Joseph Paul "Joe" Poletti is a convicted serial rapist and the prime suspect of a double homicide in a park. He previously spent a total of twelve years in prison for seven rapes. He was first convicted on charges of obscenity in the third degree in relation to graphic writings of rape and torture that he distributed to other sex offenders, and sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison. This gave SVU detectives enough time to find the special earrings of a victim in New Jersey, which had his fingerprints on it.