- Olivia Benson: There you are.
- Rafael Barba: What are you doing here?
- Olivia Benson: I was in the building, checking in with Dodds. You know I got to come back to work eventually. You okay? I heard Judge Barth read you the riot act.
- Rafael Barba: I deserved it.
- Olivia Benson: Well, whether you deserved it or not, I have absolute faith in your humanity.
- Rafael Barba: [seeing one of Noah's toys in a "prison"] What's he in for?
- Olivia Benson: Stealing all the ice cream.
- Rafael Barba: I never trusted that elephant.
- Mariel McLaughlin: Can I ask you a question? Is it bad that I miss my mom?
- Amanda Rollins: [pause] No.
- Rafael Barba: How long was she online?
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: A few hours. And the defense claims that's part of her emotional disturbance?
- Rafael Barba: All it takes is one juror. What else?
- Amanda Rollins: Well, that's it for her Google searches, but she did watch "The Little Mermaid" seven times in three days.
- Rafael Barba: What does that mean?
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Well, her classmate, Cody. The nineteen year old with autism.
- Rafael Barba: We didn't charge him.
- Amanda Rollins: Well, Mariel thought that she was the Little Mermaid, and that Cody was her Prince Eric.
- Odafin Tutuola: So he's nineteen?
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: And autistic.
- Odafin Tutuola: And she's fifteen and says he raped her?
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Rollins doesn't think she understood what the word meant. I get a sense this is a "Romeo & Juliet" scenario here. Should we call Liv?
- Odafin Tutuola: No, we don't call Liv. She's still on leave.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: So what do we do?
- Odafin Tutuola: We take his statement, then we wait on the rape kit. Take it Barba, figure out if we've got a crime.
- Olivia Benson: So, you guys managing without me?
- Amanda Rollins: Yeah, and Fin loves being in charge, I can tell you that.
- Dr. Melinda Warner: You made the right call, Amanda.
- Amanda Rollins: So Mariel was drugged?
- Dr. Melinda Warner: You could say that. She had half a pharmacy in her system.
- Odafin Tutuola: But she is sick.
- Dr. Melinda Warner: And a lot of these drugs make sense. Like the Valproate, for seizures.
- Amanda Rollins: But?
- Dr. Melinda Warner: She also had a cocktail of others. Paxil, St. John's Wort, Ginko. And some of these have severe adverse interactions with the anti-seizure medication.
- Odafin Tutuola: Could that just be an oversight?
- Dr. Melinda Warner: Not by any reputable professional. It this was purposeful, I'd say you're looking at medical malpractice. And possibly a case of child abuse.
- Odafin Tutuola: So what are looking at?
- Amanda Rollins: Munchausen by proxy. A mental illness where a parent makes up fake symptoms or causes symptoms.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Medical child abuse.
- Odafin Tutuola: We got enough for a case, Barba?
- Rafael Barba: Based on the files you gave me, probably. I need a full medical and psych workup on Mariel. And I need a court order for a full psych eval on Dawn.
- Olivia Benson: How about a confession?
- Rafael Barba: She's been getting away with this for fifteen years. She's good at covering her tracks.
- Olivia Benson: So she knows what she's doing is wrong?
- Olivia Benson: So, what's happening with Dawn McLaughlin?
- Rafael Barba: Yeah, she was arraigned today. Charged with reckless endangerment. The judge RORed her, which was completely against my recommendation.
- Olivia Benson: Rafael. Do you really think this woman belongs behind bars? She's mentally ill, like...
- Rafael Barba: Like Sheila Porter?
- Olivia Benson: Noah keeps asking me to see her. I don't know what to tell him. Just avoid the subject altogether.
- Rafael Barba: Liv, you're going to get throught this. You've gotten through a lot worse.
- Olivia Benson: You did your job, Rafael.
- Rafael Barba: I also might have sent a horrifically abused teenager to prison.
- Olivia Benson: They could acquit. Or you could drop the charges.
- Rafael Barba: I drop the charges, that's tantamount to saying there's no rule of law. That the judicial system changes its mind. Makes exceptions on a whim. Or for sympathetic defendants. Yeah, that's the jury's determination, not mine.
- Olivia Benson: Well, the law says she's guilty. But your heart says she's not. So... so what are you gonna do?
- Rafael Barba: I don't know.
- Rafael Barba: The family court judge gave Mariel a three year sentence. Suspended to probation, community service. With the stipulation of regular mental health evaluations.
- Olivia Benson: So... justice was served.
- Rafael Barba: Hope so.
- Mariel McLaughlin: [on the stand] I hate her! I hate her! I hate her! I wanted her dead! I'm not sorry!
- Odafin Tutuola: Mariel's fifteen. That's a long time to go along with being sick.
- Amanda Rollins: I'm positive that this is what we're looking at, Fin. Multiple diagnoses from a dozen doctors, that we know of, from six different states. Fifty different medications, at least ten surgeries.
- Odafin Tutuola: Well, aren't these doctors to blame?
- Amanda Rollins: No, because the mother is... she's a very smart liar. Master manipulator. From one doctor to the next, she says that they've lost the records, so she fills in the blanks herself.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: And these doctors have no reason not to believe what she's been telling them.
- Amanda Rollins: So Dawn has been medicating Mariel. She's been making her own daughter sick. And she knows how to do it. She's... she's been getting drugs from online or off the streets.
- Odafin Tutuola: All right. Now it's time to call Liv, Barba, and Child Services.
- Amanda Rollins: Dawn made bail. She's out again.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: What? How is that possible?
- Amanda Rollins: One of her supporters raised the cash through GoFundMe. I mean, she's not allowed within a hundred feet of the hospital or Mariel.
- Amanda Rollins: You know, what Dawn did to her daughter, she took away her childhood. It's unforgivable. But... she's sick. I mean, I just... I can't wrap my head around that we want her punished.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Listen, Rollins, why don't you go home and be with Jesse? I haven't forgotten that you have a kid, too, you know?
- Amanda Rollins: After what Liv went through, I'm fine.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Look, you're a single mom. You're a full-time cop. Your life is not easy. And it's okay to say that out loud every once in a while.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: So what now, we ask Barba for a warrant?
- Amanda Rollins: Or we get a parent's okay to look at Mariel's medical history.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Well, Dawn's not gonna agree to that.
- Amanda Rollins: But Mariel's father might.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Okay, should we check in with Fin first?
- Amanda Rollins: Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
- Olivia Benson: Does she know why she's here?
- Odafin Tutuola: She's a smart lady.
- Olivia Benson: She didn't ask for a lawyer.
- Odafin Tutuola: Maybe not that smart.
- Dr. Elizabeth Olivet: She fits all the diagnostic criteria for Factitious Disorder, or Munchausen by proxy. There's a cognitive distortion in her thinking. She knows what she's doing is wrong, but she doesn't know why she's doing it. And she certainly can't stop herself.
- Rafael Barba: Is she competent to stand trial?
- Dr. Elizabeth Olivet: In my opinion, yes. But she's going to need a lot of treatment.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: So is Mariel.
- Randy Hill: [to SVU detectives about his autistic son] He doesn't fully understand what sex is.
- Cody Hill: Yes, I do. You put your penis in the girl. That means you're in love.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Dawn, we know you love your daughter. And you're doing the best that you can. And doctors, they don't always know the answers.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: "I was abused, so I'm an abuser"? If her lawyer goes with a psych defense, she could get off.
- Rafael Barba: Just as long as she never gets custody of her daughter again.