Summary: A married couple loses their family farm to foreclosure. They rent another farm and hire kids to sell produce at a NYC farmers’ market. Still low on cash, they then chain the kids in a root cellar, starve them, beat them, prostitute them, and sell the babies the girls conceive during the prostitution. When the cops close in on them, they try to kill the kids by forcing them drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide.
Verdict: B-
What they got wrong: I’m sure there really are American farmers who are losing their family farms to foreclosure. But most of them don’t take this route to make money. I doubt you’ll see any human trafficking victims selling cider at your local farmers market. Human trafficking is a problem. It doesn’t look like this. A lot of trafficking involves illegal immigrants, who are terrified to go to the authorities because they fear deportation. When underage prostitutes are involved, it’s often a teenage girl who believes her pimp is her “boyfriend,” and she’ll do anything for his “love.” She allows him to take her from city to city, selling her services and keeping the money she is paid for it. The girl does what her pimp tells her to because she wants his approval, not because he has her chained up. (Up until last month, these nomadic pimps would often advertise on the “adult services” section of Craigslist. That was shut down in September, but the demand is still out there, and it will be a challenge to figure out where the marketing pops up next.) The pimp might beat up the girl in order to get compliance, but often, her self-esteem is so low, that’s not even necessary. Just a few sly, manipulative words can do the trick. This is still a terrible crime, and the girl’s life is often irreparably damaged. It is essential in cases like this to get the victim the therapy and resources she needs to break free of the psychological hold that her pimp has over her. But steel chains, manacles, and root cellars are not usually involved.
What they got right: The boy victim refused to talk to the police and prosecutors at first and tried to run from them. That’s true to life. Although they are being exploited by their pimps, child victims of human trafficking often will do almost anything to try to protect them. A major challenge for law enforcement personnel is convincing the victim to trust you above the pimp that they’ve based their whole life around.
*All the views expressed here are mine alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice.
Kate Raphael says
11 October, 2010 at 6:53 pmI’m really glad to see this! I was a rape counselor for years, and sometimes the stretches in their plots really bug me. And of course, other times the realism gives me flashbacks.
But the thing that I find most offensive in all these cop shows, and especially the Law & Order franchise, is that people who watch them regularly are sure to believe that 90% of murders and other violent crimes are committed by women, and the 10% committed by men are masterminded by a woman. Presumably they do it because they are trying to surprise the audience with the unexpected, but given that they do it so often, by now it’s expected.
Have you noticed that?
Allison Leotta says
25 October, 2010 at 2:31 amYes! Did you notice the last episode, “Branded,” where the serial rapist was a woman preying on men? I mean … come on.
Allison Leotta says
12 October, 2010 at 4:06 amI know what you mean, Kate! Sure, there are female criminals out there, but you and I know the vast majority of sex crimes are committed by men. I guess “Man bites dog” will always be the better story.
Terri says
14 October, 2010 at 4:20 amDon’t you just love show biz? Shock value = entertainment value. (I just posted about how lawyers were depicted on The Social Network on my blog.)
I was glad CL finally stopped the sex ads. (Remember the Westin Copley Plaza murders a few years back?) I agree with you- some other marketing forum will pop up, probably in the most innocuous of places..
Andrew MacKie-Mason says
21 October, 2010 at 6:10 pmWas it realistic for the AUSA to “deputize” Stabler and Benson like that?
Allison Leotta says
21 October, 2010 at 9:04 pmGreat question. Local cops can be deputized to be special U.S. Marshals for various purposes. As you can imagine, there’s a lot more red tape involved in real life than on the show. The SVU AUSA just happened to have two badges sitting in the top drawer of her desk, and after a quick chat with Benson and Stabler, she was like, “Okay, you guys look very attractive, I’ll just deputize you! Raise your right hand.” Prosecutors don’t get special badges to deputize anyone with great pecs. Not that we wouldn’t like to.
Liz says
23 October, 2010 at 5:52 am“The SVU AUSA just happened to have two badges sitting in the top drawer of her desk, and after a quick chat with Benson and Stabler, she was like, “Okay, you guys look very attractive, I’ll just deputize you! Raise your right hand.” Prosecutors don’t get special badges to deputize anyone with great pecs. Not that we wouldn’t like to.”
I love you so much for this comment.
Allison Leotta says
25 October, 2010 at 2:33 amThanks, Liz!
Mandi says
23 October, 2010 at 7:01 amWould “great pecs” also include Benson? 🙂
Love the blog, I’ve shared it with MANY in the SVU fan community. Expect more traffic.
Jeremy Pierce says
1 April, 2011 at 4:49 amI just saw this episode, and I think one of your criticisms isn’t quite fair. I think they did do a good job of showing the contrast between this case and the usual case of prostitutes being chained to their pimps by the thought that the pimp loves them. The character who helped track the kid down showed that pretty clearly, so you wouldn’t get the sense that this is the typical case.
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