SVU Episode 14-8: Lessons Learned

TweetBoy Scouts were recently ordered to release their “perversion files,” reports of thousands of allegations of Scout leaders sexually abusing boys under their care. According to the Huffington Post,

“Boy Scouts of America failed to report hundreds of alleged child molesters to police and often hid the allegations from parents and the public. Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign and helped many cover their tracks, allowing the molesters to cite bogus reasons for their departure.”

Don’t even get me started on the Catholic Church’s shameful complicity in the sexual assault of countless children by priests.

Something has to change. Institutions must know that they cannot shuffle around predators and sweep sex-assault allegations under the rug. Many states have laws mandating that people in certain professions (e.g., social workers, teachers, doctors) are legally obligated to report such allegations. In light of these scandals, there’s been a strong push to expand these rules. Kudos to SVU for shining a light on a crime that flourishes in the dark.

What they got wrong:

There is a New York law saying a dead patient’s medical records can’t be released if they would harm his reputation. While tonight’s opposite-world courtroom showdown was interesting, it wouldn’t have happened in real life. Everything that takes place in a Grand Jury investigation is strictly secret, known only to the prosecutor, police, and jurors. The Manor Hill lawyer would not know the ADA had the evidence. Even if she did, her client had no standing to object to its use. It’s not the school that had gonorrhea or whose wife would be furious if she found out.

Similarly, the DA couldn’t come out of the Grand Jury and tell the victim how the school officials testified. A prosecutor may not tell one witness what another said in the Grand Jury. Barba could have saved his witness a night in the ER if he’d followed the rules of secrecy.

I’ve had plenty of witnesses get cold feet before their Grand Jury date. I’ve asked many police officers to go search for them. None was ever discovered naked with a hooker. (But if anyone had to make that discovery, I’d want it to be Ice-T.)

Finally, I disagreed with the ADA’s evaluation that the naked guy’s credibility was shot. Plenty of credible witnesses admit to using drugs or prostitutes – or are prostitutes themselves. Crimes don’t just happen to nuns and orphans. Depending on the surrounding evidence, most jurors can believe a witness’s story, even if he hasn’t lived a perfect life.

What do you think, SVU fans? Leave your comments!