SVU Episode #13-2: Personal Fouls

I loved tonight’s show. It was realistic, interesting, and shone a light on an important and taboo subject. I liked the raw, stripped-down feel of this episode. The writers got rid of the unbelievable technology and DA cleavage that’s cluttered recent shows and focused on the issue of male sex-assault victims in a true and gut-wrenching way. I actually teared up at the ending. This is the SVU that made so many loyal fans fall in love with it.

Verdict: A+

Recap: A youth basketball coach is being honored for his work with young boys. During the award ceremony, a man named Stevie busts in and shouts that Coach deserves to be in jail, not the hall of fame. Our SVU detectives learn that Stevie was molested by the coach when he was a kid. The coach paid him off for many years to keep the secret – and he did it to others. The detectives interview other young men who’ve received payments from the coach, but all of them deny being sexually assaulted. We see their different reactions. Some are afraid of being considered gay. Some seem to pause and consider talking, but can’t get past the shame. One man freaks out and says he’d stab anyone who touched him like that.

Finally, our detectives track down Prince, the most famous basketball player the coach ever taught. Prince is a Michael Jordan-like NBA star with his own brand of shoes, fragrance, and clothing. It’s clear that Coach sexually abused him as a child, but the arrogant Prince can’t bring himself to admit it.

In the meantime, we see the destruction that Coach’s sexual assaults have wrought, from a boy who committed suicide decades ago, to Stevie himself, who’s a junkie. Stevie ends up murdered by Prince’s second-in-command, who wants to protect the superstar’s “brand.”

The detectives struggle with how to make the Prince talk to them. The consider using a wire or forcing him to talk in the Grand Jury. But they realize they need his cooperation. Finally, they convince him by showing him a boy who’s about to go on a road trip with the coach. Prince sees a bit of himself in the talented young athlete who’s in the precarious position. Prince finally agrees to testify truthfully in the Grand Jury.

In the final scene, Prince musters up the courage to hold a press conference telling the world what Coach did to him. We see how much this means to the other victims, from the mother of the boy who committed suicide, to the young athlete who’s currently being molested by the coach. The boy silently reaches for his mother’s arms as Prince says, “The shame is not ours, it his.” That’s when I had to grab my Kleenex.

What they got right: Sexual assaults are the most under-reported crimes in America, and assaults against male victims are the most under-reported of all. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 American women and 1 in 6 American men will be the victim of a sexual assault in their lifetime. But hardly any of the male survivors come forward. This is a real problem. As a prosecutor, I saw the fraction of sexual assault cases that were reported. Although men make up a significant portion of the survivors, the vast majority of my cases involved female complainants. The stigma attached to sexual assault is even worse for male victims, and they are much less likely to report it or even talk about it. Detective Amanda Rollins got it right when she said, “Male victims today are where female victims were 40 years ago. It’s the dark ages.” Kudos to SVU for getting people to talk about this subject. I hope the episode will help survivors realize that they’re not alone, and encourage some to seek out counseling or even come forward.

The show also got right how the police struggled to get the testimony they needed from the victims. Often, the real challenge in these cases isn’t solving the crime but helping the survivor find his voice. I’ve never seen a wire used on a victim (rather than a suspect), but it was a creative twist. And it was good that they ultimately decided that they needed to get Prince to want to testify. That’s very real. It’s almost impossible (and inadvisable) to bring a sex offense case unless you have a victim who’s found the strength to want to talk about what happened.

If you’re interested in this topic, a great novel dealing with it is Bryan Gruley‘s Edgar-nominated “Starvation Lake,” about the secrets kept in a small northern Michigan hockey town.

On a different note, I liked the new detective, Nick Amaro. We just got a few hints about his character. He took out a picture of his little girl for his desk, then looked around the precinct and put it away. Maybe he doesn’t want sex offenders to see his kid?  There was also a quick reference to a wife serving in Iraq. No sexual tension yet between him and the new female detective, but the season is still young.

What they got wrong: Believe it or not, I didn’t see anything to nitpick tonight. I was too riveted by the story. Sorry for falling down on the job. If you saw some nits that I missed, please leave a comment!