Maria Recinos was a nine-year-old Honduran victim of sexual abuse until she was rescued by the Special Victims Unit. As an adult, she joined the New York City Police Department, rising to the rank of detective before being killed in the line of duty.
Background[]
Whilst crossing the border to enter the United States, Maria was kidnapped and subsequently sold to child pornographer and pedophile Richard Dwyer, who began using her for his own sexual gratification, as well as other men's. He also began to circulate pornographic images featuring Maria across the internet, which were found by the Montreal Special Victims Unit, but they were unable to identify her.
On the L&O Franchise[]
Eventually, Maria managed to get a hold of Richard's cellphone whilst he was away and called 911. She was connected to Manhattan Special Victims Unit, where Detective Benson spoke to her for over two hours whilst attempting to locate her. Initially, the SVU team considered the possibility that either Maria was moving or that the call was a hoax when her call location sporadically changed between random cell towers, but after getting in touch with Honduran police, they were able to get in contact with Maria's mother who faxed over a picture of the girl. Recognizing the image, Benson was able to locate the files from the open child pornography investigation. FBI Special Agent Rachel Sorannis also managed to figure out that a virus planted by Richard in the cell company's switchboard was causing the call to be diverted to various cell towers.
Maria as a child
However, Richard returned just before Benson was able to trace Maria's calls and knocked her out with chloroform, intending to bury her alive. With the little information in hand, as well as information given to them by Maria, Benson and Detective Tutuola were able to detain Richard and locate the basement of the electronics store in which Maria was being held. However, by the time they arrived, Richard had already disposed of any evidence and buried the girl alive. After detaining Richard and finding evidence of the burial location in Richard's boots, they were able to dig her up and rescue her before she asphyxiated. (SVU: "911")
As an adult, Maria settled in New York and became interested in a career in the police force, which was likely inspired by her experiences with Benson and Richard, and also a desire to protect vulnerable people like she was a child. She attended and graduated from the academy as part of the 2024 class. Benson went to the commencement ceremony and attempted to congratulate her in person, but she became nervous and was later interrupted by a call from Tutuola. Benson later gained the strength to talk with her and visited Maria at her home, where she revealed her identity with the newspaper of her with Maria on her rescue. Happy to see her after so long, Maria hugged Benson and invited her inside for dinner to catch up while introducing her to her fiancé. (SVU: "Probability of Doom")
By 2025, Maria was promoted to the rank of Detective. She was tasked with an undercover assignment and met with Anna Machado, who was raped. Anna told Maria the location where she was raped, and Maria decided to check it out. While she was there, she was ambushed and raped before being burned alive and put in a barrel. Her killer was identified as Paul Gomez, her supervisor and a dirty cop; he was eventually charged for her murder and two other murders, including that of Anna. (L&O: "Play With Fire", SVU: "Play With Fire")
Appearances[]
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2 seasons, 2 episodes):
- Law & Order (1 season, 1 episode):