Ricki Austin (Christine Andreas) is the main villainess of "Abuse", episode 2.11 of Law & Order: SVU (airdate January 26, 2001). She was a famous and wealthy country singer and the wife of former rock star Jared Black. The couple also had two children, daughter Ashley and adopted son Corbin. Ricki was shown to be a self-centered and neglectful mother, consistently choosing her career over her family and using her money to silence anyone who tried to delve into her kids' troubles. Ricki and Jared were also both regular drug users, and it was while under the influence that Ricki crashed her car while driving with her children one night. Nobody was severely injured, and Ricki was able to keep the accident out of the papers to save face.
Prior to the episode's events, Ricki placed a restraining order on Corbin's biological father David Russo (who had previously been working as Corbin's private tutor) when he began trying to bond with Corbin. After David went to Corbin's 10th birthday party to see Corbin, the boy desperately ran after him when he hurriedly left, causing him to be fatally struck by a car. Ricki demanded that David be arrested, claiming that he had molested Corbin. But as the SVU detectives investigated, they began uncovering Ricki's true nature when Olivia Benson noticed bruises on Ashley (from her frequent accidents done for attention) as well as her strong attachment to her (later diagnosed as Reactive Attachment Disorder). When the Austins' British nanny Sarah tried to talk to the detectives about what was happening to Ashley, the evil Ricki had her deported as a means of keeping her quiet. On one occasion, Benson brought Ashley to Ricki when she skipped school to see her, expressing complete disinterest in her daughter's behavior and chiding her for her actionss. Later on, Benson returned to the Austin household and tried to tell Ricki that Ashley needed help (having talked with a psychologist about Ashley's problems), with her concerns being compounded by Ashley running away upset when she said she couldn't come see her bedroom, nearly getting hit by a garbage truck in the process. Ricki, however, brashly refused to listen to Benson and ordered her to leave her alone, later filing a restraining order against the entire SVU force to keep them away.
With the help of Alexandra Cabot, Benson was able to have Ashley removed from Ricki's care and placed in foster care. While on trial, Ricki put on a display of innocence, saying that she loved her children and worked extensively to provide them with the life she never had. When Cabot countered by exposing all of Ashley's accidents, which she argued were her cries for her mother to come home due to them coinciding with her tour dates, Ricki feigned heartbreak and continued to argue her love for Ashley and how she worked to provide her with the best of everything. Ricki was ultimately given back custody of Ashley, more than likely aided by Ashley turning against Benson after her refusal to let her stay with her. When Benson tried to tell Ricki afterwards that she only went after her out of concern for Ashley, the smug villainess boasted that she would have her fired if she ever came near her daughter again before rushing over to hug Ashley for the press. Despite having agreed to postpone her singing tours and attend counselling as part of her deal of regaining custody, the episode ended with Benson reading a newspaper article saying that Ricki had played to a sold-out concert in London, implying that she had once again used her wealth to get away with her callous actions.