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.
Love is long suffering and kind.
Love never rejoices at evil,
but rejoices in the triumph of truth.
Repeat,
love bears with all things.
Love bears with all things.
Ever trustful, ever hopeful, ever patient.
Love never fails.
Noah Porter, now we celebrate you,
and we welcome you into our community.
All say, "You are a blessed gift,
and we give you our blessings."
You are a blessed gift,
and we give you our blessings.
Noah, may the future bring love to your heart,
joy to your mind, and truth from those sweet lips.
I didn't know you were a Unitarian, Sarge.
Oh, I'm not. I am...
Actually, I didn't grow up with any religion.
I just wanted Noah to have something that would ground him.
Then rebel against when he's a teenager, am I right?
I get it. I'm Catholic.
No kidding?
Come on, little man. You did great.
Michelle, I'm glad you keep coming back to services.
And you're working your program?
Yeah, every day.
I'm up to my ninth step.
Making amends.
To my father.
Michelle, your father's in prison.
- That's not your fault. - Yes, it is.
I lied to the police.
It's not enough to apologize.
I'm supposed to restore justice.
When possible.
Don't you know that lawyer,
the one who gets innocent people out of jail?
Sound it out. It's T-H...
- Throw. - No, no.
- The O-U is "ooh" here. - Through.
Nice, nice.
I walk through...
The valley of the shadow...
Visitor's here.
Oh, you know, just find me later, Jose, okay?
No, Thompson, for you.
For me?
Michelle?
Why are you here?
I brought someone to meet you.
Bayard Ellis, Mr. Thompson.
I work with Project Innocence.
I told him, Daddy, the truth.
That you never raped me.
- Synced and corrected by martythecrazy - - www.addic7ed.com -
We just had a dedication ceremony.
Such a sweet boy. He has your smile.
If everything goes as planned,
then the adoption will be official in a month.
Oh, well, congratulations, Olivia.
Thank you.
But I know that you didn't invite me to dinner
to talk about Noah, so let's have it.
Reverend Scott asked me to look into a case
involving a congregant, Michelle Thompson.
Her father, Derek,
was convicted of raping her 17 years ago when she was six.
Convicted of raping his own daughter?
That's a tough case for Project Innocence to get behind.
It is, but this case was primarily
made on Michelle's testimony.
Now, she's saying that she was pressured by her mother to lie.
She wants to recant.
17 years after the fact.
Oh, she tried once before as a teen.
The original ADA and detective argued against reopening.
Michelle went off the deep end after that... drugs, alcohol.
She's recently found sobriety.
Hold on, so her recant is part of a 12-step program?
That's not the most reliable indicator of the truth.
Believe me. I've seen that pink cloud
"I forgive everyone" effect too.
That's why I need you to investigate.
Any DNA, forensics, any corroboration?
No, only... only her testimony
and some inconclusive medical symptoms.
Her mother, who has her own substance abuse history,
made the initial 911 call.
Did you talk to the father?
Oh, sure, up at Green Haven. He's a model prisoner.
I found him credible.
He's maintained his innocence for 17 years.
It's hard enough to prove that someone is innocent of a crime.
It's harder, still, to prove that that crime
itself never occurred.
So you thought of me.
Indeed, I did.
Bayard Ellis wants us
to reopen a 20-year-old incest rape?
Let him do the legwork.
Look, he just wants us to see if there's anything there.
I mean, obviously, it's tough to get a conviction reopened,
but Bayard Ellis, the guy's a legend.
If he thinks it's worth looking into...
Look, I know Ellis is your friend,
but do we really need to work a closed case?
Nick, this isn't out of friendship.
And SVU didn't handle the case.
It was the local precinct who hated Derek Thompson,
who really worked him over,
and when he finally got a lawyer...
Let me guess. First-year legal aide.
It was worse than that: it was some down on her luck,
18-B rent-a-lawyer
who could hardly pay for her transcript copies.
We're just gonna vet the case.
So the lead detective was a guy named Ted McCormack,
and the ADA was O'Dwyer, none of whom I've met.
Before your time, wow.
You missing Staten Island, Carisi?
But there is somebody coming back to town who was here
when they built the place.
Eileen's grandkids... we spent the winter with them
in Fort Lauderdale after the cruise.
You know, I never thought I would say it,
but turns out there's more to life than NYPD.
Oh, yeah?
Well, the place is falling apart without you.
- Thanks, Nick. - Okay, come on.
No more chitchat. Why are we here?
You have a victim who wants to recant?
17 years later.
Between her ninth step, Reverend Curtis, and Bayard Ellis,
she's convinced the cops and the DA blew the case.
It wasn't SVU.
It was up at your old house, the 2-7,
and we can't seem to get in touch with this detective
who caught the case, Ted McCormack.
Ted McCormack.
Yeah, well, you may have a problem.
What, you knew McCormack?
Unfortunately, the guy got bounced around a lot.
Never met a corner he didn't cut.
Okay, any chance you remember the DA,
O'Dwyer, Kenneth O'Dwyer?
O'Dwyer?
That must've been an early case of his.
He had family connections, got his hands dirty for a year,
and then they bumped him up to white collar.
What does he say about this?
- Haven't called him yet. - Okay, good.
Hold off. He rides a high horse.
I know an old lifer back at the 2-7.
If I buy him lunch, he'll dish like a Gossip Girl.
My mama was out.
She was drinking and drugging, and my dad came home from work,
saw me and my baby brother making a mess.
I tried to make hot dogs and burned myself.
- He got angry. - At you?
You shouldn't have been cooking at six.
Well, that's what my dad said.
My brother was crying. He was hungry.
Well, you tried.
And Daddy asked where Mama was, if she was...
if she was drinking, and he put us to bed.
When she got home, they started screaming at each other.
I was crying, so Mama came in.
I told her my hand got burnt, and she looked at me strange
and said, "What did your daddy do to you?"
Do you remember how you responded?
Yeah.
I did not want her to be mad at me,
so I said it was daddy's fault,
and she kept asking questions.
What else did he do? Did he touch me down there?
And every time I said no, she got angry, so...
so I finally said yes.
The next morning, my daddy went to work.
She called the police.
Okay, so you're saying that your father never
touched you at all that night.
No, he yelled and scared me, but no.
Okay, Michelle, you repeated the story
to the detective, the DA, to the jury.
Yeah, my mama said I had to keep saying it,
or people would be mad at me for lying.
Look, I just wanted everyone to be quiet.
Nothing happened that night.
I swear.
That man's a curse.
- Is he dead? - He's not dead, ma'am.
Maybe we could come up. We could ask you some questions.
I'm not letting no police up in my house.
What is this? He's not getting out, is he?
- We're looking into the case. - He put you up to that?
No, actually, your daughter Michelle did.
What is it this week? She found Jesus?
She finished looking for the truth
down at the bottom of that bottle?
You know, you wait a week, she'll change her mind.
She and her brother are both messed up
because of their father.
I'm done talking.
I'm late for work.
She's right back in that apartment, 17 years ago.
Yeah.
She's holding on so tight to the story she told then.
It's almost like she has to.
Well, this is why I don't like reopening cases.
It's tough enough to figure out at the time.
All these years later?
How are we ever gonna know?
_
I never touched my little girl.
My wife lied, and she made Michelle lie.
There a reason your wife would do that to you, Mr. Thompson?
You know, Audrey was an addict back then.
She used to come home with this wild look in her eye.
It was dangerous.
But most of the time, I knew to keep out of her way.
But not that night.
No, she left the kids alone.
They could've burned the house down.
All right, so you're saying your wife made up a story
about you raping Michelle, convinced her to lie,
and had you put in prison because of a marital fight?
Don't you think I've been asking myself
that for the last 17 years?
Yeah, it's time enough to make up
a lot of excuses for yourself.
Yeah, but there was no evidence.
There were bruises. She was crying.
Not because of me.
Well, the police asked why there was semen
on your daughter's pajamas.
You said your wife had planted it.
- There was no semen. - Exactly.
If you were innocent, why didn't you just say that?
Because the police tricked me,
like you're trying to trick me right now.
We're not trying to trick you.
We just want to know your side of the story.
You know, I've kept my back to the wall in here.
I've tried to be a good father.
How so?
'Cause I write to Will and Michelle every week,
and I tell them that I love them.
Their mother, Audrey, she's never been there for them, man.
I'm still their father.
My daughter has admitted
that this whole story was made up.
Now, what more do I have to do?
It's a real honor to meet you, Counselor Ellis, sir.
- Call me Bayard. - Okay, wow.
Okay, Carisi, about the meeting with Derek Thompson?
Right, right, he maintains his innocence,
which is to be expected,
but his version of that night does match up with Michelle's.
- And she seemed credible. - Yeah.
We're gonna need more than that to convince the judge to reopen.
The Detective on the case,
Ted McCormack, has retired to Florida.
I've left more than a few messages, but no call back yet.
Look who I picked up on the street.
- Captain. - Amanda, it's good to see you.
So Captain Cragen, Councilor Ellis.
You two remember each other.
And this is Carisi.
- Call me Sonny. - No one else does.
Captain Cragen has some contacts up at the 2-7.
I asked him to look into this.
And you found something?
No, I didn't, and I'm not showing you this,
but it is addressed to Detective McCormack
and ADA O'Dwyer.
So if you were to request it from his office
because maybe you saw it in a precinct evidence log,
he would have to produce it.
And what is this that you're not showing us?
A letter Michelle's first grade teacher wrote.
It says Michelle came to her crying
because her mother made her lie to the police.
And this letter was sent before the trial started?
Counselor, if I may,
if we can prove that the DA had this potentially exculpatory
evidence and didn't share it with the defense,
that's a slam dunk, right?
Now, just hold your horses there, Sonny.
It's possible O'Dwyer did forward the letter.
And Thompson's defense just didn't use it?
Come on. This is awesome.
This means justice delayed does not have to mean justice denied.
So you're new here.
_
Tamsin, thank you.
This won't take long.
Bayard Ellis, how's life in Brooklyn?
Nice to see you, Counselor.
This is Sergeant Benson.
- I've heard good things. - Well, then we're even.
The Thompson case.
My first win as lead prosecutor.
The jury deliberated for half an hour,
found him guilty on all charges, open and shut.
Oh, you know me, Kenneth. Absolutes give me hives.
The jury believed the victim.
I would think that would give you comfort, Sergeant.
Usually, it does, but the girl is now claiming
that she was forced to lie by her mother.
Again?
So you knew that she had recanted before?
As a teenager, she came to the police.
She said she was sorry.
The detective thought she might've been on drugs.
He didn't find her credible.
But Michelle also told her first grade teacher
that she lied, and that was before the trial.
Now, the teacher wrote a letter
to you and Detective McCormack detailing the disclosure.
I don't need to tell you that such a letter
would be exculpatory.
- No, you don't. - I read the transcript.
Her letter was never mentioned by the defense.
Well, you should ask the defense about that.
I hope you're not accusing me of prosecutorial misconduct.
Are you saying you turned that letter over to the defense?
Absolutely.
In 1998, the attorney's name was Cassie Muir,
and I have no idea why she didn't bring it up at trial.
Derek Thompson raped his daughter.
If he has regrets about that now,
if his daughter has decided she suddenly misses him,
that's a family tragedy, but it doesn't make him innocent.
_
We spoke on the phone, Ms. Muir.
The Derek Thompson case.
Oh, my experience as a practicing lawyer
is part of my past
I choose to revisit as seldom as possible.
So you don't practice anymore?
No, I did get disbarred in '09,
although they never filed a complaint.
They said they sent a certified letter,
but I never got it, so by the time I could fight it,
they'd already made up their minds.
Okay, well, we're here about a different letter.
Oh, this is about the Derek Thompson case.
- So you do remember? - Oh, of course I do.
The allegations were horrific,
but even a pedophile is entitled to a defense.
Do you think he was guilty?
Oh, honey, they were all guilty.
Okay. Well, we found this letter.
It's from Michelle's first grade teacher.
It says that her mother was coaching her to lie.
Uh-huh.
So do you remember getting that from the DA's office?
Oh, Ken O'Dwyer and I may have been adversaries,
but he always treated me with respect, so yes, of course,
I remember getting that letter.
The teacher told us that you never followed up with her.
Can you tell us why?
Well, I'm sure I had a good reason.
You must put a letter
like that in the context of your whole defense.
Juries get upset.
It could backfire if you go at a young girl too hard.
So Daddy's attorney had that letter?
She never even tried to talk
to your teacher, Mrs. Morgan.
Your teacher also says that she sent a letter
to the lead detective.
So what do we do now?
I'll be filing a motion for 440 hearing
on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel.
The best case scenario... your conviction is vacated,
and O'Dwyer agrees to drop the charges.
O'Dwyer. He hates me.
I can't get my hopes up on a scenario.
I can't promise an outcome,
but Judge Rosenbaum is hearing the case.
She's a progressive, outspoken on reforming the system.
Her track record tends to favor the defense in appeals.
Mr. Ellis is telling us we got a good shot.
Just have faith, Daddy.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Yeah.
Counselor Ellis.
Oh, you look cheerful considering Judge Rosenbaum
is about to vacate all charges against my client.
You haven't heard?
Judge Rosenbaum suffered a mini-stroke last night.
It's a shame.
Yes, it is. I'm willing to postpone.
There's no telling when she'll be back.
The case has already been reassigned... Bertuccio.
Win some, lose some, Bayard.
Hey, everything all right?
There's been a change in the judge for the case
that might not be in our favor.
Bayard, this is Michelle's brother, Will.
So glad that you're here.
Thank you for helping my father.
All rise.
Thank you all for waiting,
and you may be seated.
Approach, Your Honor?
Whatever you need, Mr. Ellis.
Your Honor, it's my understanding
that you were just assigned this case.
Might I suggest a postponement?
Why? Who's not prepared?
The people are, Your Honor.
Well, I read the paperwork.
I'm good.
Mr. Ellis, you need a postponement?
No, Your Honor.
Well, then step back.
People versus Derek Thompson.
- I have a 440 motion. - Your Honor.
We have a letter probative of the defendant's innocence
that was never shown to the jury by defense.
And that's in the file, Mr. Ellis?
- Mm-hmm. - Ah.
A letter from Ms. Thompson's first grade teacher.
Mr. O'Dwyer?
Your Honor, counsel did indeed have this letter
and chose not to introduce it.
I suspect the judge would've ruled it as hearsay.
Even if it were admitted,
it strains credulity it would've
swayed that jury's unanimous decision on all counts.
All right, just to be clear,
she told her teacher she was coached by her mother to lie?
A recantation she adamantly maintains.
But she testified to the rape at trial
after she spoke to the teacher.
We believe that testimony at trial
was given under maternal pressure.
Looking at this letter, it may have been sufficient
to cast reasonable doubt on her testimony.
However, it was up to the defense to introduce it,
and I'm curious as to why the defendant didn't bring up
the issue of inadequate counsel at the time.
My fear is that this appeal
is conveniently timed to the victim's recent recant.
The failure to introduce this letter
alone does not rise to the level of lack of effective counsel.
The motion is denied.
Mr. Thompson,
you are remanded back to Green Haven Correctional,
and this hearing is adjourned.
Daddy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Look, you got to do something.
- Michelle, he tried. - Another appeal.
I don't know that we can.
No. No. You got my hopes up.
You got my Daddy's hopes up,
my little brother's for nothing.
I never should've trusted you, any of you.
Happy hour started early?
What she's having.
No good deed.
- Hmm. - How's Michelle?
Reverend Curtis is with her.
He doesn't want her to spiral down.
- So the case is dead? - It's on life support.
We've exhausted the state appeals.
The last recourse is to file a Federal Habeas Corpus petition.
You'd need new evidence for that.
Well, if there is any, I don't know where it's been
hiding all this time.
Amaro just texted. McCormack's in town.
The original detective.
I thought he wasn't returning our calls.
He wasn't. Cragen reached out.
He said he was worried that some nutjob, Bayard Ellis,
was looking to reopen the case.
So McCormack's coming in to help SVU
make sure it stays buried?
It's good to see you, Ted.
I didn't know if you'd remember me.
Captain Cragen.
We used to call you Captain Crunch back in the day.
They didn't make you for SVU. How long'd you last?
15 years.
Wow, no kidding? Who's the kid?
Nick Amaro.
Captain taught me everything I know.
Must not have taken very long.
Hey, so what can you tell us about
this piece of crap, Derek Thompson?
He's the lowest of the low.
Did his own daughter.
Project Innocence, huh?
I know they're bleeding hearts,
but you'd think they'd steer clear.
Well, his daughter hit bottom,
found Jesus, and the right Reverend Curtis Scott.
Ah, that charlatan.
- Now I get it. - He plays Ellis.
Ellis plays his new friends at City Hall...
- And here we are. - This city.
Same crap, different century. So what's going on?
Well...
The girl is claiming that her mother made her lie.
Audrey? She would never.
She had her troubles,
but she was just trying to protect those kids
from that pedophile.
She's all broken up about this.
So you spoke to Audrey Thompson?
Yeah.
I mean, she called me when you guys started poking around.
After what she went through,
she still looks to me when she needs a reality check.
So you stayed in touch after the case.
And before.
I broke up domestic disputes
there more times than I can count.
The guy had a history.
Escalated from slapping his wife around to raping his kid.
Well, his defense found some letter
sent to you from a teacher saying Audrey made Michelle lie.
Not a chance.
Derek has made a career out of convincing that poor kid
he didn't do to her what he did.
And now she's recanting.
It shows you what a sick, controlling waste of life he is.
It's what we figured.
Okay, Ted. Thanks again.
All right.
Either of you guys make it down to Florida,
I'll take you deep sea fishing, huh?
Florida... somehow I never make it there.
Hey, it was good talking to you, Nick.
I'd like to stick around, but Eileen
has roped me into a matinee.
Good luck, Captain.
So the detective working the case keeps in touch
with the ex-wife of the accused?
It's awfully cozy.
Well, how many domestics did he respond to?
Three.
The last one, a week before the accusation.
What do we know about McCormack's personal life?
Well, I'm gonna guess drinking, messy home situation.
Yup, his wife filed for a divorce
two years after the case.
She died a year ago.
Can you pull up that divorce petition?
I'm already on it.
Yeah, look. Here we go.
Grounds cited: 174, adultery.
Co-respondent, Audrey Thompson.
So the detective on the case was sleeping
with the wife of the guy he arrested.
That might've been good for a jury to know, right?
New evidence. Am I right, counselor?
Yeah. it's a start,
but we'd need to establish the relationship
began before the trial.
Oh, McCormack won't come clean on that.
And hotbox Audrey won't either.
Michelle and Will, six and four.
- Pretty young. - You'd be surprised.
Kids pick up on more than you realize.
Michelle's fragile as it is.
Who wants to ask her these kinds of questions?
_
Detective McCormack?
Yeah, he came around a lot when Dad went away.
He'd come to your apartment?
Yeah, Mama said he was looking after us.
I just thought that's what cops did.
Do you remember the first time you met him?
- No. - I do.
Before Christmas, Mama and Daddy were fighting.
She knocked the tree over, and Daddy shoved her away.
She called 911.
And Detective McCormack responded.
Yeah.
Do you remember anything
about the way he behaved around your mother?
She was crying. I think he hugged her.
Okay, do you remember any other physical contact between them?
Why are you asking us this?
Sergeant Benson may have found evidence
that your mother was involved with Detective McCormack.
They were together?
Oh, my God.
We're not sure.
Do you either of you
remember a time when they may have left together?
Yeah, she went away once for a weekend.
It was after Daddy was in jail.
I remember we went to Grandma's.
Oh, yeah, she brought us back
the snow globe and the pink flamingo.
So this is while your father was in jail,
but before the trial.
I'm trying to remember.
I don't know.
- I'm sorry. - It's okay.
It's okay.
I know this is difficult.
So Ted and Audrey
had known each other six months by the time of the trial.
Can we prove that the relationship was romantic?
Yeah, we can prove they were both in Key West
on the same weekend in May.
Go on.
That weekend, Detective McCormack was picking up a perp
at Monroe County Detention.
Oh, weekend getaway on the taxpayer's dime.
We know Audrey was there how?
I called the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Guess who was charged with
disorderly intoxication that same weekend?
- Audrey Thompson. - Yeah.
She pleaded down to a dis-con the next day.
My guess, that's when McCormack intervened.
So these two were hooking up
while Derek Thompson is awaiting trial.
They railroaded him, Sarge.
I mean, that's got to be enough
for a Federal Habeas Corpus, am I right?
I mean, maybe even ADA O'Dwyer
just drops the charges altogether.
Hey, you can ask, but don't hold your breath.
Audrey Jones was in Key West the same weekend
as Detective McCormack
one month prior to Derek Thompson's trial.
That's called a coincidence, not a conspiracy.
The detective was there on police business.
Well, perhaps, but we believe
that police business provided him the cover
to fly in Ms. Jones for a romantic weekend.
There's absolutely no proof of that.
It's just common sense.
Audrey Jones was named as the sole co-respondent
in Nora McCormack's divorce papers.
Detective McCormack never should've been allowed
to testify against the man that he was cuckolding.
The defense was deprived
the opportunity to question his motive.
I agree with you, Mr. Ellis.
Given this evidence,
I will grant the petition for Habeas Corpus.
Mr. Thompson will be held pending retrial.
Wait, it worked?
Daddy, it's really happening.
Come here.
Retrial... why didn't he just drop all the charges?
One step at a time.
This trial will be different, Dad.
We'll be right there with you.
With the new evidence, it's possible
that the jury will find reasonable doubt.
Congratulations, Counselor, and you too, Mr. Thompson.
I'm sure you're eager to move on with your life.
What can we do for you, Ken?
How would your client feel about skipping a retrial altogether?
What are you offering?
Criminal sexual act in the first degree.
We agree to time served.
Just think about it.
- What does that mean? - The DA wants to save face.
So? He'll let you out of jail.
Yeah, but I'd have a felony on my record.
And you'd stay on the Sex Offender Registry.
You'd have to admit to your guilt in open court
as part of the plea deal.
And I can't take that back.
Mr. Thompson, if you take Mr. O'Dwyer's offer,
you will spare your daughter
from being cross-examined on the stand.
He'd really take this to trial again?
He really believes that you're guilty.
It's easier than accepting he put an innocent man
in jail for 17 years.
No, all this time,
all I've had is the fact that I'm innocent,
and I would never hurt my daughter,
and he can't ask me to say I did.
He could keep you in prison for the rest of your life.
Daddy, please.
No, it's the truth that's supposed
to set you free, not a lie.
- Counselor, good morning. - Sergeant Benson, Mr. Ellis.
Well, your defendant wanted his day in court.
- I hope he's ready for it. - Oh, he is.
He's been thinking about it for 17 years.
Well, it didn't have to come to this.
I offered him a way out.
When a man refuses to plead guilty
to get out of jail, that should tell you something.
It tells me he's a pathological narcissist.
If he really cared about his children, his daughter,
he wouldn't put her through this.
He's not worried about her.
He's worried about his name, his ego.
Ego... it's funny you should mention that.
- Bayard... - No, no, no.
Let Mr. Ellis speak his mind. It's his favorite activity.
No one likes to admit to a mistake,
but Derek Thompson suffered a horrible miscarriage of justice,
and we have the opportunity to right a terrible wrong.
We?
It's not up to a DA, a lawyer,
or even a judge to determine guilt or innocence.
It's up to a jury.
Good luck.
_
My daughter was crying when I came home.
I asked her why.
She said, "Daddy hurt me with his pee pee."
And what did you do then?
That next morning, after Derek left,
I called the police,
and we made sure we got Michelle to a doctor.
Can you tell me the name of the investigating officer?
Detective McCormack.
And Detective McCormack was someone you already knew?
Yes, he had responded to several domestic violence calls.
Back then, Derek and I used to really go at it,
but what we did to each other
was nothing compared to what he did to Michelle that night.
Why'd you form a relationship with Detective McCormack?
I knew me and my children needed protection.
After that night, the only thing on my mind
was making sure that my children were safe.
Thank you, Ms. Jones.
You were involved with Detective McCormack.
You spent the weekend with him in Florida, which we know
because you received a citation for drunk and disorderly.
Was that vacation
before or after your ex-husband's trial?
Before, but that had nothing to do with this case.
If that's true, why didn't you or Detective McCormack
disclose your relationship to the DA
or your husband's defense counsel?
He was married.
It was wrong, but we didn't want his wife to find out.
Or maybe you were afraid that if the jury
knew about your relationship,
they would've believe either of you.
- Objection. - Withdrawn.
The night you claim your daughter was assaulted,
what time did you come home?
I'm not sure.
Had you been drinking?
Yes.
I'm not proud about that.
It was late. You'd been drinking.
Did you get into a fight with your husband?
Yes.
And immediately after that, your daughter
supposedly disclosed to you that her father had assaulted her?
She was hurt. She was... she was crying.
Yet you didn't seek medical attention for her
or call the police that night.
I wanted to wait until my husband was out of the house.
The next morning, when you knew
Detective McCormack would be on duty.
I wanted to wait until my husband was out of the house.
Did Detective McCormack suggest to you
that if you wanted to get your husband out of your life,
accusing him of sexual assault
was a far more potent weapon than a domestic violence charge?
No. No.
So you came up with that idea on your own?
Objection.
Withdrawn.
I wasn't the best father.
I didn't make enough money.
I worked long hours. I couldn't always be there.
- But you tried to be? - Yeah.
I did the best I could to raise my children.
My wife... she wasn't interested in that,
Not after she turned to drugs and alcohol.
Is that why you kept in touch with your children from prison?
Yes.
They needed parenting, even if it was just through letters.
So once again, on the night in question,
did you sexually assault your daughter Michelle?
Absolutely not.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson.
When the police initially questioned you
about your daughter's injuries, the semen on her pajamas,
did you accuse your wife of planting it?
I only said that because the police lied to me.
There was no semen.
Why didn't you just say that?
Because I was trying to make sense of it.
Okay.
Mr. Thompson, the only reason that we're here
is because your daughter
is now recanting her original statement.
You testified to writing her letters.
In those letters, did you ask her
to help you get out of prison?
Yes, because...
Do you think it's possible that she's recanting now
because you manipulated her into it?
I only asked her to tell the truth.
Hadn't she done that already to DAs, to detectives,
to the jury, under oath?
My ex told her to say those things.
And now you're telling her to say other things.
- Objection. - Sustained.
When Detective McCormack got there,
my mother made me tell him that I'd been raped,
but that wasn't the truth.
Then why did you continue to say it
even months later at trial?
I was six. I was scared of my mother.
I did what she told me to do.
I've regretted it every day of my life.
Thank you, Ms. Thompson.
You say your father did not rape you,
yet in your original testimony, you claimed otherwise.
Will you read this for the jury?
"Daddy hurt me.
"He tucked me in,
"and then he tried to put his penis in my vagina.
"It hurt a lot.
Then he put his finger inside me."
Do you recall saying those words?
Yes. I was forced to.
In a recent interview with SVU,
you said you burned your hand that night
trying to cook hot dogs.
Yes, my dad blamed my mom for leaving us alone.
He got angry.
Oh, do you remember that?
I remember hearing them fight.
Do you remember which hand was burned?
My right hand. It hurt a lot.
But when you went to visit a doctor the next morning,
she examined the bruises on your thighs, yet made no note
of a hand injury.
Did you forget to tell her?
I was there because my mom made me say I'd been raped.
Is it possible that you never burned your hand at all,
but your father convinced you that this happened?
I don't think so.
But it is possible
that your mother convinced you that you were raped,
even though you say that never happened?
Or maybe it's just easier to believe that your father
didn't rape you.
- Objection. - Sustained.
Did your father hurt you that night?
I know he didn't.
You know he didn't or do you remember he didn't?
I don't remember him doing anything.
Which isn't the same
as remembering that he didn't do anything.
Is this a story you've been told to remember?
What?
I'm gonna ask you one more time, Ms. Thompson,
and I'm gonna remind you that you're under oath.
Did your father rape you?
I don't know. I was six.
I can't...
Daddy, I'm so sorry.
- Redirect, Your Honor. - I'll allow it.
Michelle, I know it took a lot for you to come up here
and testify today.
Just now, did you feel as if Mr. O'Dwyer
was bullying you?
- Yes. - Did that confuse you?
Did you give him the answer
that you thought he wanted to hear so that he would stop?
Yes.
Similar to what happened to you with your mother
when you were six?
That's right.
Did your father ever do that to you before you recanted?
No, not at all.
In fact, after your father was taken away,
you tried to tell the truth
to your teacher, to Detective McCormack,
and to ADA O'Dwyer.
Yes, but they wouldn't listen.
I'm listening, Michelle.
Did your father rape you that night?
No. No, he didn't.
Thank you.
Michelle, you all right?
What happened to me up there?
O'Dwyer kept going at you
until you said what he wanted you to say,
but Mr. Ellis is gonna make sure that the jury
saw that for what it was.
If you say so.
When I was up there, I started wondering.
Am I doing all this for my father or for me?
You have no idea what it's like having everyone
think that my father did that to me.
I used to say he was dead.
I just want that part of my life to be over.
It is.
You made sure that the truth was heard this time.
Right, the truth.
The truth is, I don't really remember.
_
Ladies and gentleman of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of rape in the first degree,
we find the defendant, Derek Thompson,
not guilty.
Yes.
The State of New York thanks you for your service.
Derek Thompson, if there are no holds,
you are free to go.
Thank you, Olivia.
We did the right thing.
Did we?
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