When a bruised, bloodied and severely injured 12-year-old boy is dumped outside a hospital, Detectives Benson and Stabler are led to Charlie Monaghan, a teenager seen beating the boy a week earlier at St. Victor's school. But the suspect's alibi proves unlikely when his 8-year-old half sister's own problems at school and tormented past at the hands off the injured boy surface. Meanwhile, the girl's legal woes are exacerbated when questions concerning legal guardianship and consent - and what constitutes fit parenting - come into play.