The Best Episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 18

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

Director: Mariska Hargitay

Writer: N/A

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

Director: Martha Mitchell

Writer: Kevin Fox, Brendan Feeney

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

Director: Martha Mitchell

Writer: Ed Zuckerman

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

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: Ed Zuckerman, Robert Brooks Cohen

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

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: Alik Sakharov

Writer: Rick Eid

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

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: Rick Eid, Jeffrey Baker

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

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: Kevin Fox, Brendan Feeney

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.

Director: Michael Pressman

Writer: Kevin Fox

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.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: Julie Martin, Robert Brooks Cohen

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

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: N/A

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

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

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.

Director: Alex Chapple

Writer: Julie Martin, Céline C. Robinson

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

Director: Jean de Segonzac

Writer: N/A