Spiraling Down (Season 13, Episode 10)
Premise: A sting aimed at the men who paid to have sex with a 14-year-old runaway catches a former football star whose head injuries raise the question of whether he understood what he did.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 13, Episode 10
- Starring
- Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Det. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Nick Amaro (Danny Pino), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), Defense Attorney Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher)
- Guest stars
- Treat Williams as Jake Stanton, Beth Chamberlin as Georgia Stanton, Kay Panabaker as Vicki Harris, Jon Michael Hill as Tre Davis, Dominic Fumusa as Captain Jason Harris
- Director
- Alex Chapple
- Writers
- John P. Roche & Warren Leight
Summary
“Spiraling Down” opens as 14-year-old Vicki Harris arrives in New York by bus and is swept up by Tre, a charming young man who soon pushes her into sex with his friend Marcus. Her father, Capt. Jason Harris, who served in Baghdad with Amaro’s wife, Maria, drives up from Philadelphia after a frightened call from Vicki. Calling the number back, the squad traces her to a building near 14th Street and 11th Avenue and arrests her for prostitution to get her out. She insists Tre is her boyfriend until the detectives tell her he lives in Brooklyn with another woman and two of his children. Tre, already under arrest, faces life in prison and gives up his customers.
Benson pushes Cabot to charge the johns as rapists, and a sting using Officer Denise Legrange as a decoy nets Jake Stanton, a once-great New York quarterback whom Vicki also identifies. His wife, Georgia, tells Benson that Jake is lost most evenings. Out on bail, he exposes himself in a restaurant’s ladies’ room and seems not to understand why the woman screams. Georgia says they are broke and owe their lawyer, and Bayard Ellis, steered to her by Benson, takes the case, arguing that years of concussions have left Jake with diminished capacity.
Jake balks in court when Ellis tries to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, insisting he is not crazy. At trial Dr. Emily Sopher testifies that CTE damages judgment but can be confirmed only by autopsy, and under Cabot’s questioning Jake says he took the women for working girls. On redirect Ellis asks him three simple questions, and Jake gives two different lengths for his marriage, forgets the questions and cannot say who Vicki is or where he is. Cabot tells Benson she cannot have justice for Vicki and compassion for Jake at the same time.
Spoiler, the ending: The jury finds Jake not guilty of second-degree rape, and he asks Georgia whether that means he did not do it. Amaro does not know what to say to Vicki’s father, and Benson tells him nobody wins. Outside, Jake tells reporters about a Hail Mary win as if after a game. Moments later he has a gun, and as officers plead with him to put it down, he shoots himself in the chest.
Why it stands out
- Laura Benanti makes her first appearance as Amaro’s wife, Maria.
- Treat Williams guest stars as Jake Stanton, with Beth Chamberlin as his wife, and former NFL players Jerry Rice and Warren Sapp appear as themselves.