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| “ | Do what I say, and you won't get hurt. | „ |
| ~ Thomas Zimmerman threatening his victims. |
Thomas Zimmerman is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Sheltered Outcasts".
He was portrayed by Scott Grimes, who also portrayed Alex Tilden in Dexter, Donnie Bidwell in Criminal Minds, and Steve-arino in American Dad!
Biography[]
Past[]
Zimmerman was a lawyer who would represent sex offenders after their release from prison. He'd often defend that his clients changed and tried to advocate to get their threat level lowered. However, he was a rapist himself and used the MO of many of his clients to get them sent back to prison after framing them. He would wear a mask to hide his identity and stalk defenseless women on the street and rape them after they near their house. He would hold a knife to their throat and tell them to comply before he raped them, but always wore a condom to prevent leaving his DNA behind. When he was done, he steals their jewelry as a souvenir to relive the rape. He also attacked women who lived near a shelter for homeless sex offenders, fleeing near them in order to cast suspicion on the residents.
"Sheltered Outcasts"[]
In New York, Zimmerman rapes a young woman Sofie Nomaks, attacking her as she is going home near the sex offender shelter. When the sex offenders are being interrogated by the NYPD's Special Victims Unit, he comes down to represent two of them, Richie Caskey and Gregory Searle, who are both convicted rapists.
His actions later caused the Nomaks family to form a mob and attacked residents of the house, specifically Caskey and an undercover SVU Detective Dominick Carisi Jr., who was investigating the rapes. Zimmerman would later try to get Carisi for help in trying to get Caskey's status lowered after he saved Carisi. Zimmerman later attacked Robin Daughtry, a therapist for sex offenders, and killed her after she ripped off his mask in a struggle. He did this because she'd be able to identify him, so he stabbed her to death. He also stole Robin's jewelry and fled the scene before witnesses arrived to find her body.
SVU looked into Caskey because he had arrived late, and the murder took place while he was gone. They also tried to match him with a series of other rapes at shelters he previously lived in and brought him in on suspicion. Zimmerman arrived to represent him, while feigning impatience that SVU held Caskey all night before reprimanding Carisi for his masquerade. As he represented Caskey, Lieutenant Olivia Benson and Mary Colten, an earlier rape victim arrived to overhear some of the argument, and Colten started to react to hearing him talk before Benson had the men go inside interrogation. Zimmerman was unaware that he had been identified as the true rapist after Colten confirmed that it was not Caskey's voice that she recognized.
Before heading into interrogation, SVU decided to catch Zimmerman in the act by notifying Caskey's wife and setting up cameras in the apartment. After several hours in interrogation, an impatient Zimmerman asked what the holdup was, and the detectives deceive him into thinking a camera caught a glimpse of Robin's attacker and they were trying to amplify it for a clearer image. They said that Caskey could make it easier by confessing, as Zimmerman tries to offer him advice but Caskey refused to take responsibility and Benson says they have officers at his house searching for evidence. Zimmerman tells Caskey he will go there to help his wife.
While at the Caskey house, Zimmerman secretly plants Robin's necklace in the bathroom. He plays the role of an angry lawyer, as SVU searched the house before hitting the jackpot. At the precinct, Benson and Carisi present the evidence to Caskey, who continues to protest his innocence. Still putting up his facade as a caring lawyer, Zimmerman assured him that he would get him out of this debacle. When the detectives tell the perpetrator that he is under arrest for rape and murder, Caskey starts to stand, but Benson stops him and reveals that they are talking to his lawyer. Stunned, Zimmerman protests this act while Carisi handcuffs him for the rape and murder. He is then hauled off as Benson read him his rights. Carisi later tells a baffled Caskey that Zimmerman had raped his victims near shelters, because he knew sex offenders would get the blame. Carisi also tells Caskey that he and Benson lied about the camera so they could trick Zimmerman into planting evidence in the bathroom, which they have recorded. Caskey is then exonerated and allowed to move back home.
At his arraignment, Zimmerman pleads not guilty, and the judge notes on his new circumstances. She denies him bail and has him remanded to Rikers Island, where, she remarks he will see several of his former clients. He was convicted of serial rape and murder and sentenced to life in prison.
External links[]
- Thomas Zimmerman on the Law & Order Wiki
