Law & Order Special Victims Unit s15e07 Episode Script

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.
Grace, you got this.
Now go out there and let them have it! Yes? Breathe, boo-boo.
Glasses, please.
Thank you very much.
Hi, honey.
What's your name? Grace.
Grace belsey.
I'm from west orange, New Jersey.
She got this on her own.
We're just so proud of her.
No matter what happens.
Right, honey? She's going all the way.
Those judges, they don't know what they're in for.
Dad My mom was actually diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma last year - Another sick mom.
- Didn't see that coming.
My audition on American diva? It is all thanks to my mom and dad Yes.
God, and my coach, Jackie Walker.
I discovered grace at an open call.
She's got all the tools to win this thing.
It's up to her now.
I'll take her as far as she can go.
Okay, Gracie.
You seem a little nervous.
You okay? It's okay.
I remember my first time.
What are you singing tonight, honey? - Um, "for once in my life".
- And you're how old? Okay.
You ready? Okay.
I can't hear her right now.
Give her a chance.
Uhhuh.
You know what I was thinking? We should throw a housewarming party.
Brian, don't say that.
You love parties.
daddy, how do I get on American diva? Well, same way you get to carnegie hall: Practice.
What? You're weird, daddy.
Don't sit so close to the TV, Cooper.
where's Jonah? He's missing the best part.
Jonah, come watch the show.
Yes! Yes! That was fantastic.
Your voice? Liquid velvet.
Gracie, after tonight, your life will never be the same.
Where does that voice even come from? My voice coach.
Look! It's your music teacher, Mr.
Jackie.
Isn't that exciting? No.
Jonah, your music teacher is on TV.
- I don't like Mr.
Jackie.
- Of course you do.
He makes me play doctor.
I don't like him.
Law & order: SVU Mr.
Jackie is a bad man.
Why is he a bad man, sweetie? He follows me into the bathroom.
- When does he do that? - When I have to go.
Just the two of you? - Does he close the door? - Uhhuh.
That's Jonah Allen.
Four years old? And change.
His mother called SVU.
Sometimes he wants to play doctor.
I don't like that.
Jonah, do you like to draw? You do? 'Cause look what I have right here.
So Jonah saw his music teacher, Jackie Walker, on TV and flipped out.
What's his music teacher doing on TV? He's a vocal coach on American diva.
Yeah, anyway, he kept his day job: Pre-k music teacher at the Margaret Fuller school.
The 50,000 dollar a year prep school off park Avenue.
- That's it.
- Terrific.
So who brought him here? His mother and his sister, and his parents may be wealthy, but they also separated just three months ago.
And the four-year-old suddenly comes forward.
Could be he wants attention, could be a divorce maneuver.
Get the father down here, too.
Mmhmm.
I'm sorry.
It's just I'm kind of in shock.
Well, you notice any changes in Jonah's behavior recently? Yes, actually.
He spends Wednesday nights at his father's, and he said he wet the bed there.
He hasn't done that in two years.
I don't know what my wife is telling you, but it's a lie! Shut up, Steven! Don't you talk to me like that! - Whoa, whoa, take it easy! - Mr.
Allen, step back.
Listen, we're going through a divorce.
I don't know what she's accusing me of, but it's a lie.
She's not accusing you of anything.
Baby, this is just about the money.
- Then stop! - That is all he thinks about! Calm down.
This is all about your son.
My wife is lying.
She's already reported me to the IRS, made a false report I said calm down.
Let's go.
I swear, if Steven tries to blame me for this Why would he do that? He wanted public school.
I wanted Margaret Fuller.
This is all my fault.
No, honey.
Honey, why would you say that? When Jonah told me, I should have told our mom.
When Jonah told you what? He said that Mr.
Jackie followed him into the bathroom, and touched him.
Oh, okay.
When did Jonah tell you that? A couple of weeks ago.
But, I mean, Jonah, he's four.
He makes things up.
What other things he has made up? Sometimes he says he has another family in California, or that he can see through doors, you know.
So you thought he made this up, too.
It's just Jackie.
I mean, I've known him since I was four.
I didn't want to believe that he would Oh, God, I think I'm going to be sick.
That's really good.
So what is this? That's a magic egg.
Mr.
Jackie tickles me with it.
Can you tell me where he tickles you? I say stop, but he doesn't.
Okay, and, Jonah, can you tell me again where you play this doctor game? In the special bathroom.
What makes it special? There's bluebirds and flowers.
Consistent, specific details.
Seems credible.
So we believe Jonah? Jonah was adamant that Jackie did something, you know, "wrong.
" Did you guys get anything from the parents? Parents hate each other, but I don't see either one of them coaching the kid to lie.
The sister, Brooke, she's 15.
She told me Jonah disclosed to her two weeks ago, and she also said that he does make things up.
- Any history with this guy? - No.
Jackie's clean.
He's not in the registry, no record, not even any legal issues.
What did the doctor say? She said there were no signs of STDs, and sexual abuse is inconclusive.
Jonah said that Jackie used a magic egg to tickle him.
He didn't say anything about penetration.
What do you mean magic egg? He drew that purple oval.
He said that Walker keeps it with the rhythm instruments.
It's enough for probable cause.
I'll get a warrant.
Call CSU CSU? Come on, do we have to make a show out of this? Amanda, you worrying about that school? No, Jackie Walker.
He's an openly gay male teacher, he's a celebrity.
He gets accused of pedophilia? I mean, the charges may go away, but the stain won't.
I'm touched by your concern.
We'll keep it in mind.
You're SVU detectives? I need to know what this is all about.
We have a warrant.
Just let us do our job.
This is the other bathroom on Jonah's floor.
Bluebirds and flowers.
- And that's your music room? - Mm-hm.
Your son has a great voice, but for now, what we do in class should be fun.
I saw a video on YouTube.
The girl was three, singing opera.
Jackie Walker? Excuse me, I'm with a parent.
Allison, could you give us a minute? Well, that's rude.
What is this about? Where do you keep your rhythm instruments? - In the bin on that shelf.
- You mean this one here? Yeah, that's my clap-and-play box.
What's that? I don't know.
Part of your clap-and-play lesson? I don't know what that is.
Does anybody else teach in here? There are students and faculty in and out of here all day.
After school "music together" classes.
Did my producer put you up to this? Am I being punk'd? This is no joke.
We have some questions we need to ask you.
About that? That's not mine.
You don't want to do this here.
He's 4 years old.
This is horrible! I would never harm a child.
So you're saying he lied to us? I don't know what to think.
He does tell stories.
You should hear the songs he makes up in class.
But the story he told us about the purple eggs turned out to be true.
Those egg-shakers are not mine.
Well, first of all, they're not egg-shakers.
They're sex toys, and he said that you used them to tickle him.
I did not.
I've never even seen them.
Did you ever do anything with Jonah that he might have misinterpreted? Like what? Adjust his zipper? Touch him somewhere? Stop.
I am not a child molester.
It's okay.
Have you ever been alone with Jonah, maybe in a private bathroom at school? No.
Never.
You think I'd put myself alone with a boy in a private bathroom? Maybe he got sick.
Maybe he fell.
You know, you go into the bathroom, you play doctor Stop.
Stop.
All I do is teach kids music.
We clap, they sing, we have a great time together.
Okay.
So let me ask you a question.
You're on this TV show, you have this big, thriving career coaching singers.
Why are you still teaching preschoolers? Because I actually care about the job I do.
Kids need music in their lives.
The early years are important.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, they are.
Do you have children of your own? No.
Someday, if I meet the right man.
Okay.
Yeah, but you know kids.
I mean, at this age, they jump all over you, right? They touch you in the strangest places, they like to wrestle, get tickled Okay, that's enough.
You know what? You two aren't paying attention to me, so I'm going to need my lawyer.
Jackie said the magic word lawyer.
No surprise.
Maybe he's innocent.
I mean, you guys were going at him pretty hard.
You're the one who found the eggs where Jonah said they were.
Look, he was being defensive, making excuses.
He's lying about something.
Okay, where are we on forensics? I will put in another call.
Pedigree.
So he's been a music teacher at Margaret Fuller how long? I mean, the guy's worked on Broadway, and off Mostly off A vocal coach.
The usual freelance mix.
And no other accusations? Sudden departures? Exactly the opposite.
The guy was popular even before he got this American diva gig.
That's going to change.
Everyone loved elmo, too.
All off the word of one four-year-old.
And the sex toys.
Look, he's grooming Jonah.
He may well be, but rollins is right.
Hard to bring a case like this on the testimony of a boy that young.
He was consistent, and not by rote.
He's also got an active imagination.
At that age, the line between reality and fantasy does blur.
And that's the problem.
I believe Jonah, but no judge will find him swearable.
What do you want from us, counselor? More.
He was grooming Jonah with these sex toys.
There have to be other kids.
I'll call the principal, put some fear into him.
Your principal told us that you didn't want to go to music class last week, Cooper.
Uhhuh.
I told the nurse my tummy hurt.
Did your tummy hurt? No.
Then why didn't you want to go to music class? You can tell me.
Because Mr.
Jackie does bad things.
What does Mr.
Jackie do? He came into the bathroom at school when I was all alone.
And what did that bathroom look like? There's a window above the tub.
The glass has birds and pink flowers.
The tub? - There's a bathtub? - I mean the sink.
Oh.
That's where he plays the game.
Tell me about the game.
I can't.
He said it was our secret, so nobody could know.
Your secret? Okay.
Can you tell me? He has extra-special purple magic eggs.
He tickles me with them.
Mmhmm.
Can you show me where? No, Gail, I don't know yet.
The principal called.
Something happened to Cooper at school.
No.
No, hang on.
Yeah hello? No, no, I'm on with Gail.
Okay, Mrs.
burns, can you hang up the phone, please? Okay.
Call Jennifer.
Wyatt is in Mr.
Jackie's class, too.
Please.
Please, please.
Okay.
What happened to my little boy? We're trying to figure that out.
Last week, he skipped class.
He said he was feeling sick.
I thought maybe it was something he ate.
Is there anything else that you can think of that happened at school that may seem out of the ordinary? Oh, my God.
A month ago, Cooper came home without his underwear.
He told me he had an accident.
The second complainant, Cooper burns, was also four years old.
The two boys' stories are similar? Well, both of them described the purple magic eggs, both of them said it happened in the bathroom at school.
But their descriptions of the bathroom were different.
Cooper described a window and a bathtub.
I mean, there's no tub in the school bathroom.
Right, but I would be more concerned if the language was exactly the same.
Exactly.
Thanks, Fin.
Uh, I didn't want to see this coming.
Jonah's saliva was recovered on the sex toys, along with fecal bacteria.
So he wasn't just tickling these boys.
And there's a second unknown sample.
So it could be Cooper, so let's have them run that.
How about Jackie? Prints? DNA? No, and a lot of people have access to that room.
Those kids told us that he used eggs, they told us where he kept them, and now you have the DNA.
But you wanted more, counselor.
What are we waiting for? We have Jonah and Cooper's DNA on the sex toys that we found in your classroom.
What? DNA? What the hell are you talking about? - Jackie, please.
- Please what? You're here to help me and you're sitting on your ass! I'm doing my job.
They've made their allegations.
- We take it from here.
- Jackie, one more chance.
Now you told us you were never in a bathroom - with any of the boys.
- That's right.
The problem is we're hearing otherwise.
- What? - Two other moms came forward.
Their kids saw you go into the bathroom with Cooper.
Now do you want to tell us what happened? All right, um Cooper burns is one of my students.
Uhhuh.
He fell into the toilet.
- Oh, my God.
- I'm telling the truth.
Why'd you lie before? What was I going to do? Admit to being alone in a bathroom with a little boy when you were accusing me of being a child molester? Would have been better than lying, Jackie.
Why'd you tell Cooper it was a secret.
I mean, if nothing happened He was embarrassed.
He was crying.
I didn't hurt that boy.
I was helping him.
I was saving him from the shame.
Whose shame, Jackie? His or yours? He went home without any underwear.
They were soaking wet! And you never thought to tell his mother what happened, huh? - Send an email? - Okay, okay.
I should have, but she didn't do the pickup that day, and I had to go.
We were taping the show.
So that's three excuses.
Which one do you think we should go with? I didn't do anything to either one of those boys.
You have to believe me! No, we don't.
Tell your client what's coming down, what happens to guys who let this go to a public trial.
Wait.
No, no, no, no! You had your chance, pal.
I feel terrible for those boys, and I thought I knew him, but I guess I didn't.
- What's going on? - A feeding frenzy started.
All of us at American diva are deeply troubled by these allegations, and are taking them very seriously.
While the investigation is ongoing, Jackie Walker has agreed to take a leave of absence so he can focus on his defense.
Thank you.
No questions at this time.
Isn't that the guy who got his wife's sister pregnant? He didn't molest kids.
Are we sure Jackie did? Why, just because he's charming? Look, we've seen this before, all right? We have the DNA, Liv and I were in the box with him.
Yeah, all I'm saying We all know that Liv is working through some things, and her judgment I just think that she's pushing this one too hard.
I'm going to side with my partner here.
Of course you are.
Jackie Walker, you are charged with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree.
Plea? Not guilty, your honor.
This rush to judgment against my client has been appalling.
To be covered in trial, counselor.
Your honor, Mr.
Walker has access to resources, both monetary and logistical.
He has ties to the community, no record, and a reputation he wants to defend.
We may be past that, your honor.
Agreed.
Given the nature of these charges and the defendant's resources, bail is set at one million.
Jackie? Jackie? Did you hear any of that? Yeah.
I don't have that.
Is there someone you can call? A friend? Family? My own brother won't return my phone calls.
I don't have anybody.
He can't make bail, seriously? He was only on that show for a year.
Before that, he was a music teacher.
This is a classic predator move.
He wants everyone to feel sorry for him.
Nothing's his fault.
Hi.
Thank you so much for taking me early.
No problem.
Things have been so crazy at work.
- Just happy you're here.
- Thank you.
So how are you? I wish people would stop asking me that.
Sorry, I'm just You say things have been crazy at work.
This case that I've been working on With those young boys? Yeah.
I saw your name in the paper.
You know, sometimes I I feel like I'm playing whac-a-mole, you know? You just knock one down, and then three pop up, and it's just over and over and over and, you know, but then I think Even if I save one Is that how you think of yourself, as a savior? Someone has to protect them.
Yes, but does it always have to be you? - It's my job.
- You ever wondered why? Just say what you're thinking.
You've spent so much of your life taking care of others, yet this last week, I found myself thinking, all these sessions, you've never mentioned your parents.
Hmm.
I couldn't help but wonder When you were a little girl, did someone take care of you? So whose idea was it? It was his idea.
Okay, and when you played this game, how did it make you feel? It felt uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable.
Okay.
Mr.
Jackie is a bad man.
Mr.
Jackie played the game with me.
Can you tell me about the game? It was inappropriate.
Why is he a bad man, Emma? 'Cause he is.
Even my mom says he is.
She does? Yeah, so I think he's a bad man too.
Another one.
How many allegations is that? Nine, and counting.
Two more moms just called.
Boys and girls? It's not unheard of.
In England, Jimmy Savile I know.
I know, I know.
Hundreds of boys and girls with a wide range of ages Tell me that's not what we're looking at.
So far, no.
All of the victims are preschoolers at Margaret Fuller.
They all claim that Jackie Walker tickled them.
All current? Yeah.
So all too young to testify? There are a couple of older siblings.
- How old? - Six, seven.
Still not swearable to most judges.
So we've got no testimony.
His prints aren't on this egg thing.
We still don't have a case.
Have any of the older students come forward? - No, not one.
- But that's not unusual.
I mean, the Savile assaults went unreported for decades.
I mean, these parents have seen the headlines.
They don't want their kids caught up in it.
The first boy, Jonah, has an older sister, Brooke.
She's 15.
She studied with Jackie Walker when she was four.
Did anyone talk to this girl? I did, yeah.
She was beating herself up for not protecting Jonah.
She said she felt like it was her fault.
Maybe she was feeling guilty.
Jackie was my teacher in pre-k.
I took private lessons with him for ten years.
Took? When did you stop? A couple months ago.
Any reason? Just lost interest.
Music is like a job.
I wanted to be a normal kid.
Doesn't look like you lost interest.
You know, Brooke, if, uh If Jackie did anything, you know, that made you feel uncomfortable Well, you know music teachers.
Like, everything is like sex to them.
Jackie and I would work on a piece, and Jackie would say to imagine I was kissing a boy.
Did he ever touch you? Me? No, no.
Jackie touches little kids.
Guy's a total creep.
Yeah, but, Brooke, when you studied with Jackie, you were a little kid.
Brooke? Hey, did Jackie ever touch you? It's okay.
No.
No, it's not.
If I would have told my parents, none of this would have happened to Jonah.
I just Jackie, I promised him it was our little secret.
Brooke, you know what Jackie did was wrong, and you don't have to hide it anymore.
It's okay.
He started out tickling me.
He made it all seem so normal, like this is what students and teachers did.
I didn't know it was wrong.
Hehe touched you.
Anything else? Uh He had these eggs.
Toys they vibrated.
I thought they were instruments.
He had me, uh, put them inside me, and he'd watch and touch himself.
How old were you when When it started? Four, just like Jonah.
Did you tell your mom or dad? No, okay, and you can't tell them, please.
They'll be so mad.
Well, honey, they're going to have to find out.
Not now, okay? You cannot do this, please, please! Okay, so you didn't tell your mom and dad.
Did you tell anyone? Rachel, open the door.
Sorry, mom.
I couldn't hear you.
The water was running.
Honey, do you have a second? Olivia and Amanda would like to talk to us.
Um, not really.
I haven't checked Cooper's teeth yet, and then I need to read him his story.
How about I go ahead and take care of that? That way the three of you can talk, okay? Is that all right with you, Cooper? Can we go in another room? Um, why? I don't Rachel, it's important.
- Just take a second.
- Help you brush? That's it, nice work.
Getting all the way in the back that's good.
Huh.
What a pretty window.
Those pink flowers, you like those? - Uh-huh.
- Oh, me too.
Cooper, has Mr.
Jackie ever been to your house, maybe given you a bath here? Uhuh.
Never.
He's only at school.
Can you tell me who does give you your baths? Basically, they were vibrators.
Rachel I'm sorry, mom.
I've seen them in some of the other mom's bedrooms.
He used them on me.
He said we were playing doctor.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Rollins, what are you doing? Can I talk to you? Yeah, now's not a good time.
I understand that.
Could you excuse us for just a moment? I just need to chat with my partner.
I'm sorry, Rachel.
Sweetie, it's okay.
Wow, Amanda, you were right.
That window is pretty, with the pink flowers and the blue birds.
Blue's my favorite color.
Cooper also told me that he sometimes takes his baths here with Jonah.
By yourself? Wow, you two are big boys.
No, with mommy and Rachel.
Oh.
Or sometimes Brooke.
Jonah's sister? Uhhuh.
And Mr.
Jackie was never here.
No.
He came into the bathroom at school when I was all alone, only he said it was our secret so nobody could know.
Your secret? About the eggs? He has extra special purple magic eggs.
He tickles me with them.
Cooper, you know the difference between the truth and a lie? Mmhmm.
A lie is when something is not real.
That's exactly right.
So can you tell us more about where you played doctor? The school bathroom.
There's flowers and birds.
You also said that there was a bathtub and a window.
Mm Hey, Cooper, you've got a really good memory.
Thank you.
Is it hard to remember this story and the way it was told to you? Very hard.
Sometimes I forget things.
Then I remember.
You remember.
So someone told you to tell this story.
Yes.
Yes.
Can you tell us who that was, Cooper? It was Brooke.
She said I was a big boy and she knew I could remember.
Cooper was coached to lie by Brooke? And it's most likely that Jonah was, too.
Cooper mixed up the details.
He conflated his home bathroom with that of the school's.
What about the other eight complainants? Brooke and Rac coached them, too? No, we're not saying that, but you know these mothers.
They text with each other 24/7.
I mean, a kid gets lice, everybody knows who it is within half an hour.
But we're not talking about lice here.
I know that, but people get themselves all worked up and it ends up taking on a life of its own.
Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds? Yeah, it could be.
Okay, say the mothers just whipped up the hysteria.
Brooke and Rachel are the ones who framed Jackie.
Why? Brooke and Rachel disclosed to me last night that they were both molested by Jackie when they were four.
So instead of coming forward, they coached their younger brothers? Do you believe them? Right now I don't know what to believe.
Jackie's still at Rikers? - Yeah.
- Go ask him.
What, they're accusing me now? I never touched them.
But you did coach them up until a couple months ago.
Why did they leave you? They didn't leave me.
I dropped them.
The season was starting and I had to choose who I was going to coach for American diva.
I went with grace.
To make it, you have to be really special, and those girls just really aren't.
Did you tell them that? Yeah, did them a big favor.
Saved them from ten years of waiting for a break that would never come.
And I'm betting they didn't take that really well.
Oh, my God.
Brooke and Rachel set him up.
They coached their brothers to lie.
I mean, that's hardball, even for teenagers.
Yeah, but Brooke's seen her mother play hardball in the divorce.
I mean, kids, you think they're not paying attention.
They don't miss anything.
Cooper said that he was molested in a bathroom with a stained glass window above the tub, just like the bathroom in his bedroom.
So? Maybe Mr.
Jackie gave him a lesson there.
No, Jackie was never there.
What are you suggesting? That I molested my friend's brother? We're not sure what all you've done.
He had, like, a power over us.
We'd do anything he said.
Yeah, but then you suddenly stopped studying with him? Yeah, we quit.
Or he dropped you before the audition.
No.
No, I didn't want to study with him anymore.
He's a pervert.
He touches me and Brooke all the time.
He touches you? Because pedophiles don't usually touch, they're not interested in, teenage girls.
We do know that Cooper said it was very hard to remember the story that you told him.
What? He's four years old.
You can't believe him.
You wanted us to believe him about Jackie.
Don't let them talk to me like this.
Rachel, what are they saying? I didn't do any of this.
So what's going to happen when we look at your cell phone, your computer, all your texts, your search history? I was just doing research.
You find those magic eggs online? You use your family credit card? No, no, this wasn't my idea! Rachel, it's over.
You need to stop lying now.
I'm not lying! It wasn't my idea! It's not your idea, Rachel? Well, then whose idea was it? Rachel, tell them.
Brooke.
After Jackie dumped us, she was really mad.
She made the whole thing up, told me and Cooper what to say.
After all my family has been through? We will sue the city! With false charges? Just like you threatened your husband? Oh, how dare you? Why would my daughter do this? Because Jackie dropped her as a student.
He told you you weren't good enough for American diva.
He dropped me.
So what? Okay, I know how good I am, I know I'm going to be a star, and my whole life, everybody's been telling me that.
Okay, it's just a matter of time.
They've been telling you that your whole life? So it must have really sucked when you found out everybody was lying to you.
That's not true! Okay, and I didn't do this to Jackie, Jackie did this to me.
Mom, don't let them get away with this! I won't, I won't.
Let's go.
- Ms.
Allen? - Yes, what? You must be really proud of your daughter.
Upon further investigation, we have found the charges against Mr.
Walker to be baseless.
We are asking for all charges to be dismissed, and for him to be released immediately.
We would also like to extend our sincere apologies to Mr.
Walker and his family.
I know you don't want to hear any more apologies.
I'm sorry.
You're sorry? Is that supposed to make it right? - I can't imagine - No, you can't.
Mr.
Walker, if you want us to talk with the school Haven't you done enough? You all dragged me into this.
I told you from the beginning that I had nothing to do with it, that I was innocent And you didn't believe me.
You wouldn't even listen to my side! We will work hard to clear your name.
Clear my name? My name is ruined.
It was front page news when you charged me! You see any cameras out there today? I'll never teach again.
My life is over.
Mr.
Walker And those two girls, when do they get charged? The D.
A.
Has agreed to let them take a plea.
For misdemeanor obstruction, they'll do one year's probation.
- Probation? - Are you kidding me? We can't take this to trial.
The girls won't testify against each other.
The only way to make a case is to put two four-year-old boys on the stand to testify against their sisters.
Those boys are damaged enough as it is.
They're damaged? Heh.
I see.
- Mr.
Walker, there - No! Get away from me.
Just get away.
I keep going over it in my head.
Those kids did not sound coached.
We had the DNA.
We were just doing our job.
People lie, people make mistakes, people get hurt.
This comes with the territory.
No, you guys can keep telling yourselves whatever you want.
This didn't have to happen.