Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 18

Season 18

Air date: 2016-09-20

Episodes: 21

Episodes

E1: 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.

Air date: 2016-09-21 • ★ 6.5

E2: 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.

Air date: 2016-09-28 • ★ 8.5

E3: Imposter

When a man uses a false identity to lure a vulnerable married woman to bed, Barba thinks the evidence amounts to rape.

Air date: 2016-10-05 • ★ 7

E4: 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.

Air date: 2016-10-12 • ★ 5.9

E5: Rape Interrupted

A sergeant makes Benson choose between loyalty and duty when his son is accused of rape.

Air date: 2016-10-26 • ★ 7.2

E6: Broken Rhymes

A record label CEO and his protégé are questioned for their involvement in the assault of a transgender student.

Air date: 2016-11-09 • ★ 8.9

E7: 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.

Air date: 2017-01-04 • ★ 8.6

E8: 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.

Air date: 2017-01-11 • ★ 5.7

E9: Decline and Fall

The powerful family of a retail empire closes ranks when a bartender accuses one of their own of rape.

Air date: 2017-01-18 • ★ 8.8

E10: Motherly Love

A teenaged boy uses a rifle to stop an assault on his mother, but soon learns the target was someone he knows.

Air date: 2017-02-08 • ★ 7.6

E11: Great Expectations

The SVU investigates the players of a top youth hockey team after a vicious locker room hazing.

Air date: 2017-02-15 • ★ 8.2

E12: No Surrender

Fin revisits his military roots when a fellow Army Ranger struggles to recover from a sexual assault.

Air date: 2017-02-22 • ★ 7.4

E13: Genes

An investigation hits a nerve with Benson when a suspect claims his genetics causes him to commit rape.

Air date: 2017-03-22 • ★ 8

E14: Net Worth

A top-level investment banker accuses her billionaire client of rape.

Air date: 2017-03-29 • ★ 8.3

E15: Know It All

A man under investigation for rape and murder threatens to expose the secrets of those working the case.

Air date: 2017-04-05 • ★ 8.7

E16: 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.

Air date: 2017-04-26 • ★ 9.2

E17: Real Fake News

A fake news story leads the squad to a real child sex trafficking ring.

Air date: 2017-05-03 • ★ 7.8

E18: Spellbound

A popular spiritual guru with a dark past is accused of rape.

Air date: 2017-05-10 • ★ 8.8

E19: Conversion

A young woman visiting NYC with her church group is raped by a friend.

Air date: 2017-05-17 • ★ 8.2

E20: 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.

Air date: 2017-05-24 • ★ 8.6

E21: 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.

Air date: 2017-05-24 • ★ 8