Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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.

- You really don't remember me? - I don't.

Now do you remember me?

Sit on the couch.

- Put the gun down! Should I tell her?

How you shoved me in the back of your van

until we crossed the border?

You burned me, you cut me.

Over and over, you raped me!

I want you to feel what it's like to be dead inside!

- I know that he did something horrific to you.

Give me the gun.

Arrest them...

Both.

All right, so what are we looking at here?

I'm not sure, Stone's on his way down to the precinct.

There's a lot to sort out.

That's Jorge Diaz, owner of the apartment.

What's his connection to Miguel?

Hell if I know.

Maybe he'll remember when he comes to.

That's it, Liv, I'm taking you to the hospital.

I'm fine, Fin, I'm not hurt.

Put a squad car on Noah's school.

We may be dealing with traffickers

- and Mexican cartels. - Miguel Lopez?

He doesn't have a record with ICE, the CIA, the FBI,

Border Patrol. He's not even a blip

- on the radar... - Miguel Lopez

is a coyote, who raped and tortured Lourdes.

Okay, he sold her into domestic slavery.

Lourdes is the victim here.

Okay, okay.

I'll send a squad car to your school and post one on your block.

This is Olivia Benson.

I need to speak with my son.

_

Why am I under arrest?

I almost got killed for picking up a girl

- and taking her home. - Not to your home.

What is your connection to Jorge Diaz?

I did some website design work

- for his business. - What kind of business?

Communications, I...

I don't really know him that well.

All right, why did you have an app on your phone

connected to his security camera?

He has staff in and out. He was robbed last month.

He asked me to keep an eye out when he was out of town.

Did you know the feed was on the dark net?

That makes it untraceable to law enforcement.

- What? - No, I...

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

Miguel, I'm Efrain Hernandez. Stop talking, please.

- I'm Mr. Lopez's attorney. - We got that.

I see my client's still under arrest.

- For now. - Then this little Q&A is over.

Just call ICE. Have me deported.

- We're not gonna do that. - Why not?

You deport me back to Mexico,

they'll track me down, they'll kill me,

end of your problems and mine.

Who is "they"?

Miguel Lopez? Jorge Diaz?

I don't know Diaz.

He's the guy who owned the apartment.

The guy whose skull you fractured.

I...

I didn't want to call the police.

- It wasn't personal. - Not like Miguel.

Did you know Miguel would be at that club?

- No. - So it was happenstance?

You just ran into the guy who supposedly trafficked you

five years ago?

It was him.

I didn't want any of this, I...

I didn't ask for any of this.

Could have walked away.

I can never walk away.

If I try to run or tell anyone

what happened to me, they kill me.

It's a waste of time, talking to you.

No.

We can't help you if you don't talk.

Thank you. Yes, as soon as you can.

That was the Buckleys.

They're en route from Connecticut.

They've hired a lawyer for Lourdes.

Do they know anything about her story?

They said they had no idea.

- Anything on Miguel? - Not much.

A lawyer showed up and shut us down.

Miguel didn't call him. He could have been connected

- to the cartel. - But we did confirm

that Lopez was living in Portland in 2013.

- I believe Lourdes. - I know.

But she can't just take an NYPD lieutenant,

hold her hostage, and walk away.

What happened to her was a thousand times worse.

If we can prove it.

Carisi, I was there.

I saw the scars. I heard her story.

Lieutenant, I am not saying that she wasn't trafficked.

I'm not saying she wasn't abused.

But was it Miguel?

Is... is it not possible

that he just looked like a coyote?

I don't know.

Liv, you've been dealing with enough.

- I'm driving you home. - That's not necessary, Fin.

There's no discussion.

I'll wait for you at the elevator.

Benson.

Uh... Okay, thank you.

What is it?

The hospital just called.

Jorge Diaz?

Died on the operating table.

What does this mean for Lourdes?

I have to charge her with murder.

People versus Lourdes Vega.

- Good morning, Mr. Stone. - Your Honor.

I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure

of seeing you in my courtroom, Mr. Rojas.

When I heard the circumstances

of this case, I was compelled to offer my services.

Lourdes Vega is not the criminal actor here.

She is a victim of human trafficking, rape, worse.

No disrespect, but let's just stick to the matter at hand, okay?

How does your client plead on the charges of...

Assault, kidnapping, attempted murder,

- and manslaughter? - Not guilty.

I assume the people request remand?

- We do. - My client

- needs protective custody. - Why is that?

She is a potential witness in a RICO case

against the Mexican Cartels.

These animals, they... they kidnap,

torture, murder, and mutilate with impunity.

Mr. Stone.

I'm not aware of any pending case,

Your Honor. But in any event,

we can put her in solitary in Rikers.

Her life has already been threatened.

She's not safe in institutional incarceration.

I'll take this under advisement,

pending the D.A.'s recommendation.

You'll get back to me, Mr. Stone?

- Yes, Your Honor. - All right, next case.

Miguel Lopez is a trafficker.

Do you have any evidence of that,

- other than Lourdes' word? - Not yet, but I will.

Until then, my hands are tied.

So Miguel walks,

and you're putting his victim on trial.

I offered a deal. It was refused.

- So drop the charges. - Not for murder.

Even if I could, she would be deported.

- Is that what you want? - No, it's not.

But if she agrees to testify in a trafficking case,

she will be granted asylum

and go into witness protection.

An inmate at Rikers

threatened to skin her alive.

That has to come from the cartels.

We can get her into protective custody.

At least until the trial is over.

But I have to drop the charges against Miguel.

So he can run back to Mexico.

We don't know he's gonna do that.

We don't know he's anything other

than what he says he is: a website designer.

With business associates

who use hidden cameras

to transmit on the dark net.

They are hiding something.

Then find me a reason to charge Miguel or turn him over to the Feds

or the Mexican Federales or all of the above.

_

We're good to go, Room 6.

What kind of protection is she going to have?

Plain-clothes officer, 24/7.

One officer.

We don't have unlimited resources.

She's a potential federal witness.

Not until we have a case, she isn't.

My client's told you everything she knows.

She's been cooperating. What difference does it make?

They'll never be able to prove it, and I'll be dead before then anyway.

I know it seems hopeless,

but I'm telling you, we have made cases

against sex traffickers.

What more can I do?