| "Blood Brothers" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 13.03 | → |
| Production number: 13001 First aired: 5 October 2011 First aired (US): 5 October 2011 First aired (UK): 25 March 2012 First aired (CAN): 5 October 2011 First aired (AUS): 2 February 2012 | ||
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| Written By Warren Leight & Julie Martin Directed By Tom DiCillo | ||
Summary[]
A 13-year-old girl won't reveal who got her pregnant, leading police to suspect she was raped. The suspects include the son of a noteworthy political couple, as well as the son of their housekeeper.
Plot[]
13-year-old Ella Mendez faints during an assembly at a Catholic school. Detective Amaro speaks with Monsignor Kiata who makes some small talk before revealing that Ella is pregnant. After a conversation with Ella's grandmother, Amaro is told that Ella's mother wasn't exactly the best role model. Benson has a chat with Ella who tells her that she's never had sex and her baby is a miracle. Benson confirms that Ella is indeed pregnant and 8 weeks along.
Fin and Rollins speak with Ella's estranged father. He doesn't care one way or another that his daughter is pregnant while voicing uncertainty that she is his child. Amaro goes back to speak with Ella's classmates. They tell him that Arturo, a boy in her class has a crush on Ella. Benson and Amaro go together to talk to Arturo and when they ask him if Ella talks about any older men in her life, Arturo gets a bit anxious and needs to use his inhaler. The duo, along with Munch, talk to one of the science teachers, Mr. Cordova.
City records show that Mr. Cordova has been dead for fifteen years and he admits that he's actually Diego Ramirez and he's a registered sex offender. He earned his spot on the registry when he was 19 and had sex with his girlfriend when she was just 16. Though he could be the rapist, the detectives doubt it as he doesn't seem like the type of person to be able to intimidate someone. However, he will lose his job as a teacher. Benson revisits Ella and she tells Benson that Cordova had sex with her. Benson immediately finds some holes in her story and asks Ella to tell the truth. She also sees a bouquet with an anonymous note in her room.
Benson and Amaro track down the florist who took the order for the bouquet. After going through records, they learn that Ambassador Andrew Raines had the bouquet sent to Ella. Fin and Rollins speak to the Raines' son, Tripp. He brags to them about having sex with her but he's taken off into a town car. Benson and Amaro find Ella in a heated argument with her grandmother and she says that she doesn't want to have an abortion.
Ella reveals to Benson that Tripp had raped her at a house party in his parents' home and then sent her flowers the next day. Benson pushes to prosecute, but because Tripp is also a minor and with his parents' status and legal team, he would be easily off the hook. The Raines agree to let Benson and Amaro talk to Tripp as long as they are present for the conversation, but once they go up to his room, he's gone. His parents say he must be with friends, but police surveillance cannot locate him, and his mother reports him missing the next day.
Investigation of his cell phone history shows that he called Arturo's house. The pair go to talk to Arturo and Arturo's mother, who had worked as a housekeeper for the Raines for many years. Arturo says Tripp wanted to come visit, but he never showed up. After talking to Arturo's mother, it is apparent that she would do anything to protect the Raines, though she says Tripp and Arturo used to play in the park.
Tripp's credit card records show that his card had been used. Rollins and Fin find the man who had used the card; Chase, a gay man who had found the card in a meeting place for gay men in Central Park. The detectives search the park and find Tripp's dead body. Once reporters get wind of the news they corner Andrew Raines and ask if his son was gay.
It was later revealed that the Raines had fired Inez, Arturo's mother, a while ago and Andrew claims it was an immigration issue, especially with his upcoming run for office. But records show that Inez is a citizen. He did give Inez a very nice severance package and paid for her housing. They realize though that Andrew wasn't paying the housekeeper but he was paying child support because Arturo is his child.
Arturo tells the detectives that he had brought Ella to Tripp's party. Tripp had gone to Central Park to meet with Ella to tell her to get an abortion. He yelled at her and called her names until she began crying. He then shoved Arturo down, rubbed his face in the dirt, and gave him cash to make sure it happened, but Arturo was so upset that he killed Tripp with rocks. Arturo admits that he was jealous of Ella's love for Tripp based simply on his status, but all he wanted was for Andrew to admit that he was his real father. He reveals how he discovered that Andrew and his mother were having an affair. He also tells them that he made a DNA test for them, confirming Andrew was his father the reason he and his mother moved was because of Andrew reacting angrily to the information. Nick tells Arturo to imagine saying these exact words to Andrew is if he was on the other side of the glass and the latter does so. Unbeknownst to Arturo, Andrew is watching along with his wife who scorns her pleading husband for his affair and lies, before leaving. The heartbroken Andrew then looks at his crying son through the glass, guilty of his acts.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring cast[]
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Miguel Pinzon as Jace
Guest cast[]
- Kyle MacLachlan as Andrew Raines
- Anthony Keyvan as Arturo Rivera
- Piper Curda as Ella Mendez
- Marceline Hugot as School Nun
- Joey Auzenne as Vincent Marais
- Judy Reyes as Inez Rivera
- Paige Turco as Kathleen Raines
- Sara Contreras as Rosa Mendez
- Desmin Borges as Luis Cordova aka Diego Ramirez
- Michael Rogers as Monsignor Kiaga
- Tom Deckman as Alex Tapper
- Jacob Kogan as Tripp Raines
- Jim Gushue as Briggs
- Samantha Logan as Lola
- Iris Delgado as Alma
- Aaron Bantum as Tyrese
- John Serge as Bartender
- Christopher Rivera as Teenage Boy
- Kendra Jain as Teenage Girl
- Kent Cassella as Detective
- John Schiumo as Reporter #1
- Jane Fergus as Reporter #2
- April Armstrong as Reporter #3
- Wayne Rhatigan as K9 Officer
References[]
- Lady Gaga
- Kim Kardashian
- INS
- Puerto Rico
- Ricardo Rivera
- United States Senate
- Prince William
- Catherine, Princess of Wales
- Elliot Stabler
Quotes[]
- Amaro: Could you give me a minute? Aside from Spanish, abuelitas love me.
- Benson: [chews out Casey Novak] I'm off? You know what I see? Is an A.D.A. who's too afraid to follow the facts because the family has too much muscle. You and your office have lost your nerve.
- Arturo Rivera: You can't just give people money and pretend they don't exist.
Background information and notes[]
- Amaro mentions that "abuelitas" (Spanish for grandmother) love him. Benson teases him about that and asks him to question another one, Rosa Montero, in the episode "Betrayal's Climax".
- Actors Paige Turco and Diane Neal had previously guest-starred on SVU in the season 3 episode "Ridicule" as different characters.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Child Advocacy Center |
Wright Brothers Park |
Co-Op of |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
A Fleur De Tois Florist |
Townhouse of |
The Dowland School |
| Previous episode: "Personal Fouls" |
"Blood Brothers" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13 |
Next episode: "Double Strands" |