Law and Order: SVU 1999 - ?

  This is a show that's been going on for a long time, since September 1999. But its good if you enjoy police procedurals.  As I was in a Social Work Program in college and know someone close to me that was sexually abused as a child, this one hits home to me. 

    For a show that's been going on for almost 21 years, this show has enormous appeal.

     It started in 1990, with the original Law & Order television show. In the first season, creator Dick Wolf wrote an episode inspired by the actual 'Preppie Murder' that happened in New York's Central Park in 1986. But after that, Mr. Wolf wanted to explore more of the deeper psychology of sexual crimes and in 1999, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was born. 

      For a show that's in its 21st season, there are so many  compelling episodes to pick from. Its hard to pick just one. So I'll just pick the last one aired from the current season. 

      Episode 4 is called The Burden Of Our Choice. A 13 year old girl from a small town in Ohio who comes from a fundamentalist Christian family decides to leave town without her parents knowledge for New York City. She heard a 19 year old male friend had gone there to escape persecution for statutory rape a few weeks before. 

     The SVU unit of Manhattan receives the fax of the missing girl from Ohio flyer as a new investigator, Katriona Tamin(Jamie Grey Hyder) arrives on scene to replace the empty slot left by Carisi(Peter Scanavino) when he joined the District Attorney's office as the new ADA. They find the male friend who is reluctant to tell the investigators that she is staying with him. But eventually they do find her pan handling on the street. As they attempt to take her in to the station where her parents have traveled all the way from Ohio to come and collect her, she faints in the arms of the detectives. At the hospital the doctors say that she suffers from exhaustion and is almost 3 months pregnant. A rape kit was done given her age and she was found to be sexually active for years. 

     As her parents arrive on the scene to collect her and take her home at the station, so does the lawyer that SVU help her find. The 13 year old girl Evangeline says that she doesn't want to go home and wants to get an abortion, which her parents would never let her do. The parents want to believe that the 19 year old boy that left their hometown was responsible. But Evangeline makes a dramatic accusation in family court that her stepfather was the one who put the baby in her. Which is fine, a DNA test can find out for sure. Except that the father leaves town the next day to take care of the two small sons at home in Ohio . While the mother stays to take care of Evangeline. 

    The following day in court as they were about to rule that Evangeline could get an abortion, another lawyer swoops in with arrest warrants for ADA Carisi, SVU detectives Olivia Benson(Mariska Hargitay) and other SVU investigators, AND the ruling judge of the family court. The fetus' lawyer is out of Ohio, most likely hired by the father, and is charging them all with attempted murder.  

     Evangeline's mother still believes that her daughter is lying. For now, Evangeline is under Child Protective Services custody at a shelter for underage mothers. Detective Rollins(Kelli Giddish) is sympathetic to Evangeline's situation and is keeping her up to date on all the court proceedings and is able to give emotional support having had abortions before and being an unwed mother herself. The one time Rollins leaves is when Evangeline throws herself down the stairs. Evangeline's mother is in a panic and wants to care for the baby herself with Evangeline's younger brothers at home. The mother tries to explain to Captain Benson that Evangeline's stepfather is a good man, who was always loving and affectionate with Evangeline. But just as she remembers and admits that, the realization spreads to her face. Olivia tells her that she has a choice to make as a mother, she can believe Evangeline and help her and leave her husband or go back home to her husband and Evangeline will grow up in foster care until she is 18.  With that, the mother agrees and takes the stand in her daughters defense apologizing for not believing her. 

    This episode ends with the SVU office receiving a notice that Evangeline's stepfather's DNA did match the baby's and was subsequently charged with 119 counts of satutory rape and Evangeline waiting in the abortion office with Rollins. 

     This is a show that seems to get more compelling with age. Law and Order: SVU is on NBC on Thursdays at 10pm EST.