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"Head"
SVU, Episode 5.25
Production number: E4418
First aired: 18 May 2004
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Jackie Madden Benson Head
Written By
Dawn DeNoon & Lisa Marie Petersen

Directed By
Juan J. Campanella

Summary[]

The Detectives investigate an unusual case in which a woman turns into a pedophile after she gets a brain tumor.

Plot[]

A toilet cam is found, and once the perp is caught, he reveals that, on his camera, he caught a young boy being molested. The boy, twelve-year-old Shane Madden, is found, and his molester turns out to be his principal, Meredith Rice.

Rice is captured in the act of molesting Shane, and, while in custody, sexually assaults Elliot Stabler, leading him to push her away and causing her to suffer a seizure. After being taken to the hospital, it's revealed that she's actually sick with a brain tumor in her frontal lobe, scrambling her judgement and causing her actions as a result. Similar cases have happened, and Dr. Huang advises that, based on related research, she is not legally guilty, and will not re-offend unless the tumor returns.

Unsure of how to proceed, a deal is struck with Meredith, as she is not entirely accountable for her actions: in exchange for probation, she can never see Shane again, which she has no problem with. She also has to go for treatment and register as a sex offender, the latter of which Meredith's attorney is dissatisfied with, as it will end Meredith's teaching career. However, Meredith herself agrees, as there is no guarantee the tumor will not return, and she refused to risk endangering anymore children if it does.

Everything appears to be bright, until Meredith is arrested for violating her restraining order by contacting Shane on the phone. Shane's mother has attacked her and has Meredith reveals the shocking reason why: she is pregnant with Shane's baby, and thought he had a right to know. As she is escorted out, Meredith admits she wanted to have a baby of her own, but the circumstances led to this being ironic.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Benson: Now which one is the pervert?
Stabler: The guy who downloaded the most crap.

[about a perpetrator who hid video cameras in public restrooms]
Munch: Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'live streaming video'.
Dr. Huang: He's either a urophiliac -- that's a sexual attraction to urine -- or a coprophiliac, which is...
Benson: Let's not even go there.

[speaking to a perpetrator who committed their crimes in a bathroom]
Benson: You had no right to shoot the crap.

SVU wonders if Mrs. Madden is molesting her son.
Cragen: When I was on the bottle, I woke up with my share of regrettable bedmates. But her own son?
Tutuola: The more you drink, the blinder you get.
Stabler: And her alcoholic blackouts are legend.
Benson: We canvassed the building. Everybody had a horror story...
Cragen: Before we stagger down this road, let's not rule out other possibilities.

Jackie: Of course I bought a shirt. Gotta support my little man! HEY-YA!
Stabler: Probably appreciate it a little more if you were sober.
Jackie: Screw you!

Benson: [Noting the principal's change in handwriting] She got something weighing on her mind?

Meredith Rice: My head is splitting. I think I need a doctor.
Stabler: We've got a great company shrink you can see. You've got to be out of your mind to be running off with a 6th grader.

Stabler: Tell me what you did to the child.
[Meredith runs forward and hugs and kisses Stabler]
That's a bad idea
Meredith: Come on. Let's get it on. [grabs Stabler's crotch]
Stabler: What are you crazy? you're out of your mind!
[pushes Meredith away and she falls to the ground]
Benson: [to Stabler as she enters the interrogation room] Is there a problem here?
Stabler: No problem. I think she's going for an insanity defense.

[After Stabler apparently put the perp in the hospital]
Stabler: Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I'll be waiting for my union rep.
Tucker: Smart move if you got something to hide.
Benson: He was sexually assaulted.
Tucker: Oh, what a surprise. The partner's gonna back him up.
Benson: Yeah, how would you feel if a perp had your boys in a vise grip?
Tucker: Cuff her, not bash her brains in.
Tucker: I was just reading up about your thoughts. Suspended 4 years ago for telling the company shrink you dreamed about killing pedophiles?
Stabler: Thought about it. Never did it.
Tucker: You're getting closer and closer.

Novak: [to Huang] So what, give her a doctor's note? "Please excuse Meredith from molesting boys, she had a bad tumor".

Mrs. Madden: Tell them! Tell them why you called Shane!
Benson: It doesn't matter why she called him. You broke one of the conditions of your probation.
Stabler: Which means you're under arrest.
Meredith: I thought he had a right to know.
Stabler: Know what?
Meredith : I'm pregnant. And I did agonize, but I felt like he needed to know. He is the father.

[after Meredith is arrested for contacting Shane when she reveals to him that she is pregnant]
Stabler: You didn't need to lay this on that little boy. What were you doing?
Meredith: I don't know. My husband's leaving me, my stepson won't even talk to me, I've lost my home, my job and the irony is, all I've ever wanted is a baby of my own. Be careful what you wish for, huh?

Background information and notes[]

  • In this episode, IAB Sergeant Ed Tucker reminds Detective Elliot Stabler about an incident four years ago when he told Dr. Audrey Jackson that he dreamed about killing perps. He is referring to the events in the first season episode "Slaves" and the continued investigation in the second season episode "Wrong Is Right", after which Stabler is almost thrown out of the unit.
  • Actor Ice-T's wife Coco has a cameo in this episode as the porn star who Fin stares at on her way inside the Fetish Manor.
  • While Munch and Fin are visiting TARU, Fuentes mentions using VISAR technology from NASA and Munch mentions that it was the tech used in a case in Florida, referring to the Carlie Brucia kidnapping.[1]
  • "Stephanie's Law" is mentioned in this episode, it is the nickname given to new laws passed at the Federal level, and in many states including New York, in 2004 that outlawed the recording of a person without their consent while in an area where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
  • Goof: When Cragen is called back to the squad from a department meeting after Principal Rice and Shane go missing he is wearing his dress uniform. While he is wearing the correct rank insignia for a captain he is wearing the wrong badge, the badge he has on is a lieutenant's shield.
  • Munch and Fin go to an electronics store to find the buyer of a spy camera. The text caption identifies the store as "I Spy", but the logos seen on the inside walls give the store's name as "Quark".

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4

I Spy Electronics
320 Seventh Avenue
Thursday, May 6

Knoll Apartments
164 West 52nd Street
Thursday, May 6

Technical Assistance
Response Unit
One Police Plaza
Friday, May 7

Creme De La Crop
Hair Salon
124 West 85th Street
Friday, May 7

5 6 7 8

I.S. 41
256 West 68th Street
Monday, May 10

Rice Residence
Brooklyn, New York
Monday, May 10

St. Mark's Hospital
263 West 78th Street
Monday, May 10

Office of the
District Attorney
Conference Room
Wednesday, May 12

Footnotes[]

Previous episode:
"Poison"
"Head"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 5
Next episode:
"Birthright"
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