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| “ | What could I plead to, Mr. McCoy? Trying to bring my children closer to God? Making them aware of the divine spark that burns within? And now I'm being persecuted for it! | „ |
| ~ Shelby defending having brainwashed and sexually abused her own children |
Mrs. Shelby, A.K.A. Mother Shelby, is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Sects". She is the leader of the Children of the Divine, a cult in which where children are forced to use drugs and have sex with adults and other children, even their brothers and sisters.
She was portrayed by Deborah Hedwall.
Biography[]
Background[]
Shelby created and led a cult called the Children of the Divine that preached the "sexualization" of children, outlined in a tract she authored called "The Book of Daniel". The cult had chapters around the country, as well as in Argentina, Mexico, and Asia. She and the cult were investigated by police and the FBI multiple times, but she always managed to escape arrest.
She had a daughter, Stacey Ranson, and two sons, Daniel and David Shelby, all of whom she kidnapped from her parents, who had legal guardianship. She would give her children, who were as young as six, drugs and force them to have sex with women she called "nannies", older men in the cult, their children, and each other. When members tried to leave, she sent them to "victory camps" in the Philippines where they were beaten and tortured until their spirits were broken; many of them later died from overdoses or suicides.
One day, David overdosed on a bottle of Quaaludes that she gave him. Instead of helping him, however, she simply watched him die, right in front of her other children, to punish him for questioning her teachings. Horrified, Daniel, Stacey, and fellow cult members Sunshine Porter and Jared Weston fled to New York City to escape her.
"Sects"[]
After arriving in the city, David, who changed his name to Richard Ranson, murders Delores Diamond, one of the "nannies" who abused him, before attempting suicide. NYPD Homicide Detectives Joe Fontana and Ed Green find Delores' body after talking to Daniel's wife, who also tells them about the cult. The detectives go to Stacey Ranson's house and find Jerry, Stacey's boyfriend, and eventually her. Stacey talks about Delores and goes in depth on the cult, and Daniel tells the detectives why he killed Delores and about the suicides and overdoses that occurred in the cult.
Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Borgia believe that Shelby is ultimately responsible for the murder, so they allow Daniel to plead guilty to manslaughter instead of murder on the condition that he sets up a meeting between Stacey and Shelby at a restaurant, allowing Fontana and Green to arrest the latter for kidnapping and child sexual abuse.
During the trial, Stacey testifies about the abuse that Shelby inflicted upon her, Daniel, and the other children in the cult. Shelby's lawyer presents a transcript of an earlier court proceeding against the Children of the Divine in which Stacey testified that there was no abuse, and that she and her brother had lied to punish their mother for putting a stop to their "relationship", which leaves the trial judge no choice but to dismiss the charges.
McCoy decides to prosecute Shelby for David's murder. With help from the FBI, Borgia tracks down a copy of the Book of Daniel, which Shelby claims to have destroyed, and which documents several instances of child sexual abuse involving her children, including David. McCoy indicts her for second-degree murder, and Fontana and Green arrest her once again.
Shelby testifies that the Book of Daniel was a forgery designed to discredit her, and that Daniel and Stacey have been brainwashed by the "established order" that views her and the Children of the Divine as a threat. McCoy baits her by bringing up the cult's dwindling membership and the multiple accusations against it by former members; this so wounds her ego that she starts ranting about a worldwide conspiracy to "persecute" her and compares herself to religious icons including Jesus, Mohammad, and Buddha.
The jury finds her guilty, and she is sentenced to life in prison.
External links[]
- Mother Shelby on the Law & Order Wiki
