Law & Order Special Victims Unit s20e19 Episode Script

Dearly Beloved

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.
There's a crease in my collar.
Nobody can tell, Josh.
Think my eyebrows are too bushy? I cannot believe somebody's actually marrying you.
Ah, man.
Who is calling me today? Unknown caller.
It's probably one of those Chinese robo-calls.
Or it's a patient.
Here, give me my phone.
- No Hey - You know, for a shrink - you're incredibly uptight.
- You wanna talk issues, Alan? - Come on, come on.
- Ah, we promised Lana, no patient phone calls today.
What are you guys, 12 years old? Can they kick you out of church on your wedding day? - Beth has weed.
- For later.
I am getting married today.
Whoo! And if I'm lucky, pregnant tonight.
Well, cheers to that.
Marriage is to be entered into reverently, deliberately, in accordance with the purpose for which it was instituted by God.
If anyone assembled here has just cause why this man and this woman should not be joined together, speak now or forever hold your peace.
I do.
And I have a good reason.
Josh, who is that? Dr.
Hensley raped me.
Excuse me, Father.
I didn't know what else to do.
You did the right thing by calling us.
Everyone's inside.
But I have to tell you, it's not pretty.
The wedding party is over there on the right.
Miss Bennett is over here.
Hi, I'm Lieutenant Benson.
Oh my God, I am so sorry.
I was just trying to help.
Every heard of a phone? I'm Detective Carisi.
- Now, you gotta be the groom, right? - Yes, yeah.
Let's go someplace and straighten this all out.
- I'm not leaving my wife.
- She's not your wife yet! Take my advice, you don't wanna be here right now.
Oh, my God.
Lana.
Lana, I love you, okay? I love you! Why don't we go someplace where we can talk more quietly? Lana, one day you're gonna thank me for this.
- Do not speak to her! - Hey, excuse me.
Back up, please, both of you.
Let's go.
I just wanted somebody to know.
Well, now everyone does.
Why don't we start from the beginning? How did you even meet Josh Hensley? He was my therapist.
I went to see him three months ago after my mom passed away.
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your mother.
And when was that appointment? It was December 11th.
You know, I just wanted somebody to talk to.
Well, we certainly understand how difficult this could be.
How many times had you seen him before the incident? I mean, never, it was my first time going to therapy.
I didn't even know what to expect.
Okay.
So, what time did you arrive? Well, it was after work, so 6:15.
Okay, was anybody else there? There were I mean, there were a lot of other doctors in the medical suite where he worked.
I made the appointment with the receptionist on the phone, but by the time I got there she must've gone home.
Okay, so what happened? Well, he was just really nice at first.
He was professional.
And I gave him, you know, my history.
I'm an only child, my father left when I was a kid.
And I just missed my mom so much that I started to cry.
And that's when Dr.
Hensley came, and sat on the couch next to me.
And he asked if he could give me a hug.
- He said that it was normal.
- It's not.
And he gave me hug, and he stroked my hair.
And I knew that it was inappropriate, but I was too afraid to challenge him.
Okay.
And that's when he pushed me back, he put his hand up my skirt, he pulled down my underwear, and that is when I told him to stop, but he didn't listen.
He just forced himself inside of me.
And I laid there like a ragdoll while he finished.
I cannot believe that I am here with a detective on my wedding day.
What's this woman's name? - Kitty Bennett.
- I have no idea who that is.
So this is a case of mistaken identity? I don't know, but I sure as hell didn't rape her.
All right, so she's lying? You tell me.
All I know is she just ruined the best day of my life.
Did you tell anyone about the rape, a friend, a family member, a co-worker, anyone at all? No.
I mean, I was just too ashamed.
I thought that nobody would believe me.
So what did you do the next day? I called in sick at the ad agency where I worked.
But I missed so much time because of this, they've let me go.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Did you have any contact with Dr.
Hensley after he sexually assaulted you? Any phone calls or emails? And it's okay if you did.
How did you know he was getting married today? Instagram.
I started to look at his photos.
I know that it's crazy, right? Well, it's normal to be curious after something like this happens.
I mean, I never thought that the police would be getting involved.
But you did want people to know that he had raped you.
I guess I wanted him to be punished.
You know, to be humiliated like I was.
You know, I gotta talk to Lana.
You know, I gotta make sure that she's okay.
Well, I can tell you that she's not okay.
And everybody's gone, okay? Hey, Kitty Bennett says that she is a patient of yours.
What? She came to see you in December after her mom died.
Well, clearly, she's not well because that never happened.
All right, well, let me tell you what's gonna happen next, okay? We're gonna go to your office, we're gonna comb through your appointment book, all your files.
And if Kitty was ever a patient of yours, - we're gonna figure that out.
- Great, let's go right now.
Because there's no file, there's no billing record.
I mean, whatever's gonna make this nightmare go away.
Help us understand why this woman is accusing you.
I wish that I knew.
Maybe it wasn't a rape, maybe it was a fling, you know, like you guys do before you get married.
I have never cheated on Lana, ever.
I mean, this is gonna destroy me, you understand? You gotta help me.
I mean, Kitty is exhibiting all the guilt and the self-loathing typical of rape victims.
And Hensley swears that he never saw her in his life.
Do you believe him, Carisi? I mean he's adamant, I'll give him that.
Well, so far, Kitty's story checks out.
Dr.
Hensley did post a photo of his rehearsal dinner on his Instagram page.
So, can we confirm this therapy appointment in December? Chelsea Medical opens up at 7:00 a.
m.
on Monday.
Perfect.
Chelsea Medical.
Dr.
Young one second.
Uh uh, Friday at 10:00 for a chemical peel.
Great, we'll see you then.
Hi.
We're from SVU.
We just need to confirm an appointment of Dr.
Hensley's; December 11th, at 6:15, a patient named Kitty Bennett.
Dr.
Hensley's on his honeymoon.
Right, we just need to take a look at his appointment book, though.
If it's not too much trouble.
Isn't that a HIPAA violation? No, we don't need to see any medical records or anything, so it's good.
Okay.
For December 11th? - Mm-hmm.
- That's right.
Hmm There was no appointment for 6:15 that day.
Okay, these are written in pencil? So is it possible that somebody could have erased the appointment? If a patient cancels or changes the date.
- Okay.
- All right, thank you.
Did you catch the name of Hensley's next appointment that day? Hannah Berkowitz.
Clocked the phone number, too.
Okay, good.
So if Kitty was here, maybe Hannah saw her leave.
Tuesdays at 7:15 is my usual appointment, but December 11th that was the day that I no-showed.
I was coming from a big recital in Philly, and I ran into some ridiculous traffic on the turnpike.
No-show, huh? All right, thanks for your time.
Sure.
You know what, can I ask you a personal question? Was Dr.
Hensley ever inappropriate with you? Inappropriate how? Like, did he come on to you? I'm gay.
I came out two years ago.
Dr.
Hensley was the one who helped me feel comfortable with my sexuality.
Is he in some kind of trouble? Um, one of his female patients may have had some issues.
Wait a minute.
Is her name Kitty Bennett? - You know her? - Not in real life, but she stalked me on Instagram.
I left a comment on one of Dr.
Hensley's photos, and she followed me after that.
Then came the private messages.
What were those messages about? She kept insisting that we get coffee to talk trash about Dr.
Hensley.
But you never met up with her? I don't even talk to my best friend about my therapy.
I'm not about to spill my guts to some rando, especially about someone who pretty much saved my life.
So that's the only contact that you had with Kitty? Well, I made the mistake of replying to her first message.
She took that as an invitation to write me every day for, like, a month.
I finally had to block her.
That chick is straight-up psycho.
I tracked three of Dr.
Hensley's other female patients.
They had nothing but nice things to say about him.
Well, meanwhile, Kitty Bennett's got more than her fair share of run-ins with the law.
Got disorderly conduct, a few shop-lifting arrests, and my personal favorite restraining order.
Who filed for the restraining order? Guy by the name of Bo Albrecht.
Kitty Bennett? She's accusing me of something? Because you know she's loony tunes, right? Uh, you were going out with her? I met her one time at a cooking class.
I mentioned I liked her soufflé.
Next thing I know, she's blowing up my Facebook Messenger.
Okay, was there some flirtation going on between you two? I was just trying to be nice.
Then she found out I was a trainer, started sending me daily exercise videos of herself in these sexy gym outfits.
Well, that's when I told her I had a girlfriend.
I'm guessing that didn't go too well.
She accused me of leading her on, so I blocked her.
That only added fuel to the fire.
She didn't stop harassing you? Not me, my girlfriend.
Kitty found out Megan waited tables at The Red Cat.
She showed up during one of Megan's shifts, told her I was hitting on her.
That's when I took her to court and got a restraining order.
Did you arrest Dr.
Hensley yet? Well, there are a few things that we need to clear up first.
Like what? Well, we spoke to a few people that you've been in contact with, virtual strangers, really.
And from what I understand, you've engaged in some behavior that might be considered stalking.
Did you talk to Bo? Mm-hmm.
Oh, and did he tell you that he lied to me - and said that he was single? - And that the judge gave him a restraining order against you.
That was for his girlfriend.
And when I saw them both in court, I said I was sorry.
I mean, I apologized.
Okay, Kitty, we also spoke with Hannah Berkowitz.
Okay, look I may have, like, crossed a line with Hannah, but I was just desperate to talk to somebody who had seen Dr.
Hensley, you know? I-I wanted to understand why he had targeted me.
We spoke with Dr.
Hensley's receptionist, and there's no record of any appointment.
What are you saying, that I made this up? I'm just trying to understand what really happened.
I mean, look, I'm not like some choir girl.
I've made some bad decisions in my life, but that is why he thought he could get away with this.
And you know something? You're proving him right.
No.
Kitty, how 'bout we start over? Okay? Kitty, I want to believe you, I do.
Why don't we have a seat? But I need you to help me.
Are there any details from that night that you can remember? Maybe, you know, a physical characteristic or the way he smelled any detail at all.
I mean, I just remember lying on that red leather couch and staring up at the ceiling and just praying for it to be over.
I do have a leather couch in my office.
It's burgundy, not red.
Red, burgundy we're not really Sherwin-Williams here.
So, how would she know that if she was never there? His professional web page.
There's a photo of Josh at his desk.
The couch is in the background.
Why make this false accusation against you? I have no idea.
Please.
Is there any chance that you had a casual interaction with this woman, something that maybe she construed as flirtatious? I just I cannot think of anything.
Does she have a history of this kind of thing? Well, we're still investigating.
But has anything come up on your phone or social media accounts that seems out of the ordinary? Last month somebody sexted Josh a bunch of nude pics.
You just bringing this up now? Honestly, I didn't see the connection.
I mean, the photos were all different women like they were pulled from a porno site.
I figured it was just spam.
And what about that dating profile? Hold on, what profile? I got an email at my work address.
It was a link to Josh's dating profile page.
And I've never done any online dating.
I was furious, but when I really looked at it, I could tell it was fake.
I mean, the photos of Josh were also on Google and, some of the information was wrong.
Did you reply to the email, try to figure out who sent it? The next day, but the reply just bounced right back.
Also, we had a burglary here.
It was about, uh, what was that, like, two months ago? And we reported it to the 11th Precinct.
Was anything stolen? No, no, I mean, we figured it was just some kids.
All they did was they poured a bottle of tomato juice all over our wedding invitations.
Huh.
All right, so now they're saying I broke into their apartment? - Did you? - No.
The text, the fake dating profile, those tracked back to your old job.
You were harassing these people.
No, I mean, I was just trying to protect Lana.
I mean, she needed to know the truth about the man she was gonna marry.
So maybe you met Dr.
Hensley in the city, right? You thought he was attracted to you, so you looked him up on Instagram and you found out he was engaged? No, I saw him for therapy.
Okay, okay.
Kitty There are so many inconsistencies in your story.
We're just trying to figure out what happened.
You okay? Oh, my God.
Kitty, are you pregnant? Um I mean, after I was raped, I just missed my period.
And I was really hoping it was from the stress, but then I started feeling nauseous in the morning.
I took the test right before you got here.
I'm pregnant, and he did this to me.
Yeah, and I always dreamed of being a mom.
I had this doll when I was five, Penelope.
She came with a bottle and a diaper.
My imaginary husband was this handsome prince named Sebastian.
I never thought that my baby's father would be a man who raped me.
Okay, I'll send these off to the lab.
Yeah, if you could put a rush on that, I'd appreciate it.
- Good.
- Thank you.
So, Kitty, I know that it doesn't feel like it But you're strong, and you're gonna get through this.
Well, a judge can't make me keep it.
No, of course not.
Good, 'cause if Dr.
Hensley tries to stop me from getting an abortion Listen, even if he is the father, he has no right to do that.
Good, 'cause I could never love a baby who was conceived by a monster.
You don't think I should keep it? You know, whatever whatever you decide.
What would you do? If it was me You know, I'm I'm, um It's hard for me to be objective.
But I think that you're raw right now, and with some distance you'll realize that that this baby is half yours.
And no matter what happened to you, he or she It's not their fault.
All right, and if I wait and it's too late to do anything Yeah, but that's why maybe, maybe you should talk to someone.
Another psychologist? No, thank you.
I mean, as soon as these labs come back, I'm going right to the clinic.
I'm getting rid of this thing.
If this woman is insisting I impregnated her, she must have some kind of personality disorder and she needs help.
When the results come back, you'll be my first call.
- Thanks.
- Thanks, Fitz.
So once this DNA test clears me, this will all be over, right? Not necessarily.
But I'm not the father.
That means she's fabricating the entire thing.
Well, let's just take this one step at a time.
Fine.
But after this case is dropped, I'm gonna sue this woman for every penny in her bank account.
You okay? Sure.
Kitty is not your mom.
Well, she might as well be.
When I was 15 years old, I overheard her on the phone Talking to someone.
And I heard her say, "How could I love someone" "that was conceived by" "a monster?" That's exactly what what Kitty said to me.
Hey.
Sorry, should I What? The paternity came back.
It's a match.
Pick him up.
- Ugh, what now? - Bad news, Doc.
Paternity test came back, and you're it.
- God.
- There must be some mistake here.
- DNA doesn't lie.
- Lana, listen to me.
- I did not rape that woman.
- Shut up! Just shut up for once in your life! - Just shut up! - I'm with Lana on this one.
- Put your hands behind your back.
- Lana, Lana! I love you, all right? Do not give up on me! - Let's go.
- Lana! I love you! I didn't rape Kitty.
So how else do you explain her being pregnant with your unborn child? - I lied about one thing.
- Oh, only one.
Okay, more than one.
But Kitty and I, we had consensual sex, three times before I ended it.
I couldn't admit it before Only after the DNA came back.
She accused me of rape in front of my entire family.
You are very convincing.
And I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth.
Will you at least just hear me out? What do you got? Hmm? Kitty was never my patient, okay? We met at a bar around the corner from where she lives.
Okay, does this bar have a name? Yeah, it's the Empty Room.
It's on 20th between Ninth and Tenth.
It's a block from Kitty's apartment.
So much for not cheating on Lana.
Yeah, I'll give him an A for creativity.
Okay, so let me guess.
You're at the bar and Kitty came on to you? No, not exactly.
She was sitting alone at the bar, I bought her a drink, talked to her for about ten minutes, and realized how easy this was gonna be.
So why does Kitty claim that she was her patient? Because she's vindictive, okay? And you don't believe me.
- Lie to me once - Okay, you know what? After the second time that Kitty and I slept together, she gave me a key to her apartment, here.
Apartment 4B.
Giving how this case is going, you just knew the elevator would be out.
Liv doing okay with all this? Yeah, it's a tough one, but she's handling it.
- 4B.
- Yeah.
You sure this is kosher? Yeah, go ahead, stick it in, see if it fits.
No.
Okay, but why play us with something so stupid if he knows it's not her key? Let's go to the videotape.
The manager for Kitty's building pulled the last six months of security footage from the camera that was on Kitty's floor.
Yeah, TARU found the days Hensley claims Kitty took him home.
They're both liars.
I know how this looks.
Well, Kitty it looks like you were in a consensual relationship with Josh Hensley.
Okay.
I mean, I did sleep with Josh a few times, but it was after he raped me in his office.
I'm not lying about that.
Kitty, Josh says that you two first met in a bar called The Empty Room.
We talked to the bartender, he said he saw you two together.
Yeah, but that was a few days after my appointment.
An appointment that nobody can confirm.
Did you give him your key? Yeah, but I changed the locks after he dumped me.
And that's what this is about, right? I mean, we know how, how hurt you must have been after you slept with Hensley, and then you found out he was engaged.
And he ended it, you started to stalk him.
No, that is not how it happened.
Okay, okay.
So, Kitty, how did it happen? Okay, look, after he raped me, I went to confront him outside of his office.
You know, I told him that I was going to the police, but he talked me out of it.
- How? - Well, he insisted that we go to a bar so he could explain himself.
You know, and he said that I wanted to be overpowered, that there's a condition for it "Erotic Rape Fantasy Disorder.
" And he said, like, how I played with my hair, the way that I cross my legs so he could see under my skirt, that I was consciously trying to seduce him.
And then and then you took him home? He said that I had intimacy issues.
You know, that the grief from my mom was masking my real problems, and that he would help me work that out.
Look, I'm sorry.
I know I screwed this up.
Is Josh in jail now? He was arraigned, but he made bail, so if he tries to contact you, you gotta let us know.
So Kitty, we're gonna continue with the investigation.
But if there's anything else, you have There isn't, I promise.
And I am so sorry, that I didn't tell you the whole truth.
We'll be in touch.
What is she doing here? You're not the victim I am! I have your disgusting fiancé's baby in my belly! - Please, leave me alone.
- Kitty, don't do this.
Why does she hate me so much? She's the one who destroyed my life.
Well, I think that that might have something to do with your fiancé.
Last weekend I was walking down the aisle to get married and now This nightmare just keeps getting worse.
Josh finally told me that he had an affair with her while we were engaged.
I heard.
So Lana, can we talk about that? When did you and Josh first meet? Josh was my therapist.
But it wasn't like that.
We didn't start seeing each other until after I stopped seeing him professionally.
I'm a real estate broker.
Josh reached out to me when he started looking for a loft in Manhattan.
Uh-huh.
And that's when you two started spending time together? I was going out with another guy at the time, and he convinced me to break it off.
Is that what you wanted? Josh has always been really good to me.
Josh taught me about classical music, and Russian novels.
He took me to art galleries and museums.
Are those things that you like to do? Josh makes all the decisions.
Like like what? Like, in the bedroom.
Hmm.
He likes to be dominant.
Is that is that what you like? Sure.
Hey, how'd it go with Lana today? Oh, she is a mess.
This Josh Hensley is really doing a number on her.
- She's still defending him? - Oh, it gets better.
You ready for this? He was her therapist.
- What? - Yes.
I mean, she says that they didn't start dating until after she stopped seeing him.
But by then he knows exactly what makes her tick.
- And how to manipulate her.
- Right.
His power over her is almost pathological.
I'm starting to think that Kitty actually told us the truth about what happened - in that office - Go back and sleep with your rapist - we've seen it before.
- We have.
Hey, I just got a heads up from the 11 Precinct.
Patrol's responding to a 911 call at Josh Hensley's address right now.
Let's go.
Hey, what do we got? Some kind of dispute with a female intruder.
- Did you get her name? - Kitty Bennett.
Okay, did you try to go in? Sarge said you know the parties, wait for you.
- Here we go.
- Okay, come on, Rollins.
- Lieutenant Benson! - Are you okay? She said she would kill him if he didn't admit he raped her.
Okay, Kitty.
Kitty, put the bottle down.
All right? Let's just have a conversation.
- You think I'm lying.
- No, I don't.
- Okay, well, she does.
- Doesn't matter what she thinks.
Listen, you come any closer to me, - and I'm just gonna do it.
- And then I'll have to shoot you.
Kitty, please.
Please, let him go and just talk to me.
- Just talk to me.
- What do you wanna talk about? Huh? You wanna talk about this thing that's growing inside of me? I promise you Kitty, we can figure that out.
- We can get through that.
- I didn't want any of this.
I know you didn't.
I know that.
Josh, just do it, just tell her the truth! Okay? Just tell her! You need help, Kitty.
Let us help you.
Kitty, Kitty, do not listen to him.
You think I need help from you? Like the way you helped me with my so-called "Rape Fantasy"? Huh? The way you insisted it was my fault, how my body language was an invitation.
Kitty, nobody needs to get hurt here.
How I wanted you to take me because I didn't fight back.
You know what, Josh? Maybe I should just kill you so you don't hurt anybody else.
- Kitty, Kitty, Kitty - Go ahead and kill him! I know you're telling the truth! I know that Josh raped you! - Oh, God, how dare you? - No, please! Listen to me, you said those exact same words to me! Remember, Josh? The first time we had sex after you raped me.
Kitty.
Kitty.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
It's okay, honey.
It's over.
It's okay.
When Josh was looking at lofts, we drove all over Manhattan.
And we had lunches together and drinks after appointments.
Sure, so your professional relationship turned personal.
Josh really helped me build my confidence.
I mean, I was new to real estate.
He was charming and really supportive.
What happened on the day he assaulted you? Josh and I went to see a couple listings.
I had on this red silk dress, heels.
I had plans to go out with friends that night.
Yeah.
We went to look at a loft in Chelsea.
The one you live in now.
We were checking out the bedroom and that's when he grabbed me by the waist and he started kissing me.
And I was kind of flattered, so I kissed him back.
But then he pushed me hard on the bed And he climbed on top of me.
- Did you tell him to stop? - Over and over again.
It just made him more aggressive.
He pulled up my dress and he raped me.
And then I drove him home.
Hey.
That doesn't make what he did to you okay.
I was so confused about what had happened.
He called me the next day and asked me to make an offer on the loft.
When the seller accepted, he showed up at my apartment with flowers and champagne.
It was an apology for being so rough with me.
When I tried to talk to him about it, he said it was okay that I used my sexuality to cement the relationship.
He's sick.
Lana I need to ask if you're willing to testify against him for what he did to you.
I didn't wanna admit to myself what he really was.
Yeah, but when Kitty repeated the very same things he said to me Yes.
I'll testify.
Pick him up again.
What's going on here? It's a new case, Counselor.
Rape One.
You managed to sink your claws into another supposed victim? I'm not the one who has claws here.
That would be your client.
A grieving woman came to you for help.
And in the space of an hour, you managed to destroy her life.
Be that as it may, what's this new arrest about? The complaining witness's name is Lana Stallworth.
- Very funny.
- Hold on, no way.
No, Lana would never turn on me.
No? She's testifying in front of the Grand Jury as we speak.
I gave both those women exactly what they wanted.
No, you conned them into believing That that's what they wanted.
And like any good con man, you've convinced yourself that your victims got what they deserved.
You are done, Doctor.
You're done.
Yeah, I mean, I've been seeing the therapist you recommended.
She's really helping me already.
Very glad to hear that.
You know, you've been through a lot.
I mean, I still have a lot of work to do.
I haven't decided what I'm gonna do about this baby.
I mean, I thought for sure I was gonna get an abortion.
And now? I felt the baby kick this morning.
It really reminded me of what you said, you know, what happened to me is not this baby's fault.
That doesn't mean that it's not gonna be hard.
You know, I've known women in your exact position who have decided to raise their daughter or their son.
And some days they don't even think about it, and other days You know, even though your baby was conceived in an act of violence, your baby is innocent and deserves to be unconditionally loved.
Promise me that if you decide to become a mother That you'll remember that.
I will.
Take care.

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