A Waiver of Consent (Season 27, Episode 2)
Premise: A woman found drugged and dazed in Midtown leads the squad to a members-only sex club whose owner has everyone sign away their right to refuse.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 27, Episode 2
- Starring
- Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano), Det. Terry Bruno (Kevin Kane), Det. Jake Griffin (Corey Cott), Capt. Renee Curry (Aimé Donna Kelly), ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino), ADA Cindy “CJ” Jones (Norma Kuhling)
- Guest stars
- Molly Griggs as Maya Moretti, Michael Cassidy as Derek Simpson, Emilia Suárez as Isabella Dela Cruz, Glenn Fleshler as Dan Olin, Anwar Wolf as Philly “Cheez” Rogers
- Director
- Juan José Campanella
- Writers
- Story: Nicholas Evangelista; Written by: Kevin J. Hynes
Summary
“A Waiver of Consent” opens with Velasco telling Benson that the DEA wants him undercover, guarding a dealer named Ramirez’s drug runs, and has told him to keep it quiet; she agrees to keep his secret if he keeps her informed. Tynan’s pick, Det. Jake Griffin, arrives. He says Tynan was his late father’s patrol partner and took him under her wing, and Benson warns him she has no room for detectives with other agendas. Their first case is Maya Moretti, 35, a senior vice president at a wealth fund, found dazed in Midtown with a torn dress and several drugs in her system, saying only that something bad happened.
Griffin noticed a QR code tattooed on Maya’s wrist and scanned it without telling anyone. It leads to Sensate, a members-only wellness club on 41st Street that Curry knew at IAB as a likely front for a sex club, until 1PP shut that inquiry down. Maya checks herself out and denies anything happened. The owner, Derek Simpson, refuses Curry and Velasco a member list. Griffin’s informant, Cheez, arranges an introduction, and Griffin and Bruno pose as wealthy prospects. Simpson asks them to sign a form waiving any claim about consent. Carisi calls it worthless in law, but members believe it binds them, which explains Maya’s silence. Against orders, Griffin goes back alone and finds Isabella Dela Cruz (called Isabella Cruz in the episode), the young woman who gave them the tour. Benson nearly sends him back to Tynan, but Isabella says Simpson got her hooked on drugs and made her have sex with members.
A raid on Sensate turns up more women who appear to have been trafficked. ADA CJ Jones, whose old brothel case against Simpson collapsed because his lawyer, Dan Olin, represented all the women, becomes Carisi’s second chair, and the judge refuses to remove Olin. At trial Olin picks apart Isabella’s account, and Jones questions Simpson so sharply that the judge rebukes her. When a video of Maya’s assault surfaces online, Benson shows it to her and insists that no form could make that consent. Maya remembers telling someone to stop, then testifies that Simpson sold drugs, paid women to have sex with members and once threatened her.
Spoiler, the ending: The jury convicts Simpson of promoting prostitution, sex trafficking and selling drugs; the men who assaulted Maya are not identified on screen. Griffin admits he was wrong to go in alone, and Benson, noting that Isabella felt safe with him, tells him he may have a home in SVU as long as he works with the team. He promises never to go behind her back, then goes to a meeting where Tynan is waiting for him.
Why it stands out
- Corey Cott makes his first appearance as Det. Jake Griffin; he had played a different character, Ellis Griffin, a suspect in a sexual assault, in Season 18.
- Norma Kuhling first appears as ADA Cindy “CJ” Jones, who works with Carisi in the district attorney’s office.
- The episode has two endings: the NBC broadcast closes with Bruno telling Benson that Stabler is in the hospital, leading into Law & Order: Organized Crime, while the streaming version ends with Griffin arriving to meet Tynan.