Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. is a former detective from the Special Victims Unit of the Manhattan Police Department. He is an Italian-American Catholic who crosses himself when he sees a dead body or goes to church. He was named after his father, a stickler for the holidays, and his mother, a devout catholic. In “Next Chapter,” he is nearly killed by a rape suspect. Benson shoots the suspect in the back of the head, saving Carisi.

Delia Hackman’s abusive husband accompanies her and rapes her. When she tries to leave the scene, she calls Detective Amanda Rollins, whose father is the victim of a rape. But when she arrives home, she discovers that her abusive husband is still out there and has raped her. She calls Rollins, who pleads with her to arrest the man. However, Father Duffy is unable to tell her anything about the confession because Father Regis doesn’t merely confess to a priest.

Benson and Carisi have been working for the Manhattan SVU team for a couple years. During the first episode of Season 16, he identifies a suspect in a porn star’s rape case, and turns one suspect against the other. Carisi also mentions that he took night classes in law school, but it seems to annoys the Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba. The assistant DA thanks Carisi for his assistance and later appoints him to shadow his trial.