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.

Grandma?

He's my blood.

He will never be a part of you

the way he is a part of me.

Grandma, Grandma!

Hey, mama's here, sweet boy.

Mama's here, you're okay. Grandma Sheila.

- I saw her. - Oh, honey.

You just had a dream, okay? But mama's here with you now.

- Can I sleep with you again? - Noah.

You know how we talked about you

sleeping in your own bed all night, remember?

Please, mama, please, mama, please, mama.

Okay, okay, okay.

One more night, okay?

Eddie wants to sleep with us too.

Of course, it wouldn't be a proper slumber party

without Eddie.

Grandma Sheila, is she all right?

- Yes, honey, of course. - I want to see her.

Okay, now let's go to bed, honey.

Let's go to bed.

This morning, we're going to continue with ecosystems.

Now who remembers what ecology is?

I know, I know! How organisms act to each other in their environments.

Good, Taylor, but next time, wait till I call on you.

Now organisms are... Mariel?

Any living thing.

Yes, and living things interact in different ways.

Now some can cooperate, like ants building a nest.

And others prey on each other. So who can give me an example?

The tick is sucking the dog's blood.

It means the tick is a parasite.

- Yeah... - Are you okay?

I'm on a new medicine, it's making me sleepy.

- Oh, okay. - I'll be fine.

Okay, clean up, everyone. Snack time.

- I'm sorry I spilled juice. - No worries, accidents happen.

Let's just get some paper towels.

Oh, my God, Cody!

Go find Principal Flock, now!

Mariel McLaughlin is 15, has MD, epilepsy,

and some learning issues. Cody Hill is 19, has autism.

And you said a teacher found them together?

On the floor of a supply closet.

We don't really know what was happening,

but we do have mandated reporting.

You did the right thing.

This is Mariel and Cody's teacher, Vanessa Banks.

They should have been supervised,

I don't know how they slipped away.

- Did they say anything to you? - Not really.

They were both pretty upset.

So I thought it best to separate them.

Their parents are on the way.

Obviously we don't want legal action.

Mariel is underage.

Well they have impaired social interaction.

They're very sheltered, immature.

Okay, we'll talk to them. We'll sort it out.

- Am I in trouble? - Oh, no, honey.

I just need to figure out what happened

between you and Cody. Oh, my God, Mariel.

Detective Rollins, SVU.

- You called the police? - We had to, Mrs. McLaughlin.

Mariel, are you all right?

What happened?

Mommy, Cody raped me.

- Oh, my God, sweetie. - Okay.

Are you okay?

I'm sure my son didn't do anything wrong.

Tell the police officer, Cody.

Can you tell me how you and uh...

And Mariel ended up alone in the supply room?

I told the cafeteria monitor

that Mariel left her sweater in class.

And I wheeled her out.

Okay, and when you were alone,

what did you do?

I helped her out of the wheelchair.

We laid down on the floor, then we had sex.

- Cody, what? - It's okay.

Mariel's the Little Mermaid,

because she can't use her legs so good.

And I'm her prince, Eric.

That's his favorite movie.

Look, this is just kids being kids.

My son doesn't even fully understand what sex is.

Yeah, I do.

You put your penis inside the girl.

It means you're in love.

- Is that what you did, Cody? - Yeah.

I don't know what to say.

This is a discipline issue, not a police matter.

It might be, Mr. Hill.

Did Mariel's mother make a complaint?

Overprotective is putting it mildly.

It's not up to her. Mariel's underage.

We need to bring Cody to the station,

get a statement. We'll talk to the ADA.

Cody helped me out of my chair.

I can walk, but it's hard for me.

She has muscle weakness, atrophy.

Oh, I see.

Mariel, then what happened?

I took my sweater off.

We took our pants off.

Mariel, you said you were raped.

Did Cody force you to do something that you didn't want to?

No, we're in love. We're getting married.

What?

Sorry, do you know what rape means, Mariel?

Yes, when a boy puts his penis on your vagina.

I heard one of the aides talking about it.

- And that's what Cody did? - Yes.

Okay, and did you say no, or that you didn't want it?

No.

I liked it.

- Like we were real grown-ups. - Mariel, honey.

Um, give us a minute, okay?

Can I just...

I...I don't know what's going on,

but I should get my daughter home.

She's... she's not well, she has anxiety issues.

Well, I understand, but we need

- to get Mariel to a hospital. - A hospital?

Yeah, for a rape kit.

She needs to be tested for STDs,

- just to make sure she's okay. - We'll go to her pediatrician.

And you're more than welcome to call her doctor, of course,

but she really needs to be seen by somebody

with experience in these kinds of cases, okay?

Mariel.

- So he's 19? - And autistic.

And she's 15 and says he raped her?

Rollins doesn't think she understood what the word meant.

I get the sense this is a Romeo and Juliet scenario here.

- Should we call Liv? - No, we don't call Liv.

- She's still on leave. - So what do we do?

We take his statement, then we wait on the rape kit.

Take it to Barba, figure out if we've got a crime.

- You cool with that plan? - Yeah, I'm cool.

Well, how invasive is this procedure?

The nurse will take some swabs,

and some photographs.

Dr. Levy, thank God you're here.

- Hi. - Hey, Detective Rollins, SVU.

Alexandra Levy, Mariel's pediatrician.

Mariel's right here.

- You feeling okay, Mariel? - I'm okay.

- She's really nervous. - We can sedate her.

Which sedative?

Likely ketamine, 10 milligrams.

The IV has to be in her right arm.

- She's got phlebitis in the... - I remember, Dawn.

Mariel, can I take your vitals? Excuse me.

You doing okay?

It's just seeing her like this.

She puts on a brave face for me,

but it never gets any easier.

What, may I ask, is her condition?

She was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy

when she was four.

That put her in the wheelchair, and then epilepsy.

Blood cancer, twice.

Sounds like a rough road.

Well, like they say,

the lord never gives you more than you can handle.

Can I just see what the numbers are?

- Oh! - War!

Ready?

- I-de-clare-war! - I-de-clare-war!

You got me again! I surrender, I surrender.

- I thought you said no work. - It's Amanda, I'll be quick.

Hey.

You're where?

Uh, no, I'm coming right now.

- Hi. - Hey, sorry.

- I hope this isn't a bad time. - No, come on in.

I'm just getting beat at cards again.

- Noah, how you doing, bud? - I'm great.

So, Noah, how about you change into your PJs, right?

And I'm going to talk to Amanda for a second.

- I'll be super quick. - He seems good.

Yeah, he is. We're getting there.

He still wants to sleep in the bed with me.

And I'm letting him, so I don't know if that's

for him or for me.

I hear you.

So, you guys managing without me?

Yeah, and Fin loves being in charge, I can tell you that.

Okay.

- You got a file? - Yeah.