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| “ | People like the Bakers and me, we scare you. The values that we espouse, our faith. You live in Gomorrah. When men of God come and preach love for the Scripture, it threatens you people to the core. | „ |
| ~ Eldon hiding his crimes behind his religion |
Gregory Eldon is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Patrimonial Burden". He is a lawyer, pastor, and sexual predator who impregnates Lane and Summer Baker, the preteen daughters of his clients Frank and Pam Baker.
He was portrayed by Ryan Delvin.
Biography[]
The son of an influential Baptist preacher, Eldon is a pastor and attorney whose clients are Frank and Pam Baker, who have a reality show revolving around raising their 10 children in their Evangelical faith. He also serves as the Baker family lawyer. The Bakers considered Eldon a trusted friend and unofficial member of their family. However, behind his pious, mild-mannered exterior hid a dark side: he was a hebephile who preyed on preteen girls, specifically the Baker's daughters.
In 2012, he began sexually abusing the Baker's 12-year-old daughter Summer, eventually getting her pregnant. He manipulated her into telling her parents that she did not know who the father was, and they sent her away to have the baby in secret. When she returned, Frank and Pam passed off her infant son, Tate, as their child.
Three years later, he began sexually abusing Summer's 13-year-old sister Lane, getting her pregnant, as well.
In "Patrimonial Burden"[]
Lane collapses at her purity ball and is taken to a hospital, where it is revealed that she is three months pregnant. She lets her parents think that she had been raped by a stranger during a recent volunteer mission to help the homeless in New York City. Eldon comes to the hospital, where he uses his authority as the family lawyer to make sure they contact him.
The NYPD's Special Victims Unit investigates Lane's rape, at first suspecting the show's camera operator, Pete Matthews, who had been secretly filming the Baker girls in the family's bathroom. They rule him out, however, after discovering that he had a vasectomy 10 years earlier, meaning he could not be the father. They also investigate Summer and realize that she is Tate's biological mother.
They next investigate the Bakers' oldest son, Graham, who has a history of deliquency, as well as fondling his piano teacher. They eventually find that he could not have raped Lane, however, because he had been at a prayer camp where his parents had sent him to get help.
During the investigation, SVU Lieutenant Olivia Benson notes that Eldon, as a trusted member of the Baker family's inner circle, would have had access to Lane. The squad discovers that Eldon chaperoned Lane during the mission, and also supervised Summer during a mission that coincides with her pregnancy. Sergeant Mike Dodds and Detective Fin Tutuola meet with Eldon in his office and ask him for a DNA sample, but he refuses, accusing them of persecuting him because of his religious beliefs. Undeterred, they reveal they have a court order compelling him to submit to a DNA test, which proves that he is Tate's biological father and the likely father of Lane's child.
Afraid the detectives are closing in, Eldon flees to Allenville and offers to "help" Frank and Pam by marrying Lane on her birthday in order to "preserve her honor"; his real motivation is to make it impossible for Lane to testify against him. Once again fooled, Frank and Pam arrange a quick wedding for Eldon and Lane, presided over by Elias Barnes, a politically connected judge and family friend of his and the Bakers.
Benson and Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr. interrupt the wedding ceremony. They reveal to the Bakers, Judge Barnes, and Officer Doug Tramwell that Eldon had raped and impregnated Summer and Lane, and pinned the blame on Graham, because he knew the family would do anything to protect him. Eldon protests his innocence, but Pam begins to suspect him and asks Lane what happened. After persuasion, Lane tearfully reveals that Eldon had been abusing her since she was 13, telling her that he was showing her how much he loved her. Frank and Pam finally see through their "friend", however, and tell Benson that they will testify about what Eldon did to their daughters. Facing disgust from the witnessing parties, Eldon tries again to deny it at first, but when no one believes him, he says that revealing the truth would destroy the show and her family's reputation. Unfortunately, the Bakers decide they will tell the truth regardless of what happens to the show, as they want Eldon put away. With that, Officer Tramwell places the cuffs on him. As he is taken into custody, Eldon is charged with the rapes but smugly says that the case against him will not hold up in court, and tells Lane that he loves her. Disgusted, the Bakers shield their daughter while Carisi angrily tells him that he is scum and he responds with a smirk and is hauled away.
Ultimately, however, Eldon pleads guilty to multiple statutory rape charges and is imprisoned. The Bakers also went public about the trauma he had put their family through and are working to put the pieces back together.
External links[]
- Gregory Eldon at the Law & Order Wiki
