Intersecting Lives (Season 17, Episode 22)
Premise: A former inmate accuses a Rikers corrections officer of raping her inside and outside the jail, and SVU builds a case while his union closes ranks.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 17, Episode 22
- Starring
- Lt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Det. Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino), Sgt. Mike Dodds (Andy Karl), ADA Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza), Judge D. Serani (Michael Mastro)
- Guest stars
- Brad Garrett as Gary Munson, Krystal Joy Brown as Charisse McCabe, Karina Logue as Lisa Munson, Bill Duke as Ed Pastrino, Ernest Waddell as Ken Randall
- Director
- Jonathan Starch
- Writers
- Story: Brianna Yellen; Written by: Julie Martin & Warren Leight
Summary
“Intersecting Lives” opens as Carisi learns he has passed the bar and Dodds prepares to leave for the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Fin has lunch with his son, Ken Randall, who says he and Alejandro are expecting a boy through a surrogate. Ken, a halfway-house social worker, then hears from his client Charisse McCabe that Rikers corrections officer Gary Munson has just raped her. She says Munson forced her into oral sex in the jail chapel after family visits while she was an inmate, kept demanding it weekly after her release and raped her when she refused.
Munson, 17 years at Rikers, has three complaints that never stuck and a father-in-law who is a deputy inspector. To keep him from being tipped off, the squad presents its inquiry as a gang trafficking case. Jail video shows Munson taking Charisse into the chapel ten times in three months while a female officer keeps watch, and reveals three other likely victims. Charisse is then arrested with her boyfriend in a stop that a bodega camera shows had no cause, and she says Munson assaulted her again inside. Barba gets her and three other women released, but Charisse will not testify and tries to leave town until the detectives persuade her to fight for her daughters’ sake.
Wearing a wire, Charisse calls Munson, who walks her into an empty building, guesses she is wired and pulls a gun; Fin moves in when she begs to go home, and Munson is arrested for attempted rape. Backed by union representative Tony Rodriguez, he rejects a plea to one count. With Ed Pastrino defending him at arraignment, the judge rejects remand and sets bail at $200,000, which the union covers; Munson’s wife, Lisa, accuses the squad of a setup. License-plate readers near a Harlem mosque place Munson’s car near Charisse’s rape site five Fridays running, and during a search of his home Benson urges Lisa to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Facing time-card fraud charges, the lookout officer, Orita Wilkins, says Munson leaves early on Sundays and points the squad to Leanne Carter, an inmate’s sister, who says he has raped her on Sunday nights.
Spoiler, the ending: Charisse, Orita and Lisa testify before the grand jury; Lisa believes she can account for her husband’s Sunday nights until she sees video of him leaving Rikers at 6 p.m. on nights his time cards say midnight. Barba expects the grand jury to indict on many rape and sodomy counts. Outside the courthouse Rodriguez promises war, and a man in the crowd tells Barba he could shove him down the steps. Barba tells the squad to watch their backs; the story continues in the next episode.
Why it stands out
- The first half of the two-part Season 17 finale, which aired on May 18 and 25, 2016.
- Brad Garrett guest stars as corrections officer Gary Munson.
- Ernest Waddell returns as Fin’s son, Ken Randall, whose news makes Fin a grandfather-to-be.