Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Popular (2002)

Christopher Meloni: Detective Elliot Stabler

Quotes 

• Elliot Stabler : [to Kathy]  You know, it is abundantly clear to me, you are a parent and I am a paycheck.

• Elliot Stabler : Olivia, I need a favor.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Okay. Bear in mind I don't have any money. I'm an underpaid detective, just like you.

• Elliot Stabler : [to Olivia]  A 14-year-old girl was raped by a teacher. She got the exam at the hospital, but she didn't want to report it. Kathy knows the nurse who works there, but if she sees me snooping around...

  Detective Olivia Benson : She absolutely is not supposed to give out that information.

  Elliot Stabler : I know. I just got to make sure that it's real.

  Detective Olivia Benson : And then what?

  Elliot Stabler : Convince her to come forward.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Not a good idea, Elliot.

  Elliot Stabler : She's just scared, Olivia. She's a kid who doesn't know that there are people out there who want to help her.

  Detective Olivia Benson : And if she doesn't want to tell us, then we can't make her.

  Elliot Stabler : So she just sits in the classroom being taught by her rapist.

• Principal : [to Stabler]  You suspect a teacher of raping one of my students, but you don't even know the girl's name? Are you sure she isn't Iying to cover something else?

  Elliot Stabler : Well, I won't know that unless I talk to her. She was probably absent yesterday, so if I could take a look at the list of absentee students I think I'll find my victim.

  Principal : Sounds to me like your victim doesn't want to be found.

  Elliot Stabler : And are you comfortable having a teacher using his authority to prey on children under your responsibility?

  Principal : That doesn't even deserve a response.

  Elliot Stabler : I give you my word that I won't approach anyone until I'm sure I'm right. I promise that I'll handle this with discretion.

  Principal : You're sticking your neck way out there, aren't you?

  Elliot Stabler : Ma'am, under the circumstances, wouldn't you?

• Elliot Stabler : [to Kathy]  You're angry.

  Kathy Stabler : Actually, I'm not and that's what scares me.

  Elliot Stabler : You know why I had to pursue this.

  Kathy Stabler : I know I lost a good friend today, but you lost something much more important and either you don't realize it or you don't care.

  Elliot Stabler : Now you know that's not true.

  Kathy Stabler : You played me, Elliot. You carried on that conversation, drawing information out of me like I was your witness.

  Elliot Stabler : You know what happens to rape victims when they don't deal with the trauma. This girl's got drug and alcohol abuse in her future just to dull the pain. And then comes the inability to connect, the promiscuity because she thinks she had it coming to her. Either way, she's screwed until she gets help. A teacher is responsible and you know I just can't let this slide.

  Kathy Stabler : I know you too well for that, but everything has a price and I just hope that you can pay it.

• Detective Olivia Benson : [while Olivia and Elliot are looking at the sign-in sheet from the hospital]  Okay, here it is. Cynthia Wilmont. Signed in at 9:45 a.m.

  Elliot Stabler : According to this list, she had a note from home explaining her absence.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Well, it's got to be a forgery. I used to do it all the time. Everyone does. Except, of course, your kids. I'm sure that you're very intimidating.

  Elliot Stabler : Yeah, I'm real scary.

• Detective Olivia Benson : [to Nick about Cynthia]  You must've hated her.

  Nick Radsen : No, I like her. Cynthia's too smart to be used by that clown. Tommy's lame.

  Elliot Stabler : And that's what pisses you off. He's the one getting all the attention, the girls, the glory.

  Nick Radsen : That's not how it is. He's my friend.

  Elliot Stabler : No, he's not. He gives you his leftovers, man. I mean, that's got to burn you, knowing that he's not in your league. You think Tommy's beneath you.

  Detective Olivia Benson : But he's the most popular guy in school. That's why Cynthia likes him. That's why Cynthia wouldn't give you the time of day, and that's why you had to take what you wanted.

  Mrs. Radsen : I've heard enough. We're leaving.

  [tries to leave with Nick, but Nick jerks away from her] 

  Nick Radsen : She started to cry, like being with me was so awful. I told her I'd tell Tommy and then she laid down, but then she changed her mind. Girls can't do that.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Then what happened?

  Nick Radsen : Nothing.

  Elliot Stabler : Well, you had sex, didn't you?

  Nick Radsen : She let me do it.

  Elliot Stabler : She fight you?

  Nick Radsen : She said no, but she just laid there. Afterwards, she said we'd never talk about it again.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Is that why you beat her up? 'Cause you thought she'd come and talk to us?

  Nick Radsen : No. She gave me the clap and she didn't even apologize.

  Detective Olivia Benson : So you followed her home?

  Nick Radsen : After baseball practice. She accused me of rape and that pissed me off 'cause that just didn't happen. If she wants Tommy, she can have him. He's a loser.

  Elliot Stabler : So are you, Nick.

• Mr. Wilmont : Public health official's been here three times. He wants a list of names, so he went to Amy and she's so scared she spilled her guts about sex parties. Fourteen-year-old sex parties, for God's sake.

  Darlene Wilmont : Amy's parents blame Cynthia, so now she's lost her best friend along with everything else.

  Elliot Stabler : Neither one of you could have prevented this.

  Mr. Wilmont : What the hell do you know about it?

  Elliot Stabler : I'm a detective that works sex crimes. My squad, all we handle are sexually based crimes. Child abuse, abandonment and rape cases.

  Mr. Wilmont : You're saying my little girl was raped?

  Elliot Stabler : Law's pretty clear about what I can and can't do. Let's just say, hypothetically, if a 14 year-old girl were raped and she doesn't want to report it, I can't investigate it. I can't make an arrest.

  Darlene Wilmont : Cynthia was raped and won't talk? Is that what you're saying?

  Elliot Stabler : I'm not allowed to answer that question.

  Mr. Wilmont : This is good news.

  Darlene Wilmont : What? How can you bring yourself to think that, much less say it?

  Mr. Wilmont : If Cynthia got gonorrhea from being raped, then it wasn't her fault. She didn't do anything wrong.

  [Mrs. Wilmont walks off, disgusted] 

• Elliot Stabler : [after Cynthia ends up in the hospital after being pushed down the stairs]  Should have told Cynthia's parents right away instead of going to the school. We could have prevented this.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Depends on who's responsible. I want to check the parents out.

  Elliot Stabler : You think they tossed their daughter down a flight of stairs?

  Detective Olivia Benson : Her father seemed pretty upset about his daughter having sex.

  Elliot Stabler : She didn't. She was raped.

  Detective Olivia Benson : And what if she fabricated the rape to cover up sexual activity? We've had lots of cases like that.

  Elliot Stabler : Well, you saw that girl. She was afraid of someone.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Maybe it's Dad.

  Elliot Stabler : What, you think he raped her?

  Detective Olivia Benson : We've seen it too many times before.

  Elliot Stabler : Cynthia does have the clap. Daddy gave it to her, Mommy's got to have it. You really see her covering for her husband?

  Detective Olivia Benson : I don't know. I just think we should check the whereabouts of the parents during the assault.

  Elliot Stabler : First, let's check out the best friend.

• Elliot Stabler : [to Ross McKenzie]  Now, you only teach high school kids?

  Ross McKenzie : It's safer that way. My teaching methods are considered a little unorthodox.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Is that because you get too familiar with the student body?

  Ross McKenzie : You've been talking to the principal. See, he hasn't changed the curricula since the '70s. If you want to reach the kids, you to have to meet them at their level.

  Elliot Stabler : And partying with them does that for you?

• Capt. Donald Cragen : [to Stabler]  Have you left anything out?

  Elliot Stabler : No, that's everything. Our rape victim's an eighth grader at Tucker Junior High. Her name is Cynthia Wilmont. I just didn't want to pursue it without talking to you first.

  Capt. Donald Cragen : Now that's the first sensible thing you've said because you're going to have to drop it.

  Elliot Stabler : Captain...

  Capt. Donald Cragen : No. You have left the city, the hospital and yourself open to a lawsuit.

  Elliot Stabler : We're talking about a minor here. Now, there's got to be a way to circumvent that.

  Capt. Donald Cragen : Once you talk to the girl, she's going to know the nurse gave her up. You open that can of worms, victims' advocates will want your blood and I will give it to them.

  Elliot Stabler : I'd think they'd be the first ones who'd want us to catch this hump.

  Capt. Donald Cragen : Elliot, it's hard enough to get adult women to report. If victims feel no confidence, they won't even go in for the exam. Now, you are going to drop this until she is ready to come forward on her own.

  Elliot Stabler : It's her teacher, Captain. And he gets away with this, he's not going stop. At the very least, let's just get him out of the school.

  Capt. Donald Cragen : You have the victim brought to the principal's office for a sit-down. If she doesn't want to talk, you back off.

  Elliot Stabler : All right.

  Capt. Donald Cragen : And you go behind my back again, it goes in your jacket.

• Detective Olivia Benson : Cynthia, you can tell us if somebody touched you, no matter what.

  Cynthia Wilmont : I don't understand.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Did anything bad happen to you the day before yesterday?

  Cynthia Wilmont : No.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Then why aren't you feeling well?

  Cynthia Wilmont : Are you going to talk to my parents?

  Elliot Stabler : Absolutely not.

  Cynthia Wilmont : Why should I believe you? Why should I believe anything you say?

  Elliot Stabler : Because it's true.

  Cynthia Wilmont : Yeah, I've heard that before. That nurse promised me that she wouldn't say a word. No one else knows, not even my best friend. So she had to have told you. She lied and now so are you.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Cynthia, if you tell us who did this, we can make sure he never does it again.

  Cynthia Wilmont : [turns away from the detectives]  I'm fine. No one did anything to me.