Law & Order Special Victims Unit s18e03 Episode Script
Imposter
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.
Maybe we should set up a few more meetings with the consultant.
- We're fine - Oh, I just found out that Matthew Sun is on the board at Penn - We're running late.
- Okay.
All right.
Oh, honey? Honey? Just remember, okay? It's supposed to be a conversation, you know? Just avoid yes or no answers.
- Okay, Mom, I know.
- You look good.
I'll call you when we get to Boston, okay? Okay.
All right.
Oh! Don't forget to mention your three-week seminar in Nairobi.
Thank you.
[phone buzzing.]
Hey.
Great.
Yeah, I'll see you soon.
[dark music.]
[both breathing heavily.]
[moans.]
[both breathing heavily.]
Laura, are you sure you want to have sex? Absolutely.
Why the hell do you think we're here? [both moaning.]
[water faucet running.]
- All right, thank you.
- Hi.
Hey, the victim's name is Laura Collett.
She's on her way to the hospital.
It looks like an overdose, but no note.
- Who found her? - Maintenance.
2:00 a.
m.
Tub started overflowing, leaking water into the room below.
- Did she check in alone? - Well, we're not sure.
We're trying to pull video at the moment, but, I mean, the room is in her name.
She charged it on her AMEX.
- Key card? - Last used at 9:56 p.
m.
- Any witnesses on the floor? - No, nobody heard a peep.
Oh, looks romantic.
- Flowers, a bottle of Brunello.
- Yeah.
CSU's gonna check that for narcotics.
You said there was an outcry witness, right? Yeah, the suspect via text.
- Okay, you got a name? - No.
I called the number a few times.
No answer, no voicemail.
Laura's last text was 11:56 last night.
"You raped me.
Burn in hell.
" Okay, clear and concise.
Not exactly.
She sent another text to the same guy ten minutes earlier.
"Incredible night.
Just gonna say it.
Best sex ever.
" So, in ten minutes she goes from "best sex ever" to "you raped me?" How the hell does that happen? [dramatic music.]
Hey.
The vic's at the hospital.
She's still unresponsive.
Nearly lethal dose of alcohol and diazepam.
Doctor says it's looking 50/50.
Any other drugs in her system? No, and the doctor did a full tox panel.
No Rohypnol or other date rape drugs.
Okay, so the victim has sex, and then has a change of heart after the fact.
She goes from best sex ever to rape in ten minutes.
- That's a pretty big change of heart.
- Ten minutes or ten hours.
The question is, what turns this into a rape? TARU said these texts went to a burner? - Yeah.
- All right.
So the victim, Laura Collett, married, lives in Manhattan.
What else do we know? She's 42.
She has one son.
And here's a screen shot of her phone.
Just another perfect family.
Wow, it's just too early to be that jaded.
Next time I'll wait till noon.
The husband, he's at the hospital? - Yeah, unis called.
- Great, head down there.
See what he knows.
Excuse me.
Mr.
Collett? I'm Detective Carisi.
This is Detective Rollins.
We're looking into what happened with your wife last night.
You're investigating her for overdosing on pills? No, no, we're not.
We're trying to understand what happened prior to that.
- Prior? - Yeah.
You see, your wife sent a text message from her phone accusing somebody of rape.
So she was at a hotel with a man who raped her? Right now, we're just trying to figure out who she was with.
When was the last time you talked to Laura? Late afternoon.
I was my son and I were in Boston, visiting colleges.
Did you know that she was staying at the Luxembourg Hotel that night? Mr.
Collett, do you have any idea who Laura was with? Maybe with somebody from work? No.
She doesn't work.
She's involved with various charities, but - Okay.
- We were happy.
- At least I thought we were.
- Had she taken up anything new? Tennis, hiking, or yoga? More like college admissions.
That's all she thinks about, where my son will be going to college next year.
Right.
Well, look, Mr.
Collett, we know this is all overwhelming, but we'd like your consent to do a rape kit.
[solemn music.]
What do you got? The hotel just sent over security footage.
All right, at 6:14 p.
m.
, Laura walks in the hotel lobby.
She says hello to this tall, white man.
Looks early 40s.
He's decent looking.
Well-dressed.
I'll run it through facial-rec.
Great, so meanwhile, head back to that hotel, show that image to guests, doormen, front desk.
See if anybody knows who this guy is.
All right, take a ride to the Luxembourg Hotel? No, I can't.
Barba set up an interview with me with some ADA in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn? You got to grow a beard and start making artisan pickles? I'm just seeing what's out there, all right? For the record, I like artisan pickles.
- Mm.
- How do I look? Like a cop.
Hey, how did Noah do? Okay, did you talk to his teacher? Oh.
Okay, thanks, Lucy.
Everything good with the little guy? Apparently, Noah's language skills are slightly underdeveloped relative to his peer group.
You know, I've just been doing my best, you know, reading and talking, singing So he's not getting into the fancy school? They don't know yet.
Anything new with Laura Collett? Rape kit came back.
No semen, bruises, or abrasions, but she did have sex.
They found traces of condom lubricant.
- Any facial-rec? - No, the guy's still a ghost.
- Anything on social media? - No pops on the perp, but check this out.
She DM'd her son the day before the incident.
"I'm sorry.
Call me.
" And he writes back, "You make me sick.
I hope you die.
" Huh.
- Those are pretty strong words.
- Yeah, maybe the kid found out his mother was seeing somebody else.
I'll go back to the hospital, see what he knows.
How'd your meeting go with LaRosa? What, you think I don't hear things? [footsteps approaching.]
Hey, Justin.
How's your mom? She's still unconscious, but the doctor sounds optimistic.
Good.
Not sure if he really means it, or he's just trying to placate me.
Placate, huh? Nice.
SAT word, right? [laughs softly.]
So listen, we got this from the hotel security.
Do you recognize this guy with your mom? No, sorry.
That's okay.
[sighs.]
So listen, Justin.
I, um I saw the message you sent your mother the night of the incident.
What was she so sorry about? Why did you say that you wanted her to die? She kept bugging me about Hudson.
She really wants me to go there.
She thinks it's so prestigious.
You know, my mother [chuckles.]
My mother didn't even know I applied to college.
No, seriously.
Two days before classes started, I said, "Hey, Ma, can I borrow 400 bucks for books? I just got into St.
John's.
" Lucky you.
My mom's been on four campus tours of Hudson, sat in on six lectures, and had three lunches with some guy from the admissions office.
The other day, she asked me to have lunch with him.
Said he might be the difference maker, and I snapped.
I'm sick of dealing with all her stress over all this.
I'm the one applying.
[solemn music.]
I just hope that's not the last thing I ever said to her.
[sighs.]
Did she ever mention the name of the guy at the the admissions office? No, she never mentioned it.
Do you think she that because of our fight, she took all those pills? No.
No, put that out of your head.
I think she loves you very much, and it's because of that she's gonna make a full recovery.
Come on.
You got to hit that thing harder, man.
You know what's overrated? Wireless, and putting lemon in water.
I don't get that.
All right.
So Justin says that his mother was spending time with some guy who works in the office of admissions of Hudson University.
I got 27 males in that department, 19 women.
Takes all those people to look at applications and say yes or no? Hey, I just got back from the hotel, and nobody recognizes the unknown male, but I did get a name that you might find interesting.
Laura signed into the spa at 6:33 p.
m.
, and a guy named Alden Kessler signed in at the exact same time.
Hey, look at that.
He's at the top of my list.
Director of Admissions.
Alden Kessler.
Where is he? Thanks.
Hey, where's Alden Kessler? You're looking at him.
- Wait, you're Alden Kessler? - Is there a problem? Yeah.
A tall white one.
Do you know him? Or her? No.
Never seen either one.
Look, what's going on here? This is Detective Carisi.
I'm Detective Rollins.
We're from the Special Victims Unit and we're investigating a rape allegation.
Is that your signature? No, and I've never set foot in the Luxembourg Hotel.
Why? There's a rapist out there pretending to be you.
[dramatic music.]
We think someone is using your name, your identity.
Any idea why somebody would want to do that? This woman, Laura, does she have a child applying to Hudson? Yeah, her son.
Justin Collett.
[keys clacking.]
[sighs.]
Yeah, there he is.
Senior at York Prep.
3.
9 GPA, 2250 SAT scores.
- That's good, right? - Exceptional.
Problem is, we get 2,000 kids with similar credentials.
We only accept 400.
The other spots go to international students, athletes, diversity candidates.
So, tough to be a rich, white kid with great grades? That that's what you're saying? At elite universities, anyway.
That must make you a pretty popular man, right? When you're, like, the the doorman for the most exclusive club in the world.
Do any of these rich parents ever try to, um influence your decision? [scoffs.]
No, never.
That would be unethical.
- Do any of them offer sex? - Excuse me? What I mean is, if you wanted to exploit your power in a sexual way, would there be any takers? I've been offered all kinds of outrageous things, a part ownership at a winery in Bordeaux, a Monet.
Last year, a hedge funder with an underachieving son offered me $5 million, and yes, on occasion, there have been sexual advances.
Laura Collett just woke up.
Benson's on her way to the hospital.
Mr.
Kessler, thank you.
We'll be in touch.
We, uh, we met on campus.
Justin and I had just, uh, taken a tour, and I was I was getting coffee at the café, and he, um he introduced himself to me.
He said he worked at the admissions office.
The night that you two were at the Luxembourg Hotel, you sent him a text that said, "Best sex ever.
" And then ten minutes later, you sent him another text that said, "You raped me.
Burn in hell.
" So can you tell me what happened in those ten minutes? I figured out he wasn't Alden Kessler.
How? He mixed up a few statistics.
He said, um said the endowment was 9 billion.
It's actually 13.
You got suspicious? Yeah.
Had you Googled him or, you know, looked him up? I did, and there he was on some professor's Instagram page.
Just right there, and I'm I mean, I'm stunned.
I'm stunned, and I call him.
I called this man that I just had sex with, okay? And I confront him, and he laughs at me.
And he hangs up, and I call him again, and and and he doesn't answer, so I sent the text about him raping me.
I mean, I didn't I didn't mean it literally, but I wanted him to know how disgusting he was and how upset I was, and then [solemn music.]
[sniffles.]
Did you mean to hurt yourself? No.
I was I was trying to numb the pain.
I would never abandon my family.
So you didn't know the true identity of this man, which means that you never consented to having sex with him.
Wait a minute.
What what are you saying? What what he did was a crime? I'm saying that what he did to you is rape.
She screwed some guy trying to get her kid into college? - Quid pro quo.
- But she got played.
Ended up having sex with some jackass pretending to be a big shot at Hudson.
Which makes it rape.
In her mind, anyway.
Just being real, lying to have sex is just part of the game.
I mean, back in the day, I pretended to be Melle Mel's cousin one night.
You trying to tell me that was rape? - Things have changed, Fin.
- Not that much.
Everybody's lying in the club.
Trust me on that.
No, no, she consented to having sex with Alden Kessler, not some stranger pretending to be Alden Kessler, so ask me, that's rape.
Let's find this guy.
Do we have any leads? No, not much.
The wine bottle came back negative for prints, and the only lead I got when I was at Laura's townhouse, I found a few personal notes written to her on Kessler's Hudson stationary.
Oh, that guy was selling it.
If it's really Kessler's stationary that means that the suspect has access to his office.
Time to take another college tour.
68 grand a year for this? I don't get all the fuss.
Yeah, me neither, but a lot of people do.
Yeah, this imposter obviously witnessed all the groveling and ass-kissing up close and personal - that goes on around here.
- Makes sense.
He saw he had a captive audience, decided to exploit it.
Yeah, but right, but guys have been doing that for years.
Right? Lying, exaggerating, manipulating.
- You don't think it's rape? - I-I think it's disgusting, but where do you draw the line? Like, say this kid, says he grew up on Fifth Avenue, but he's really from Jersey City, or say a guy, he says he makes 200,000 grand a year, but he really only makes 100, you know? I mean, is that rape? This guy's different.
He's a predator.
Well, I just don't like gray.
We're cops, not lawyers.
- Speak for yourself.
- [chuckles.]
I keep forgetting.
- Is that an insult? Go ahead.
- Actually, it's a compliment.
That's Tom Metcalf, campus security.
We hired him two months ago.
We had about 20 extra people during application season.
Things can get little nuts.
A few days ago, I would have found that hard to believe.
Why do you need Tom? He in trouble? No, no.
We just we want to talk to him.
- He punched out at 5:12.
- Can you call him? Find out where he is? You know, pretend you got to talk to him about work or something.
[dark music.]
[indistinct chatter.]
You know, I played baseball at Vanderbilt.
You really work at Goldman? Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like a construction worker.
I produce movies.
Mostly comedies.
You ever hear of the "40-Year-Old-Virgin?" No way.
That's one of my favorites.
34,000 applications.
We accepted 10%.
71% of those applicants chose Hudson.
We now have a yield rate that's higher than Princeton.
How do you know all that, Tom? - Tom? My name is - Let me guess.
Alden? Why don't we go back to my place? Laura Collett overdosed? That's horrible.
Well, she said that you lied to her.
That you pretended to be Alden Kessler, and when she found out, she got pretty upset.
That's terrible.
I'm I'm so sorry.
So you admit you lied to her about being somebody else? I told her I worked in admissions, and I left out the fact that I was a security guard, and she made assumptions.
You know, as far as I know, that's not a crime.
I even looked it up.
Well, we're just trying to figure out what happened that night.
I mean, I got to do my job, but between you and me, I don't even know why you're here.
Honestly, I dated this chick once in college.
I dated her for a whole semester.
She thought I was an exchange student from Italy.
It was the best sex I ever had.
Yeah, well, that whole foreign thing works with, you know, a certain niche audience.
This guy thinks he's pretty clever, huh? So does this guy.
So is it just college moms, or do you work other angles too? What's the point of this meeting? Look, Tom, I need to hear your side of this before things get blown out of proportion.
My side, it's simple.
I met Laura.
We had a few dates.
That's that.
Have you ever impersonated other people? Come on, man to man.
Like I said, it's not against the law.
If you ask me, it's a brilliant strategy, like taking advantage of the tax code.
You find a loophole, you exploit it.
Well, you got nothing to worry about.
That's my point.
So you have impersonated other people? - Of course.
- Well, let me guess.
Hedge fund guy, right? Oh, please, that's for rookies.
I play much more sophisticated angles.
Oh, such as? I used to work security in a medical building.
Heard all this lingo.
Next thing you know, the neurologist is in the house.
Hmm.
"Amy, my main focus is neuromuscular disease, but if truth be told, my true passion is poetry.
" That is genius.
It's all about the humble brag.
I'm writing a book about all this to help regular guys close the deal with beautiful women.
Let's go back to Laura though, all right? Did she actually ever say yes to you, to Tom, before sex? Or did she just think she was about to get after it with some hot shot from Hudson? Am I under arrest? [tense music.]
No.
Then I'm out of here.
I'm gonna send you a copy of my book.
If you're nice, I might even autograph it for you.
It sounds like Rape by Fraud.
The problem is that doesn't exist in New York criminal code.
I know, but we can't just let this guy walk.
There's got to be some kind of statute or theory that we can use to prosecute this kind of vile behavior.
People vs.
Hough, 1994.
A twin tricks his brother's wife into having sex with him.
The court rules there was wrongdoing, but no crime was committed since the law doesn't cover that type of behavior.
Okay, so maybe it's time we update New York law into the 21st Century.
Well, there have been rumblings about a new bill in the legislature.
A case like this could kick start things.
Are you sure the victim is willing to testify? I will talk to her.
And our repugnant ladies' man, he's done this before? Well, it sounds like it.
He told Carisi that he was writing a book about his various conquests.
If we can establish a consistent pattern, it would help sway the jury.
Great, I'll need a warrant to keep digging.
Yeah.
Do I need to stick around for this? Well, it's better you stay, if you don't mind.
This guy Metcalf a criminal? A person of interest.
Rollins, "Dr.
Michael Mandlebaum, Stanford University Medical School.
" Huh, the guy definitely backstops.
[scoffs.]
Hey, check this out.
"My Mali Journey," Stephanie Dowling.
I mean, he's got desperate moms submitting their kids work to him.
Hmm, look.
Look at that.
"Alden, thanks for reading this.
"Stephanie is a special young lady.
"See you tomorrow afternoon at the Strathmore.
Can't wait.
Erin.
" It sounds like another potential vic.
What's the Strathmore? A new luxury building in Soho.
Prices start at 10 million.
Oh, and Metcalf's got a place there? Sounds like another con.
- When was that note sent? - Yesterday.
Today's the day.
All right, we might be able to stop this.
I'll call Liv.
Erin Dowling's phone is still going straight to her voicemail.
Excuse me.
Lieutenant Benson from SVU.
Have you seen this man? Our tenants are very private.
Is there something else I can help you with? - It's an emergency.
- That's Mr.
Kessler.
Look, I just clocked in.
I haven't seen him.
- He lives here? - He stays in Mr.
Zeng's place sometimes.
24B.
What's going on? Oh, hey.
[chuckles.]
Small world.
Benson, right? We met the other day.
- Erin Dowling up there? - Yeah.
She's probably catching her breath right about now.
You know you got a stupid smile, right? Are you threatening me, Detective? Let him go, Fin.
And he's done this to other prospective Hudson moms? Yes, he gets off on taking advantage of anxious women.
Look, I know that this is traumatic More like humiliating.
My husband and I have spent over a $1/2 million on our daughter's education.
We want a return on our investment, but the college admissions process is brutal.
My daughter's smart, but normal smart, not prodigy smart, and she's not a minority, or an elite athlete, or violinist.
- Okay, so where'd you meet him? - The café on Hudson's campus.
My daughter was there.
He approached me.
And you thought he was Alden Kessler till right now? Yes.
I am so sorry, but I want you to know that we intend to prosecute this man for what he's done, and we hope that we can count on you to cooperate.
Are you joking? You want me to tell the world that I was willing to sleep with the admissions director to get my daughter into college? You didn't consent to having sex with Tom Metcalf.
He defrauded you.
We were two adults playing a game, and the hustler got hustled.
Lesson learned.
What now? Well, a crime was committed.
Process it like any other case.
I'll call CSU.
Well, sir, I appreciate your cooperation.
Thank you so much.
That was the owner of Metcalf's sex pad.
By the way, it's cloudy in Hong Kong.
- Does he know Metcalf? - Never heard of him.
Then how'd he get in that condo? Don't know.
CSU find anything in Zeng's apartment? Yeah, actually, something good.
Our imposter is a filmmaker, too.
Showed compassion, breadth of experience So you think it will help her chances? I believe it will make her more competitive and allow me to advocate more passionately on her behalf.
Oh, we're not done.
There's more.
Well - Everything okay? - Yeah.
Just, uh, Justin came in third at a cross country meet.
He wants to go out to dinner to celebrate, so I think I should go.
The camera was hidden? He cut a hole in the dresser.
You're sure Metcalf filmed this? CSU's running the camera for prints, touch DNA, but he's clearly the leader of the clubhouse.
How many women are on that tape? Five, all mothers, all trying to help their kid get into Hudson.
Have you identified the other women? Yes, we have, everyone, but none of them are interested in filing a complaint.
- Understandable.
- Which is why he keeps doing - what he is doing.
- Well, he's revolting.
There's no question, but the victim isn't exactly perfect.
I completely agree with you.
She made a horrific decision, but this case is about something bigger than Laura.
How many more women are we gonna let this guy victimize? I mean, win or lose, we need to make a statement here.
Okay.
You win.
Pick him up.
We're doing the right thing.
I know.
That's what I'm worried about.
Yes, I had sex with these women, but I never recorded a damn thing.
Mr.
Metcalf, you can con your desperate soccer moms, but you can't con us.
- I never taped a damn thing.
- Okay, so who did? Mr.
Zeng? What am I even doing here? I've done nothing wrong.
Since when is having sex a crime? What you did isn't sex.
Trust me.
If you arrested every guy who ever lied to get women, you'd have 50 million men in prison.
We're not here to debate the ethics of your behavior, but we are willing to discuss a deal.
If you are willing to plead guilty to sexual assault in the third degree Sexual assault? You kidding me? These chicks were begging for it.
If anything, they assaulted me.
Yes or no? Kiss my ass.
Mr.
Metcalf, you are under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Okay, so this prosecutor's gonna file rape charges? Yes.
Hey, Justin.
How you doing? Sorry, he's just he's having a hard time.
- Understandable.
- He's just he's terrified all of this is gonna become public, so [sighs.]
You think we can win this case? I think that we have a pretty decent chance, and we are going to need you to testify, to stand up there, tell that jury the depths of Metcalf's deceit.
It's just, you know, my family, they're, um they're ashamed, as you just saw.
I mean, this Metcalf guy, he it's like he he saw how weak and vulnerable I was, you know? And he knew he knew how obsessed I was with getting Justin into Hudson.
I understand.
It's very easy to get lost in this private school madness.
And he preys on every weakness and and doubt you possess.
I just I feel so stupid and pathetic.
But what he did, I mean, he he made me hate myself even more than I do, which is not easy.
[solemn music.]
I want him to feel the humiliation and pain that I felt.
We're gonna do our best, Laura.
- That I can promise you.
- Okay.
First off, there is no proof that my client actually recorded these sex tapes.
None.
Moreover, Laura Collett is the only woman on these tapes who's filed a police report.
The other women have not come forward, and they have refused to cooperate with the prosecution.
As such, these tapes are irrelevant, and without question, more prejudicial than probative.
If the prosecution wants to talk about sex tapes then they should charge my client with unlawful surveillance.
- Don't worry, we intend to.
- That's great, but we're here to try a rape case.
So the video pertaining to Mrs.
Collett is admissible.
The rest of it stays out.
Your Honor, there's a pattern of conduct here Like I said, Laura Collett is in.
The other ladies are out.
Being a prosecutor isn't enough.
You want to be a legislator, too.
Excuse me? Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Barba, but your job is to bring cases that are actually crimes under the New York Criminal Code.
We presented the facts to the grand jury, who delivered an indictment.
I once indicted a ham and cheese sandwich for triple homicide.
Well, the defense filed the motion to dismiss You want me to kick a rape case in this political climate without hearing all of the evidence? What's really going on here? You want press? You're laying the bed for a political run? With all due respect, Judge Bertuccio, you're out of line.
Oh, be careful, Counselor.
Just because you preface something with "all due respect" doesn't mean it's respectable.
- I didn't intend to - Do not use my courtroom for your own agenda.
Do you hear me? Are you asking me to dismiss the case? No, no.
[chuckles.]
I would never ask a prosecutor to dismiss a case that he believes is worthy of the court's time.
That would be an abuse of judicial power.
[tense music.]
Laura Collett met the defendant on the campus of Hudson University.
He pretended to be a man named Alden Kessler, the Director of Admissions of Hudson.
Laura and the defendant began to communicate, socialize.
Eventually, they had sex, but Laura Collett thought she was having sex with Alden Kessler, a distinguished academic from Philadelphia and a graduate of Harvard, not Tom Metcalf, an undistinguished security guard from Ridgewood, Queens, and a graduate of P.
S.
346.
As such, Laura Collett never consented to having sex with the defendant.
She consented to having sex with Alden Kessler.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is not a lie.
It's not a clever ruse.
It's rape.
My client, Tom Metcalf, is an imaginative, fast-talking, self-proclaimed ladies' man.
Sure, he exaggerates and embellishes the facts and circumstances of his humble, mediocre life.
Not too long ago, guys like this were called pickup artists or playboys.
Today, in an attempt to gain media attention for himself and to advance his own personal, liberal, political agenda, Mr.
Barba wants to call them rapists.
Laura, did you ever agree to have sex with Tom Metcalf? No.
I never would have spent time with him, let alone have sex with him, if I knew who he really was.
- Why? - Because my only objective was to help my son get into Hudson.
It was more of a business transaction.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
A business transaction? Like a prostitute? - Objection.
- Overruled.
Answer the question.
I didn't think of it like that.
He didn't give me money, but I suppose you're right.
I was giving him sex, and he was giving me something of value, immense value, in return.
Again, I'm not I'm not proud of what I did.
I was just trying to help my son, and I know I know this sounds silly, but I dropped out of college after two years, and I just I just wanted him to be better.
I wanted him to enjoy all the all the things that a prestigious college education offers.
I was willing to do anything.
I mean, we have money but not enough to buy our way, so I I thought I thought this would help.
Using sex to influence a decision that's meant to be based on merit? It's a hell of a way to help your son.
I think we get the idea, Miss Staines.
Move on.
So, Mrs.
Collett, minutes before you overdosed on Valium and alcohol, you sent a text to Mr.
Metcalf saying, "Incredible night.
"Just gonna say it.
Best sex ever.
" But now you're saying you didn't consent to having sex.
I sent the text before I knew who he was, and I was just pretending I enjoyed it.
So you lied? Yes.
What else are you lying about, Mrs.
Collett? - Objection.
- Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
[tense music.]
Laura, did you send the defendant another text message that night? Yes, when I found out who he was, I texted him again.
I said that he raped me and I hoped he burned in hell.
The People rest.
The Defense calls Gary Bell.
Your Honor, may I approach? Gary Bell's not on the witness list.
We have no idea who he is or why he's being called.
He's a doorman at the Strathmore.
He just recently came forward.
And what is the crux of his testimony? That he heard Mrs.
Collett refer to Tom Metcalf as Tom, not Alden.
She knew who Metcalf was.
After the third or fourth time they had sex, Metcalf came clean.
He told her who he really was, and she kept sleeping with him anyway.
So much for no consent.
Metcalf says that you knew his real name, that you had sex with him three or four times.
That's a lie! We had sex once, at the hotel, and that is it, and I never I never knew his real name until that night.
Why would I put myself through all this if I knew who this pig really was? My son can barely look at me! My husband is going to file for divorce.
We believe you.
We do.
Now, do you remember seeing this man? Gary Bell, he was the doorman at the building where you two had drinks one night.
I don't know.
I don't know maybe.
What difference does it make? I never called him Tom, ever.
He's gonna get away with this, isn't he? This whole this whole thing, this whole case has been a big waste of time.
Why did you tell me to testify? Okay, so what do we know about this doorman? He and Metcalf went to the same high school.
Found the yearbook online.
Here's a picture of them together in shop class.
So they know each other, but why is he willing to lie for him and give him access to a luxury condo? It's about more than friendship.
I spoke with Bell's supervisor at the last hotel he worked at He was the night manager at the Mapleton, right? Till he got fired for setting up a camera in the women's restroom.
Well, there you go.
He's a watcher.
No wonder we never found any sex tapes on Metcalf's computer.
Because he wasn't filming the vics.
His friend Bell was.
Okay, but CSU said that there were no prints and no evidence on that camera.
Yeah, but the doorman doesn't know that.
I'm not sure what we're doing here.
Mr.
Bell's testimony is not going to change.
He heard what he heard.
- And he filmed what he filmed.
- Sorry? You filmed your friend Metcalf and his various victims having sex.
I didn't film nothing.
Your fingerprints were all over the camera.
You might as well have autographed it.
Unlawful surveillance is a felony.
That means prison, and we'll be filing those charges soon.
The only question is will I also be filing perjury charges? You agreed to lie for Metcalf because he threatened to out you for making those illegal sex videos, right? But now that we know about those videos too, you got no reason to lie for Metcalf.
I'd err on the side of telling the truth.
Probably gonna be better for you in the long run.
- Maybe I misheard - No, no, stop talking.
If, for some reason, my client thinks he made a mistake, you'll take that into account when it comes time to plead out the illegal surveillance charge? Your Honor, the Defense no longer plans to call Gary Bell.
In fact, we don't intend to call any witnesses.
You're, uh, resting case before presenting it? Correct.
You wish to present a closing argument, Miss Staines? Yes, Your Honor.
Ladies and gentlemen, my client isn't perfect.
Truth is, he's not even decent.
If he tried to date me, I would laugh at him, or I'd punch him in the face.
What I'm saying is, he's disgusting, not a rapist.
Mr.
Metcalf is a sad, frustrated man who longed for success but never found it, so he creates characters in his mind, successful, respected characters, like an actor or an undercover detective might do, and in the course of assuming these alternate identities, he meets lots of women and sometimes has sex with them.
It's not an ethical or moral way to conduct one's romantic life, but it's not criminal, either.
Mr.
Barba wants this court to pass judgment on my client for lying to women, but as of right now, being a jackass isn't a crime under New York law, which means that you, the jury, have a legal obligation to find Tom Metcalf not guilty.
A compelling closing, Miss Staines.
Thank you.
And I'm sure the jury found it persuasive, as well.
How about you, Mr.
Barba? What was your take? Did you find it illuminating, per chance? Your Honor, I stand by the evidence.
I don't care about the evidence.
I care about the law, or the lack thereof.
You're a talented prosecutor with a bright future, and if I were you, I would take Miss Staines out for a cup of that gourmet coffee everyone drinks nowadays and beg her to accept the plea to a lesser charge, which I'm sure she'll accept, because she's a reasonable woman and knows that her client is a repulsive human being.
Judges and prosecutors are supposed to enforce the laws that exist, not the ones they think should exist, and when they lose sight of that, they run the risk of getting their pants pulled down in public and having their sterling reputations sullied.
Criminal impersonation in the second degree? That's a misdemeanor.
It's the best I could do.
Bertuccio was prepared to overturn the verdict.
Wait, he said that? In so many words.
- Have you told Laura? - No.
I called her a few times, but I don't know where she is.
Okay, I'll find her.
Break the news to her in person.
[dramatic music.]
[siren wailing.]
What happened? Mr.
Collett, is it Laura? Watch him.
Excuse me.
Coming through.
Oh, no, my baby! [sobbing.]
Oh, my baby! Oh, no! [sobbing.]
No! [sobbing.]
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.
Maybe we should set up a few more meetings with the consultant.
- We're fine - Oh, I just found out that Matthew Sun is on the board at Penn - We're running late.
- Okay.
All right.
Oh, honey? Honey? Just remember, okay? It's supposed to be a conversation, you know? Just avoid yes or no answers.
- Okay, Mom, I know.
- You look good.
I'll call you when we get to Boston, okay? Okay.
All right.
Oh! Don't forget to mention your three-week seminar in Nairobi.
Thank you.
[phone buzzing.]
Hey.
Great.
Yeah, I'll see you soon.
[dark music.]
[both breathing heavily.]
[moans.]
[both breathing heavily.]
Laura, are you sure you want to have sex? Absolutely.
Why the hell do you think we're here? [both moaning.]
[water faucet running.]
- All right, thank you.
- Hi.
Hey, the victim's name is Laura Collett.
She's on her way to the hospital.
It looks like an overdose, but no note.
- Who found her? - Maintenance.
2:00 a.
m.
Tub started overflowing, leaking water into the room below.
- Did she check in alone? - Well, we're not sure.
We're trying to pull video at the moment, but, I mean, the room is in her name.
She charged it on her AMEX.
- Key card? - Last used at 9:56 p.
m.
- Any witnesses on the floor? - No, nobody heard a peep.
Oh, looks romantic.
- Flowers, a bottle of Brunello.
- Yeah.
CSU's gonna check that for narcotics.
You said there was an outcry witness, right? Yeah, the suspect via text.
- Okay, you got a name? - No.
I called the number a few times.
No answer, no voicemail.
Laura's last text was 11:56 last night.
"You raped me.
Burn in hell.
" Okay, clear and concise.
Not exactly.
She sent another text to the same guy ten minutes earlier.
"Incredible night.
Just gonna say it.
Best sex ever.
" So, in ten minutes she goes from "best sex ever" to "you raped me?" How the hell does that happen? [dramatic music.]
Hey.
The vic's at the hospital.
She's still unresponsive.
Nearly lethal dose of alcohol and diazepam.
Doctor says it's looking 50/50.
Any other drugs in her system? No, and the doctor did a full tox panel.
No Rohypnol or other date rape drugs.
Okay, so the victim has sex, and then has a change of heart after the fact.
She goes from best sex ever to rape in ten minutes.
- That's a pretty big change of heart.
- Ten minutes or ten hours.
The question is, what turns this into a rape? TARU said these texts went to a burner? - Yeah.
- All right.
So the victim, Laura Collett, married, lives in Manhattan.
What else do we know? She's 42.
She has one son.
And here's a screen shot of her phone.
Just another perfect family.
Wow, it's just too early to be that jaded.
Next time I'll wait till noon.
The husband, he's at the hospital? - Yeah, unis called.
- Great, head down there.
See what he knows.
Excuse me.
Mr.
Collett? I'm Detective Carisi.
This is Detective Rollins.
We're looking into what happened with your wife last night.
You're investigating her for overdosing on pills? No, no, we're not.
We're trying to understand what happened prior to that.
- Prior? - Yeah.
You see, your wife sent a text message from her phone accusing somebody of rape.
So she was at a hotel with a man who raped her? Right now, we're just trying to figure out who she was with.
When was the last time you talked to Laura? Late afternoon.
I was my son and I were in Boston, visiting colleges.
Did you know that she was staying at the Luxembourg Hotel that night? Mr.
Collett, do you have any idea who Laura was with? Maybe with somebody from work? No.
She doesn't work.
She's involved with various charities, but - Okay.
- We were happy.
- At least I thought we were.
- Had she taken up anything new? Tennis, hiking, or yoga? More like college admissions.
That's all she thinks about, where my son will be going to college next year.
Right.
Well, look, Mr.
Collett, we know this is all overwhelming, but we'd like your consent to do a rape kit.
[solemn music.]
What do you got? The hotel just sent over security footage.
All right, at 6:14 p.
m.
, Laura walks in the hotel lobby.
She says hello to this tall, white man.
Looks early 40s.
He's decent looking.
Well-dressed.
I'll run it through facial-rec.
Great, so meanwhile, head back to that hotel, show that image to guests, doormen, front desk.
See if anybody knows who this guy is.
All right, take a ride to the Luxembourg Hotel? No, I can't.
Barba set up an interview with me with some ADA in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn? You got to grow a beard and start making artisan pickles? I'm just seeing what's out there, all right? For the record, I like artisan pickles.
- Mm.
- How do I look? Like a cop.
Hey, how did Noah do? Okay, did you talk to his teacher? Oh.
Okay, thanks, Lucy.
Everything good with the little guy? Apparently, Noah's language skills are slightly underdeveloped relative to his peer group.
You know, I've just been doing my best, you know, reading and talking, singing So he's not getting into the fancy school? They don't know yet.
Anything new with Laura Collett? Rape kit came back.
No semen, bruises, or abrasions, but she did have sex.
They found traces of condom lubricant.
- Any facial-rec? - No, the guy's still a ghost.
- Anything on social media? - No pops on the perp, but check this out.
She DM'd her son the day before the incident.
"I'm sorry.
Call me.
" And he writes back, "You make me sick.
I hope you die.
" Huh.
- Those are pretty strong words.
- Yeah, maybe the kid found out his mother was seeing somebody else.
I'll go back to the hospital, see what he knows.
How'd your meeting go with LaRosa? What, you think I don't hear things? [footsteps approaching.]
Hey, Justin.
How's your mom? She's still unconscious, but the doctor sounds optimistic.
Good.
Not sure if he really means it, or he's just trying to placate me.
Placate, huh? Nice.
SAT word, right? [laughs softly.]
So listen, we got this from the hotel security.
Do you recognize this guy with your mom? No, sorry.
That's okay.
[sighs.]
So listen, Justin.
I, um I saw the message you sent your mother the night of the incident.
What was she so sorry about? Why did you say that you wanted her to die? She kept bugging me about Hudson.
She really wants me to go there.
She thinks it's so prestigious.
You know, my mother [chuckles.]
My mother didn't even know I applied to college.
No, seriously.
Two days before classes started, I said, "Hey, Ma, can I borrow 400 bucks for books? I just got into St.
John's.
" Lucky you.
My mom's been on four campus tours of Hudson, sat in on six lectures, and had three lunches with some guy from the admissions office.
The other day, she asked me to have lunch with him.
Said he might be the difference maker, and I snapped.
I'm sick of dealing with all her stress over all this.
I'm the one applying.
[solemn music.]
I just hope that's not the last thing I ever said to her.
[sighs.]
Did she ever mention the name of the guy at the the admissions office? No, she never mentioned it.
Do you think she that because of our fight, she took all those pills? No.
No, put that out of your head.
I think she loves you very much, and it's because of that she's gonna make a full recovery.
Come on.
You got to hit that thing harder, man.
You know what's overrated? Wireless, and putting lemon in water.
I don't get that.
All right.
So Justin says that his mother was spending time with some guy who works in the office of admissions of Hudson University.
I got 27 males in that department, 19 women.
Takes all those people to look at applications and say yes or no? Hey, I just got back from the hotel, and nobody recognizes the unknown male, but I did get a name that you might find interesting.
Laura signed into the spa at 6:33 p.
m.
, and a guy named Alden Kessler signed in at the exact same time.
Hey, look at that.
He's at the top of my list.
Director of Admissions.
Alden Kessler.
Where is he? Thanks.
Hey, where's Alden Kessler? You're looking at him.
- Wait, you're Alden Kessler? - Is there a problem? Yeah.
A tall white one.
Do you know him? Or her? No.
Never seen either one.
Look, what's going on here? This is Detective Carisi.
I'm Detective Rollins.
We're from the Special Victims Unit and we're investigating a rape allegation.
Is that your signature? No, and I've never set foot in the Luxembourg Hotel.
Why? There's a rapist out there pretending to be you.
[dramatic music.]
We think someone is using your name, your identity.
Any idea why somebody would want to do that? This woman, Laura, does she have a child applying to Hudson? Yeah, her son.
Justin Collett.
[keys clacking.]
[sighs.]
Yeah, there he is.
Senior at York Prep.
3.
9 GPA, 2250 SAT scores.
- That's good, right? - Exceptional.
Problem is, we get 2,000 kids with similar credentials.
We only accept 400.
The other spots go to international students, athletes, diversity candidates.
So, tough to be a rich, white kid with great grades? That that's what you're saying? At elite universities, anyway.
That must make you a pretty popular man, right? When you're, like, the the doorman for the most exclusive club in the world.
Do any of these rich parents ever try to, um influence your decision? [scoffs.]
No, never.
That would be unethical.
- Do any of them offer sex? - Excuse me? What I mean is, if you wanted to exploit your power in a sexual way, would there be any takers? I've been offered all kinds of outrageous things, a part ownership at a winery in Bordeaux, a Monet.
Last year, a hedge funder with an underachieving son offered me $5 million, and yes, on occasion, there have been sexual advances.
Laura Collett just woke up.
Benson's on her way to the hospital.
Mr.
Kessler, thank you.
We'll be in touch.
We, uh, we met on campus.
Justin and I had just, uh, taken a tour, and I was I was getting coffee at the café, and he, um he introduced himself to me.
He said he worked at the admissions office.
The night that you two were at the Luxembourg Hotel, you sent him a text that said, "Best sex ever.
" And then ten minutes later, you sent him another text that said, "You raped me.
Burn in hell.
" So can you tell me what happened in those ten minutes? I figured out he wasn't Alden Kessler.
How? He mixed up a few statistics.
He said, um said the endowment was 9 billion.
It's actually 13.
You got suspicious? Yeah.
Had you Googled him or, you know, looked him up? I did, and there he was on some professor's Instagram page.
Just right there, and I'm I mean, I'm stunned.
I'm stunned, and I call him.
I called this man that I just had sex with, okay? And I confront him, and he laughs at me.
And he hangs up, and I call him again, and and and he doesn't answer, so I sent the text about him raping me.
I mean, I didn't I didn't mean it literally, but I wanted him to know how disgusting he was and how upset I was, and then [solemn music.]
[sniffles.]
Did you mean to hurt yourself? No.
I was I was trying to numb the pain.
I would never abandon my family.
So you didn't know the true identity of this man, which means that you never consented to having sex with him.
Wait a minute.
What what are you saying? What what he did was a crime? I'm saying that what he did to you is rape.
She screwed some guy trying to get her kid into college? - Quid pro quo.
- But she got played.
Ended up having sex with some jackass pretending to be a big shot at Hudson.
Which makes it rape.
In her mind, anyway.
Just being real, lying to have sex is just part of the game.
I mean, back in the day, I pretended to be Melle Mel's cousin one night.
You trying to tell me that was rape? - Things have changed, Fin.
- Not that much.
Everybody's lying in the club.
Trust me on that.
No, no, she consented to having sex with Alden Kessler, not some stranger pretending to be Alden Kessler, so ask me, that's rape.
Let's find this guy.
Do we have any leads? No, not much.
The wine bottle came back negative for prints, and the only lead I got when I was at Laura's townhouse, I found a few personal notes written to her on Kessler's Hudson stationary.
Oh, that guy was selling it.
If it's really Kessler's stationary that means that the suspect has access to his office.
Time to take another college tour.
68 grand a year for this? I don't get all the fuss.
Yeah, me neither, but a lot of people do.
Yeah, this imposter obviously witnessed all the groveling and ass-kissing up close and personal - that goes on around here.
- Makes sense.
He saw he had a captive audience, decided to exploit it.
Yeah, but right, but guys have been doing that for years.
Right? Lying, exaggerating, manipulating.
- You don't think it's rape? - I-I think it's disgusting, but where do you draw the line? Like, say this kid, says he grew up on Fifth Avenue, but he's really from Jersey City, or say a guy, he says he makes 200,000 grand a year, but he really only makes 100, you know? I mean, is that rape? This guy's different.
He's a predator.
Well, I just don't like gray.
We're cops, not lawyers.
- Speak for yourself.
- [chuckles.]
I keep forgetting.
- Is that an insult? Go ahead.
- Actually, it's a compliment.
That's Tom Metcalf, campus security.
We hired him two months ago.
We had about 20 extra people during application season.
Things can get little nuts.
A few days ago, I would have found that hard to believe.
Why do you need Tom? He in trouble? No, no.
We just we want to talk to him.
- He punched out at 5:12.
- Can you call him? Find out where he is? You know, pretend you got to talk to him about work or something.
[dark music.]
[indistinct chatter.]
You know, I played baseball at Vanderbilt.
You really work at Goldman? Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like a construction worker.
I produce movies.
Mostly comedies.
You ever hear of the "40-Year-Old-Virgin?" No way.
That's one of my favorites.
34,000 applications.
We accepted 10%.
71% of those applicants chose Hudson.
We now have a yield rate that's higher than Princeton.
How do you know all that, Tom? - Tom? My name is - Let me guess.
Alden? Why don't we go back to my place? Laura Collett overdosed? That's horrible.
Well, she said that you lied to her.
That you pretended to be Alden Kessler, and when she found out, she got pretty upset.
That's terrible.
I'm I'm so sorry.
So you admit you lied to her about being somebody else? I told her I worked in admissions, and I left out the fact that I was a security guard, and she made assumptions.
You know, as far as I know, that's not a crime.
I even looked it up.
Well, we're just trying to figure out what happened that night.
I mean, I got to do my job, but between you and me, I don't even know why you're here.
Honestly, I dated this chick once in college.
I dated her for a whole semester.
She thought I was an exchange student from Italy.
It was the best sex I ever had.
Yeah, well, that whole foreign thing works with, you know, a certain niche audience.
This guy thinks he's pretty clever, huh? So does this guy.
So is it just college moms, or do you work other angles too? What's the point of this meeting? Look, Tom, I need to hear your side of this before things get blown out of proportion.
My side, it's simple.
I met Laura.
We had a few dates.
That's that.
Have you ever impersonated other people? Come on, man to man.
Like I said, it's not against the law.
If you ask me, it's a brilliant strategy, like taking advantage of the tax code.
You find a loophole, you exploit it.
Well, you got nothing to worry about.
That's my point.
So you have impersonated other people? - Of course.
- Well, let me guess.
Hedge fund guy, right? Oh, please, that's for rookies.
I play much more sophisticated angles.
Oh, such as? I used to work security in a medical building.
Heard all this lingo.
Next thing you know, the neurologist is in the house.
Hmm.
"Amy, my main focus is neuromuscular disease, but if truth be told, my true passion is poetry.
" That is genius.
It's all about the humble brag.
I'm writing a book about all this to help regular guys close the deal with beautiful women.
Let's go back to Laura though, all right? Did she actually ever say yes to you, to Tom, before sex? Or did she just think she was about to get after it with some hot shot from Hudson? Am I under arrest? [tense music.]
No.
Then I'm out of here.
I'm gonna send you a copy of my book.
If you're nice, I might even autograph it for you.
It sounds like Rape by Fraud.
The problem is that doesn't exist in New York criminal code.
I know, but we can't just let this guy walk.
There's got to be some kind of statute or theory that we can use to prosecute this kind of vile behavior.
People vs.
Hough, 1994.
A twin tricks his brother's wife into having sex with him.
The court rules there was wrongdoing, but no crime was committed since the law doesn't cover that type of behavior.
Okay, so maybe it's time we update New York law into the 21st Century.
Well, there have been rumblings about a new bill in the legislature.
A case like this could kick start things.
Are you sure the victim is willing to testify? I will talk to her.
And our repugnant ladies' man, he's done this before? Well, it sounds like it.
He told Carisi that he was writing a book about his various conquests.
If we can establish a consistent pattern, it would help sway the jury.
Great, I'll need a warrant to keep digging.
Yeah.
Do I need to stick around for this? Well, it's better you stay, if you don't mind.
This guy Metcalf a criminal? A person of interest.
Rollins, "Dr.
Michael Mandlebaum, Stanford University Medical School.
" Huh, the guy definitely backstops.
[scoffs.]
Hey, check this out.
"My Mali Journey," Stephanie Dowling.
I mean, he's got desperate moms submitting their kids work to him.
Hmm, look.
Look at that.
"Alden, thanks for reading this.
"Stephanie is a special young lady.
"See you tomorrow afternoon at the Strathmore.
Can't wait.
Erin.
" It sounds like another potential vic.
What's the Strathmore? A new luxury building in Soho.
Prices start at 10 million.
Oh, and Metcalf's got a place there? Sounds like another con.
- When was that note sent? - Yesterday.
Today's the day.
All right, we might be able to stop this.
I'll call Liv.
Erin Dowling's phone is still going straight to her voicemail.
Excuse me.
Lieutenant Benson from SVU.
Have you seen this man? Our tenants are very private.
Is there something else I can help you with? - It's an emergency.
- That's Mr.
Kessler.
Look, I just clocked in.
I haven't seen him.
- He lives here? - He stays in Mr.
Zeng's place sometimes.
24B.
What's going on? Oh, hey.
[chuckles.]
Small world.
Benson, right? We met the other day.
- Erin Dowling up there? - Yeah.
She's probably catching her breath right about now.
You know you got a stupid smile, right? Are you threatening me, Detective? Let him go, Fin.
And he's done this to other prospective Hudson moms? Yes, he gets off on taking advantage of anxious women.
Look, I know that this is traumatic More like humiliating.
My husband and I have spent over a $1/2 million on our daughter's education.
We want a return on our investment, but the college admissions process is brutal.
My daughter's smart, but normal smart, not prodigy smart, and she's not a minority, or an elite athlete, or violinist.
- Okay, so where'd you meet him? - The café on Hudson's campus.
My daughter was there.
He approached me.
And you thought he was Alden Kessler till right now? Yes.
I am so sorry, but I want you to know that we intend to prosecute this man for what he's done, and we hope that we can count on you to cooperate.
Are you joking? You want me to tell the world that I was willing to sleep with the admissions director to get my daughter into college? You didn't consent to having sex with Tom Metcalf.
He defrauded you.
We were two adults playing a game, and the hustler got hustled.
Lesson learned.
What now? Well, a crime was committed.
Process it like any other case.
I'll call CSU.
Well, sir, I appreciate your cooperation.
Thank you so much.
That was the owner of Metcalf's sex pad.
By the way, it's cloudy in Hong Kong.
- Does he know Metcalf? - Never heard of him.
Then how'd he get in that condo? Don't know.
CSU find anything in Zeng's apartment? Yeah, actually, something good.
Our imposter is a filmmaker, too.
Showed compassion, breadth of experience So you think it will help her chances? I believe it will make her more competitive and allow me to advocate more passionately on her behalf.
Oh, we're not done.
There's more.
Well - Everything okay? - Yeah.
Just, uh, Justin came in third at a cross country meet.
He wants to go out to dinner to celebrate, so I think I should go.
The camera was hidden? He cut a hole in the dresser.
You're sure Metcalf filmed this? CSU's running the camera for prints, touch DNA, but he's clearly the leader of the clubhouse.
How many women are on that tape? Five, all mothers, all trying to help their kid get into Hudson.
Have you identified the other women? Yes, we have, everyone, but none of them are interested in filing a complaint.
- Understandable.
- Which is why he keeps doing - what he is doing.
- Well, he's revolting.
There's no question, but the victim isn't exactly perfect.
I completely agree with you.
She made a horrific decision, but this case is about something bigger than Laura.
How many more women are we gonna let this guy victimize? I mean, win or lose, we need to make a statement here.
Okay.
You win.
Pick him up.
We're doing the right thing.
I know.
That's what I'm worried about.
Yes, I had sex with these women, but I never recorded a damn thing.
Mr.
Metcalf, you can con your desperate soccer moms, but you can't con us.
- I never taped a damn thing.
- Okay, so who did? Mr.
Zeng? What am I even doing here? I've done nothing wrong.
Since when is having sex a crime? What you did isn't sex.
Trust me.
If you arrested every guy who ever lied to get women, you'd have 50 million men in prison.
We're not here to debate the ethics of your behavior, but we are willing to discuss a deal.
If you are willing to plead guilty to sexual assault in the third degree Sexual assault? You kidding me? These chicks were begging for it.
If anything, they assaulted me.
Yes or no? Kiss my ass.
Mr.
Metcalf, you are under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Okay, so this prosecutor's gonna file rape charges? Yes.
Hey, Justin.
How you doing? Sorry, he's just he's having a hard time.
- Understandable.
- He's just he's terrified all of this is gonna become public, so [sighs.]
You think we can win this case? I think that we have a pretty decent chance, and we are going to need you to testify, to stand up there, tell that jury the depths of Metcalf's deceit.
It's just, you know, my family, they're, um they're ashamed, as you just saw.
I mean, this Metcalf guy, he it's like he he saw how weak and vulnerable I was, you know? And he knew he knew how obsessed I was with getting Justin into Hudson.
I understand.
It's very easy to get lost in this private school madness.
And he preys on every weakness and and doubt you possess.
I just I feel so stupid and pathetic.
But what he did, I mean, he he made me hate myself even more than I do, which is not easy.
[solemn music.]
I want him to feel the humiliation and pain that I felt.
We're gonna do our best, Laura.
- That I can promise you.
- Okay.
First off, there is no proof that my client actually recorded these sex tapes.
None.
Moreover, Laura Collett is the only woman on these tapes who's filed a police report.
The other women have not come forward, and they have refused to cooperate with the prosecution.
As such, these tapes are irrelevant, and without question, more prejudicial than probative.
If the prosecution wants to talk about sex tapes then they should charge my client with unlawful surveillance.
- Don't worry, we intend to.
- That's great, but we're here to try a rape case.
So the video pertaining to Mrs.
Collett is admissible.
The rest of it stays out.
Your Honor, there's a pattern of conduct here Like I said, Laura Collett is in.
The other ladies are out.
Being a prosecutor isn't enough.
You want to be a legislator, too.
Excuse me? Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Barba, but your job is to bring cases that are actually crimes under the New York Criminal Code.
We presented the facts to the grand jury, who delivered an indictment.
I once indicted a ham and cheese sandwich for triple homicide.
Well, the defense filed the motion to dismiss You want me to kick a rape case in this political climate without hearing all of the evidence? What's really going on here? You want press? You're laying the bed for a political run? With all due respect, Judge Bertuccio, you're out of line.
Oh, be careful, Counselor.
Just because you preface something with "all due respect" doesn't mean it's respectable.
- I didn't intend to - Do not use my courtroom for your own agenda.
Do you hear me? Are you asking me to dismiss the case? No, no.
[chuckles.]
I would never ask a prosecutor to dismiss a case that he believes is worthy of the court's time.
That would be an abuse of judicial power.
[tense music.]
Laura Collett met the defendant on the campus of Hudson University.
He pretended to be a man named Alden Kessler, the Director of Admissions of Hudson.
Laura and the defendant began to communicate, socialize.
Eventually, they had sex, but Laura Collett thought she was having sex with Alden Kessler, a distinguished academic from Philadelphia and a graduate of Harvard, not Tom Metcalf, an undistinguished security guard from Ridgewood, Queens, and a graduate of P.
S.
346.
As such, Laura Collett never consented to having sex with the defendant.
She consented to having sex with Alden Kessler.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is not a lie.
It's not a clever ruse.
It's rape.
My client, Tom Metcalf, is an imaginative, fast-talking, self-proclaimed ladies' man.
Sure, he exaggerates and embellishes the facts and circumstances of his humble, mediocre life.
Not too long ago, guys like this were called pickup artists or playboys.
Today, in an attempt to gain media attention for himself and to advance his own personal, liberal, political agenda, Mr.
Barba wants to call them rapists.
Laura, did you ever agree to have sex with Tom Metcalf? No.
I never would have spent time with him, let alone have sex with him, if I knew who he really was.
- Why? - Because my only objective was to help my son get into Hudson.
It was more of a business transaction.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
A business transaction? Like a prostitute? - Objection.
- Overruled.
Answer the question.
I didn't think of it like that.
He didn't give me money, but I suppose you're right.
I was giving him sex, and he was giving me something of value, immense value, in return.
Again, I'm not I'm not proud of what I did.
I was just trying to help my son, and I know I know this sounds silly, but I dropped out of college after two years, and I just I just wanted him to be better.
I wanted him to enjoy all the all the things that a prestigious college education offers.
I was willing to do anything.
I mean, we have money but not enough to buy our way, so I I thought I thought this would help.
Using sex to influence a decision that's meant to be based on merit? It's a hell of a way to help your son.
I think we get the idea, Miss Staines.
Move on.
So, Mrs.
Collett, minutes before you overdosed on Valium and alcohol, you sent a text to Mr.
Metcalf saying, "Incredible night.
"Just gonna say it.
Best sex ever.
" But now you're saying you didn't consent to having sex.
I sent the text before I knew who he was, and I was just pretending I enjoyed it.
So you lied? Yes.
What else are you lying about, Mrs.
Collett? - Objection.
- Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
[tense music.]
Laura, did you send the defendant another text message that night? Yes, when I found out who he was, I texted him again.
I said that he raped me and I hoped he burned in hell.
The People rest.
The Defense calls Gary Bell.
Your Honor, may I approach? Gary Bell's not on the witness list.
We have no idea who he is or why he's being called.
He's a doorman at the Strathmore.
He just recently came forward.
And what is the crux of his testimony? That he heard Mrs.
Collett refer to Tom Metcalf as Tom, not Alden.
She knew who Metcalf was.
After the third or fourth time they had sex, Metcalf came clean.
He told her who he really was, and she kept sleeping with him anyway.
So much for no consent.
Metcalf says that you knew his real name, that you had sex with him three or four times.
That's a lie! We had sex once, at the hotel, and that is it, and I never I never knew his real name until that night.
Why would I put myself through all this if I knew who this pig really was? My son can barely look at me! My husband is going to file for divorce.
We believe you.
We do.
Now, do you remember seeing this man? Gary Bell, he was the doorman at the building where you two had drinks one night.
I don't know.
I don't know maybe.
What difference does it make? I never called him Tom, ever.
He's gonna get away with this, isn't he? This whole this whole thing, this whole case has been a big waste of time.
Why did you tell me to testify? Okay, so what do we know about this doorman? He and Metcalf went to the same high school.
Found the yearbook online.
Here's a picture of them together in shop class.
So they know each other, but why is he willing to lie for him and give him access to a luxury condo? It's about more than friendship.
I spoke with Bell's supervisor at the last hotel he worked at He was the night manager at the Mapleton, right? Till he got fired for setting up a camera in the women's restroom.
Well, there you go.
He's a watcher.
No wonder we never found any sex tapes on Metcalf's computer.
Because he wasn't filming the vics.
His friend Bell was.
Okay, but CSU said that there were no prints and no evidence on that camera.
Yeah, but the doorman doesn't know that.
I'm not sure what we're doing here.
Mr.
Bell's testimony is not going to change.
He heard what he heard.
- And he filmed what he filmed.
- Sorry? You filmed your friend Metcalf and his various victims having sex.
I didn't film nothing.
Your fingerprints were all over the camera.
You might as well have autographed it.
Unlawful surveillance is a felony.
That means prison, and we'll be filing those charges soon.
The only question is will I also be filing perjury charges? You agreed to lie for Metcalf because he threatened to out you for making those illegal sex videos, right? But now that we know about those videos too, you got no reason to lie for Metcalf.
I'd err on the side of telling the truth.
Probably gonna be better for you in the long run.
- Maybe I misheard - No, no, stop talking.
If, for some reason, my client thinks he made a mistake, you'll take that into account when it comes time to plead out the illegal surveillance charge? Your Honor, the Defense no longer plans to call Gary Bell.
In fact, we don't intend to call any witnesses.
You're, uh, resting case before presenting it? Correct.
You wish to present a closing argument, Miss Staines? Yes, Your Honor.
Ladies and gentlemen, my client isn't perfect.
Truth is, he's not even decent.
If he tried to date me, I would laugh at him, or I'd punch him in the face.
What I'm saying is, he's disgusting, not a rapist.
Mr.
Metcalf is a sad, frustrated man who longed for success but never found it, so he creates characters in his mind, successful, respected characters, like an actor or an undercover detective might do, and in the course of assuming these alternate identities, he meets lots of women and sometimes has sex with them.
It's not an ethical or moral way to conduct one's romantic life, but it's not criminal, either.
Mr.
Barba wants this court to pass judgment on my client for lying to women, but as of right now, being a jackass isn't a crime under New York law, which means that you, the jury, have a legal obligation to find Tom Metcalf not guilty.
A compelling closing, Miss Staines.
Thank you.
And I'm sure the jury found it persuasive, as well.
How about you, Mr.
Barba? What was your take? Did you find it illuminating, per chance? Your Honor, I stand by the evidence.
I don't care about the evidence.
I care about the law, or the lack thereof.
You're a talented prosecutor with a bright future, and if I were you, I would take Miss Staines out for a cup of that gourmet coffee everyone drinks nowadays and beg her to accept the plea to a lesser charge, which I'm sure she'll accept, because she's a reasonable woman and knows that her client is a repulsive human being.
Judges and prosecutors are supposed to enforce the laws that exist, not the ones they think should exist, and when they lose sight of that, they run the risk of getting their pants pulled down in public and having their sterling reputations sullied.
Criminal impersonation in the second degree? That's a misdemeanor.
It's the best I could do.
Bertuccio was prepared to overturn the verdict.
Wait, he said that? In so many words.
- Have you told Laura? - No.
I called her a few times, but I don't know where she is.
Okay, I'll find her.
Break the news to her in person.
[dramatic music.]
[siren wailing.]
What happened? Mr.
Collett, is it Laura? Watch him.
Excuse me.
Coming through.
Oh, no, my baby! [sobbing.]
Oh, my baby! Oh, no! [sobbing.]
No! [sobbing.]