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.

What do you do if it goes to voice mail?

- I leave a message. - And?

Text.

I can't believe I'm letting you

go to school on your own.

Everybody else in fourth grade goes to school on their own.

Who? The Gentiles, the Jews?

Those gadjos don't love their children.

Mom, I stick out enough as it is.

Can I go now?

Your mittens.

What did your father tell you?

Take the "G" train, then the "J" to Manhattan,

two blocks up and one over.

I know, ma. I love you.

I love you, too.

Dad, stop following me.

What did I tell you about crossing the street

when you don't have a walk sign?

Dad, I'm ready.

Let me do it, okay?

Okay, big boy.

Good morning, Sarah. How are you?

Have a good day, today.

Hey, Nico.

Good morning.

Hey.

You tell fortunes, right?

No.

Thought all you freaks did.

I do.

I see...

a long lifeline, a mansion, and--

what's this?

Swimming pool.

Ryan.

See me after class.

Get to class, Nico.

He can be a jerk, sometimes.

Hey, you're flying solo today, champion?

We practiced. I know the way.

Ten years old, gipsy boy, Nico Grey

his parents say he never made it home

from Caswell Academy.

And you called Manhattan SVU because?

Last time anybody saw the kid was on school property.

3:30 P.M., lower east side, Manhattan.

Your side of the bridge.

You know what, these people don't really trust our precinct.

Maybe they don't like being called, "these people"

or "Gypsies" even.

Maybe.

If you ask me, the kid's not missing.

It's all just a con.

Oh, look. The circus is here.

I wonder who called them.

Hey, detectives. Any word on little Nico?

Yeah, why don't you take, we'll take the parents.

He wanted to do it on his own.

Be a man, stand on his own two feet.

So this is the first time Nico goes to school on his own.

Yeah, we practiced for a week.

Which train to get on, what to do if a stranger--

you know, taught him a few moves.

Your boy should have been here by 4:00,

but we didn't get a call by 7:00.

Yeah, I told my wife to call right away.

She said the police probably wouldn't care

because of who we are.

He was wearing a light brown jacket,

a tan scarf, and a backpack with a rabbit's foot.

It's his good luck charm.

We bought him a cell phone.

I--I keep calling, but he--he doesn't answer.

Okay, who was the last person to see Nico?

His teacher, Mr. Kandel.

Did you check with Nico's friends?

Is it possible that he's with one of them?

Nico doesn't really have a lot of friends.

At school, they... bully him.

He tested real good. He's a smart kid.

Got a partial scholarship to this private school

in the city.

We wanted Nico to be with all kinds of different kids.

Not just Romani.

Mr. Grey,

how were things at home?

Is Nico upset about anything late--

No.

He's a happy kid. A good kid.

What about a favorite hangout?

Some place he likes to go?

You're in it.

We're all distraught,

and Nico is such a sweet kid.

I remember seeing him just as he was leaving school.

Was he alone?

He's always alone.

The kids tease him for being Romani.

Uh, we told them not to use the word, "Gypsy."

Okay.

So what's your take on the parents?

Different.

Do you think there's any trouble at home?

Who knows?

They keep to themselves.

Nico just wants to fit in,

but he's caught between two worlds.

So you two are friends of Nico's?

We just live on the same block.

Greenpoint.

He's kind of weird.

He's a Gypsy.

His mom's a fortune teller.

Think she would've seen this coming.

And your name is?

Ryan. I was just kidding.

Okay, Ryan. Chill.

When's the last time you saw Nico?

That morning.

You didn't see him on the train ride home?

No, the "J" was down. We took a taxi.

What about you, Ryan?

When was the last time you saw him?

I didn't. I was in detention.

We can track him from school on his route

to the subway.

Then he gets to the closed station--

and we lose him.

Time stamp is 3:37.

All right. Well, that's 11 hours ago.

You did a full neighborhood canvass?

We ran all the sex offenders in the area.

No witnesses, no leads.

And online?

I mean, how about his computer?

The kid doesn't even have one.

Doesn't have any social media accounts.

His father just bought him his first cell phone this week,

so he could get back and forth from school.

Taru's trying to trace that, but there's nothing so far.

So they're not only old world, they're Romani.

After 600 years of being treated like pariahs,

they don't trust outsiders.

Parents have a record?

Tomas Grey was arrested for assault three months ago.

He got into an altercation with a co-worker,

Alonso Hearne, at his bike shop.

Guy dropped the charges.

Well, maybe it's payback.

Check with the precinct in Brooklyn.

Tomas isn't in. Family emergency.

You mean his son's missing.

Kid's not here.

Go ahead and check.

The fight you had with tomas three months ago--

what was that about?

Tomas has trouble.

He brought this on himself.

Detective Dumas. They call me, "Doom."

Welcome to Brooklyn.

I heard you needed a tour guide.

Hey, Al.

Your friend here-- he's reticent.

I don't know anything.

Well, think harder.

And maybe while you're thinking,

I'll go over every bike in here

to make sure none of them got separated

from a chain by accident.

Take what you want.

You people call us thieves.

We know you're thieves.

We wanna know if this is a scam.

Your friend, tomas-- did he steal his own kid?

Last chance, Alonso.

Hey, you're not gonna even lie to us?

This gotta be about the Rom Baro, isn't it?

Is that who's got your tongue?

What the hell is a Rom Baro?

So this Rom Baro works for the king of the Gypsies?

Right.

The king lives in Hungary or Serbia or Wherever-stan.

The Rom Baro lives here.

As the king's rep, he settles disputes,

collects tithes--

And gets kickbacks.

Yeah. It's good to be king.

And I'm betting the Rom Baro gets a little taste.

You're in trouble.

Your partner's pretty and smart.

Anybody ever tell you you talk too much?