All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S19E24._eng

.

- 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.

- I don't.

♪

- 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.

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.

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.

- 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.

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.

You deport me back to Mexico,

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

end of your problems
and mine.

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.

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.

- The hospital just called.

- Died on the operating table.

What does this mean
for Lourdes?

- I have to charge her
with murder.

♪

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.

- 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.

- 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.

They'll never be able
to prove it,

and I'll be dead
before then anyway.

- I--I know
it seems hopeless,

but I'm telling you,
we have made cases

against sex traffickers.

- We need to back up
your story.

- You never said anything
to the Buckleys?

- No, of course not.

Miguel was the one
who put the ad on Craigslist.

He made me say
I was a student

with an expired visa.

He said if I said anything
to the Buckleys,

that I would be dead.

- Does Lourdes have
any friends, any family?

- I don't know.
She never had any visitors.

She rarely made any calls.

Hey!

- Mommy,
when is Lourdes coming home?

- Oh, soon, uh--
Give us a minute.

Why don't you go
turn on the TV, okay?

- I miss Lourdes.
- I know, honey.

Both my kids,
they're very attached.

- I can imagine.

Lourdes lived with your family
for five years.

She never talked about herself?

- No.
Now I know why.

I-I guess I never asked.

We cared about her,
but...

- But she was the help.

- God, that sounds
so horrible.

- Uh...

The blonde,
I think her name is Ingrid.

She's a nanny
for the family next door.

The dark haired one, I--
I don't know who that is.

- No, I don't know her.
- Lourdes,

- Lourdes,
there were two photos

in your room.

- I'm sorry.
I just don't want

the family she works for
to find out.

She was trafficked?

Just like you?

We gotta talk to her,
Lourdes.

Unless...

Unless you want Miguel

walking around free
for the rest of his life.

never paying
for what he did to you,

what he did
to those other girls.

Hey.

Where--

Where was this picture taken?

In Central Park?

- So Lourdes said
that they would meet

at Tavern on the Green,
get the kids an ice cream

before they'd
cross the park

every day after school
around 3:30.

- It's about that now.
- Hang on.

Is that her?

'Scuse me!

- Hi, Maria.

Can we talk to you
for a second?

- I didn't do anything.

- Oh, no, you're not
in any trouble.

We want to talk to you
about Lourdes Vega.

- I'm sorry,
I can't talk to you--

- This'll just take one second,
just one second.

Maria,
you knew Lourdes

from--from Texas,
from Mexico.

- It was a long time ago.

I want to forget
about that time.

I'm happy now,

better than in Tenancingo.

Please do not call
immigration.

- No, no, no,
that's not why we're here.

We wouldn't do that.
- Maria,

we need your help
to identify somebody.

- Okay,
do you know this man?

Was he the trafficker?

At the safe house
in Texas?

- No.

Because Lourdes told me
what he did

to Estella
and to Lucita.

- Yes, I knew them.

- Okay, can you look
one more time?

Do you recognize this man?

- I have never seen him before
in my life.

I'm sorry, I have to go.
- Please--

.

- Okay.
So this other nanny, Maria,

she denies knowing Miguel.

Maybe this is a case
of mistaken identity.

- Or more likely,

Maria is terrified
of the cartels

like Lourdes.

Look, going public,
taking this to trial,

you're putting her in danger.

- I offered them a deal.
I can't make her accept it.

- Lourdes did not intend
to kill anyone.

- She intended
to cold-cock Jorge Diaz.

What happens after that
is on her.

- Mr. Stone,
this just came

from Santino Rojas' office.
- Thank you.

Well, I hope you know
a good shrink.

Rojas is asserting
an insanity defense.

- Las mariposas.

The monarch butterflies.

Millions of them.

They fly from America

to the Mexican mountains
every fall.

And if you look up
to the sky,

it's like looking at...

Beautiful orange
and black angels,

hovering over your head,
arguing about who to bless.

Then in the summers,
they're gone.

Back to America.

It's silly, I know.

But I used to imagine
a little girl

in Boston

or New York,

looking at my butterflies
and smiling.

I tried to picture them
when Miguel was raping me.

- Nothing.

It was the cold,
dark sky.

The moon was full.

It was like
a perfectly round circle,

cut out of a sheet
of blackness.

- What was on the other side
of that sheet?

Heaven?

Now when I look at the sky,

it's just a big,
lifeless rug.

- That day you had...

Miguel tied up.

You left him
for a few minutes.

- I...

I went to the terrace
because I couldn't breathe.

- Do you remember
what you were thinking?

- I wanted him dead.

- What stopped you
from killing him?

- No.
- Scared.

- You have a right to be.
- Stupid.

- Of course not.

- Those butterflies...

They only live
four to five weeks.

The ones that live
near my mountain in March?

They aren't the same ones
that end up back here in June.

They don't make it.

- In my opinion,
Lourdes Vega is suffering

from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder.

- Did she know
what she was doing was wrong?

- She did.

- Just to be clear,
Dr. Olivette,

at the time
of the alleged crime,

was the defendant delusional?
- No.

- Thank you.
- You are aware,

aren't you, Doctor,
that the prosecution's

key witness,
Mr. Miguel Lopez,

will testify
that he has never met

Miss Vega before?

- That's what I've been told.

- If one person not only
misidentifies another,

but insists
on that mistaken identity

despite all facts
to the contrary,

would you say
the former is delusional?

- If she insisted
that the latter

was God or the Devil, yes,

that would be
medically delusional.

- The Devil.

Huh.

Might that include
a man who burned her

and raped her
over and over again?

- Objection.

- Just something to consider.

Withdrawn.

- Well, going back
to my apartment

was--
was her idea.

My place was being painted,

so we went
to my associate's place.

He was out of town.

And, uh,
so I was staying there.

Before I knew it,
she hit me

with the butt of her gun,
tied me to a chair,

burned my face,

and threatened to kill me.

- When you refer
to you associate,

that would be Jorge Diaz.

- Yes.

He, uh...

He...

He came back
from his trip early.

And, uh,
now he's dead.

Because of her.

- Thank you.

- Mr. Lopez,

you testify
that you travelled

to Mexico City
several times a year.

Isn't that right?
- That's right.

To visit my grandmother.

I've been going there
since I was a little boy.

- Never had any issue
reentering the United States?

- Well,
my mother brought me here

when I was
eight months old.

- That's right.
- But DACA wasn't implemented

until 2012.

That means all those years
prior to 2012,

you travelled back and forth
to Mexico illegally?

- Sure, but...

It was no big deal
un--until recently.

- In other words,
you have no regard

for our laws, do you?
- Objection.

- Sustained.

- Did you pay your taxes
before 2012?

- Yes.

- You had a fake
Social Security number.

- I paid my taxes.

- But you committed a crime.

- Technically.

- So...

"Technically" you lied.

You lied to your employer,
you lied

to the United States
government--

- Objection.
- Overruled.

- So why should we
believe you now,

when you claim
to have never met

Miss Vega before?

Why should we believe you
when you say

you didn't rape
and torture her?

- Your Honor!

- That's enough, Mr. Rojas.

- Nothing further,
Your Honor.

- All I'm saying
is that I--

I won't make
a very good witness.

- Did Lourdes Vega
point a gun at you?

- Yes, but--
- Did she prevent you

from leaving that apartment?

- Yes.
- You will do fine.

- And what happens
when Rojas asks me

what went on
between Lourdes and Miguel?

- Legally, it's irrelevant.

- Maybe it means that
whoever's less guilty wins.

- You're right
to have ambivalent feelings

about this case--
- No, no, you're wrong,

there's nothing ambivalent
about this.

- What if Miguel wasn't
the coyote who raped her?

- He's the guy!

Do you have any evidence
that he is the trafficker?

- I don't know how
to get through to you.

- Your certitude
is a good thing, Liv.

Hell, it may even be noble.

Unfortunately, the law--

Please, just stop.

I've, uh--

I've heard the lecture before.

- Maybe, then,
you should listen.

- Maybe you should listen.

Lourdes was raped,

her entire being--

her past, her present,
and most importantly,

her future--
negated.

- That doesn't entitle her
to seek revenge.

- But it does entitle her

to reclaim
what was once hers.

And if revenge
is part of that, then...

Then so be it.

- You don't believe that.

- I believe that
the wrong person is on trial.

I have a kid.

Nice bar.

You know,
where I'm from,

we only have
two types of vodka,

cheap and cheaper.

I'm here for a funeral.

My brother.

- I'm sorry.

- I loved Jorge...

As much as you
love your sister,

I'm sure.

Pamela,
if I'm not mistaken.

- You do realize I'm
an Assistant District Attorney?

- And that's why
we're talking, Mr. Stone.

Mm.

And that's why
you're gonna drop this case.

Lourdes will get deported,
and then...

Ourjustice system
will take over.

.

- The defendant,
Lourdes Vega,

had Officer Montero
at gunpoint.

She said
that she would shoot

if I didn't drop my weapon,
so I did.

And she did not shoot.

- Officer Montero and I
were handcuffed but unhurt.

Please describe
his physical condition.

- He was alive.

I'm...

not a doctor.

- Permission to treat
the witness as hostile,

Your Honor?
- Go ahead.

- True or false, Lieutenant:

Mr. Diaz was tied up,

unconscious,
and bleeding from his head.

- Look, the defendant
didn't intend--

- Move to strike.
- Granted.

- Let's try
one more time, Lieutenant.

Was Mr. Diaz
bleeding from his head?

- Um, yes.

- Did Ms. Vega threaten
to shoot Miguel Lopez?

- She didn't intend--
- Your Honor.

- Just answer the question,
Lieutenant.

- She said that
she would shoot him.

- She said it several times,
didn't she?

- Yes.

- Thank you,
Lieutenant.

No more questions.

- Lieutenant Benson,
you spent several hours

with the defendant,
Lourdes Vega.

- Yes, I did.
- In your experience

as an SVU detective,
was her affect consistent

with PTSD?
- Without a doubt.

- Specifically, PTSD
a rape victim might experience

after being triggered
by an encounter

with her rapist?

- Yes.
- And severe symptoms

of PTSD caused by rape
and physical assault

can include flashbacks,
impulse control, hyper-arousal.

Almost a form

of psychosis, correct?

- It is consistent
with my experience

in these situations.

- Thank you,
Lieutenant.

- The people rest,
Your Honor.

- Jorge Diaz's brother
threatened your sister.

Why didn't you tell me?
- I--

I thought I could handle it.
I am handling it.

- Yeah, she's fine, I--

Westchester PD is aware.
State troopers are aware.

I drove up
to the facility last night.

It's on lockdown.
There's armed officers

at her door
and in the lobby--

- This is the cartels,
you realize that?

- This is New York City,
not Mexico.

We don't drop charges
because of ultimatums

from organized crime.
- Okay.

Does Jack McCoy know?

- No.

He'd make me recuse myself.

Look, judges and D.A.s,

they get threats all the time.
They are rarely acted on.

Okay, I'm gonna pull
security footage

from the bar,
from the street cams.

Maybe we'll get a hit
on facial recognition.

And I'm having Fin and Carisi
drive up to South Salem.

- I always carried a gun.

I was afraid
the men who trafficked me

would come back,

and, this time,
sell me as a prostitute.

- So what happened
when you and Miguel Lopez

went back
to the apartment?

- He kissed me.

His hands
were all over me.

I felt the horror...

I felt like...

I was in the dirt in Texas
where he raped me.

And that's when I decided
to pull out my gun

and demand
he admit his crimes.

- Eventually, yes.
He did.

He admitted
to raping me.

To cutting me.

To burning me.

This.

He burned me
with his cigars.

He laughed.
He drank tequila.

He raped me
over and over.

He did whatever he wanted
with me.

I was trapped.
I was helpless.

- And that's how you felt,

facing the man
who had tormented you?

- I was suffocating.

I-I felt
like I was dying.

I-I couldn't think clearly.

I-I wanted
the pain to end,

but I didn't know
how to end it.

That's when
Lieutenant Benson...

She saved me.
She brought me back.

She brought me back
to my senses.

Back to reality.

- Yes, I cut you
with my pocket knife.

I burned you
with my cigar.

- So the burn scares
on Lourdes' chest

are clearly made
by a cigar.

Only, in the apartment,

Lourdes never mentioned cigars.

Every other detail, the--
Texas, tequila,

the dirt floor--
she said first.

- He claims
he was just repeating

what she said,
what she wanted to hear.

- So how did he know
about the cigars?

- You're serious.

- Yes, I'm serious.

- It won't hold up in court.

- Miguel Lopez raped
and tortured Lourdes.

She's not mistaken.

His confession to her,

his confession to me,
was real.

- It's not on tape.
- I was there.

I heard it!

This is my word!

- You are not thinking clearly.

You are choosing to believe
what you want to believe.

- Oh, my God.

- Yeah, Fin.

- She's gone.

They took her.

They took your sister.
I'm sorry.

.

- Our security
is usually very good.

Oh, my God,
the patients--

- No, all the patients
except for one

have been accounted for.

- They made me take them

to her room
before they locked me

in the supply closet
with the rest of the staff.

- Uh, let's see.
There were three that I saw.

Hispanic.
They were polite,

except for the guns,
and professional.

They took our phones
so we couldn't call for help.

- It looks like
they took her alive.

- Bad news,
they got an almost

three hour jump on us.
- We need a copy of this.

- If I knew anything,
I would tell you.

It's okay.

Do you remember Miguel
mentioning another house

or an apartment
that Jorge might have used?

- Why would he say
anything to me?

- I don't know,
maybe you noticed a--

a photo, or--
or a calendar,

or some marks
on a notepad.

- The only thing I saw
was the hate in Miguel's eyes.

- You're not...giving me...
anything.

I used to be on your side.

I used to understand why
you did what you did,

but now--
What can I do?

- You can cut a deal
with Stone.

- Perhaps you've spoken enough,
Detective.

- These men--

They run the cartels.

They won't think twice
about killing me!

- And we can do our best
to protect you!

You know, if you cooperate
with us, we can--

we can offer you asylum,
Lourdes!

- I heard stories.

I watched shows on television
about the risks girls take

when crossing the border.

It was worth it to me.

I was willing to hide
from Border Patrol.

To crawl through the desert
if I had to,

to go without food or water
for days.

I was willing to be shoved
like an animal

in the back of a van.

I was willing to take it
from Miguel.

Anything to be an American.

And I'd be
a good American, too.

I'd work my way up
from the bottom.

All I wanted was a chance.

I went through hell and back
to get here, Detective.

And what did Miguel do?

Su mamita
brought him here

when he was a baby,
on a bus!

And he can stay.

He gets to be
a real American

because your president
signs a piece of paper.

And me?

I will always be an illegal.

And now I have to die,

because I wanted to be
what he was given for free.

Tell Mr. Stone
I'll take his deal.

- Yeah, yeah, sure.
Blame me, why not?

Blame me
for anything that happens

to any woman
in the city.

I've never met this Pam!

- Just like
you never met Lourdes.

- That's right!
- Okay.

So why don't you tell us
about Jorge Diaz's brother?

I've never met him.

- Well, that must mean
that you're pretty far down

on the cartel
daisy

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

- Cards on the table,
Miguel.

Mr. Stone has the DEA

and the Federal Trafficking
Task Force

in his speed dial
right now.

- I'm happy for him.
- These people on the other end

of my speed dial,
they're gonna ask me

how helpful you've been.

And I'm certainly
not opposed to lying.

Even if my friends
have very big mouths.

- And Mr. Stone's lies
are gonna travel very quickly

to your compadres,
so my advice to you

is to get your affairs
in order.

- Screw this!

Okay.

Okay.

You're free to go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

My advice to you,
though,

is to watch your back.

- I don't have any idea
what happened to that girl.

It's not like Diego
consulted with me.

- She attacked me,

for crying out loud!

I'm not a bad person.

I--

You don't have any idea.

I went to college.
I have a skill.

But ten years ago,
who's going to hire me?

Huh?

Sure, I could--

I could wash dishes.
- Mm-hmm.

- Mow lawns.

But I'm
a damn good programmer!

Ten years ago,
nobody gave a damn!

- I don't give a damn
right now.

- Jorge said
all I had to do

was drive a truck.

Hey, you know,
I'm Mexican, right?

I can do that.
It's in my blood.

- And the girls
were already there,

so you figured...

You might as well rape them.

- There are the weak

and there are the strong.
- And you were the strong.

- Yes!
Yes!

I could have anyone I wanted.

For a thousand miles,
I was their god.

They were mine

until I dumped them
in the warehouse,

and went back
to get a new batch.

- And you weren't scared
that Lourdes would mention it

to the Buckleys?

- That warehouse.

That warehouse
where you left the girls,

where is it?

.

- Six girls, maybe more.
Under armed guard.

- She's alive.

- Listen to me.
Le ESU take the lead.

We don't want anyone
to start shooting.

- Don't shoot!

- Keys!
- In the desk.

- Come here, it's okay.
It's okay.

Go, go, go, vaya.
- Go, go, come on, come on.

Come on, come on.
- Vaya, vaya.

- Let the girl go,
Diego!

- What,
so you can shoot me?

- Nobody wants to hurt you.

Then drop your guns!

- Lieutenant Benson, SVU.
- Stand back.

- Let me talk to him.
- I said, stand back.

- Peter!

Peter!

Put the guns down
or she's dead!

- Hi!

Peter!

- Hold fire! Hold fire!

- Pam, stay with me.

Pam, stay with me.

Pam?
Pam! Pam!

- Oh, my God.
- Pam! Pam, stay with me!

Can you hear me?
Pam!

Shh, shh.

Pam--
Medic!

Stay with me,
no, no--

stay with me,
stay with me--

Pam...

They're gonna come after me!

- Mr. Stone
is a very good man,

and he's talking
to the Feds.

And when you testify,
hopefully you're going to

get asylum.

And go into
witness protection.

- I--
I'll be all alone.

- No.

No, honey.

You're gonna be free.

Yes.

- You're gonna be free.

- Yes.
Yes.

- Thanks to Miguel,

the feds rounded up

all his associates
on both sides of the border.

- That's good.

- Peter, I'm--

I'm so sorry.

- I was nine...

playing stick ball
with my buddies

in the schoolyard.

Pam showed up
with her--

A bloody lip.

She said Billy Collier
pushed her down the stairs.

I beat the living hell
out of him.

- Peter...

You have to know...

That there was nothing

you could have done.

Nothing.

- The last thing

Pam said was...

Peter...

.

♪