Sick
From The Law & Order Wiki
| "Sick" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 5.19 | → |
| Production number: E4423 First aired: 30 March 2004 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Dawn DeNoon Directed By David Platt | ||
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The episode begins with two girls bickering, where they are in a slasher-film fan chatroom on the internet. One user, known as "PsychoKiller", is found posting disturbing messages about murdering a five-year old girl, which scares the girls into calling the police. The screenname is traced to a Jeremy Ostilow, a husband and father of two. The police then break into the Ostilow family's home. The poster is revealed to be the son, Jeremy Ostilow Jr., aka JJ, who is taken into police custody for questioning. Following this and arguments with the father, JJ is put into the adolescent ward of Bellevue.
The detectives visit JJ's former school where the principal says that JJ had failing grades and once got into a fight with a school bully. When the school bully is questioned by the detectives, he claims that when JJ and he fought, JJ repeatedly screamed "rape", leading detectives to believe that JJ was the victim of molestation. Dr. Huang visits JJ in his facility and JJ says that he was molested by billionaire Billy Tripley, who owned a toy store where Jeremy Ostilow Sr. worked. After describing the incident, JJ said that after telling his parents,who went to Tripley, they were paid off in exchange for their silence.
Tripley is arrested and taken into police custody for questioning. He denies them. Before a trial can come up, a video is released of JJ recanting the allegations, saying that Tripley did nothing, and he concocted the story. Immediately following this video, JJ disappears. His father claims he is "protecting" him by keeping him away from the case and the press. The judge declares that JJ's father must produce JJ as a material witness, but he refuses and is held in contempt of the court. With the father refusing to bring out his son, the case against Tripley seems to be over.
However, during one of Tripley's sleepovers, the character of April is shown to be a cancer patient who had been one of Tripley's friends. Suddenly, it emerges from her family that Tripley had sexually molested her. But, following a shoplifting incident conducted by her grandmother, it is revealed that that April never had cancer and her grandmother had used food poisoning on her for attention. The case against Tripley is shown to be a fraud, with the grandmother being the mastermind of all this, creating false allegations against Tripley. The grandmother is sentenced to prison for fraud and attempted murder.
The episode ends with Tripley having a victory party, where he invites the media over. The detectives are surprised, but detective Elliot Stabler does not appear to be worried, insisting that they'll get Tripley, as he'll "just keep giving them more and more chances to".
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main cast
- Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch
- Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
[edit] Guest cast
- Tamara Tunie as Dr. Melinda Warner
- Marlo Thomas as Judge Mary Clark
- Peter Riegert as Chauncey Zeirko
- Will Keenan as Billy Tripley
- James Colby as Jeremy Ostlow
- Shane Haboucha as J.J. Ostlow
- Peter Hermann as Trevor Langan
- Jennifer Van Dyck as Ann Ostlow
- Jill Marie Lawrence as Cleo Conrad
- Philip Bosco as Judge Joseph P. Terhune
- Cindy Williams as Nora Hodges
- Stephen Gregory as Dr. Kyle Beresford
- Tim Ewing as Jonas Haase
- Ryan Simpkins as Lisette Ostelow
- Nick Cubbler as Mitchell Edison
- Suzanna Guzman as Gladis
- Bill Hoag as Denver Detective
- William Franke as Denver Uniform Officer
- Madeleine Martin as April
- Kit Flanagan as Headmistress
- Jamie Proctor as Goth Girl
- Sarah Jane Everman as Preppy Girl
- Ed Bogdanowicz as ESU #1
- Katie McGee as Reporter #1
- Alan Mozes as Reporter #2
[edit] References
[edit] Quotes
Quotes
[edit] Background information and notes
- This episode appears to be based on the charges of pedophilia levelled against late pop star Michael Jackson and many traits of the character Billy Tripley are similar to that of Jackson's. Jackson had never been convicted of the allegations. JJ's case seems to be based off the first of the allegations and April's case seems to be based off of the last that would lead to a trial where Jackson was acquitted.
| Previous episode: "Careless" | "Sick" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 5 | Next episode: "Lowdown" |
| |
