Editor Rating
  • 4.8 / 5.0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
User Rating

Rating: 4.4 / 5.0 (25 Votes)
Review Quotes

Recap

Some kind of religious ceremony where a young girl promises to stay pure until she is married and her father promises to protect her. There are reality show type comments about what this means and how important it is for girls to save themselves for marriage. The girl asks if Daddy will approve as she puts up her hair. She is given a tiara. There is a father daughter dance. Older sisters and brothers talk about how great it is to make this purity vow. An older sister, Summer, is told to watch her little brother Tate.

The girl Lane who is taking her vows faints during the dance. 911 is called.

Benson comes to the hospital. Fin tells her that the doctor says that Lane is 3 months pregnant.

The parents didn't call the police. But the doctors were mandated reporters. The parents refuse to let the cops talk to her. Husband says that they have to talk to Lane first. Mother says they don't need the cops.

Doctor says there was no confidentiality because the parents hovered over her. Parents say Lane is home schooled and has never been alone with a boy. Pastor arrives and says he's also a lawyer. He will contact local police.

Rollins and Sonny debate whether the parents have the right to this type of belief.

Mike thinks they shouldn't investigate because of the insular nature of the religion.

Rollins figures out that the conception happened in Harlem, according to the family's blog. She is not allowed to go interview the family because she is on desk duty.

Dobbs and Fin find out that Lane has been discharged. They interrupt a filming of the show to talk to the parents, who say they're all leaving town. Fin says that the conception happened while in NY and they need to catch the predator in their circle.

At the station, the kids refuse to drink soda and complain the baby is cold. The oldest boy is asked to help Sonny order pizza. He seems interested in the holding cell. Graham says nobody was hovering and he can't talk about it.

Mrs. Baker wonders how Rollins' husband feels about her working with men and notes she is not wearing a wedding ring.

Lane says it's God's will she gets pregnant. She knows how she got pregnant. She won't tell Benson the name of her sexual partner.

Dobbs interviews Mr. Baker. Mrs. Baker didn't come on the Harlem trip. Mr. Baker muses whether he should call his lawyer.

Lane bristles at the idea of it being someone in her family. She says her partner loves her and wouldn't hurt her. Benson tries to get her to write down the person's name.

Some guy on the crew says that they will probably ship Lane out of state. The cops make him give a DNA sample. There are warrants for the crew and their cameras. Fin says Lane says the guy raped her.

 

Mrs. Baker cannot believe that Pete Matthews, the accused cameraman, would do something like this.

Mr. Baker wants five minutes alone with Matthews. He also doesn't want his daughter to testify.

Mrs. Baker refuses to consent to an amnio for paternity purposes. She says she wants nothing invasive because it's against her religious beliefs. Benson says then Pete will disappear before the baby is born. Mrs. Baker says they should get him to confess.

Pete is given footage to look at of the girls getting undressed. Fin says this is child pornography.

Pete is surprised that Lane is actually pregnant. He had a vasectomy so he can't be the father. He says the family protects its own. He has footage in the cloud he can show them. There is footage of Graham trying to grope the piano teacher. Graham was sent to an evangelical camp to be reformed. Benson wants them to investigate it quietly.

The judge says that the camp was just a recommendation as an elder in the church, not an official sentence as a judge. He goes away to play gold with the pastor's father.

Sonny calls Benson who tells them to watch their backs. They are pulled over by an officer who will let them off with a warning. He gives them Graham's juvie records that were supposed to be sealed. Graham has multiple arrests for inappropriate touching and so forth.

Pastor Elden is leading a Bible study on overcoming slander when Benson interrupts to talk to him. Lane gives her a look

Benson confronts the parents. She asks about Graham's problems. The father insists it's nothing. Graham has been sent to Ecuador on a mission. Pastor Elden kicks the cops out.

Barba refuses to try to extradite or to compel a paternity test. Benson doesn't want to hear talk of not following up with this case. Rollins has been watching the show while on desk duty and the last pregnancy, Tate, is closer in age to the others and didn't announce the pregnancy til she was 7 months pregnant. Maybe Graham got another sister pregnant.

Dodds keeps insisting the family won't cooperate. Sonny says he has Tate's drool on his jacket. They can get Mr. Baker's DNA because he was in the ROTC.

Benson lets Dodds walk her out. She tells him he's doing well but doesn't need to try so hard.

The DNA tech says the mother is definitely one of the Bakers but the father is not related to the Bakers. Rollins appears to go into labor after this news.

Rollins wakes up in the hospital to find Sonny. He says she has to slow down. She says she's just having back pain and tests run but she's fine. She is supposed to be on bed rest. She doesn't know how to tell Benson. Rollins cries that she screwed up by thinking she can have a baby on her own. Sonny tells her she's strong and she will be okay. His mom is lighting a candle for her in the church.

Fin updates Benson on Tate's paternity. Benson and Dodds realize that Pastor Eldon could be responsible. Dodds says that he investigated another case where a rabbi was suspected of a similar crime but no one in the religious community would talk.

Fin and Sonny question Pastor Eldon. He tries to claim that his faith scares the cops and that's why they focus on people like him. The cops have a warrant for his DNA.

The DNA tech says Pastor Eldon is a DNA match for Tate.

The cops run in as 13 year old Lane is saying her wedding vows to Pastor Eldon. The parents say he is helping them by providing for Lane and her baby. Lane smiles.

Benson asks if the parents gave consent. They say the marriage is in name only. Sonny tells them that the pastor is the father. The mother is shocked. Mrs. Baker tries to claim that Tate is not Summer's. Pastor Eldon claims Tate's DNA is inadmissble and wants the cops removed from the building. Mrs. Baker says this can't be. She demands to know what was done to her children. Pastor Eldon tells her she doesn't get to say no to her husband when she objects to his orders for Mr. Baker to control her.

Mrs. Baker apologizes to her daughter. She says she and both her kids will testify. Eldon is arrested. Sonny gets in his face before he is taken away. The Bakers hug their daughters.

The Bakers have a press conference in which they condemn the pastor. Benson says Eldon will plead guilty. Sonny is upset that only bad priests get media coverage. Dodds is surprised that they are taking rapists from the church instead of just off the streets.

 

Show:
Law & Order: SVU
Season:
Episode Number:
7
Show Comments

Law & Order: SVU Season 17 Episode 7 Quotes

With all due respect, this was not an immaculate conception.

Benson

So much for that promise. Doc says Lane is 3 months pregnant.

Fin