Summary: Jeremy Irons returned to guest star in his role a sex-addiction psychiatrist – who’s no longer under investigation by SVU but is now helping them investigate their cases. He’s called in to help profile a killer when a seven-year-old girl is found dead and sexually assaulted, her body stuffed in a suitcase. At first, the detectives think the killer is the girl’s mother’s new boyfriend, who’s been accused of sexually assaulting a girl before. But Dr. Irons thinks the killer must be a woman, because the little corpse was wrapped in sheets with a doll tucked in the suitcase with her. These are hallmarks, he says, of a feminine killer. The detectives soon close in on the girl’s pretty piano teacher. While they’re in her house, they find some evidence of the crime, but the house has been scrubbed with bleach. Dr. Irons goes on a charm offensive, and soon the piano teacher confesses to killing the girl and placing her body in the suitcase. The teacher says she herself was a victim of sexual abuse as child, at the hands of her own mother. But then Elliott and Olivia suspect the piano teacher didn’t do it. They go to question her mother, and discover mom’s living with another younger daughter, who she’s still sexually abusing (there’s only one bed in their posh apartment). The younger sister is seriously messed up from the mother’s abuse. The younger sister ultimately confesses that she killed and sexually assaulted the little girl. The piano teacher confessed to the murder in order to protect her younger sister.
Verdict: B+
What they got right: As horrific and outlandish as it sounds, this was based on the real case of Sandra Cantu, an eight-year-old girl whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in an irrigation ditch in California. Medical examination revealed that she had been sexually assaulted with a rolling pin before she was killed. The assailant turned out to be a female Sunday-school teacher named Melissa Huckaby.
Female sexual predators are uncommon, but real. Most child sexual abuse is committed by men; but studies show that women commit 14% to 40% of offenses reported against boys and 6% of offenses reported against girls. Some experts speculate that there is much more female-on-female abuse, but it goes unreported because of the stigma. If you’re interested in reading more, here’s a good article called “Female Sexual Abuse: the untold story of society’s last taboo.”
What they got wrong: In the vast majority of cases with this fact pattern, the assailant would have been the girl’s mother’s new boyfriend. That’s so often the case. From my perspective, the most dangerous person in any kid’s life is the new boyfriend that mom brings into the home. Uncles, stepfathers, fathers, and male cousins are also responsible for a lot of sexual violence against children. But an unrelated male, who has no biological or emotional connection to the child but who lives in the same house with them, is the perpetrator in the bulk of child sex cases. In this case, where mom’s boyfriend had been previously convicted of molesting children – forget it. It would’ve been him.
Was anyone else bothered by the fact that Elliott and Olivia were all buddy-buddy with the piano teacher by the end of the episode? The woman was still guilty of serious crimes: obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting a homicide. She didn’t kill the girl, but when she discovered that her sister had, she stuffed the body in a suitcase and dumped it on the sidewalk. She used bleach to sanitize the crime scene. She threw out evidence of the crime, then lied to the police. You can’t do that. If you find a corpse in your house, call the police. Tell them everything you know. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. This piano teacher should be facing a long stint in Rikers.
And I have to raise an eyebrow at their choice of Jeremy Irons as a police psychiatrist. Don’t get me wrong; I love him as an actor. Everything he says in that British accent sounds smart and sexy. He could tell me, “I’d like some ketchup with my fries,” and I’d probably faint. But I wouldn’t suggest using a guy you were once investigating for sexual assault as your police psychiatrist for new cases. Hey Doc, good news: you’re not under arrest, so … uh … can you help us with this new case? It’s not illegal, but it doesn’t exactly have the foundations of a great team.
Liz says
31 March, 2011 at 2:49 pmDon’t get me wrong; I love him as an actor. Everything he says in that British accent sounds smart and sexy. He could tell me, “I’d like some ketchup with my fries,” and I’d probably faint.
Riiiiiiiight there with you. George Huang is all well and good, but if by some miracle SVU could tempt Jeremy Irons into becoming a regular, I would just die from the sexiness.
Allison Leotta says
2 April, 2011 at 11:20 amYes!
TokoBali says
31 March, 2011 at 3:19 pmI liked how they stressed the rarity of a female killer. Often, misrepresentations of the statistics of criminals (gender, class, age, and so on) are most common on crime shows.
The episode itself was pretty good. After a few episodes I did not like so much, the last 2 or 3 were pretty good. And next week, Diane Neal is back on. That one has to be a big one.
Off topic: Allison, I send you an e-mail with some questions a week or 2 ago. Did something go wrong or am I just way too impatient?
Allison Leotta says
2 April, 2011 at 11:21 amI liked that they stressed the rarity of a female perp too. Hope all is well in the Netherlands, Toko!
Terri Weiss says
1 April, 2011 at 6:45 amNah, I don’t think Jeremy has aged all that well, despite the accent…!
Why oh why are all these shows beginning to sound the same? Maybe it’s those weepy confessions at the end?
I just saw an episode of L and O last night (an old replay, I believe) where guest star Martin Short plays a -misnomer alert! – fake psychic offering his services to the cops in order to find a missing (eventually murdered) girl. The cops suspect he did the murder.
He eventually admits he’s a bad-guy Canadian who is trying to get close to the cops to appreciate the upheaval caused by the crime. And then his wife admits she facilitated his other murders but that she committed the latest one, all for the sake of protecting him and saving floundering marriage.
Martin doesn’t appreciate her confession, needless to say, but he enjoys watching her get hauled off in cuffs. As for me, I didn’t appreciate the incessant cliches… Grrrrrr…..
Allison Leotta says
2 April, 2011 at 11:23 amWe’ll have to agree to disagree on Jeremy. 🙂
That Martin Short episode sounds funny, although probably not in the way they intended…
Terri Weiss says
3 April, 2011 at 12:22 pmI know what you mean, Allison! Every time I see him I think of him as a wedding planner with an unintelligible accent!
david delee says
1 April, 2011 at 10:30 amI have to agree, the plot device to bring Jeremy Irons back was a little thin, but worth it for the performance. I thought the writers did an informed job of keeping to the plain view doctrine when Elliot and Irons searched the house, and in limiting the doc when the suspect brought up needing a lawyer. I guess after all these years of violation that one himsellf, Elliot’s finally learned. I also thought Irons reaction to being limited that way was great.
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David DeLee
Allison Leotta says
2 April, 2011 at 11:24 amYep, I thought the plain-view analysis was good. And it was fun to see Elliott reigning someone else in.
Hope the muse visits you today!
Kay says
31 January, 2012 at 5:06 amWhile I do agree with some of your points on how SVU sometimes gets things wrong, I have to disagree on one thing you said- You mentioned that, in this case, it would have been the boyfriend. Not necessarily! (Pedophile or not.)
One of the reasons this episode hit me so hard was because it was so similar to my best friend’s. Growing up, his mother had shady boyfriend after shady boyfriend. Some without criminal records… but many who DID have records.
One in particular was booted out because my friend’s mother found out he was, in fact, a convicted pedophile. Did he molest my friend? Nope… the babysitter’s teenage son was actually the one who was the perp in this scenario.
I just wanted to point out real quick that, while it may not happen like that very often, the show didn’t screw up facts just for the sake of a twist. It does happen every which way.
Allison Leotta says
3 February, 2012 at 1:52 pmKay, thanks for your comment. You’re right, it does happen every which way. I once had case where a woman was beaten by her boyfriend over and over. She finally found the strength to leave him, and we put her up in a hotel. A few days later, she was found in the hotel room, beaten to death. Of course, her boyfriend was the prime suspect at first. But it turned out that she’d met another jerk, taken him home, and he’s the one who killed her. Incredibly tragic, and a reminder to law enforcement to keep an open mind and explore all options. That said, I do think that statistically, the most obvious suspect is usually the one did it. I’m so sorry for your friend. I hope she has been able to heal and find some justice for what happened to her.