Making a Rapist (Season 18, Episode 2)
Premise: A man freed after 16 years by a retested rape kit becomes the prime suspect when the daughter of the woman who misidentified him is raped and killed.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 18, Episode 2
- Starring
- Lt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Det. Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino), ADA Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza), Judge Elana Barth (Jenna Stern)
- Guest stars
- Henry Thomas as Sean Roberts, Kelli Williams as Melanie Harper, Alexis Collins as Ashley Harper, Cody Kostro as Charlie Dobkins, Delaney Williams as John Buchanan
- Ripped from the headlines
- Based on the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, about Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who served 18 years for a sexual assault he did not commit and was later convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.
- Director
- Michael Pressman
- Writers
- Story: Brianna Yellen & Robert Cohen & Celine Robinson; Written by: Kevin Fox
Summary
“Making a Rapist” opens with Vice President Joe Biden praising Benson at a news conference on clearing the national backlog of rape kits. One result: an old kit tested in Detroit has freed Sean Roberts, who served 16 years for a New York rape he did not commit. His victim, Melanie Harper, wrongly picked him out, and Fin made the arrest. Sean has since befriended Melanie and her daughter, Ashley, who invites him to her wedding, and he is suing for $30 million, with Fin among the defendants. A month after his release, Ashley is raped, strangled, stabbed, doused in bleach and set on fire at home. Melanie recalls hearing Sean talking with Ashley downstairs around midnight. Ashley dies, and her engagement ring is missing.
Benson keeps Fin on the case so that stepping aside won’t help Sean’s lawsuit, but puts Rollins in charge. Sean left his birthday dinner at about 11:30 but reached a strip club only after 2 a.m., and a friend from prison, Jeff Nichols, first covers for him. Ashley’s fiancé, Zach Brenner, had texted demanding the ring back, but a bartender backs his alibi. On a roof across the street the squad finds Charlie Dobkins, a neighbor who photographed Ashley through her window, with the missing kitchen knife. Video of Charlie with his girlfriend, Shyvon Stevens, clears him, and he says he saw a man throw the knife away. Going through photos with Rollins, he picks Sean. Searching Sean’s apartment, Fin pulls Ashley’s ring from the sink drain, and Sean is charged with her rape and murder.
At trial, defense attorney John Buchanan argues that Fin framed Sean. Charlie admits on cross-examination that he was high, unsure of the time and eager to please Rollins, and Barba blames her for the damage. Fin testifies that he holds no grudge. Melanie, shaken by her earlier mistake, then refuses to testify after talking with Fin. Barba calls her as a hostile witness and draws out that she blames herself because prison made Sean what he is, which means she believes she heard him that night.
Spoiler, the ending: Buchanan offers a manslaughter plea; Barba holds out for second-degree murder with at least 15 years and a full allocution. Sean tells the court that, drunk, he went to apologize to Ashley, told her he liked her and, when she laughed, did to her what had been done to him in prison. Melanie says at least this time she knows he did it.
Why it stands out
- Then–Vice President Joe Biden appears as himself in the cold open, speaking about the backlog of untested rape kits.
- Henry Thomas and Kelli Williams guest-star as the exonerated Sean Roberts and Melanie Harper, the victim who misidentified him.