Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

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.

We are living in the season of the lord's return, friends.

Matthew 24 warns us that no one,

not the angels in heaven,

not Jesus himself,

knows the hour nor the day

that the Son of Man will return.

Two men will be in the field.

One will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be grinding with a hand mill.

Down.

End of the line. Last stop.

You okay in there?

Hey. You hear me?

You got to get off the train now.

Okay, I'm coming in.

- So what we looking at? - Unaccompanied teenager.

She locked herself in the bathroom.

Looks like somebody roughed her up a little.

- On the train? - We're not sure yet.

She say who did it?

She's not real talkative.

She still won't come out.

Take it easy.

What's your name?

It's okay. We'll take care of you.

She said anything to either one of you?

- Not a word. - Okay.

All right, honey.

Looks like you got hit with something there.

Why don't you come on out of the bathroom?

We can get you some medical attention.

Okay.

My name's Amanda.

How long has it been since you've eaten?

Ah, ah, ah, ah.

Look, I'll trade you

some candy for your name.

Esther.

Yep. Now we're getting somewhere.

That's good.

Got a last name, Esther?

The nation shall see your righteousness,

and all the kings your glory.

And you shall be called by a new name

that the Lord will give.

Okay. Good.

Here you go. Come here. Come here.

Look. Let me and you

get out of the bathroom, off this train.

We can talk some more, okay?

Okay, easy, easy. Easy, you got it,

Works with Frannie.

Frannie's a dog.

All right, now we're gonna go to a hospital.

We're gonna let a doctor make sure that you're okay.

- Doctor. - No... no.

It's gonna be all right.

I'm gonna... I'm gonna stay with you the whole time, all right?

We're going to need to call your parents

and let them know where we're going, okay?

- They don't have a phone. - Well...

- No! - Whoa... whoa... whoa.

Okay. Easy. Easy. Easy. Back... back off.

Lose the gurney. It's against regulations.

I will take responsibility, okay?

Now, I'll ride with her in the back.

It's okay, Esther, it's okay. It's all right.

Esther, how you doing?

You know, pretty soon, you're gonna

have to tell me where your mom and dad live.

Mm-mm, mm-mm. I'll be punished.

Why would you be punished?

I'm not allowed to ride on a train.

That doesn't sound like something

you should be punished for.

"The Lord has disciplined me severely.

But he has not given me over to death."

That's from Psalms, right?

Have you learned the good book, too?

Yeah, I used to go to church a lot when I was a little girl.

My grandmama, she played the organ every Sunday.

Hey, who told you you'd be punished if you rode the train?

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,

but bring them up with the discipline

and the instruction of the Lord.

She's incredibly malnourished,

barely 90 pounds.

She keeps asking for more food,

- but we've got to take it slow. - How is she otherwise?

I'm sure you noticed the abrasions on her forehead.

There's also chafing on her ankles

and her wrists. She might have been tied up.

Okay, did you do a tox-screen?

We tried. She looked at the needle and flipped out.

Won't answer any questions about her medical history.

I doubt she's bathed in weeks.

Okay, what about a rape kit?

Did she say she'd been assaulted?

No, but she... she's so traumatized, I wouldn't be surprised.

Well, she barely let me swab her mouth for saliva.

I can't imagine subjecting her to a pelvic exam right now.

Do you need to keep her overnight?

I don't think so. You can have her for a few hours.

We've already reached out to child services.

Hey, lieutenant. Of the four commuters

on the train that I talked to, nobody remembers seeing Esther.

Also her prints are not in the system.

Okay, anything from the lab?

There was semen in her underwear.

Send them to the ME for DNA profiling.

So we may be looking at a sex crime

on top of the abuse.

Okay, I'll talk to her and see if I can find out

what is going on here.

You know what, Lieu?

Rollins has already kind of made

- a connection with this girl. - So you're thinking

another strange face may not be the best idea?

Okay.

Hey.

Dr. Hale said that it would be fine

for you to have a slice but I don't think two slices

will do too much damage.

- Thank you. - Mm-hmm.

I know you got to be scared, Esther,

but I'm really just trying to help you.

You understand that, right?

Is there a reason you might not want to go back home?

Do you live in a house or an apartment?

A house... with white window frames.

You have brothers or sisters?

Yes.

You must miss them.

Is there a reason why you wanted to leave your home?

I was scared.

Of your father?

But the Lord says "do not fear for I am with you.

Do not be dismayed, for I will uphold you

with my righteous hand."

Is your father the one that...

That hurt your head?

I-I-I fell.

Esther, did... did your father force you to have sex with him?

No.

But you had sex with somebody.

Hey.

It's okay. It's okay.

I can tell she's smart by the biblical connections

- she's making... - But it's like it was drilled

- into her... - Oh yeah, this goes way past

the Sunday school indoctrination

my mom made me sit through.

This is a form of control. It's a way to discourage

- analytical thinking. - Or a place to turn

if she's lost or in pain.

Or scare you into thinking you're gonna burn in hell

if you... you wear a skirt above your knee.

I mean, somebody's doing this to keep her in line

- and she's still protecting them. - DNA's back.

No hits on any of the databases.

But it's a familial match.

- How close? - Well, the perp shares

partial matches with Esther in ten alleles.

Okay, so the father's out.

Yeah, so it's a brother or an uncle, maybe.

Our girl is safe and sound

in the custody of child services.

Did you make any headway with her?

No, every time I go near sex, she shuts down

or she recites some of that scripture

- she's been brainwashed with. - Okay. So,

we're going to have to do the heavy lifting here.

Would be nice to know who she actually is.

Not much to go on.

There's no missing persons report

matching Esther's description.

She probably lives off the Port Washington Branch

- of that commuter train. - Okay, Rollins,

get her picture to the local media.

Somebody has to recognize her.

- On it. - Carisi and I'll check

the Long Island railroad security cams.

And the thing is it all goes on video these days.

There's no such thing as the Fourth Amendment

in the five boroughs.

Guess that's why all the cops I know live in Nassau County.

She was on the 8:17 out of Port Washington.

She got on after the Little Neck station.

So let's start with Douglaston.

This is just as the 8:17's pulling in.

That's her right there.

Freeze.