Law & Order Special Victims Unit s27e16 Episode Script
Vivid
1
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.
[LAUGHING]
[THUDDING, SHATTERING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
Hey!
What the hell? That's my car!
Hey, don't come any closer!
- Look what you did!
- He said stand back!
Wha [GRUNTS]
- [SIREN WAILING]
- Run, Harrison!
[TIRES SCREECH]
[BAT CLATTERS]
Police!
NYPD!
Don't move.
Put your hands on the car!
- Let's go.
- Margot
Quiet!
Are you all right? Do
you need an ambulance?
No, I'm I'm okay.
What happened?
Uh, I just ca
came out and found
them messing up m
- my car.
- Any idea why?
I mean,
I guess that.
♪
I take it you're Zac.
I just think it's important
to believe victims.
Well, I couldn't agree more.
But are you saying
that you're a victim?
I'm saying when people
speak up, nobody listens.
I'm listening.
- Margot, I'm all ears.
- [SCOFFS]
No, you're gonna say
what everyone else says.
What was she wearing?
Was she drinking?
Okay, Margot, please.
Just yes or no.
Were you a victim of sexual assault?
You see?
You're not listening.
Look, this all got out of hand.
Nobody intended for
anybody to get hurt.
Yeah, kind of hard to
buy that when you show up
with a baseball bat, Harrison.
Margot said it was just a precaution.
What else did Margot say?
That it's important to take a stand.
And it is.
And that we should
believe women, and I do.
You always do what Margot tells you?
She's very, very smart.
And she cares about the world,
and justice.
And-and she's
and she's smart.
And she told you
that Zac was a rapist?
I am not a rapist.
I don't even know what
they're talking about.
You've never met either of them?
No, but a couple days ago,
I started getting all
these DMs on my socials.
They found my work email.
Total strangers saying
I raped somebody.
Zac, what I need you to focus on
is why they'd get this idea about you.
Man, I don't know.
[STAMMERING] They're crazy?
You know, mistaken identity?
I-I don't even know
who's saying I did that.
Margot, this is not a trick question.
It's yes or no.
Is the victim a friend
of yours or not?
What if she's not?
Do we have to be besties?
Oh, my God, you
you don't have to be anything.
I don't know how to
get through to you.
I cannot move forward
with this investigation
until I have a name.
Who is this victim you are avenging?
Like, a name?
Yeah, exactly, like a name.
I don't actually know
her real-life name.
I never met her.
You never had one
conversation with her?
No, but it doesn't matter.
What matters is we found
her rapist, and you didn't.
Okay, Margot, I need you to give me
something to
investigate, just one thing.
Could be anything.
I need you to give me one thing.
♪
Her name is Jaded Ember.
She's a VTuber on Twitch.
Like a virtual streamer.
I don't expect anyone
to believe me or help me.
I just wanted to say it out loud.
The guy who raped me,
he's gonna get away with it.
But maybe someone who's
going through something like this,
maybe they'll hear me
and have a different ending.
I don't know.
It would be awesome
if this helped someone.
Otherwise, what's even the point?
I mean, you'd have to
be crazy to ignore that.
How could we just not try to help?
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
And we think he's casing the houses
until the occupants leave.
So I'm assigning an
additional unit to Sector David.
Questions?
All right, then let's focus on
quality stops and good collars.
And make sure your body
cams are up and running.
Be professional,
respectful, and everyone
comes back in one piece.
All right, thanks. Dismissed.
Not one officer checking their phone.
They must like you.
Well, there may or may
not be a rumor going around
that anyone not paying
attention to the roll
gets zero OT.
You're laying down the hammer.
Guess I'm a natural.
I don't like this.
There's nothing to like.
It is what it is.
Yeah, but can I still be mad for you?
Ah, shoot, I got a budgeting
meeting coming up.
But, tell Griff if he double parks
in front of the precinct again,
I'm gonna have his ass towed.
I'm not gonna lie.
That interview from last
night kind of broke my brain.
Yeah, I feel like I know
less after talking to them
than I did after reading the
two-sentence police report.
I had to cut Zac loose.
He said he'd stay in town.
Yeah, we got nothing to hold him on.
- What'd I miss?
- A whole lot of questions.
Okay, so I found the rest of that clip
from Jaded Ember's Twitch site.
She's got a ton of fans on GameCast.
Mostly livestreams herself
playing video games.
But here's the part of the video where
she talks about being raped.
I was in therapy when
it all came back to me.
It's so crazy how your
brain can just forget things
that are, like, too traumatic.
But I can feel him
pressing down on my neck,
telling me to relax.
I could hardly breathe.
I couldn't scream.
I
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
I don't know.
This sounds crazy.
I hope you guys believe me.
So it's a recovered memory.
Yeah, from someone who
won't reveal their identity.
- It's tricky.
- Did she identify her rapist?
No, nothing.
No name, no details.
But our vigilante Margot claims that
her detective skills
are so incredible that
- they have cracked the case.
- Mm.
Well, Zac is also a gamer.
He's got a big following on Twitch.
He and Jaded Ember were dating.
But Zac claims they
never met, only online.
They had a big public ugly
breakup about a year ago.
Her fans just jumped
to their own conclusions.
It seems real thin.
Well, how many of her
fans think that he's a rapist?
- Oh, most of them.
- So
He could be looking
at more of her fans
tracking him down and
harassing him, or worse.
So let's get a subpoena
for her identity.
That way, if she makes a complaint,
we have something to investigate.
April Deieso?
Uh, yeah?
You're Jaded Ember.
What's this about?
We're from Special Victims Unit.
Can we talk to you for a sec?
I don't recognize them.
Yeah, I know Zac.
He's a dick and a terrible boyfriend,
but he didn't rape me.
Well, thanks for clearing that up.
How bad was it?
Is he okay?
He was shaken up, but, he's fine.
You made some pretty
serious allegations
on that live stream.
We are sorry that
that happened to you,
and we would like to investigate.
No.
I know that it sounds kind of weird,
that I'm saying I was raped,
but I don't really remember.
And I-I know how
crazy that sounds
But it's not crazy.
So, April, it's very
common for victims
to block out significant
details from their assault.
Right, but I only
remember bits and pieces,
and I don't wanna be,
like, quizzed on everything.
You said you remembered
this while you were in therapy.
Can you talk to us more about that?
I
I don't think I can.
What do you mean?
I was on a psychedelic.
Okay.
It was a clinical trial for PTSD.
It's this drug called protryptamine.
Okay.
No, I
I really shouldn't have said anything.
I know how it sounds.
Nobody's gonna believe me.
We're here because we think that
there is something to investigate.
There's not.
I don't remember enough.
You won't be able to find him.
Let us try.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
So the clinical trial has
been over for almost a year.
And the drug is being
tested for the treatment
of PTSD, anxiety, depression.
And April had no
memory of this assault
before taking a hallucinogen?
No, she doesn't.
But it's
It's not a hallucinogen.
It's not like LSD or DMT.
It activates serotonin receptors,
increases prolactin, which
boosts about every happy
hormone you can think of.
And this makes you recover memories?
Or invent them?
Look, I gotta ask you,
are you sure that this
assault actually happened?
Well, we don't know yet,
but April believes that it did.
And now so do a lot
of internet warriors.
So we're just
We're
trying to get to the truth.
All right, look, even
if April recalls details,
you're gonna need
a lot more than that.
The issue here, she wasn't aware
this crime happened
before taking a psychedelic.
Even if this treatment
is gaining legitimacy?
Well, it doesn't matter.
People v. Hughes, People v. Tunstall,
both of these cases evaluated memories
that were recovered through hypnosis,
and the courts have repeatedly found
that testimony needs to be supported
by pre-hypnotic recollection, okay?
They're absolutely
going to apply that here.
So, this is dead in the water?
You can use this
statement to ID a suspect,
but then you're gonna
need independent evidence.
You're gonna need a confession.
Well, you know, it's a clinical trial.
They've gotta have records,
so maybe there's more details
- in the sessions.
- Those are not gonna be admissible.
But, it's a very good place to start.
I'll see if I can get
permission from April
to talk with the therapist.
Protryptamine is both plant-derived
and chemically stabilized,
making it more compatible
with our brain chemistry
than most psychedelics.
And the vast majority
of our participants,
they no longer meet the
diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
I won't be going back to
traditional treatment again.
So it's a miracle drug?
I know it all sounds a little kooky
pop a pill, listen to music,
lay down in a dark room,
and see what feelings come up,
but, we have seen what
it could do for people.
Which one of you treated April?
We both did.
At the
At the same time?
Is that typical?
It's protocol, and necessary.
I mean, the sessions can bring
up strong, sometimes difficult
emotions, and can last hours.
What were you treating her for?
PTSD.
At the time, we believed
her symptoms, hyperarousal,
numbness, hypervigilance
all stemmed from growing
up in an unstable household
with an alcoholic mother.
You think it's possible it actually
stemmed from sexual assault?
Obviously, we don't know for certain.
But whether or not an event
happened is unimportant.
Seems it would be very important.
Detectives, we're not in the business
of investigating the
accuracy of a memory
or catching criminals.
We are in the business of healing.
We explore the meaning
behind the memory, true or not.
Yes or no.
You think she was raped?
No, I don't.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
I pulled her session files.
Take a look yourselves.
I trust that you'll protect
both April, and our work.
Thank you.
♪
Dr. Severson, got a minute?
Uh, unfortunately, no.
I'm late for an appointment. Sorry.
We'll walk with you,
and then maybe you
could tell us what you
wouldn't say up there
in front of your partner.
Uh, there's really
not much more to say.
That's fine.
We'll just ask more
questions, widen the net,
involve a lot more people.
You know, that won't
impact the clinical trials at all.
Nah, 'cause you know what
pharmaceutical companies
really love?
Police investigations.
Look, I'll start by saying,
I don't mean to
disparage my colleague.
I have a lot of
respect for Dr. Catmull.
He's worked in
psychedelics a long time,
which may be the reason
he's a little too invested
in pushing protryptamine
over the finish line.
And if it gets stalled,
all that research money
goes down the drain.
It's not about the money.
It's about helping people.
Jonah wasn't wrong
to question recovered
memories in any setting.
Sometimes they're metaphors.
But he didn't give
you the whole truth.
April has a history of
using psychedelics
about five years ago.
It wasn't revealed
in the initial interview.
It came out in therapy.
But that should have
disqualified her from the study.
Why didn't it?
Because she's a success story.
Jonah wanted it in.
So what does that have
to do with her memory
of being assaulted?
Jonah omitted the time
period when April was using,
when she was meeting a lot of men
and blacking out on a regular basis.
You think that's when this happened?
I can't say for sure
it was rape, but
Something happened to that girl.
♪
April was trying to put
together a list of the men
that she dated five years ago,
but her memory's spotty.
Can you remember who
you dated five years ago?
Well, we are not talking
about me, thank you very much.
What do we got?
Combing through dating app matches,
and cross-checking
names with databases.
Liv.
"No psychedelic is a magic bullet."
For this writer.
For others, it's the new frontier
for mental health medicine.
Some studies say psychedelics
can assist in memory recall,
but others say that it impairs it.
I had a psych professor at Fordham
who had a section on how
psychedelics affect the brain.
She can break it down for me.
Good.
Go talk to her.
So how does protryptamine
make you remember things?
It's more that it modulates
the brain's fear response.
Our brain protects us
from traumatic memories.
And a psychedelic like protryptamine
can allow you to recall those events
with less shame and judgment.
For me, psychedelics weren't
so much about memory.
I just felt very
connected and present.
You've done psychedelics?
I might have had a
crisis of faith or two
that required some
highly classified trips
- to Oaxaca a few years back.
- [LAUGHS] Ah.
You're not gonna turn me in, are you?
Yeah, the DA's on its way.
It wasn't a clinical trial, of course.
She was a lovely woman, luckily.
You're very vulnerable in that state.
I'm glad to see the practice is
becoming more regulated now.
There have been problems?
It's not just protryptamine.
Sex abuse is a known
problem in psychedelics,
even the naturally occurring ones
like ayahuasca or psilocybin.
Mm.
All those happy hormones,
they mess with your
personal boundaries.
They trick you into thinking
you're okay with things
- when you're not.
- Which is why there's two therapists
make sure nobody crosses a line.
The first time, I was
totally freaked out.
Okay.
I didn't sleep at
all the night before.
And I got there, I took the pill,
and, like, immediately fell asleep.
- Oh.
- When I woke up,
I
Felt
Like I
Understood what love meant.
- Wow.
- [LAUGHS]
Not-not, like, being
in love, but just how
everything and everyone is all one.
It's
It's hard to describe.
I know I probably sound nuts.
No, it sounds kind of, um, incredible.
So when did you remember the assault?
The third time.
Okay.
They had me put an eye mask on,
and it makes things
a lot more intense.
It felt so vivid,
this strong feeling of
Violation.
I could actually feel it
happening in my body.
I was crying.
Did you tell your therapists?
One of them was sitting with me.
He was rubbing my back
and my legs, holding me.
Is that a common
practice for your sessions,
the physical touch?
- Y-yeah, I guess so.
- Okay.
It's just that's
That's quite unorthodox,
for a therapist to to
cross that boundary.
What happened afterwards?
I went home.
Mm-hmm.
And I could still feel it in
my body the next day
Soreness between my legs,
and my throat, like
somebody had choked me.
They said it wasn't unusual for
the brain to convince the body
that it had really happened.
In my experience,
the opposite is true.
Um
It's the body,
that doesn't lie.
And your body was telling you,
that you had been violated.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
And I think that you were.
But not five years ago.
Have you considered that
maybe you were assaulted during
During your session?
♪
No.
♪
For a long time, I felt really
good about the therapy.
It changed my brain.
It made me more open and optimistic.
And now it just
feels like it got rotten.
Like I'm too sick to be fixed.
That's not true.
You're not too sick to be fixed.
They took advantage of you
when you were vulnerable.
And now they're gonna pay.
♪
Okay, so if the sessions
always had two therapists,
what are we thinking?
Both of them did it?
One of them did it
while the other watched?
Or they weren't always
together all the time.
April doesn't know who was there
because she had a mask over her eyes.
Well, we both know for a fact
they're willing to lie to cover it up.
Catmull fudged the session notes.
Severson sent us on a wild goose chase
looking at five-year-old
Hinge matches.
Catmull has an M.D. and a PhD.
He's been big in the
psychedelics community
since the '90s.
He's a real cheerleader
for its benefits.
He's got no complaints against him.
He did a ton of research
papers on protryptamine therapy.
And I looked into
Catmull's financials.
He's got significant
investments in all of this.
Okay, if protryptamine
gets distribution,
he will make a lot of money.
Hmm.
Severson's a PsyD.
He's new to psychedelics game.
He still has a private practice.
He specializes in complex
trauma, PTSD, EMDR.
No complaints against him either.
He and Catmull started
working together two years ago
for Serolyte Pharmaceuticals.
The parent company is based in Japan.
The U.S. division
developed protryptamine
and is running the trials.
Okay, well, these clinical trials
often record their testing.
So I mean, maybe there's
video of these sessions.
Let's see.
Who's Judd Flannery?
Catmull wrote all of
his papers with the guy.
And then it looks like they stopped
around the time Severson
came into the picture.
I wonder what split 'em up.
Yeah, let's find out.
Dr. Catmull and Dr. Severson
are some of our finest researchers.
Jonah has been with it
from almost the beginning.
- Uh-huh.
- Since they paired up,
their sites consistently report
the best patient scores.
- Why?
- Well, have you ever had any complaints
about either of them?
No.
What kind of complaints?
April Deieso recovered a memory
of being sexually assaulted
during one of her sessions.
We are looking into the possibility
that she was assaulted
during that session.
That's not possible.
April?
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
She was so pleased with
her treatment outcome.
So are these sessions
recorded, Ms. Fuentes?
Yes.
But, given how
sensitive the content is,
I can't turn anything over
without a patient's permission.
Well, I can help you with that.
This is April's consent.
And you should have a
digital copy of that in your inbox.
I can't give you anything
without a subpoena.
All right, we will get a subpoena.
We'll be back.
Save the world,
as long as you have a court order.
Either of you guys
ever take that online quiz
where you put in how many
times a year you visit your parents,
and then it tells you
how much time you got
left with them before they die?
Hard no.
I used to calculate how
much closer I was to death
working at a job I didn't care about,
so one day I just walked.
All those years in medical
school to work in a bike shop?
My dad would have throttled me.
Well, never been happier.
Don't get me wrong,
I love helping people.
I just hated everything else.
Including Catmull?
You know, I thought I
was so lucky when he
asked me to be his research partner.
It didn't take long
to realize he didn't
care much about the science.
Has he been arrested?
Why do you ask?
Dude's a druggie.
I caught him swiping
pills from our inventory.
And I reported him to
my supervisor at Serolyte,
and she said they'd
handle it internally.
- But they never did.
- I don't know.
But there's definitely
this mentality over there
that nothing can stop
the momentum, you know?
You ever see him act
inappropriate with a patient?
You mean, like, sexually?
No, but I wouldn't put
anything past that guy.
A shrink with no empathy?
That's wild.
One time I asked him why
he got into psychedelics.
- You know what he said?
- Huh?
"It's where the money's at."
Judd Flannery was a fresh graduate who
was incompetent and incapable.
That's why I ended the relationship.
Look, for all I know,
he stole the meds.
You think we're on
the hunt for some pills
that went missing two years ago?
We're way beyond that now, Jonah.
Nah, this is about
what you did to April.
[SCOFFS] What are you talking about?
Get her vulnerable and compliant,
assault her, and convince
her it was a hallucination.
- What are you saying, that I
- That you raped your client?
- Yeah, that's what we're saying.
- Absolutely not.
The only question is,
was it a tag-team situation
with you and your partner?
Or was it all his idea?
I leave the session sometimes.
I know I'm not supposed to.
Austin
Austin encouraged me to take breaks.
Sure, sure, sure, sure.
It's always the other guy, isn't it?
I can prove it.
I have videos, everything
we sent to Serolyte.
I've got copies.
Have you watched them?
Because you had a feeling
you knew what was on them,
didn't you?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[APRIL CRYING]
- Let it go.
- No.
- Just relax.
- No, don't touch me.
- Shh.
- No, no, no.
I don't want
[CRYING]
April, you need this.
No.
Please don't.
I I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
No.
Please, no, I don't want it!
Please, stop!
Can you open your thighs for me?
No. Stop!
Okay, that's enough.
There might not be
enough there to prove rape,
but we absolutely have
him on sexual assault.
We're still going
through all the videos,
but Liv, we've already
found two other women
Severson did this to.
Get him.
Three crisis calls this
morning, all before 10:00 a.m.?
- I think I deserve this.
- Dr. Severson.
- Whoa.
- Detectives,
this isn't the best time.
Is it ever?
Get up!
What on Earth are you doing?
- Arresting you, Doc.
- What?
Here, enjoy that.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and
will be used against you.
So I'm gonna start with
the obvious question,
which is, did you forget that
you were being recorded?
Or
Or did you just not care?
[CHUCKLES]
Captain, I can see how
this might seem strange
if you're not versed in this therapy.
- Mm-hmm.
- But
That's what this
therapy looks like.
You assaulted her.
I comforted her.
A person who's taken protryptamine
needs reassurance.
They need someone
there to hold them together,
both mentally and physically.
I have to stop you for a second
because you can't just sit there
and pretend that we didn't
see clearly what is on this video.
You don't have the context.
Are my methods unorthodox?
Absolutely.
But the use of touch,
so long as it's non-sexual,
has been very effective.
You call that there non-sexual?
Yeah?
Do you know what that word means?
Nothing that has transpired
between my clients and myself
has ever been sexual.
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, not for me.
I don't derive any benefit or
pleasure from these sessions.
Yeah, well, neither was she.
She was in tears!
She said "no," "stop," multiple times!
And if I told a surgeon,
"no, don't sew up that
incision you just made,"
- would he stop?
- I think I get it.
So what you're saying
is that sometimes when
a person is feeling vulnerable,
right, they just
They just wanna be held.
Exactly.
The level of this
therapy is so intense,
you have to experience
it to understand.
I think someone like you
would benefit from it, Captain.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Well, that is, uh, so
kind of you to think of me.
Um,
where was Dr. Catmull
during all of this?
Uh, I don't recall exactly.
He may have been on a break.
The other two patients
that got your special,
uh, hands-on care, where
was Dr. Catmull for those?
I would have to check the videos.
He wasn't there.
Every single time.
Honestly, you're real smart, Doctor.
You're smarter than me.
You're smarter than most
people who sit in that chair.
I mean,
creating your own hunting ground
and then hiding
behind a clinical trial,
and then having your victims
sign up for it themselves.
That is, uh
That is brilliant.
- Regular genius.
- But
You're no different
than every other predator.
You know that.
And now everyone else will, too,
because we have it all on video.
♪
Captain Curry.
Executive Officer. Look
at you, rising the ranks.
- Thanks, Chief.
- Here for CompStat?
Yeah, my first one.
Better not be late.
Hey, I'll catch up with you.
Griff.
Hey, Captain.
Wow, you're all dressed up.
Yeah, well, CompStat meeting,
so I had to drag this thing out.
Little, uh, field trip
to the records room?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, Cap asked me to
pull some old case files.
Thinks we might
have a repeat offender.
Hmm.
I didn't hear anything about that.
Yeah.
Well, hey, we miss you up there.
I gotta go.
Hey, I just arraigned Severson, and
You're not gonna believe this,
but he pled to the entire indictment.
- You're kidding.
- The judge gave him 15 years.
For three rapes? [SCOFFS]
Look, Amanda, I'm
not upset about this,
and you shouldn't be either.
This case in no way was
gonna be a slam dunk.
The video was inconclusive.
Even if April and the other
two victims were ready to testify,
they were in an experimental
treatment program.
That was always gonna
be tricky with the jury.
To be honest, I'm
surprised this lawyer
didn't wanna go to trial.
Oh, my God, he's protecting his study.
- From what?
- Scrutiny.
Look, Severson is a creep.
He's a predator.
But he is a true
believer in his therapy.
He'll take the hit so
his company doesn't.
And Serolyte had all
the videos of Severson.
They knew what he was doing.
And they did nothing?
And it's despicable,
but unfortunately,
they don't have a duty to report
So they get off on a technicality?
Come on.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Don't
Don't look at me like that, all right?
For once, I'd like to be able
to stay within my jurisdiction
when it comes to you, Liv.
♪
[SCOFFS]
We can't charge Serolyte criminally.
But we can try to shut 'em down.
♪
Sonny, gotta say, shutting down
an entire corporation
because of one bad apple
doesn't sit well with me.
Serolyte seems to be getting some
good results out of this drug.
Well, I have no issue
with protryptamine,
psychedelics in general, when
they're handled appropriately.
But what I do have an
issue with is poor oversight
and not paying attention when
a doctor assaults his patients.
And that man is going to prison.
But that does nothing to
solve the underlying issue.
Look, their complete lack of oversight
has created the perfect conditions
for this to happen again
with another doctor.
I'm not saying we don't take a look.
But, shutting down the company could
shut down the entire
pursuit of this treatment.
But if you do nothing, then patients
are gonna stay vulnerable.
Look, listen, how about this?
Cross-designate me.
Let me take it on.
[SIGHS]
♪
She said both doctors would
be in the room at all times,
for my protection and theirs.
And did Ms. Fuentes have you sign
a consent form for your sessions
- to be recorded?
- I did.
They said it was for the study,
and no one else would see them.
And I'm assuming
that you did not consent
to either doctor lying
under a blanket with you
and touching your body.
No, absolutely not.
And did Ms. Fuentes or anyone else
from Serolyte Pharmaceuticals
ever reach out to you
about what was on your
recorded video sessions?
No.
Even after Dr. Severson was arrested
for sexually assaulting you?
Not a word.
Thank you, Ms. Deieso.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Ms. Rettstadt, your witness.
Ms. Deieso,
what you endured at
the hands of Dr. Severson
was reprehensible.
And I don't wanna put
you through a long list
of questions, so I'll
be quick, all right?
Okay.
I really just have one.
Did this therapy help you?
I don't know how
I was assaulted.
- Raped.
- I know.
But that's not what I'm asking.
You had been treated for PTSD.
Is that still your diagnosis?
- He's a monster.
- I don't disagree.
He is.
And
According to your
post-clinical trial follow-up,
your PTSD is, medically
speaking, no longer present.
So I'll ask again.
Did it help you?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
When I wake up at night, I
feel like I'm being choked.
I feel hands on me.
Feel him on top of
me over a year later.
I think about what would have happened
if Dr. Severson
hadn't done this to me,
what that life would have been like.
I'll never know.
I just don't want what happened
to me to happen to anyone else.
♪
Ms. Fuentes, your company
has safeguards in place
to prevent sexual abuse, correct?
Yes, we do.
For example, you
require two therapists
to be present for the entire duration
- of every session.
- Correct.
And you also require that each session
- be recorded on video.
- Yes.
But that didn't really stop
Dr. Severson, though, did it?
We were horrified
by his criminal actions.
But to say that one
bad actor is indicative
of our entire company is false.
Right, because you
know for certain that
there was only one bad actor.
You got the videos, right?
So if anything
inappropriate had happened,
well, you would have seen that.
You do record every session,
- don't you, Dr. Fuentes?
- Yes.
And have you ever seen a therapist
leave a session when
they weren't supposed to?
I never saw that.
No?
In all those videos?
That's astonishing.
I mean, how many hours
would you say there are?
- There's gotta be thousands.
- Yes.
And approximately how
many hours of those sessions
did you watch?
I haven't had an
opportunity to review.
You never watch the videos
that you require for the purpose
of protecting your patients?
Me, personally?
No.
Okay, not personally, but who does?
You have to understand.
We keep the videos as records.
We simply don't have the manpower
to review that much footage.
We're a research-focused entity.
Whose primary purpose should have been
to keep your patients safe.
And if you had done your job,
then you would have seen three women,
the very people that you
were supposed to protect,
be assaulted by one of your doctors.
Isn't that true?
Yes.
Nothing further.
Ms. Fuentes, you may step down.
Both counsel, approach.
♪
Ms. Rettstadt, if things keep
going the way they're going,
I'm inclined to rule in favor
of the attorney general's office.
- Your Honor, I
- However,
I also understand
that Serolyte Pharmaceuticals
is at the forefront of a
breakthrough medication
that has the potential
to change the face
of mental health treatment,
perhaps under the right leadership
- Hold on, Your Honor.
- The Serolyte board
would not object to
removing Ms. Fuentes
from her position as CEO, Your Honor.
In that case, I'd be inclined
to deny the attorney general's
application to shut them down.
Your Honor, respectfully, I disagree.
Three women have been
victimized on Serolyte's watch.
Victimized by Dr. Severson,
who's out of the picture.
Did SVU find any other instances
of therapists abusing patients?
No, they did not.
But the potential for abuse is there.
And unless we shut them down
until real changes are made,
it'll stay there.
I admire your passion, Mr. Carisi,
but I don't think
you've made your case.
You're welcome to take an appeal.
Step back.
♪
Well, you went down swinging, Sonny.
I'll give you that.
Yeah, well, thanks
for a spot on the team.
- Any time.
- Take care.
Well, you warned me that we
were punching above our weight.
Yeah, I did.
So you're not gonna give
me the "I told you so" speech?
When I was a kid, my
mom had an abortion.
Nearly killed her Catholic heart,
but the baby would have been born
with all kinds of problems.
All this information came
out about this antidepressant
that she was using off and on.
And I remember this fancy
lawyer, he came to our house,
and he wanted her to
join a class-action lawsuit.
He told us that hundreds of babies
had been born with birth
defects because of that drug.
What did she do?
The class action was
denied certification.
Case never went to trial.
My mom, she
She couldn't afford to file
an individual claim, so
So that was that.
Carisi, Severson is behind bars.
Removing Fuentes is
definitely gonna shake things up.
You didn't really
lose this case today.
Look at you with the pep talk.
Usually I'm the one telling
you that we did all we could.
Well, people change.
What's this?
A few files that you missed.
This one was a killer.
So the witness turned
out to be a fabulist,
just makes up a whole
bunch of details, and then
And then the whole
case fell apart at trial.
- Captain, I can explain what's going
- I don't know why
you're
pulling my old cases.
I suspect it's because
somebody told you to.
So you go ahead, Griff.
You look into anything you want.
Because I don't have any secrets.
And whatever mistakes I've made,
and I'm sure there have been a ton
I stand by.
Wait.
Look at this.
What is that?
It's from a shooting in a bar,
in the Upper West Side in 2001.
Look at it.
Involving a Lieutenant Jimmy Griffin.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
And Detective Kathryn Tynan.
♪
Yeah, you're right, I
was tasked into looking
into your old cases, okay?
And I used that as
cover to dig that up.
♪
What are you planning
on doing with this, Griff?
I'm gonna find out the truth.
And I'm gonna give
that to the commissioner.
I-I don't care what happens to me.
I don't care what happens
to my dad's legacy after this.
Legacy
Like, what the hell does that even mean?
Tynan
I mean, you know this.
Tynan, she's been there for me
Through some very hard times, okay?
I-I cannot take
any of this anymore.
I gotta know.
I gotta know the truth.
This is gonna blow everything up.
♪
Are you ready for that?
No.
Are you?
♪
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.
[LAUGHING]
[THUDDING, SHATTERING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
Hey!
What the hell? That's my car!
Hey, don't come any closer!
- Look what you did!
- He said stand back!
Wha [GRUNTS]
- [SIREN WAILING]
- Run, Harrison!
[TIRES SCREECH]
[BAT CLATTERS]
Police!
NYPD!
Don't move.
Put your hands on the car!
- Let's go.
- Margot
Quiet!
Are you all right? Do
you need an ambulance?
No, I'm I'm okay.
What happened?
Uh, I just ca
came out and found
them messing up m
- my car.
- Any idea why?
I mean,
I guess that.
♪
I take it you're Zac.
I just think it's important
to believe victims.
Well, I couldn't agree more.
But are you saying
that you're a victim?
I'm saying when people
speak up, nobody listens.
I'm listening.
- Margot, I'm all ears.
- [SCOFFS]
No, you're gonna say
what everyone else says.
What was she wearing?
Was she drinking?
Okay, Margot, please.
Just yes or no.
Were you a victim of sexual assault?
You see?
You're not listening.
Look, this all got out of hand.
Nobody intended for
anybody to get hurt.
Yeah, kind of hard to
buy that when you show up
with a baseball bat, Harrison.
Margot said it was just a precaution.
What else did Margot say?
That it's important to take a stand.
And it is.
And that we should
believe women, and I do.
You always do what Margot tells you?
She's very, very smart.
And she cares about the world,
and justice.
And-and she's
and she's smart.
And she told you
that Zac was a rapist?
I am not a rapist.
I don't even know what
they're talking about.
You've never met either of them?
No, but a couple days ago,
I started getting all
these DMs on my socials.
They found my work email.
Total strangers saying
I raped somebody.
Zac, what I need you to focus on
is why they'd get this idea about you.
Man, I don't know.
[STAMMERING] They're crazy?
You know, mistaken identity?
I-I don't even know
who's saying I did that.
Margot, this is not a trick question.
It's yes or no.
Is the victim a friend
of yours or not?
What if she's not?
Do we have to be besties?
Oh, my God, you
you don't have to be anything.
I don't know how to
get through to you.
I cannot move forward
with this investigation
until I have a name.
Who is this victim you are avenging?
Like, a name?
Yeah, exactly, like a name.
I don't actually know
her real-life name.
I never met her.
You never had one
conversation with her?
No, but it doesn't matter.
What matters is we found
her rapist, and you didn't.
Okay, Margot, I need you to give me
something to
investigate, just one thing.
Could be anything.
I need you to give me one thing.
♪
Her name is Jaded Ember.
She's a VTuber on Twitch.
Like a virtual streamer.
I don't expect anyone
to believe me or help me.
I just wanted to say it out loud.
The guy who raped me,
he's gonna get away with it.
But maybe someone who's
going through something like this,
maybe they'll hear me
and have a different ending.
I don't know.
It would be awesome
if this helped someone.
Otherwise, what's even the point?
I mean, you'd have to
be crazy to ignore that.
How could we just not try to help?
♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
And we think he's casing the houses
until the occupants leave.
So I'm assigning an
additional unit to Sector David.
Questions?
All right, then let's focus on
quality stops and good collars.
And make sure your body
cams are up and running.
Be professional,
respectful, and everyone
comes back in one piece.
All right, thanks. Dismissed.
Not one officer checking their phone.
They must like you.
Well, there may or may
not be a rumor going around
that anyone not paying
attention to the roll
gets zero OT.
You're laying down the hammer.
Guess I'm a natural.
I don't like this.
There's nothing to like.
It is what it is.
Yeah, but can I still be mad for you?
Ah, shoot, I got a budgeting
meeting coming up.
But, tell Griff if he double parks
in front of the precinct again,
I'm gonna have his ass towed.
I'm not gonna lie.
That interview from last
night kind of broke my brain.
Yeah, I feel like I know
less after talking to them
than I did after reading the
two-sentence police report.
I had to cut Zac loose.
He said he'd stay in town.
Yeah, we got nothing to hold him on.
- What'd I miss?
- A whole lot of questions.
Okay, so I found the rest of that clip
from Jaded Ember's Twitch site.
She's got a ton of fans on GameCast.
Mostly livestreams herself
playing video games.
But here's the part of the video where
she talks about being raped.
I was in therapy when
it all came back to me.
It's so crazy how your
brain can just forget things
that are, like, too traumatic.
But I can feel him
pressing down on my neck,
telling me to relax.
I could hardly breathe.
I couldn't scream.
I
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
I don't know.
This sounds crazy.
I hope you guys believe me.
So it's a recovered memory.
Yeah, from someone who
won't reveal their identity.
- It's tricky.
- Did she identify her rapist?
No, nothing.
No name, no details.
But our vigilante Margot claims that
her detective skills
are so incredible that
- they have cracked the case.
- Mm.
Well, Zac is also a gamer.
He's got a big following on Twitch.
He and Jaded Ember were dating.
But Zac claims they
never met, only online.
They had a big public ugly
breakup about a year ago.
Her fans just jumped
to their own conclusions.
It seems real thin.
Well, how many of her
fans think that he's a rapist?
- Oh, most of them.
- So
He could be looking
at more of her fans
tracking him down and
harassing him, or worse.
So let's get a subpoena
for her identity.
That way, if she makes a complaint,
we have something to investigate.
April Deieso?
Uh, yeah?
You're Jaded Ember.
What's this about?
We're from Special Victims Unit.
Can we talk to you for a sec?
I don't recognize them.
Yeah, I know Zac.
He's a dick and a terrible boyfriend,
but he didn't rape me.
Well, thanks for clearing that up.
How bad was it?
Is he okay?
He was shaken up, but, he's fine.
You made some pretty
serious allegations
on that live stream.
We are sorry that
that happened to you,
and we would like to investigate.
No.
I know that it sounds kind of weird,
that I'm saying I was raped,
but I don't really remember.
And I-I know how
crazy that sounds
But it's not crazy.
So, April, it's very
common for victims
to block out significant
details from their assault.
Right, but I only
remember bits and pieces,
and I don't wanna be,
like, quizzed on everything.
You said you remembered
this while you were in therapy.
Can you talk to us more about that?
I
I don't think I can.
What do you mean?
I was on a psychedelic.
Okay.
It was a clinical trial for PTSD.
It's this drug called protryptamine.
Okay.
No, I
I really shouldn't have said anything.
I know how it sounds.
Nobody's gonna believe me.
We're here because we think that
there is something to investigate.
There's not.
I don't remember enough.
You won't be able to find him.
Let us try.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
So the clinical trial has
been over for almost a year.
And the drug is being
tested for the treatment
of PTSD, anxiety, depression.
And April had no
memory of this assault
before taking a hallucinogen?
No, she doesn't.
But it's
It's not a hallucinogen.
It's not like LSD or DMT.
It activates serotonin receptors,
increases prolactin, which
boosts about every happy
hormone you can think of.
And this makes you recover memories?
Or invent them?
Look, I gotta ask you,
are you sure that this
assault actually happened?
Well, we don't know yet,
but April believes that it did.
And now so do a lot
of internet warriors.
So we're just
We're
trying to get to the truth.
All right, look, even
if April recalls details,
you're gonna need
a lot more than that.
The issue here, she wasn't aware
this crime happened
before taking a psychedelic.
Even if this treatment
is gaining legitimacy?
Well, it doesn't matter.
People v. Hughes, People v. Tunstall,
both of these cases evaluated memories
that were recovered through hypnosis,
and the courts have repeatedly found
that testimony needs to be supported
by pre-hypnotic recollection, okay?
They're absolutely
going to apply that here.
So, this is dead in the water?
You can use this
statement to ID a suspect,
but then you're gonna
need independent evidence.
You're gonna need a confession.
Well, you know, it's a clinical trial.
They've gotta have records,
so maybe there's more details
- in the sessions.
- Those are not gonna be admissible.
But, it's a very good place to start.
I'll see if I can get
permission from April
to talk with the therapist.
Protryptamine is both plant-derived
and chemically stabilized,
making it more compatible
with our brain chemistry
than most psychedelics.
And the vast majority
of our participants,
they no longer meet the
diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
I won't be going back to
traditional treatment again.
So it's a miracle drug?
I know it all sounds a little kooky
pop a pill, listen to music,
lay down in a dark room,
and see what feelings come up,
but, we have seen what
it could do for people.
Which one of you treated April?
We both did.
At the
At the same time?
Is that typical?
It's protocol, and necessary.
I mean, the sessions can bring
up strong, sometimes difficult
emotions, and can last hours.
What were you treating her for?
PTSD.
At the time, we believed
her symptoms, hyperarousal,
numbness, hypervigilance
all stemmed from growing
up in an unstable household
with an alcoholic mother.
You think it's possible it actually
stemmed from sexual assault?
Obviously, we don't know for certain.
But whether or not an event
happened is unimportant.
Seems it would be very important.
Detectives, we're not in the business
of investigating the
accuracy of a memory
or catching criminals.
We are in the business of healing.
We explore the meaning
behind the memory, true or not.
Yes or no.
You think she was raped?
No, I don't.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
I pulled her session files.
Take a look yourselves.
I trust that you'll protect
both April, and our work.
Thank you.
♪
Dr. Severson, got a minute?
Uh, unfortunately, no.
I'm late for an appointment. Sorry.
We'll walk with you,
and then maybe you
could tell us what you
wouldn't say up there
in front of your partner.
Uh, there's really
not much more to say.
That's fine.
We'll just ask more
questions, widen the net,
involve a lot more people.
You know, that won't
impact the clinical trials at all.
Nah, 'cause you know what
pharmaceutical companies
really love?
Police investigations.
Look, I'll start by saying,
I don't mean to
disparage my colleague.
I have a lot of
respect for Dr. Catmull.
He's worked in
psychedelics a long time,
which may be the reason
he's a little too invested
in pushing protryptamine
over the finish line.
And if it gets stalled,
all that research money
goes down the drain.
It's not about the money.
It's about helping people.
Jonah wasn't wrong
to question recovered
memories in any setting.
Sometimes they're metaphors.
But he didn't give
you the whole truth.
April has a history of
using psychedelics
about five years ago.
It wasn't revealed
in the initial interview.
It came out in therapy.
But that should have
disqualified her from the study.
Why didn't it?
Because she's a success story.
Jonah wanted it in.
So what does that have
to do with her memory
of being assaulted?
Jonah omitted the time
period when April was using,
when she was meeting a lot of men
and blacking out on a regular basis.
You think that's when this happened?
I can't say for sure
it was rape, but
Something happened to that girl.
♪
April was trying to put
together a list of the men
that she dated five years ago,
but her memory's spotty.
Can you remember who
you dated five years ago?
Well, we are not talking
about me, thank you very much.
What do we got?
Combing through dating app matches,
and cross-checking
names with databases.
Liv.
"No psychedelic is a magic bullet."
For this writer.
For others, it's the new frontier
for mental health medicine.
Some studies say psychedelics
can assist in memory recall,
but others say that it impairs it.
I had a psych professor at Fordham
who had a section on how
psychedelics affect the brain.
She can break it down for me.
Good.
Go talk to her.
So how does protryptamine
make you remember things?
It's more that it modulates
the brain's fear response.
Our brain protects us
from traumatic memories.
And a psychedelic like protryptamine
can allow you to recall those events
with less shame and judgment.
For me, psychedelics weren't
so much about memory.
I just felt very
connected and present.
You've done psychedelics?
I might have had a
crisis of faith or two
that required some
highly classified trips
- to Oaxaca a few years back.
- [LAUGHS] Ah.
You're not gonna turn me in, are you?
Yeah, the DA's on its way.
It wasn't a clinical trial, of course.
She was a lovely woman, luckily.
You're very vulnerable in that state.
I'm glad to see the practice is
becoming more regulated now.
There have been problems?
It's not just protryptamine.
Sex abuse is a known
problem in psychedelics,
even the naturally occurring ones
like ayahuasca or psilocybin.
Mm.
All those happy hormones,
they mess with your
personal boundaries.
They trick you into thinking
you're okay with things
- when you're not.
- Which is why there's two therapists
make sure nobody crosses a line.
The first time, I was
totally freaked out.
Okay.
I didn't sleep at
all the night before.
And I got there, I took the pill,
and, like, immediately fell asleep.
- Oh.
- When I woke up,
I
Felt
Like I
Understood what love meant.
- Wow.
- [LAUGHS]
Not-not, like, being
in love, but just how
everything and everyone is all one.
It's
It's hard to describe.
I know I probably sound nuts.
No, it sounds kind of, um, incredible.
So when did you remember the assault?
The third time.
Okay.
They had me put an eye mask on,
and it makes things
a lot more intense.
It felt so vivid,
this strong feeling of
Violation.
I could actually feel it
happening in my body.
I was crying.
Did you tell your therapists?
One of them was sitting with me.
He was rubbing my back
and my legs, holding me.
Is that a common
practice for your sessions,
the physical touch?
- Y-yeah, I guess so.
- Okay.
It's just that's
That's quite unorthodox,
for a therapist to to
cross that boundary.
What happened afterwards?
I went home.
Mm-hmm.
And I could still feel it in
my body the next day
Soreness between my legs,
and my throat, like
somebody had choked me.
They said it wasn't unusual for
the brain to convince the body
that it had really happened.
In my experience,
the opposite is true.
Um
It's the body,
that doesn't lie.
And your body was telling you,
that you had been violated.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
And I think that you were.
But not five years ago.
Have you considered that
maybe you were assaulted during
During your session?
♪
No.
♪
For a long time, I felt really
good about the therapy.
It changed my brain.
It made me more open and optimistic.
And now it just
feels like it got rotten.
Like I'm too sick to be fixed.
That's not true.
You're not too sick to be fixed.
They took advantage of you
when you were vulnerable.
And now they're gonna pay.
♪
Okay, so if the sessions
always had two therapists,
what are we thinking?
Both of them did it?
One of them did it
while the other watched?
Or they weren't always
together all the time.
April doesn't know who was there
because she had a mask over her eyes.
Well, we both know for a fact
they're willing to lie to cover it up.
Catmull fudged the session notes.
Severson sent us on a wild goose chase
looking at five-year-old
Hinge matches.
Catmull has an M.D. and a PhD.
He's been big in the
psychedelics community
since the '90s.
He's a real cheerleader
for its benefits.
He's got no complaints against him.
He did a ton of research
papers on protryptamine therapy.
And I looked into
Catmull's financials.
He's got significant
investments in all of this.
Okay, if protryptamine
gets distribution,
he will make a lot of money.
Hmm.
Severson's a PsyD.
He's new to psychedelics game.
He still has a private practice.
He specializes in complex
trauma, PTSD, EMDR.
No complaints against him either.
He and Catmull started
working together two years ago
for Serolyte Pharmaceuticals.
The parent company is based in Japan.
The U.S. division
developed protryptamine
and is running the trials.
Okay, well, these clinical trials
often record their testing.
So I mean, maybe there's
video of these sessions.
Let's see.
Who's Judd Flannery?
Catmull wrote all of
his papers with the guy.
And then it looks like they stopped
around the time Severson
came into the picture.
I wonder what split 'em up.
Yeah, let's find out.
Dr. Catmull and Dr. Severson
are some of our finest researchers.
Jonah has been with it
from almost the beginning.
- Uh-huh.
- Since they paired up,
their sites consistently report
the best patient scores.
- Why?
- Well, have you ever had any complaints
about either of them?
No.
What kind of complaints?
April Deieso recovered a memory
of being sexually assaulted
during one of her sessions.
We are looking into the possibility
that she was assaulted
during that session.
That's not possible.
April?
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
She was so pleased with
her treatment outcome.
So are these sessions
recorded, Ms. Fuentes?
Yes.
But, given how
sensitive the content is,
I can't turn anything over
without a patient's permission.
Well, I can help you with that.
This is April's consent.
And you should have a
digital copy of that in your inbox.
I can't give you anything
without a subpoena.
All right, we will get a subpoena.
We'll be back.
Save the world,
as long as you have a court order.
Either of you guys
ever take that online quiz
where you put in how many
times a year you visit your parents,
and then it tells you
how much time you got
left with them before they die?
Hard no.
I used to calculate how
much closer I was to death
working at a job I didn't care about,
so one day I just walked.
All those years in medical
school to work in a bike shop?
My dad would have throttled me.
Well, never been happier.
Don't get me wrong,
I love helping people.
I just hated everything else.
Including Catmull?
You know, I thought I
was so lucky when he
asked me to be his research partner.
It didn't take long
to realize he didn't
care much about the science.
Has he been arrested?
Why do you ask?
Dude's a druggie.
I caught him swiping
pills from our inventory.
And I reported him to
my supervisor at Serolyte,
and she said they'd
handle it internally.
- But they never did.
- I don't know.
But there's definitely
this mentality over there
that nothing can stop
the momentum, you know?
You ever see him act
inappropriate with a patient?
You mean, like, sexually?
No, but I wouldn't put
anything past that guy.
A shrink with no empathy?
That's wild.
One time I asked him why
he got into psychedelics.
- You know what he said?
- Huh?
"It's where the money's at."
Judd Flannery was a fresh graduate who
was incompetent and incapable.
That's why I ended the relationship.
Look, for all I know,
he stole the meds.
You think we're on
the hunt for some pills
that went missing two years ago?
We're way beyond that now, Jonah.
Nah, this is about
what you did to April.
[SCOFFS] What are you talking about?
Get her vulnerable and compliant,
assault her, and convince
her it was a hallucination.
- What are you saying, that I
- That you raped your client?
- Yeah, that's what we're saying.
- Absolutely not.
The only question is,
was it a tag-team situation
with you and your partner?
Or was it all his idea?
I leave the session sometimes.
I know I'm not supposed to.
Austin
Austin encouraged me to take breaks.
Sure, sure, sure, sure.
It's always the other guy, isn't it?
I can prove it.
I have videos, everything
we sent to Serolyte.
I've got copies.
Have you watched them?
Because you had a feeling
you knew what was on them,
didn't you?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[APRIL CRYING]
- Let it go.
- No.
- Just relax.
- No, don't touch me.
- Shh.
- No, no, no.
I don't want
[CRYING]
April, you need this.
No.
Please don't.
I I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
No.
Please, no, I don't want it!
Please, stop!
Can you open your thighs for me?
No. Stop!
Okay, that's enough.
There might not be
enough there to prove rape,
but we absolutely have
him on sexual assault.
We're still going
through all the videos,
but Liv, we've already
found two other women
Severson did this to.
Get him.
Three crisis calls this
morning, all before 10:00 a.m.?
- I think I deserve this.
- Dr. Severson.
- Whoa.
- Detectives,
this isn't the best time.
Is it ever?
Get up!
What on Earth are you doing?
- Arresting you, Doc.
- What?
Here, enjoy that.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and
will be used against you.
So I'm gonna start with
the obvious question,
which is, did you forget that
you were being recorded?
Or
Or did you just not care?
[CHUCKLES]
Captain, I can see how
this might seem strange
if you're not versed in this therapy.
- Mm-hmm.
- But
That's what this
therapy looks like.
You assaulted her.
I comforted her.
A person who's taken protryptamine
needs reassurance.
They need someone
there to hold them together,
both mentally and physically.
I have to stop you for a second
because you can't just sit there
and pretend that we didn't
see clearly what is on this video.
You don't have the context.
Are my methods unorthodox?
Absolutely.
But the use of touch,
so long as it's non-sexual,
has been very effective.
You call that there non-sexual?
Yeah?
Do you know what that word means?
Nothing that has transpired
between my clients and myself
has ever been sexual.
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, not for me.
I don't derive any benefit or
pleasure from these sessions.
Yeah, well, neither was she.
She was in tears!
She said "no," "stop," multiple times!
And if I told a surgeon,
"no, don't sew up that
incision you just made,"
- would he stop?
- I think I get it.
So what you're saying
is that sometimes when
a person is feeling vulnerable,
right, they just
They just wanna be held.
Exactly.
The level of this
therapy is so intense,
you have to experience
it to understand.
I think someone like you
would benefit from it, Captain.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Well, that is, uh, so
kind of you to think of me.
Um,
where was Dr. Catmull
during all of this?
Uh, I don't recall exactly.
He may have been on a break.
The other two patients
that got your special,
uh, hands-on care, where
was Dr. Catmull for those?
I would have to check the videos.
He wasn't there.
Every single time.
Honestly, you're real smart, Doctor.
You're smarter than me.
You're smarter than most
people who sit in that chair.
I mean,
creating your own hunting ground
and then hiding
behind a clinical trial,
and then having your victims
sign up for it themselves.
That is, uh
That is brilliant.
- Regular genius.
- But
You're no different
than every other predator.
You know that.
And now everyone else will, too,
because we have it all on video.
♪
Captain Curry.
Executive Officer. Look
at you, rising the ranks.
- Thanks, Chief.
- Here for CompStat?
Yeah, my first one.
Better not be late.
Hey, I'll catch up with you.
Griff.
Hey, Captain.
Wow, you're all dressed up.
Yeah, well, CompStat meeting,
so I had to drag this thing out.
Little, uh, field trip
to the records room?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, Cap asked me to
pull some old case files.
Thinks we might
have a repeat offender.
Hmm.
I didn't hear anything about that.
Yeah.
Well, hey, we miss you up there.
I gotta go.
Hey, I just arraigned Severson, and
You're not gonna believe this,
but he pled to the entire indictment.
- You're kidding.
- The judge gave him 15 years.
For three rapes? [SCOFFS]
Look, Amanda, I'm
not upset about this,
and you shouldn't be either.
This case in no way was
gonna be a slam dunk.
The video was inconclusive.
Even if April and the other
two victims were ready to testify,
they were in an experimental
treatment program.
That was always gonna
be tricky with the jury.
To be honest, I'm
surprised this lawyer
didn't wanna go to trial.
Oh, my God, he's protecting his study.
- From what?
- Scrutiny.
Look, Severson is a creep.
He's a predator.
But he is a true
believer in his therapy.
He'll take the hit so
his company doesn't.
And Serolyte had all
the videos of Severson.
They knew what he was doing.
And they did nothing?
And it's despicable,
but unfortunately,
they don't have a duty to report
So they get off on a technicality?
Come on.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Don't
Don't look at me like that, all right?
For once, I'd like to be able
to stay within my jurisdiction
when it comes to you, Liv.
♪
[SCOFFS]
We can't charge Serolyte criminally.
But we can try to shut 'em down.
♪
Sonny, gotta say, shutting down
an entire corporation
because of one bad apple
doesn't sit well with me.
Serolyte seems to be getting some
good results out of this drug.
Well, I have no issue
with protryptamine,
psychedelics in general, when
they're handled appropriately.
But what I do have an
issue with is poor oversight
and not paying attention when
a doctor assaults his patients.
And that man is going to prison.
But that does nothing to
solve the underlying issue.
Look, their complete lack of oversight
has created the perfect conditions
for this to happen again
with another doctor.
I'm not saying we don't take a look.
But, shutting down the company could
shut down the entire
pursuit of this treatment.
But if you do nothing, then patients
are gonna stay vulnerable.
Look, listen, how about this?
Cross-designate me.
Let me take it on.
[SIGHS]
♪
She said both doctors would
be in the room at all times,
for my protection and theirs.
And did Ms. Fuentes have you sign
a consent form for your sessions
- to be recorded?
- I did.
They said it was for the study,
and no one else would see them.
And I'm assuming
that you did not consent
to either doctor lying
under a blanket with you
and touching your body.
No, absolutely not.
And did Ms. Fuentes or anyone else
from Serolyte Pharmaceuticals
ever reach out to you
about what was on your
recorded video sessions?
No.
Even after Dr. Severson was arrested
for sexually assaulting you?
Not a word.
Thank you, Ms. Deieso.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Ms. Rettstadt, your witness.
Ms. Deieso,
what you endured at
the hands of Dr. Severson
was reprehensible.
And I don't wanna put
you through a long list
of questions, so I'll
be quick, all right?
Okay.
I really just have one.
Did this therapy help you?
I don't know how
I was assaulted.
- Raped.
- I know.
But that's not what I'm asking.
You had been treated for PTSD.
Is that still your diagnosis?
- He's a monster.
- I don't disagree.
He is.
And
According to your
post-clinical trial follow-up,
your PTSD is, medically
speaking, no longer present.
So I'll ask again.
Did it help you?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
When I wake up at night, I
feel like I'm being choked.
I feel hands on me.
Feel him on top of
me over a year later.
I think about what would have happened
if Dr. Severson
hadn't done this to me,
what that life would have been like.
I'll never know.
I just don't want what happened
to me to happen to anyone else.
♪
Ms. Fuentes, your company
has safeguards in place
to prevent sexual abuse, correct?
Yes, we do.
For example, you
require two therapists
to be present for the entire duration
- of every session.
- Correct.
And you also require that each session
- be recorded on video.
- Yes.
But that didn't really stop
Dr. Severson, though, did it?
We were horrified
by his criminal actions.
But to say that one
bad actor is indicative
of our entire company is false.
Right, because you
know for certain that
there was only one bad actor.
You got the videos, right?
So if anything
inappropriate had happened,
well, you would have seen that.
You do record every session,
- don't you, Dr. Fuentes?
- Yes.
And have you ever seen a therapist
leave a session when
they weren't supposed to?
I never saw that.
No?
In all those videos?
That's astonishing.
I mean, how many hours
would you say there are?
- There's gotta be thousands.
- Yes.
And approximately how
many hours of those sessions
did you watch?
I haven't had an
opportunity to review.
You never watch the videos
that you require for the purpose
of protecting your patients?
Me, personally?
No.
Okay, not personally, but who does?
You have to understand.
We keep the videos as records.
We simply don't have the manpower
to review that much footage.
We're a research-focused entity.
Whose primary purpose should have been
to keep your patients safe.
And if you had done your job,
then you would have seen three women,
the very people that you
were supposed to protect,
be assaulted by one of your doctors.
Isn't that true?
Yes.
Nothing further.
Ms. Fuentes, you may step down.
Both counsel, approach.
♪
Ms. Rettstadt, if things keep
going the way they're going,
I'm inclined to rule in favor
of the attorney general's office.
- Your Honor, I
- However,
I also understand
that Serolyte Pharmaceuticals
is at the forefront of a
breakthrough medication
that has the potential
to change the face
of mental health treatment,
perhaps under the right leadership
- Hold on, Your Honor.
- The Serolyte board
would not object to
removing Ms. Fuentes
from her position as CEO, Your Honor.
In that case, I'd be inclined
to deny the attorney general's
application to shut them down.
Your Honor, respectfully, I disagree.
Three women have been
victimized on Serolyte's watch.
Victimized by Dr. Severson,
who's out of the picture.
Did SVU find any other instances
of therapists abusing patients?
No, they did not.
But the potential for abuse is there.
And unless we shut them down
until real changes are made,
it'll stay there.
I admire your passion, Mr. Carisi,
but I don't think
you've made your case.
You're welcome to take an appeal.
Step back.
♪
Well, you went down swinging, Sonny.
I'll give you that.
Yeah, well, thanks
for a spot on the team.
- Any time.
- Take care.
Well, you warned me that we
were punching above our weight.
Yeah, I did.
So you're not gonna give
me the "I told you so" speech?
When I was a kid, my
mom had an abortion.
Nearly killed her Catholic heart,
but the baby would have been born
with all kinds of problems.
All this information came
out about this antidepressant
that she was using off and on.
And I remember this fancy
lawyer, he came to our house,
and he wanted her to
join a class-action lawsuit.
He told us that hundreds of babies
had been born with birth
defects because of that drug.
What did she do?
The class action was
denied certification.
Case never went to trial.
My mom, she
She couldn't afford to file
an individual claim, so
So that was that.
Carisi, Severson is behind bars.
Removing Fuentes is
definitely gonna shake things up.
You didn't really
lose this case today.
Look at you with the pep talk.
Usually I'm the one telling
you that we did all we could.
Well, people change.
What's this?
A few files that you missed.
This one was a killer.
So the witness turned
out to be a fabulist,
just makes up a whole
bunch of details, and then
And then the whole
case fell apart at trial.
- Captain, I can explain what's going
- I don't know why
you're
pulling my old cases.
I suspect it's because
somebody told you to.
So you go ahead, Griff.
You look into anything you want.
Because I don't have any secrets.
And whatever mistakes I've made,
and I'm sure there have been a ton
I stand by.
Wait.
Look at this.
What is that?
It's from a shooting in a bar,
in the Upper West Side in 2001.
Look at it.
Involving a Lieutenant Jimmy Griffin.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
And Detective Kathryn Tynan.
♪
Yeah, you're right, I
was tasked into looking
into your old cases, okay?
And I used that as
cover to dig that up.
♪
What are you planning
on doing with this, Griff?
I'm gonna find out the truth.
And I'm gonna give
that to the commissioner.
I-I don't care what happens to me.
I don't care what happens
to my dad's legacy after this.
Legacy
Like, what the hell does that even mean?
Tynan
I mean, you know this.
Tynan, she's been there for me
Through some very hard times, okay?
I-I cannot take
any of this anymore.
I gotta know.
I gotta know the truth.
This is gonna blow everything up.
♪
Are you ready for that?
No.
Are you?
♪