Elizabeth "Beth" Lee is a teenage girl who was groomed by Nick Pearce, a delusional ephebophile.
Background[]
In 2019, when she was 14 years old, she met Luke Davis through a Bible study group, and he began teaching her the guitar to get closer. She was unaware of Davis' pedophilic interest in her, as he slowly inserted himself in her life by becoming a family friend and slowly groomed her. Davis also did the same with Elizabeth's parents, gaining leverage against them should he get caught, unbeknownst to Beth. Eventually, Beth fell in love with him, and they slept together at least once, with her becoming pregnant with his child. He also groomed Beth into adopting his fanatic views, making her dependent on him. Eventually, Beth came to obsessively believe that she and Davis were messiahs, and their baby was a sign of God.
Did You Believe in Miracles?[]
Beth got permission from her parents to accompany Davis for a religious retreat, but her brother reported to his school that she was missing. The supposed kidnapping warranted attention from the Special Victims Unit, who visited the Lee family and revealed to them they had looked into Davis and identified his real name is. More things unravel, as it is revealed that there was no retreat and that the two were seen going to a cabin the woods. After Beth is found safe, Pearce is arrested but she denies anything happened and defends Pearce (or rather to her Davis) by refusing a rape kit, despite protests from her parents. Pearce was taken to court and his sexual indiscretions with the Lee Parents were revealed and that he may have done this before but nothing concrete stuck. An order of protection was placed against Pearce to stay away from Beth, who returned to her parents in a bitter manner.
During an outing with her parents, she snuck away to the bathroom and changed into a dress. A waitress saw her and complimented her attire, remarking she looked like she was getting married. Beth left the restaurant and contacted Pearce, telling him to meet at the Brooklyn bridge for them to get married. Her disappearance left her distressed and the waitress notified them of what she saw. SVU realized Beth might be trying to get married, with the bridge being an ideal spot because it was her screensaver. As Beth and Pearce exchanged vows and almost got married, they were stopped by the detectives who arrested Pearce for violation of the order. Beth protested that she was saved with Pearce, because they were supposedly chosen but Pearce assured her that their union is misunderstood, and he is hauled off. Beth firmly told SVU that they can't keep her away from her destiny, as she was carrying "God's baby", leaving them shocked.
Her parents were shown the footage of her outburst of supposedly being pregnant, while being devastated to hear SVU can't find a way to prove this and arrest Pearce, since Beth won't go to the hospital. They were distraught at letting Pearce into their lives because of the pain he has inflicted. However, SVU devised a strategy to incriminate Pearce. Beth met her mother who told her, they would drop the charges and allow her to marry Pearce on her 15th birthday but only if she confirmed her pregnancy. Believing that her parents had accepted their love, she agreed and excitedly hugged her. She went through with the visit and was confirmed to be pregnant, with the fetus' DNA being a match to Pearce. Unbeknownst to Beth, her mother misled her and provided the evidence to SVU who promptly charged Pearce with statutory rape and kidnapping, being forced to take a plea to avoid trial. The Lee parents were relieved and voice how they plan to inform Beth of their deception, noting she will be angry but hope she will forgive them in time. They also planned to allow her to keep the baby, but the parents will raise it as their own.