Written By Dawn De Noon
Directed By David Platt
12-year-old Jeremy "J.J." Ostilow, Jr. is arrested for posting disturbing rape and murder threats online. Huang interviews J.J., who says he's been sexually abused by Billy Tripley. Tripley is an eccentric billionaire who regularly invites children to sleep over at his mansion; J.J. claims that his parents were paid to keep quiet. Evidence supports this story, so Tripley is arrested. Tripley's lawyer produces a video in which J.J. recants the abuse allegations, but J.J. has now disappeared. His father, who claims to be keeping J.J. hidden to protect him from press intrusion, clearly doesn't want to break the non-disclosure contract that Tripley made the Ostilows sign. Even in contempt of court, Jeremy Ostilow won't produce JJ to testify. The charges against Tripley are dismissed.
April, another child who had visited Tripley's home, now claims that Tripley molested her too. But it turns out that the whole thing is a lie. April's grandmother, Mrs. Hodges, has been poisoning her with mercury in order to fake leukemia symptoms; making it look like April had cancer in order to scam money out of people. She also persuaded April to lie about being abused. Mrs. Hodges is charged with fraud and attempted murder, and once again, all charges against Tripley are dropped. He celebrates with a huge party for children and invites the press. The SVU team is disgusted but reflects that it's only a matter of time before they'll get a chance to prosecute him.
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: Nora is a parental guardian example, but more than qualifies since she is revealed to have been poisoning her granddaughter with mercury to fake leukemia, and the treatment left her with permanent damage.
- J.J.'s parents as well, who are willing to accept hush money after he's molested by Billy Tripley. It's suggested they forced J.J. to recant his statements to keep from losing out on the payments, and J.J.'s father even sends him out of the country to keep him quiet.
- Bittersweet Ending: The detectives have arrested April's grandmother for trying to kill her, but April still has permanent bone damage, J.J. is being hidden away and not getting any treatment for his actions, his father is stuck in prison for contempt of court and has lost his trust fund, and Billy Tripley, regardless of whether or not he really is guilty, has the false allegations as ammunition to deflect possible future allegations, even if they're true.
- Blatant Lies: When Novak questions Nora about the false allegations against Tripley, Nora says that was her granddaughter's lie. Novak curtly informs Nora that they have her scrapbook note , and Nora drops the loving grandmother act. Even Nora's lawyer knows her client is lying and looks at her client with disappointment.
- Children Are Innocent: April and J.J.'s five-year-old sister. Averted with J.J. himself, though it's suggested he was this before he claimed he was molested.
- Didn't Think This Through: It's made clear at the end that Mrs. Hodges didn't realize that her own False Rape Accusation against Tripley would taint any future legitimate allegations against him; Novak harshly calls her out on it.
- Dodgeball Is Hell: Munch and Finn walk in on a game of dodgeball and share their memories of it; Finn enjoyed it more than Munch did.Munch: Dodgeball?! Haven't they outlawed this barbaric practice yet?... I literally weighed 98 pounds. I can still hear them. "Break the pencil!" I was a walking bruise.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title refers to J.J.'s and April's conditions being both mentally and physically sick.
- Downer Ending: The ending, as if the Abusive Parents factor weren't bad enough. The granddaughter has permanent internal damage from the poisoning. The boy who claimed to have been molested by Billy Tripley recants — but it's likely his parents forced him to in order to keep getting millions in hush money, and they sent the dangerously disturbed kid out of the country. With Billy declared innocent and acquitted, possibly thousands more kids are at risk unless a new victim steps forward, doesn't recant, and hopefully has lots of evidence and support against Billy's legal team, which will use the previous cases as precedent to accuse him/her of lying. Thanks, Grandma.
- Enfante Terrible: Jeremy "J.J." Ostilow, Jr.
- False Rape Accusation: Mrs. Hodges made one. Subverted with J.J., who claims he did, but the SVU team believes his parents are just trying to hold onto the money they got from Tripley.
- Greed: J.J.'s parents care more about the money than their son's mental health. When they send J.J. away from the detectives to not threaten the trust fund agreement, the father is willing to face jail for contempt to a judge rather than reveal his location. It ends up being his undoing when J.J. and his uncle flee to Canada and the contract is rendered void.
- Hate Sink
- J.J.'s parents are among the worst in the series. They kept their son quiet by accepting the contract where they receive hush money to keep the rape case quiet for three years. They also sent their son to another country after they forced their son to say that he lied on tape. Thanks to them and Nora, Tripley gets away with his crimes because of their selfish deeds.
- Nora poisoned her granddaughter in order to collect charitable donations, and may have been expecting a large settlement from framing Tripley as well. Novak points out this isn't Munchausen's Syndrome, just pure greed.
- Insistent Terminology: While arguing against the admissibility of J.J.'s complaint against Tripley obtained by Huang, Tripley's lawyer calls him Agent Huang, stressing his FBI work. In response, Casey points out he's a psychiatrist and refers to him as Doctor Huang.
- Karma Houdini: Billy, if he was guilty, has the charges against him dropped and all future accusations discredited.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Subverted. April doesn't have cancer at all - her grandmother poisoned her and lied about it to scam others out of money.
- Manchild: Tripley.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: Tripley whines and moans as Warner plucks hairs as part of an exam. Anyone who has ever had a single hair pulled out can attest it is painful but not to the extent he's making it out to be.
- Münchausen Syndrome: Subverted. Mrs. Hodges's lawyer claims her client has Munchausen's by proxy syndrome; Novak calls this out as a blatant lie.
- Mysterious Middle Initial: Tripley was first called William J. Tripley but it's never revealed what the middle initial stands for.
- One of the Kids: Tripley wants to be, and seems to have no comprehension that this isn't appropriate behavior for a man in his late thirties.
- Pimping the Offspring: J.J.'s parents accepted hush money to hide his molestation, and forced him to recant his accusation to continue receiving payments.
- Raised by Grandparents: April.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the second round of sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. Compare this with the original Law & Order's take on the first round "Smoke".
- Skewed Priorities: Mrs. Ostilow is more concerned with her damaged front door than the fact her son was arrested for making rape and murder threats online - even when Olivia tells her said threats were against the Ostilows' other child!
- Smug Snake: Jeremy Ostilow, Sr. and J.J.
- Sophisticated as Hell: Jeremy, Sr. tries to deny there's anything wrong with what J.J. posted online, saying it's just a prank. Stabler disproves this by reading out J.J.'s graphically-written fantasy in a totally deadpan voice.
- Stealth Pun: The episode has a scene where the medical examiner tries to take a pubic hair sample from Billy Tripley (a Michael Jackson Expy) & finds the guy had laser hair removal done. Smooth Criminal, indeed...
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Novak directs one at Mrs. Hodges, saying that if Tripley ever does abuse a child, no one will ever believe the victim.
- Title Drop: Many times.
- Troubled Toybreaker: J.J. burns the genitals of his sister's dolls, as a sign that he's been sexually abused.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: J.J., in spades.
