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| “ | You should've let me jump... for everybody's sake. One way or another, I have been dead since I was nine years old. | „ |
| ~ Carlos expressing remorse for sexually abusing his girlfriend's son. |
Carlos Guzmán is the secondary antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Burning With Rage Forever". He is a child sexual abuse survivor who tries to kill the man who raped his nephew, while trying to hide the fact that he, too, is a child molester.
He was portrayed by Christian Navarro.
Early life[]
Carlos was born into a loving family, with his mother Gloria raising him and his older brother Sebastian on her own. He was said to the smarter of the two brothers, and everyone who knew him expected great things from him as an adult.
When he was in third grade, however, his life came to a screeching halt when his teacher, Mr. Tony Delgado, began molesting him, abuse that continued until he was in middle school and had presumably outgrown his abuser's age preference. As a result of the abuse, Carlos lost interest in school and withdrew from his family, being too ashamed to tell them what happened. As an adult, he settled for a low-paying job as a mechanic.
He remained close to his brother, however, and had an especially close bond with his nephew, Sebastian's nine-year-old son Tino. He also had a girlfriend, Maya Jimenez, the single mother of a nine-year-old had boy named Andre, who adored him.
"Burning With Rage Forever"[]
In the beginning of the episode, Carlos sees on the TV news that Delgado has died in a house fire. Carlos is glad Delgado is dead, but he is nevertheless by painful memories of the abuse he suffered at Delgado's hands. He storms out of the apartment, unintentionally leaving Tino by himself. Later that night, Carlos goes to Maya's apartment and, in a drunken fit of rage, confusion, and self-loathing, touches Andre's genitals.
During Carlos' absence, Tino is kidnapped and raped by child molester Theodore Murtaugh. Carlos blames himself for failing to protect the boy and decides to get revenge on Murtaugh. He finds a receipt Tino had taken from Murtaugh's car and tracks him down to his apartment. Carlos confronts him about his crimes, and Murtaugh gloats about raping Tino, even showing Carlos the recording of the assault. Enraged, Carlos beats and stabs him within an inch of his life. He then leaves Murtaugh tied to a radiator, just as Murtaugh had done to Tino.
Murtaugh was found and taken to the hospital, and he was arrested when his DNA was matched to the rape kit. Captain Olivia Benson of the NYPD's Specil Victims Unit, which is investigating Tino's rape and, reluctantly, Murtaugh's assault, asks Carlos if he knows anything about the latter crime, but he feigns ignorance. He later asks Maya to cover for him by saying that he was with her at the time of Murtaugh's assault, but the SVU team eventually finds out that she is lying. They found camera footage of him confronting Murtaugh and breaking into his apartment. Detectives Fin Tutuola and Joe Velasco interrogate Carlos, who ultimately confesses that he tried to kill Murtaugh to avenge Tino's rape. Carlos' arrest outrages his family and his community, who see him as a hero for standing up to protect his nephew from a sexual predator.
Carlos is bailed out of jail by supporters, and he and his lawyer meet with Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi, Jr., who tells them the case against Murtaugh is in trouble because they have no direct evidence of what he did to Tino. Upon hearing Murtaugh could get away with his crimes, Carlos agrees to testify and is reveals that he stole Murtaugh's cell phone, which contains a video Murtaugh had taken of himself raping Tino, something that he tried to hide to preserve his nephew's dignity. This helps Carisi send Murtaugh to prison for life on federal rape and child pornography charges.
Carisi still has to charge Carlos with attempted murder, however, despite his sympathetic motives and the heinousness of the victim. Sebastian and community activist (and family friend) Elvis Baktashi retain celebrated civil rights attorney Joe Spiro to represent Carlos, who is hailed as a hero throughout New York City.
When Andre sees Carlos on the news, he tells his mother that Carlos had touched him inappropriately, and she confronts Carlos. He at first tries to deny it, but he eventually bursts into tears and confesses, while swearing to her that it will never happen again. Unmoved, Maya goes to the SVU precinct and tells Benson what Carlos did. Benson and Velasco go to Carlos' apartment to arrest him, but they find him on the roof of the apartment building, threatening to jump. He tells Benson that he deserves to die for what he did to Tino, but Benson manages to talk him down by saying that he is not a monster because he knows what he did was wrong and feels remorse for it. Carlos breaks down and allows Benson and Velasco to take him into custody.
Carlos is hospitalized after his suicide attempt, and he tells Benson, Velasco, and his horrified family about the abuse he suffered as a child, and why he had abused Andre. He denies setting the fire that killed Delgado, but he says he is glad that his abuser is dead, although he hates himself for inflicting that same abuse upon somebody else.
Carisi arranges a plea bargain for Carlos in which he will serve four years in prison and go on the sex offender registry, while getting the counseling he needs. Carlos is still wracked with guilt, however, and tells Velasco that she should have let him jump because he has been dead inside since he was nine years old.
External links[]
- Carlos Guzmán on the Law & Order Wiki
