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James Miller is the main antagonist of the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode "The Burden of Our Choices". He is the sexually abusive stepfather of a teenaged girl who eventually gets her pregnant and, indirectly, causes an interstate legal battle over whether she should be allowed to have an abortion.
He was portrayed by Zach Gilford, who also portrayed Kevin Wilcox in a previous episode of SVU, as well as Elias Voit in Criminal Minds: Evolution.
Biography[]
He married widow Tammy, whose first husband was an abusive drug addict who died of an overdose and James adopted Tammy's daughter Evangeline and showered her with love and affection. He and Tammy went onto have two sons of their own, with him being seen as loving father by his wife. Behind closed doors lied a dark secret, James was secretly a pedophile who targeted Evangeline. When she was eleven, he snuck into her room and proceeded to rape her. He saw nothing wrong with his act, as he was married to her mother and called himself her family after she wanted to save herself for marriage. He would carry this on for the next two years and angrily forbade Evangeline from telling her mother, using his status as the breadwinner to his advantage and stated the family would be ruined.
"The Burden of Our Choices"[]
James ended up impregnating Evangeline and she secretly made plans to run away to get an abortion, then have his child. He is first seen going to church with his family, before he and his wife talk to their Reverend about Isaac Franklin, a young man who fled to New York to avoid a rape charge. Miller hypocritically expressed relief that Isaac wasn't near his child, before Evangeline told them she was going to a friend's house. They allow her to go, though were unaware that she was in fact running away to New York.
The Millers came to New York to inform SVU of their daughter running away. They also directed the cops to Isaac, since he was the only person she knew from their past friendship and brought up his legal history. Isaac was found but denied harming Evangeline, telling the cops where she'd be.
After Evangeline was found and taken to a hospital, where she was revealed to be pregnant. She revealed that she fled to the city to get an abortion. She was taken to the precinct and her parents tried to force her to come home, but were stopped when Trevor Langan, a lawyer who came into represent her in court. Captain Benson revealed the pregnancy and the decision to get an abortion, but the pro-life Millers refused and had their reverend, a former lawyer who is also pro-life on their side.
In family court, both sides voiced their opinions on the matter. The Millers soon spoke up and voiced disappointment in how Evangeline is throwing away a life and disregarding their teachings. However, Evangeline angrily voiced how she didn't want to go back home and endure more pain. She then angrily accused James as being the one who impregnated her, shocking all present. James was speechless at the truth being revealed, trying to nervously deny the news when his stunned wife and crowd looked at him.
James subsequently fled to Ohio, claiming he needed to be back home for his sons while denying to SVU that he would never. However, SVU asked him to give a DNA sample to clear his name but he refused to comply, knowing he would likely incriminate himself in the process. His lawyer also had his side, despite his earlier shock. Evangeline went over the abuse timeline and how she was told never to reveal the truth. His wife also refused to consider the possibility and even wanted to wait until the baby's birth to test the DNA. Soon the Ohio DA Office got involved, with the pro-life DA Forreston Graham attempting to have all Evangeline's supporters arrested but failed, so he attempted to draw out the pregnancy to make it impossible for abortion. This act along with pro-life supporters nearly led Evangeline to commit suicide, though it opened Tammy's eyes to what her daughter endured.
Despite her views and love of her husband, Tammy turned on James and the abortion was granted. ADA Carisi soon scolded Graham for letting his personal feelings speak in favor for a man like James, who abused his own stepdaughter for years, causing the latter to ponder on his actions.
It was later mentioned the DNA of the fetus was a match to Miller, with him being charged by the Ohio DA for statutory rape and abuse, much to SVU's satisfaction that Evangeline got justice. Despite his best attempts to stop Evangeline, she was successful in her goal of getting abortion.
External links[]
- James Miller at the Law & Order Wiki
