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| “ | I couldn't help myself. | „ |
| ~ Mallinson making excuses for molesting young boys |
Bishop Mallinson (first name unknown) is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Silence". He is a Catholic bishop who uses his power and position in the Church to sexually abuse young boys, and who frames one of his priests for his crimes.
He was portrayed by Patrick Collins.
Early life[]
Mallinson was a Catholic priest in New York City who was well-liked and respected by his congregation. Unbeknownst to them, however, he was a child molester who preyed on adolescent boys at St. Thomas' School, where he taught Latin. His M.O. was to lure boys into the confessional booth, where he would show them child pornography before forcing them to touch him and themselves. Afterwards, he would tell the boys they had "made a mark in Heaven" and threaten them with eternal damnation if they told anyone.
To give himself additional protection against getting caught, he would confess his crimes against children to one another priest, Father Michael Sweeney, knowing that Sweeney could not break the seal of confession on pain of excommunication. One of Mallinson's victims, Bobby Douglas, tells Sweeney about the abuse, but he refuses to go to the police, as doing so would amount to breaking his vows.
Sweeney left the school out of shame and transferred to another parish. He also started undergoing sex offender treatment; he too was attracted to young boys, but he knew his desires were wrong, so he went to therapy in hopes of curing them. Mallinson, meanwhile, rose through the ranks of the Church to become a Bishop, abusing dozens of boys along the way.
"Silence"[]
One night, Douglas, now a seminary student, breaks into Sweeney's church and vandalizes the confessional booth by spray-painting "Peccavisti" - Latin for "You have sinned" - on the wall as a way of lashing out at Sweeney for doing nothing to stop the abuse. When transgender prostitute Jamie Doyle stumbles into the booth for a warm place to sleep, Douglas panics and strikes him over the head, killing him instantly, before fleeing.
Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit investigate Doyle's murder and soon uncover Sweeney's transfer and therapy sessions, leading them to believe that he killed Doyle to keep her quiet about his crimes. When Douglas confesses to the murder, he says that Sweeney molested him as revenge for Sweeney failing to help him. Sweeney refuses to defend himself because doing so would mean breaking his vows. Mallinson, meanwhile, meets with Benson and Stabler as they search Sweeney's church apartment, hypocritically vouching for Sweeney's innocence.
The case falls apart, however, after Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot discovers that one of Sweeney's accusers is lying and Douglas is murdered in jail. Stabler confronts Sweeney, who admits to covering for another priest but refuses to reveal his name. Benson, Stabler, and Detectives John Munch and Fin Tutuola examine the parish's financial records and discover that the victims' families have been received monthly checks from Mallinson ever since they made their accusations.
After Stabler, a devout Catholic, persuades Sweeney to reveal that Mallinson confessed to him about molesting children, they go to confront him at his office. Mallinson threatens to excommunicate Sweeney if he tells anyone what he confessed and tells him he is risking his soul; Sweeney replies that he is saving it. When Stabler demands to know how he could have abused children, Mallinson says that he could not help himself.
He is then arrested and imprisoned for multiple counts of child sexual abuse.
External links[]
- Bishop Mallinson on the Law & Order Wiki
