NARRATOR: 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,
(BELL CHIMING)
(CLATTERING)
(GASPING)
FIN: Sodomized and murdered, no ID.
Who found her? Parish priest, Father Michael Sweeney.
Came in at 5:30 this morning, and there she was.
PIus a whole Iot of other weirdness.
STABLER: Yeah? Like what?
FIN: For starters, he torched the confessionals,
then he Iaid out the vic Iike some Iittle princess.
Entry was made through the side door.
Father Michael says he Ieaves it unlocked sometimes.
(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)
FIN: The fire pretty much burned itself out by the time he arrived.
BENSON: No smoke alarms? Church doesn't have to have them.
Luckily it's built out of stone.
Purse and panties are gone.
But the stem's still on the apple.
A trannie? Our Jane Doe's a John.
BENSON: Painted up Iike a pro.
And dressed Iike this, he wasn't out collecting for the Red Cross.
STABLER: Did you guys check this out?
Looks Iike the perp Ieft us a message.
Peccavisti.
Lot of ritual here. Could be the work of a highly-evolved serial killer.
BENSON: We should run this through VICAP.
Excuse me, Father. Detective Stabler, Special Victims Unit.
My Latin never got much past
amo, amas, amat, Maybe you can help me with this.
Does that mean "I have sinned?"
Did you know this boy, Father?
I had never saw him before.
Father, we're gonna need you to come down to the precinct
and make a statement for us. Of course.
So the perp meets the victim.
Maybe he knows he's a transvestite, maybe not.
Well, if he didn't, that'd definitely be enough to set him off.
They come in here to trick, perp sodomizes him and kills him,
decorates his body, then gives him a funeral pyre.
Why go to all the trouble and then try to cover it up?
He's in a church, he feels guilty.
He tells God he's sorry and then he tries to burn away the sin.
Bruising to the thighs, small anal tears, but the attack wasn't particularly violent.
Cause of death, massive hemorrhage from a skull fracture.
Any ideas about the murder weapon?
WARNER: BIunt trauma to the temple
caused by something round and heavy Iike an iron bar or flashlight.
But the fracture pattern on the occiput is diffused.
He cracked his head on the floor when he fell back?
WARNER: Probably. You got anything on our perp?
He didn't practice safe rape. We got fluids. We're running his DNA.
Any chance of getting prints off the body?
He was wearing surgical gloves. We found traces of Iatex and powder.
No condom, but he was wearing gloves?
You think that's weird,
I found traces of sodium dichlorotriazinetrione inside him.
It's the main cleaning agent in scouring powder.
And this, small fragments of steel wool.
Our perp used both to scrub his penis.
So he's really clean. And really dirty.
I found the body when I came down to prepare for 6:00 mass.
That's early.
There's nothing Iike a hit of God before you do battle on Wall Street.
Still, it seems Iike a pretty rough area to Ieave the side door unlocked.
Well, the church is supposed to be a refuge.
This morning I asked if you knew the victim.
You didn't seem surprised he was a boy.
Well, when you serve in this part of town, you see almost everything.
So you never saw him before? No.
But there is someone in the trenches who might have.
FIN: We're thinking maybe he crossed your path.
PEG: Oh, dear Lord. Jamie.
He's dead? You know him?
James Doyle, 16 years old, called himself Jamie.
Ran away from home when his folks tried to Iock him up in a treatment center.
How Iong has he been coming down here? Four, five months.
Trying to earn enough for a sex change. Trannies make good money.
Any reason why you think he'd end up at Saint Martha's?
That's where he died?
He went in there to do business. Priest Ieft the side door open.
Father Michael always Ieaves the church open for the pros when it's cold and wet.
But they know not to do business there.
What's this Father Michael Iike? He's a good priest and a good man.
Anything else you can tell me about who did this so I can warn folk?
Yeah. He's very particular about his personal hygiene.
(SNICKERING) He should stand out a mile.
VICAP can't find any direct matches for the M.O. or signature.
Just a partial out in EI Paso,
man murdered his wife, Ieft her body in the church.
Don't tell me, where they were married. Yep.
And now he's sitting on death row so he's not much good to us.
You know, maybe this is the first time
the place didn't burn and the body's been preserved.
No one's actually ever seen these Iittle rituals.
I'II ask VICAP to widen the search to all arson-related deaths
and cross-check with crimes against transsexuals and transvestites.
Warner got a DNA match. One Mr. Gus Yoder.
Just paroled from Attica. Did four years for guess what? Arson.
What is this? Gus Yoder?
What do you want?
The skinny on your relationship with Jamie Doyle.
I don't know no Jamie Doyle.
You always wear those gloves? Customers don't Iike prints on the glass.
Tell us about it at the precinct.
PIease. Don't touch me. I'II go where you want, but don't touch me.
Looks Iike we got us a racist. I'm a Jew. Is that better or worse?
Haven't you heard of safe sex, Mr. Yoder? Of course I have.
Then why'd you Ieave millions of Iittle Yoders inside of Jamie Doyle?
We got a DNA match, Gus. We know you were with him.
I didn't touch him. Sodomy doesn't count as touching?
I didn't do that.
Come on. You thought Jamie was a cute Iittle trick
till he showed you his surprise package.
And that pissed you off and you cracked his skull.
Or maybe you Iike Iittle boys, as Iong as they Iook Iike girls.
GUS: No. Sit down, Gus, you're making me nervous.
I'm not sitting there, it's disgusting.
It's a chair. It's filthy.
Think of all the scum that have sat there. Yeah, you for one.
I can't breathe in here. I wanna go home. Not till we're finished.
We're searching your place, Gus.
Is that where we're gonna find Jamie Doyle's purse, maybe his panties?
AII right. So I picked him up. I had sex with him.
But he was alive when he got out of my car.
He tightens his sphincter any more, he's gonna implode.
OCD. He probably washes his hands about 50 times a day.
Let me have a Iook at the crime scene.
HUANG: What's this?
BENSON: It's a rosary. His?
Priest said it came from one of the statues in the church.
And it's right around his neck, not just placed there?
It's right around. Why? It's not Yoder.
There's no way that he'd go near a dead body or touch blood.
The guy has unprotected sex with a male prostitute.
You can't tell me he's squeamish. He is.
After he has sex, he wants to get as far away from his partner as possible.
Or he feels dirty and he kills him.
What's this? That's Latin for "I have sinned"'
I checked it with the priest. Well, he's wrong.
"I have sinned" is Peccavi, Peccavisti is "You have sinned"'
This isn't a confession, it's an accusation. Against the victim?
Burning the confessional, carving "You have sinned,"
seem more Iike acts of rage against the Church and the priest.
So Jamie's death is what, an accident? It could be.
The altar cloth, the candles, the rosary beads,
you can't say they're accidental.
But they were all done post mortem. The kill itself is accidental.
Yes, our man killed Jamie,
but the ritualistic elements seem Iike acts of contrition.
So he was attacking the priest, and Jamie just happened to get in the way.
And if the killer had a grudge against the priest,
there's a good chance that Father Michael knows him.
Check the Father's background, see if he's been keeping bad company.
Yes, I'm still on hold.
Okay. Thank you for that.
That was the secretary from Saint Thomas's Catholic School in Hoboken.
Father Michael used to teach there.
October 1996 he Ieft abruptly, right in the middle of a term.
What was the reason given?
She says she doesn't know for sure, but according to the rumor mill,
a priest abused some boys, he was then removed.
And the case never came to trial.
Far as she's heard it was never even reported.
I'II get Munch and Fin to check with the Hoboken cops.
You two talk to Father Michael
before the Church gets wind of this and removes him again.
EIIiot. Not a problem, Captain.
Well, if it becomes one, you can take a back seat.
You know, I try to be a good Catholic, raise my kids as good Catholics.
Something Iike this shakes your faith. I know.
If I didn't see through this guy, how could a 14-year-old?
How could an eight-year-old?
Hello, Detectives.
We need to ask you some more questions, Father.
AII right.
I'd Iike to know why you Iied to me.
About what? The message on the confessional.
The correct translation is "You have sinned"'
Well, I'm very sorry. I was never very good at Latin.
Or maybe you're the sinner. Well, who isn't, Detective?
BENSON: Where were you Iast night?
I was with a parishioner.
I was helping him through a midnight crisis.
Give us a name.
I can't. BENSON: Why?
Because he confessed to the murder? You know better than to ask me that.
STABLER: Saint Thomas's School, October '96.
There are rumors that a priest sexually abused some boys.
Was it you?
Tell us what happened or we'II just get it from the Hoboken police.
I signed a confidentiality agreement.
What planet you been Iiving on, Father?
Confidentiality agreements won't hold up in a criminal court.
Evening mass starts in 20 minutes.
If you're going to charge me with something, charge me.
Otherwise, please Ieave.
Saint Thomas's School?
That's one I'd rather forget. Why?
(TV CHATTERING) The case never went anywhere. Nobody wanted it to.
Sit. Sit.
So, how'd you catch it? Somebody make a complaint?
Oh, not at the school, the ER.
Kid falls off his bike,
doctor finds something else, bruising around his backside.
I check out the parents. They're clean. Yeah, and?
Well, the kid's a student at Saint Tom's. I dig a Iittle deeper.
I find four boys who say they were molested.
By the same priest? Well, the stories varied.
Kids didn't want to give names. MUNCH: What, they were scared?
Maybe, because just as I was getting close, the Church steps in,
settles with the families for 200 grand each.
Why didn't you push harder? Try to convince the families?
You don't think I tried?
No case, no complaining witnesses, what could I do?
Moresco took a Iot of notes, but never filed a report.
That was the alumni office at Saint Tom's.
One of the boys moved to Europe, two of them are still in the area.
Todd Ramsay on the Upper West Side
and Ben Campion works three blocks from Father Michael's church.
Well, you'd think he'd try to be as far away from him as possible.
Let's take him.
We'II take Ramsay. What about the fourth kid?
Yeah. Bobby Douglas. Don't know.
AIumni office said that he severed all ties as soon as he Ieft the school.
Monday night I was here. I got an apartment on the top floor.
Were you alone? Just me and my TV. What's this about?
We wanted to ask you about Saint Tom's, October '96.
We heard you made allegations against one of the priests.
I've put that behind me.
But you've remained close with Father Michael.
He was at Saint Tom's, right? Yeah.
Father Mike invited me to run this place after college.
That was kind of him. That's how he is. He Iikes to help people.
He set this place up to get the kids off the street, you know.
Did Father Michael abuse you at Saint Tom's?
No way. No. He never touched me.
And how is he with the kids here now?
He doesn't come around here much anymore.
For the past year I've pretty much run the place.
But if there ever is a problem with a kid, he's always there.
STABLER: For what? Not for what you're thinking.
Excuse me.
I'm not going to be part of your witch hunt.
Come on, guys. Let's go!
MUNCH: Mr. Ramsay? Who are you?
Detectives Munch and Tutuola, Special Victims.
How can I help you? Do you know Father Michael Sweeney?
I knew him at school.
Not since then? No, and I'm not saying anything else.
Why not?
Confidentiality agreement. They paid, I shut up.
It doesn't have to end there. Forget it.
So a pervy priest put his hand on my ass...
Todd! ...I'm not gonna Iet it ruin my Iife.
It's okay, Judi. We're going.
FIN: Where were you Monday night? Home with my wife.
New kid, so we don't get out much. What is this about?
MUNCH: Do you know Bobby Douglas?
We stayed in touch for a while till he started weirding out.
Look, I haven't seen him for a couple of years.
You have any idea where he Iives?
MUNCH: Bobby Douglas? Yes.
What can I do for you, Officers?
We spoke to your mom. She said we could find you down here.
I help out when I can take a break from my studies.
Do you know Father Michael Sweeney? Name sounds familiar.
Well, he taught at Saint Thomas'. Didn't you go to school there?
I've had a Iot of teachers.
You told the school to take a hike after they wrote you a big fat check.
Something must've happened. I don't want to talk about it.
Did you study Latin, Father?
It's required at seminary.
What does Peccavisti mean? I don't remember.
How about Monday night, you remember that?
I was studying.
Where, at Saint Martha's Church?
So you could Ieave Father Michael a message?
No. Do you remember him?
Oh, my God.
I could've been a good priest,
but he ruined me, he took away my Iife.
Who did?
Father Michael. I had to expose him.
MUNCH: So you tried to burn down his church?
He had sinned.
Bobby was at the homeless shelter Monday night. What is this about?
There was a crime committed and we just want to make sure Bobby wasn't involved.
We have a warrant to search your son's room, Mrs. Douglas.
Where is it?
Down the hall on the Ieft.
Bobby wouldn't do anything wrong.
What time did he come home on Monday? After midnight.
I was asleep, but I woke up when I heard him on the phone.
Who was he talking to? I don't know.
Did you hear anything else?
At 3:00 I woke up again. I heard voices.
I came downstairs but it was only Father Michael.
Bobby told me to go back to bed, that everything was okay.
Does Father Michael come around a Iot?
Well, yes especially with Bobby trying to get into the seminary.
You mean he's not a priest already? Oh, of course not.
You can't be a priest unless you've been accepted by the seminary.
FIN: We got something.
Excuse me.
MUNCH: He's got a thing for virgins and a thing for purses.
We found this in the trash. It belongs to Jamie Doyle.
It's got 250 bucks in it and a dozen condoms.
Looks Iike Mr. Freaky-CIean Yoder's in the clear.
This was in the closet. Tech sprayed Iuminol on it. Hit the Iights.
BENSON: BIood? FIN: Yeah.
And what Iooks Iike skin.
BENSON: Your mom said that Father Michael came over in the middle of the night.
Must've been a pretty big deal? Not really.
Well, it sounds Iike you wanted to get something off your chest.
No. No?
No.
You killed him with the flashlight that we found in your room.
But you treated him with respect.
You covered him up,
Iit the candles, those rosary beads you gave him.
I mean, obviously you cared.
I said I was sorry and I was forgiven.
In confession? Yes.
You confessed to Father Michael.
That's between me and God.
I did my penance. Yeah and what's that? Ten Hail Mary's?
You haven't asked Jamie Doyle's family for forgiveness, have you?
I can't face them. Then Iet us help you.
Tell us what happened.
Oh, I'd already started the fire.
I didn't know he was there.
He came up behind me.
He startled me, I swung the flashlight.
He went down. BIood started pouring. He didn't move.
(DOOR OPENING)
This interview is over. His mother called me.
We have a confession, Counselor.
Well, you don't have it in writing,
and you won't get it, unless I get to talk terms with the A.D.A.
Why should I deal?
I've got his confession, and a murder weapon with his prints all over it.
Stick a fork in him, Kressler.
He's a victim of abuse, working out his rage against the Church
that ruined his Iife.
Jamie Doyle was not the Church. He was an innocent victim.
He was a transvestite hooker, fresh from a trick
and in Iight of the psychological damage inflicted on Bobby.
Once I'm through with the jury, he won't serve a day.
He killed a 16-year-old boy who caught him trying to burn down a church.
I could try that in my sleep.
The second the jury hears the words priest and abuse,
whose side do you think they'II be on?
Man two. Eight-to-10.
In this climate Bobby could have torched a kindergarten
and a jury would still be sympathetic.
Man two, five years probation with psych treatment.
Man two, five years Kirby Psychiatric,
and that depends on what he has to tell us.
There was this room in the basement
next to where they kept the sports equipment.
Father Michael called it the Lair.
He said that boys went in as Iambs and came out as Iions.
He'd call me in there after practice for extra tutoring.
He'd show me videos. CABOT: What sort of videos?
At first just sports. Then porn.
What sort of porn?
AII sorts.
Some with women, some with boys.
He'd say I shouldn't be embarrassed,
that how I was feeling was normal.
Did he touch you?
He'd put his arm around me.
He'd stroke my Iegs.
Say I had good, strong thighs.
How old were you, Bobby?
Fourteen.
What else did he do to you?
Said I had to pass a test.
What test?
I had...
I had to masturbate.
He said he'd help me.
Then, I had to do him.
Afterwards, he said I'd done well.
I'd made a mark in heaven.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
RORY: Excuse me, Detectives.
Rory O'Halloran. I represent the Diocese.
We have a warrant, Mr. O'Halloran.
Oh, of course you do. We'd just Iike a Iittle word.
STABLER: Who's we?
Your Grace, EIIiot Stabler. Hi.
STABLER: OIivia Benson.
You know Bishop Mallinson? Yes. Of course. How can we help you?
Mr. O'Halloran says that a search warrant has been obtained for the rectory?
Why is that? We suspect Father Michael of child abuse.
You should be more concerned with Bobby Douglas
and his vendetta against Father Michael.
Why would Bobby accuse Father Michael of abuse if it weren't true?
Because Father Michael prevented him from joining the priesthood.
The priesthood is under siege.
Fragile men have crumbled. We need strength.
Father Michael has known Bobby for years. He felt he was immature.
Are you aware that he was impersonating a priest when your colleagues found him?
Feeding the homeless is hardly a crime, no matter what he was wearing.
I know my priests, Detectives.
And believe me, if I had anything against Father Michael,
it would already be in your hands.
But he's innocent.
I'm sorry, Your Grace, we need to execute this warrant.
Home, sweet home.
At Ieast Father Michael's keeping the vow of poverty.
Take this back to the Iab, scan the hard drive.
I doubt we'd find any porn on this. It's so ancient, it hasn't got a modem.
Nice video collection.
STABLER: Any pornography? Mostly all sports. NBA, NHL.
Bag it all up.
EIIiot...
M. S. April 2001. It's about the time he Ieft the youth center.
THERAPIST: Are you attracted to boys, Michael? Yes,
What age?
Thirteen, 14 years old,
Tell me about your desires,
What's this?
Looks Iike some sort of therapy session.
I want to see them naked,
In the showers, at the youth club, I'll find a reason to watch them,
Do you approach these boys? Yes,
If one shows interest, a look is enough,
or if he seems vulnerable,
You feel a compulsion to touch?
I try to resist, but I'm weak,
I'll pat him on the back or put my arm around him,
but I know I want more,
Genital contact?
Yes,
Is that a confession or a statement of intent?
That sounds Iike a confession to me.
Actually, it's a part of aversion therapy.
The subject relates his fantasies, they're recorded, edited into a Ioop
and played back for him
while he masturbates for 30 minutes past the point of climax.
That sounds painful. It's supposed to be.
It's behavior modification.
The fantasies trigger memories of pain, instead of pleasure.
BENSON: So does it work?
Nothing can change a sex offender's desires.
Well, then why do it?
Father Michael can't change his desires, but he can try to control them.
That's what celibacy is supposed to be all about, controlling the desires,
channeling the sexual urge into the Iove for God.
I thought celibacy was a big part of the problem.
Most celibate priests are not sex offenders. Our priest is.
Well, if he gives into temptation then you're right.
An alcoholic must avoid bars, a pedophile must stay away from children.
Well, an alcoholic is still an alcoholic
and Father Michael is still a pedophile.
Actually, he's an ephebophile.
He desires adolescents, not children.
Whatever you call him, they're still children and he's still a predator.
The question is, can you use this tape to prove it?
No judge is going to Iet you introduce that tape.
It's doctor-patient privilege.
He hid it in his home. That sounds Iike a turn-on, not therapy.
What he uses it for doesn't alter what it is.
The tape substantiates Bobby Douglas's accusations.
So what? You'II never get it in as evidence.
We could argue it shows intent.
To deal with his problem, not to molest boys.
You've got Bobby Douglas in Rikers Iooking Iike a fruit Ioop,
and a tape that's privileged. Your case is pathetic.
So your answer is to do nothing?
My answer, Captain, is that unless I have bulletproof evidence,
I am not jumping on the bandwagon to crucify the Catholic Church.
Nearly 200 priests have been implicated in cases of abuse so far.
Which is Iess than half of one percent of the priests in this country.
What we need is someone to corroborate Bobby's story.
Another victim.
BEN: You want to interview the boys?
Everyone between the ages of 1 1 and 15
who's had any contact with Father Michael Sweeney before he Ieft the club.
You need to ask the parents. We'II do that.
Maybe you can answer some questions for us, Mr. Campion.
Like what?
You ever see Father Michael show undue interest in any one boy?
No.
Were there any boys who always wanted to be near him?
Half the club. Does that mean they're all abused?
What about boys acting up?
Personality changes, mood swings, temper tantrums?
PIenty. They call it puberty.
Well, have any of the boys Ieft abruptly, or been absent for Iong periods of time?
Only one. Darius Retafian.
He stopped coming, I suppose it was around the same time Father Michael Ieft.
Okay. You know why?
I called the mother.
She told me to Ieave them alone, and hung up.
BENSON: Mrs. Retafian? Yes?
I'm Detective Benson, this is my partner, Detective Stabler.
Would you mind if we come in? Sure.
We just wanted to ask you about Darius.
Is he in trouble again? Just wanna see how he's doing.
He's all right, I guess.
Is this Darius? Uh-huh.
My kid just started serving as an altar boy. It's a proud moment.
Can you tell us why you pulled your son out of the church youth club?
He just wasn't fitting in there.
Did he have any contact with Father Michael?
The priest?
Did he talk about him much, anything Iike that?
Yes.
(CHOIR SINGING)
Very good.
STABLER: Father Michael! Yes?
We need you to come with us, please. Why?
Don't make us do this in front of them.
Thank you all. I'II see you next Thursday.
WOMAN: Goodbye, Father Michael. MAN: Good night, Father.
Am I under arrest? For sexual abuse.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of Iaw.
You have the right to an attorney.
COURT OFFICER: "Docket number 28385. People v, Michael Sweeney,
"Sex abuse two, sex abuse three, multiple counts"'
AIexandra Cabot for the People.
Rory O'Halloran for Father Sweeney.
JUDGE SELIGMAN: How do you plead? Not guilty, Your Honor.
Ms. Cabot, are you asking for bail?
The People request that bail be set at $200,000.
Your Honor, that's punitive. Father Michael has taken a vow of poverty.
He has no assets.
The Church has more than enough money to meet his bail, Your Honor.
JUDGE SELIGMAN: The Defendant has no priors, Ms. Cabot.
Why are you demanding such a substantial bail?
In the Vatican's own words,
"The defendant is guilty of the serial, predatory sexual abuse of minors"'
He escaped detection in the past
with the complicity of the Church and he is believed to be a flight risk.
Then bail is set at $200,000.
Call the next case.
Ms. Cabot?
Coming to offer a deal? Not this time.
You want a trial, you can have one. My pleasure.
Time to stop Father Michael from molesting children.
Father Michael is innocent.
Then why did the Church settle with his victims in '96?
Why did he seek therapy to control his sexual proclivities?
There are explanations for that. I Iook forward to hearing them.
Then you'd better prep your witnesses for an ugly cross
because I'm going to make their Iives very unpleasant,
however young they are.
That should go over really well with the jury.
Whatever it takes to clear him.
CABOT: Okay, Darius, Iet's go through this one more time.
When did you most often have contact with Father Michael at the club?
After basketball, he'd come by the showers.
He'd hang around, talk.
Did he touch you?
He'd put his arm around my shoulder,
pat me on the back.
Did he ever do anything else?
At his place.
It's okay, baby. You just tell her.
He'd ask me to watch videos with him. What kind of videos?
Sports, movies,
then other stuff.
Porn.
Then what would he do?
He'd sit
real close.
He'd tell me it was okay to feel what I was feeling.
That it was normal.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
AIex.
What are you doing here? Trying to save your face, Counselor.
Can I talk to your witness? So you can intimidate him? No.
Then Iook at this.
Recognize anything?
But this has no bearing on what Darius is saying now.
Really?
Then Iet me suggest a Iittle experiment.
Ask the witness about Father Michael's television.
CABOT: Did you watch these videos on Father Michael's TV?
Yeah.
Was there anything funny about them?
What does she mean?
When you watched the videos, did you notice anything unusual about them?
You're asking a child to judge pornography?
Was it Iike watching normal TV, Darius?
Yeah.
Was it in color?
What else is there?
BIack and white.
Father Michael is a few decades behind the times.
What is this?
Darius was abused at his school, nowhere near Father Michael.
And you settled with the Church for $50,000.
Father Michael molested him. No, he didn't.
You recycled those accusations
when you and your son were questioned by the detectives.
And you think your priest isn't guilty, too?
Darius will never forget what was done to him.
No money will make up for that.
And you would make him re-Iive his trauma to get every penny you can.
(DOOR CLOSING)
The details of Darius' abuse were true. He was alone with a priest,
and he watched porn videos, and he was molested.
Mom sued, a priest was defrocked, the diocese settled. Mom wants more.
If someone abused my son, I'd do more than sue them.
I doubt you'd make false accusations.
So where does that Ieave us now? Father Michael's going to walk.
Bobby Douglas is all we've got. Not anymore.
(JAIL DOOR BUZZING)
Bobby Douglas was placed in a cell with a Iifer.
His name is Dale Farrelly.
Bobby kept trying to tell Dale how much Jesus Ioved him,
till Dale stopped him by stabbing him 57 times with a homemade shiv.
This is the interesting part though, Father. Bobby had no defensive wounds on him.
He had no cuts on his arms and his hands.
He never even tried to put up his arms to protect himself.
That boy'd given up. Now maybe you think he deserved it
because he killed that kid and he burned your church.
No. No. Bobby was a victim. Yeah. Whose victim?
Come on, Father, you and me, no badge... What do you want me to tell you?
...no collar. Come on. Bobby's dead! You're free as a bird.
Be a man, confess to me! AII right! AII right! It was me. I abused him.
How? I took him to my room,
gave him some beer and made him have sex with me.
What about the videos? Yes.
We watched videos to get us in the mood.
Where?
I told you, in my room. When did you go to the Lair?
Tell me what you told the boys,
how they'd go in Iike Iambs, come out Iike Iions.
You have no idea what I'm talking about.
Somebody must do penance for Bobby. Oh, yeah. But it ain't you, is it?
And those therapy sessions, is that all fiction, too?
That was real. You give me the names
of the boys you abused. There are no names.
I've controlled my desires. I have kept every one of my vows,
poverty, chastity, obedience. Well, then why'd Bobby accuse you?
Because he came to me for help, and I didn't protect him.
Why'd you Ieave school? Shame. For what I failed to do.
Failed to protect him against another priest, yeah? Right?
Yes. I want a name.
I can't. He confessed.
You priests, you got it all figured out, don't you?
You confess to each other.
You forgive each other, and you go right on sinning.
I'm sorry. Go to hell.
He's covering for another priest, just Iike he covered for Bobby Douglas.
No court is going to force him to break the seal of confession.
Then we Iook at the '96 case again.
This priest must have been at Saint Tom's
when Bobby and the other boys were abused.
Check the staff roster. Check if any other payments were made.
I want you to subpoena any records and bank accounts that we have to.
Easy to say, but on what grounds? BENSON: What about RICO?
D.A"s tried it in CIeveland, in Texas, even in Jersey.
And two out of three failed.
Well, I'II take those odds, AIex. What else do we have?
JUDGE LINDEN: Racketeering, Ms. Cabot?
New Jersey already dismissed a RICO case against the Church.
But the violations have continued, and innocent people are still being harmed.
Mr. O'Halloran? The Church has been more than willing
to turn over documents for cases of abuse by priests without the necessity
of a subpoena. When it suits them.
Only yesterday, Mr. O'Halloran showed me a secret settlement
the Diocese made with the family of a 14-year-old boy.
Now how many more of these are there?
We'II turn over files relating to all allegations of abuse,
but the request for the Diocese's discretionary accounts overreaches.
We have some rights to privacy.
The accounts will show how the Church has consistently made payouts
to individuals to buy their silence and evade criminal investigation.
That is a definition of a corrupt organization under RICO.
I'm inclined to agree. You have your subpoena, Ms. Cabot.
The Diocese will surrender all reports of abuse,
all records of priest transfers, and will give the New York District Attorney
access to the Diocese's discretionary accounts.
AII right. We got payments to the Ramsay family,
to the Campions, to the Zuniga family.
Checks drawn in October '96, $150,000 each.
What about Bobby Douglas? We've got Mary Douglas, $100,000.
Bobby even Iost out in the abuse stakes. Who signed the checks?
Looks Iike Randall.
John Randall, Bishop before Mallinson.
The cover-up went straight to the top. And stayed there.
Every quarter Mary Douglas gets $10,000 from the Diocese.
Each check is signed by Bishop Mallinson right up until Iast month.
Why would Mallinson continue making the payments?
Maybe because he started them. Staff roster for Saint Thomas', 1996.
Guess who was a visiting Latin teacher three times a week?
Father Mallinson. And Bobby was his star pupil.
STABLER: I know who you're protecting.
I need to know what he told you.
I can't.
Why'd you become a priest, Father?
To serve God and his Church.
That includes those boys that were abused.
How are you serving them?
To the best of my ability without breaking the Sacraments.
By protecting the sinner.
By protecting a priest who confessed that,
"I am abusing a child"'
He promised me that he would get treatment.
Then he came back to you and confessed the same sin all over again, didn't he?
And you absolved him again.
What, because you are bound by your Sacrament?
Yes.
Silence is a sin, Father. I cannot break the seal.
Not to defend my name, not to save my own Iife,
not to save someone else's Iife. I have to protect the penitent.
But what of the faithful, Father?
Who protects us?
What about my vows?
What about the children?
STABLER: Your Grace.
Detective Stabler. Michael. How can I help you?
I need to ask you about statements you made to Father Michael
in July and September of 1996.
What statements?
Relating to sexual acts that you forced on various boys at Saint Thomas's school.
No.
See, what's shared in the confession between a priest and a penitent
is sacred and confidential.
Michael, do you know what you've done?
You'II be expelled from the priesthood and you'II be cast out of the Church,
barred from the Sacraments.
You're risking your soul.
I... I believe I'm saving it.
How could you do this?
I couldn't help myself.