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.
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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.
Season 4 episodes
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The detectives are on the trail of a recently paroled rapist responsible for the murder of a prostitute during a raid at a men's club and are called to the scene where he was shot in self defense by his own gun. However, the murder weapon was also used in another crime while he was still in prison, leading the detectives to investigate the victim through a trail of previously unsolved cases, a spending spree and another victim. They uncover a more serious criminal in the process.
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Directed by Jean de SegonzacWritten by Michele Fazekas, Tara ButtersGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Sharon Lawrence, Dianne Wiest, Lonette McKee, Gary Galone, E.J. Carroll, Charlayne Woodard, Ed Bogdanowicz
A family portrait painted by a kindergartner leads the detectives to investigate her mother for child sexual abuse of her teenage stepson. When the boy's father is found murdered, the focus of the investigation shifts to the boy -- and his stepmother goes to great lengths to protect him and prevent the detectives from learning the truth.
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Directed by Constantine MakrisWritten by Michele Fazekas, Tara ButtersGuest stars Jonathan Bennett, Sherilyn Fenn, Daniel Sunjata, Bill Kocis, Frank Grillo, Tom Mason, Gerry Bamman, Peter Hermann
When an elderly woman with Alzheimer's breaks into an apartment, the detectives discover she had been abused, triggering memories of similar crimes from her childhood. They discover that she had been released from a nursing home to the custody of her financially scheming son who becomes the prime suspect. However, they go back to the nursing home to find a pair of suspects; the real crime is what's being done to the elderly.
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Directed by Juan José CampanellaWritten by Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie PetersenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Mary Kay Place, Jane Powell, Jay Thomas, Leo Leyden, Gary Cowling, Rosalyn Coleman, Andy Powers
A public health doctor, the wife of a retired attorney, who tracked HIV cases is found murdered and raped in Central Park. Her work involved contacting sexual partners of HIV patients which gives the detectives a long list of suspects and the detectives try to link threatening phone calls to the crime. The discovery of a second body in Central Park with the same signature shifts the focus to a possible serial killer.
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Directed by Michael FieldsWritten by Amanda GreenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Kate Levering, Maeve McGuire, Michael Gross, Manny Perez, Chris Tardio, Jamie Sorrentini, Matt Servitto
A high-powered executive is raped, but the situation is complicated by her involvement with the Feds and the Russian mob - as well as a father-son duo who are in the federal witness protection program and an agent who appears bound and determined to protect them, regardless of consequence.
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Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Judith McCrearyGuest stars John Heard, Pam Grier, Caprice Benedetti, Michael Kelly, Lou Carbonneau, Joe Maruzzo, Tom Guiry, David St. Louis
A battered young boy suffocates while hiding in the luggage compartment of an airport shuttle bus and it leads the detectives to his guardian and into the investigation of a perverted child molestation ring.
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Directed by Arthur W. ForneyWritten by Jonathan Greene, Robert F. CampbellGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Michael Hayden, Pablo Santos, Will Arnett, Patrick Cassidy, Lenore Pemberton, Gideon Jacobs, Peter Hermann
Detectives try and solve the gruesome murder of a sexually molested five-year-old girl whose killer, a serial pedophile, has an obsession with dolls. They race to save the life of his latest victim.
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Directed by Darnell MartinWritten by Amanda GreenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Teala Dunn, Susan Misner, Ileen Getz, Geoffrey Owens, Daniel Sunjata, David Harbour, Frank Medrano
The Detectives investigate the rape of a woman who's been in a coma for a year, and after eliminating a huge pool of suspects, they make a startling discovery.
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Directed by Donna DeitchWritten by Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie PetersenGuest stars Lisa Pelikan, JoBeth Williams, Judy Gold, Bruce Davison, Rainn Wilson, Ian Kahn, Henry Woronicz, Philip Bosco
A cancer patient, who was growing marijuana in her apartment and selling it, is found raped and murdered, sending the detectives on a hunt for two middle school students, each blaming the other.
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Directed by Constantine MakrisWritten by Michele Fazekas, Tara ButtersGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Alysia Reiner, Shane Lyons, Illeana Douglas, Becky Ann Baker, Tony DeVito, Connor Paolo, Jonathan Walker
A 14-year-old girl tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train after she is raped. She falsely accuses an ex-boyfriend but when the search turns to her dysfunctional family, surprise discoveries are made and SVU discovers that the family is even worse off than they thought.
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Directed by Joyce ChopraWritten by Patrick HarbinsonGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Billy Lush, Rachael Bella, Illeana Douglas, Titus Welliver, Cynthia Ettinger, Leslie Ayvazian, Jill Marie Lawrence
A six-year-old girl is critically injured in an apparent robbery-gone-bad and later dies. The investigation gets complicated when it is discovered that the murders were designed to silence the young girl, who was sexually abused.
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Directed by Juan José CampanellaWritten by Barbie KligmanGuest stars Glynnis O'Connor, Ari Graynor, Erik Palladino, Daniel Sunjata, Sheila Tousey, Ned Eisenberg, Dan Lauria, Jennifer Roszell
An infant ingests pure cocaine disguised in baby formula, uncovering a complicated narcotics ring with unlikely participants and the entire squad goes undercover to flush them out.
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Directed by Juan José CampanellaWritten by Jonathan Greene, Robert F. CampbellGuest stars Matt Mulhern, Paul Diomede, Daniel Sunjata, Bryan Callen, Robert Funaro, Robert John Burke, Isabel Gillies, Brian Cahill
In their investigation of a prisoner's death, Benson and Tutuola learn that he was sexually assaulted before being incarcerated and since it happened while in custody, the police are suspected.
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Directed by Constantine MakrisWritten by Judith McCrearyGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Joie Lee, William Mapother, Robert Stanton, Chad L. Coleman, Victor Colicchio, Amy Landecker
When the body of a 1-month-old baby girl is found stuffed inside a cooler, the detectives are horrified. But they soon learn that the baby had a genetic disorder known as Tay-Sachs disease, and it may have been a mercy killing.
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Directed by David PlattWritten by Christos N. Gage, Ruth FletcherGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Heather Goldenhersh, Nathalie Paulding, Elizabeth Mitchell, Sheila Tousey, Patty Weaver, Larry Bryggman, Judd Hirsch
The brutal rape, and subsequent death, of a female motorist turns out to be an undercover FBI informant acting as a cyber vigilante for catching online pedophiles to capture the predator trafficking internet porn. The detectives find the victim's husband murdered and follow the trail of evidence for the latest victim she had been tracking, which turns into an international case of teenage prostitution, with ties to the Czech Republic.
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Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Michele Fazekas, Tara ButtersGuest stars William McNamara, Zena Grey, Dagmara Dominczyk, Pam Grier, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Alexis Dziena, Joel de la Fuente, P.J. Morrison
A Tibetan woman who was tortured in her home country is found murdered, with her foot missing, and after an exhaustive search of potential suspects, the killer is a victim of torture himself.
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Directed by Steve ShillWritten by Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie PetersenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Frederick Weller, Illeana Douglas, Margaret Colin, Daniel Sunjata, Ed Vassallo, Steve Schirripa, Jodi Long
A young female film student dressed in a maid's uniform has apparently committed suicide but it's very suspicious. The detectives learn that she just broke up with her very rich and powerful boyfriend.
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Directed by Jean de SegonzacWritten by Patrick HarbinsonGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Sarah Wayne Callies, Erik von Detten, Michael Learned, Mariette Hartley, Jonathan Hogan, Tina Sloan, Scotty Bloch
After a young boy witnesses the brutal sexual assault and murder of his stepmother, he is too terrified to tell the detectives who attacked her.
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Directed by David PlattWritten by Amanda GreenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Haviland Morris, Signy Coleman, Rob Estes, Sandra Bernhard, Kate Goehring, Stephen Mailer, Adam LeFevre
The body of a nine-year-old beauty pageant contestant is found raped and murdered on a bus, but the case goes beyond the killer when it leads detectives to a virtual-pornography website.
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Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Liz Friedman, Vanessa Place, Stephen Belber, Stephen BelberGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Carolee Carmello, John Cullum, Eric Thal, Sheila Tousey, Brian Kerwin, Peter Hermann, Joel de la Fuente
A quadruple homicide with sexual overtones is just the start of an intense rampage of a serial killer that brings a homicide detective into the mix. As the entire squad races against time to prevent further victims, the evidence uncovers a horrible situation of incest and abuse.
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Directed by Steve ShillWritten by Jonathan Greene, Robert F. CampbellGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Frank Langella, Jason Ritter, Richard Bekins, Erik Palladino, Ian Somerhalder, Karen Trott, Ciara Hughes
A female party-goer and rape victim claims self-defense after killing her attacker. Events take an unusual turn when they find out that the victim is a pre-operative transgender.
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Directed by Juan José CampanellaWritten by Barbie Kligman, Barbie Kligman, Joshua KotcheffGuest stars Kate Moennig, Fred Thompson, Chad Lindberg, Daniel Sunjata, Todd Susman, Sheila Tousey, Caren Browning, Michael Lerner
A man accused of raping several neighborhood women denies everything and represents himself in court.
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Directed by Alex ZakrzewskiWritten by Michele Fazekas, Tara ButtersGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Scott Holroyd, Fred Savage, Tyra Ferrell, Jenny Maguire, Lisa Landry, Audrie Neenan, Lauren Ward
A dead girl is found outside a bar. The death, however, is ruled a suicide, because the victim's boyfriend continually raped her. The victim's father vows revenge against his daughter's rapist.
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Directed by Constantine MakrisWritten by Adisa IwaGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Michele Hicks, Theo Kogan, Joe Morton, Paul Leyden, Sheila Tousey, Caren Browning, Matt Servitto
A murdered 14-year-old girl leads the detectives to a prominent physician who specializes in reproduction therapy and exposes a dangerous "foundation" where disenfranchised young women are brainwashed.
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Directed by Rick WallaceWritten by Jonathan Greene, Robert F. CampbellGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Kimberly J. Brown, Barbara Barrie, Laura Harring, Gale Harold, Brian Reddy, Caren Browning, Anna Holbrook
After a rape victim is abducted from the hospital and later found dead, the detectives suspect several young socialites of her rape, at a Manhattan nightclub, and subsequent murder.
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Directed by Chad LoweWritten by Dawn DeNoon, Lisa Marie PetersenGuest stars Tamara Tunie, Danny Hoch, Ashton Holmes, Logan Marshall-Green, Daniel Letterle, Sheila Tousey, Peyton List, Siobhan Fallon Hogan
