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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
"Hope in the darkness."
Overview
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Status
Returning Series
Created By
Dick Wolf
Network
NBC
Seasons & Episodes
Season 18
Episodes
Terrorized
A young boy is found wandering alone in Central Park and the search for his parents leads to startling evidence of a planned mass casualty event in the city. As the SVU works with the joint-terrorism task force to find the suspects and the motive, Lt. Benson must also convince Barba to address allegations of rape and torture the boy's mother discloses.
Making a Rapist
Newly tested DNA evidence leads to the exoneration of a prisoner who served 16 years for a rape conviction. However, he's investigated again one day later in the wake of a shocking new crime.
Imposter
When a man uses a false identity to lure a vulnerable married woman to bed, Barba thinks the evidence amounts to rape.
Heightened Emotions
A sexually assaulted athlete's double life could destroy her Olympic career and ruin the case against her attacker; Rollins sister is released from prison on parole.
Rape Interrupted
A sergeant makes Benson choose between loyalty and duty when his son is accused of rape.
Broken Rhymes
A record label CEO and his protégé are questioned for their involvement in the assault of a transgender student.
Next Chapter
The SVU team investigates a woman has been sexually assaulted by a masked man, but she believes the rapist is the same man who went to jail for stalking her. Meanwhile, Tucker contemplates retirement and a future with Benson.
Chasing Theo
A 6 year-old boy disappears from his bed in the midst of a wild, drug-fueled party thrown by his mother. With a child's life on the line, the case causes Benson to scrutinize her own role as a mother.
Decline and Fall
The powerful family of a retail empire closes ranks when a bartender accuses one of their own of rape.
Motherly Love
A teenaged boy uses a rifle to stop an assault on his mother, but soon learns the target was someone he knows.
Great Expectations
The SVU investigates the players of a top youth hockey team after a vicious locker room hazing.
No Surrender
Fin revisits his military roots when a fellow Army Ranger struggles to recover from a sexual assault.
Genes
An investigation hits a nerve with Benson when a suspect claims his genetics causes him to commit rape.
Net Worth
A top-level investment banker accuses her billionaire client of rape.
Know It All
A man under investigation for rape and murder threatens to expose the secrets of those working the case.
The Newsroom
Benson and Barba ask witnesses to put their jobs on the line after a news anchor makes an on-air disclosure of rape against her boss.
Real Fake News
A fake news story leads the squad to a real child sex trafficking ring.
Spellbound
A popular spiritual guru with a dark past is accused of rape.
Conversion
A young woman visiting NYC with her church group is raped by a friend.
American Dream (1)
A hate crime is committed against a Muslim family, resulting in the death of their daughter. Things get complicated when a crucial witness in the case is deported, forcing Barba to drop the charges against a suspect.
Sanctuary (2)
In the 18th-season finale, two families seek justice for their loved ones in the wake of a suspect's unexpected release. Soon, public protests on the matter escalate to violence, leading Benson to go to desperate lengths to make an arrest.
Top Cast
Mariska Hargitay
Olivia Benson
Ice-T
Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola
Kelli Giddish
Amanda Rollins
Peter Scanavino
Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr.
Aimé Donna Kelly
Renee Curry
Kevin Kane
Terry Bruno
Corey Cott
Det. Jake Griffin
