20/20 hindsight's easy.

741. You sound like my producer.

742. Should I have talked to them? Obviously, yes.

743. So why didn't you?

744. Because I was protecting Heather.

745. She was terrified of reprisals.

746. And given Hudson's history, she had every right to be.

747. I found Heather to be very credible.

748. I have daughters her age.

749. I have to say, I feel gratified in some small way

750. I helped start a dialogue about the outrage of campus rape.

751. Skip, five minutes. - Then why didn't you

752. start that dialogue with a story that was true?

753. Because most other stories are more complicated.

754. They're he-said, she-said.

755. Heather's story checked every box.

756. Callous administration. Entitled, white frat boy jocks.

757. The pack mentality gang-bang aspect.

758. That's the story I've been looking for.

759. If we hadn't grabbed it, someone else would have.

760. Damn the consequences, right?

761. Don't blame the messenger, blame the audience.

762. Campus rape is so commonplace,

763. it doesn't even rise to the level of news.

764. Look what it took to get anyone to even care.

765. I'd love to do this all day, but I have a retraction to tape.

766. Let's go, guys. Let's do it.

767. I went on a date with Brian.

768. We got a little drunk.

769. Then we made our way back to the frat.

770. I thought he liked me, but it went wrong.

771. It was horrible.

772. Focus on the facts.

773. Did Brian lead you into a dark room

774. where three of his brothers were waiting?

775. His room was dark,

776. but it was empty.

777. At first.

778. So Connor Howell and Lance Mosconi weren't waiting there?

779. Connor came in later. I'm positive of that.

780. And Lance?

781. I don't know.

782. I know he was outside, but it was dark.

783. I was drunk, confused.

784. Confused about what?

785. When Heather came to me, she couldn't even articulate

786. what had been done to her.

787. That's how deep the culturally imposed self-blame goes.

788. Okay, what exactly did she articulate?

789. She told me she'd been assaulted.

790. Did she say she was gang-raped?

791. It was obvious she'd been through hell.

792. Professor Dillon told me that I was so traumatized,

793. it would take a while for me to process what had happened.

794. Heather...

795. Did Brian Mackey rape you?

796. I was drunk.

797. He started to have sex with me.

798. He moved really fast.

799. Did you move with him?

800. I guess...

801. In the beginning.

802. So it's possible it was consensual.

803. I'm not sure.

804. I passed out.

805. When I woke up, Connor Howell was on top of me.

806. He was raping me.

807. I absolutely didn't want that.

808. I remember Brian coming back into the room.

809. And the others?

810. That night is a blur.

811. Guys harassing me as I left.

812. When I told Professor Dillon that,

813. she said they probably all took a piece of me.

814. Professor Dillon told you that?

815. Can you wait here a minute?

816. I need to know exactly what you told Heather.

817. What she already knew.

818. It was barbaric the way they abused her,

819. - taunted her, assaulted her. - But she was raped.

820. Right? Is that what she told you?

821. By how many men?

822. What difference does that make?

823. - Excuse me? She was assaulted.

824. Does it matter by whom,

825. for how long, in which orifice?

826. Yes! Yes! It matters.

827. We are talking about criminal charges

828. based on specifics of what happened.

829. It doesn't matter what happened to her.

830. What matters is it happens every day.

831. And these frat boys strut around like they're bulletproof.

832. So a few of them finally have to take responsibility?

833. Good. This isn't about you or these boys or this case.

834. This is about eliminating rape culture once and for all.

835. Our story, "Nightmare on Campus,"

836. generated international media attention

837. and inspired a long-overdue discussion

838. about campus sexual assault.

839. However, it has now come to our attention

840. that many of the disturbing allegations

841. were fabricated by Heather Manning.

842. Did I miss the actual apology part?

843. Like many of you, I believed Heather.

844. That was a mistake.

845. We have asked an independent ombudsman

846. from the Medill School of Journalism

847. to investigate and issue a report

848. about what we can do differently in the future.

849. An independent investigation.

850. They're throwing the book at themselves.

851. Barba's hanging by a string and Dodds is hanging you out to dry.

852. I don't blame him. We moved too fast.

853. We didn't vet it hard enough.

854. It's not on us. It's not even on that haircut.

855. It's on Heather. She straight-out lied to us.

856. Fin.

857. Heather, can I help you?

858. Once the story got out there,

859. I had all these survivors coming to me and disclosing,

860. counting on me to be their strength.

861. I couldn't just take back my story.

862. But your story wasn't true, Heather.

863. Brian may think he didn't rape me.

864. But we were both drunk.

865. Professor Dillon told me that that means

866. that I wasn't capable of consenting.

867. She also said that once I passed out,

868. there's no way to know what happened to me.

869. I could have been gang-raped.

870. But we can't make that case.

871. What about Connor?

872. I know he raped me.

873. Brian left.

874. And I was passed out. I was half-naked.

875. And then I came to because Connor was raping me.

876. Hard, violent.

877. Did anybody else see?

878. Yes. Brian came in. He saw everything.

879. And then he just turned and walked away.

880. Like you're doing now.

881. I believe you, Heather.

882. But a jury is going to have reasonable doubt.

883. So that's it?

884. I have to go to school every day and see my rapist?

885. I'm sorry, Heather.

886. I'm sorry about all of it.

887. And if there was something I could do

888. to go back and change it, I would.

889. But at this point...

890. There's nothing we can do.

891. Your Honor, given the collapse of this case,

892. we move for a dismissal of all charges

893. against the four defendants.

894. How say you, Mr. Barba?

895. We are prepared to drop the charges.

896. Against all four of the accused?

897. Yes, Your Honor. All four.

898. Assuming no other holds, you are free to go, gentlemen.

899. Thank you, Your Honor.

900. I believed Heather. I still believe Heather.

901. We all know something horrible happened to her that night,

902. but until rape culture changes in this country,

903. none of us will be safe.

904. And that was just part of the outrage on campus today

905. as students reacted to the news

906. that the D.A. has dropped the charges

907. against all four defendants

908. in the Hudson University gang-rape case.

909. Meanwhile, an attorney for the former defendants

910. will be filing a lawsuit

911. against Hudson University and the NYPD early next week.

912. Turn that off.

913. Well, we should feel proud.

914. Pumped up their ratings for another week,

915. and those boys will never get their reputations back.

916. Yeah, but that's the job, Carisi.

917. It's hard to know what actually happened in cases like these.

918. If you can't take that, SVU isn't right for you.

919. Nah, I get it. I'm good here.

920. Let's hope Liv is.

921. Right now she's heading up to Hudson U.

922. Round three of the apology tour.

923. Given everything that's happened,

924. I wanted to apologize for my tone a few days back.

925. We were both taken advantage of,

926. and we both had blinders on.

927. You know, it was the perfect story.

928. It confirmed all of my preconceived notions.

929. And that alone should have made me approach it

930. with more skepticism.

931. And, to be honest, I can't help but ask

932. if I'd listened to Heather

933. instead of badgering her with questions

934. if this wouldn't have ended differently.

935. Maybe she would have told you the true story.

936. Connor Howell did actually rape Heather.

937. You have a dangerous predator on your campus.

938. And now that he's gotten away with it,

939. he'll likely be emboldened.

940. And you can't prosecute,

941. but you want me to discipline him?

942. I'm asking you to do what you can.

943. A lot less than I could have last week.

944. We had an incident last night.

945. The first thing the accused said to campus security was,

946. "She's lying just like Heather Manning."

947. I don't blame Heather.

948. Skip Peterson and Professor Dillon,

949. they—they pressured her into coming forward.

950. They thought this would be the case

951. that would change rape culture and it did.

952. It set the clock back 30 years.