Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 7)

Twenty years after being convicted of the rape of a teenage girl, Ray Schenkel (Robert Patrick) is released, much to the dismay of retired detective William Dorsey (Robert Walden). When a teenage girl is raped on the route Schenkel would have taken home, Stabler goes undercover as a recently paroled sex offender so that he can get into the same therapy group as Schenkel, and the same halfway house. Cragen worries that Stabler may be getting in over his head.

• Joe Lisi and Brittany Underwood also guest star. 

Benson saves April Troost (Estella Warren) from committing suicide, but feels responsible when Troost dies during the trial of the man she accuses of raping her and getting her pregnant. It isn't long before detectives learn that Barclay Pallister (Julian Sands) wasn't the only man April picked up in a bar who has no recollection of sleeping with her, and the squad realizes that Troost was no victim. Their search takes them from prospective parents looking to adopt her child to the men she drugged and accosted to the sperm center she used to work at, which ends up at the center of the case. Finally, its revealed that April is in fact a con artist who was playing them all along and was never raped; in fact, she was the rapist of several men. She also isn't dead: she faked it and the suicide attempt. With the help of her father, Olivia finds and arrests her for fraud, but she uses the baby to force them to give her a deal of no jail time in order to find out where it is, although when April leaves, she does express the hope that the baby has a better chance at a good life than she did. It turns out her mother had the baby and was in on the fraud, as well. Benson and Stabler get the baby (Sarah) and she's turned over to its biological father. However, Benson is sure they haven't seen the last of April and her mother. This is a crossover episode with the Law & Order episode "Flaw."

• Lynda Carter, Peter Riegert, Ronny Cox, Bobby Flay, Jesse Palmer, and Mark McGrath guest star. 

Benson is on her way out for the evening when a call comes in from a little girl named Maria, who says she's all alone in a locked room. While trying to draw the girl out, Benson is drawn deeper into the little girl's life, and although the other officers begin to suspect the whole thing may be some sick joke, Benson is convinced that the little girl is the real deal. By talking to Maria, Benson is able to ferret enough information from her so that they have a place to start, but Maria's captor has an affinity for electronics and has done everything he can to make sure that no one can find the little girl he bought and paid for.

• Chandra Wilson and Christopher Evan Welch guest star. 

When the teenage son (Paul Wesley) of Stabler's old partner (Noah Emmerich) comes under suspicion for attacking a classmate, Stabler is caught between his boss, who thinks he is cutting the kid too many breaks, and his friend, who thinks he is not doing enough to help.

• Mary Stuart Masterson guest stars. 

The discovery of the bodies of two young gay men who were both meth addicts as well as victims of a new strain of HIV that can kill its victims in less than a year leads to an investigation. Tutuola learns that his son, Ken (Ernest Waddell) is gay, and has difficulty accepting it, even though he and Benson end up going to Ken for help with infiltrating an anti-meth group. The group's leader, Gabriel (Brian Bloom), soon becomes their top suspect when the squad realizes that the two men died because they passed the disease on. Gabriel is ultimately revealed to have been the killer and is convicted, but one of the victim's father's speaks for him and offers him forgiveness and asks for a lenient sentence for him. Gabriel gets fifteen years (the minimum penalty for murder) as a result, and the man's story inspires Fin to call his son.

• Paula Garcés also guest stars. 

After a six-year-old boy dies in a school shooting, detectives trace the gun used back to a gun shop. Munch and Tutuola both face hatred from the major suspects in the case, but their investigation soon takes them from the man who pulled the trigger back to the gun shop owner.

• One of the few SVU episodes to contain a parental advisory warning when debuted on NBC.
• First appearance of Marcia Gay Harden as FBI Agent Dana Lewis, aka Star Morrison.
• J.C. MacKenzie, Cody Kasch, Joe Grifasi, John Rubinstein, John Cullum, and Marin Hinkle guest star. 

After the bones of a boy who disappeared in 1978 are found at a playground, Stabler, still visibly recovering from a recent gunshot wound, teams up with Millie Vizcarrando (Paula Garcés) to determine the boy's identity, which leads them to a cold case involving four missing Puerto Rican boys that were never found.

• Lisa Emery, Madhur Jaffrey, Richard Bright, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson guest star. 

After a dating service is linked to three rapes, Olivia goes undercover to ferret out the rapist and meets Mike Jergens (Dean Cain), a surgeon who enjoys controlling the women in his life. The detectives are soon led to his girlfriend, Cora Kennison (Tina Holmes) but shortly after marrying Mike, Cora testifies in the grand jury hearing. After Cora attempts suicide, Mike fights her mother, Virginia (Veronica Cartwright) to unplug her feeding tube.

• Teri Garr and Fred Dalton Thompson guest star. 

After sixteen-year-old Lauren Westley (Keri Lynn Pratt) loses her unborn child due to a severe abdominal beating, her father's insistence that Lauren was raped leads detectives to the baby's father (John Patrick Amedori), but it isn't long before the detectives realize that Lauren was an active party in her own beating, and the two teens had found it necessary to take the steps they did because the abortion clinic kept putting off Lauren's request for an appointment. Novak faces a tough opponent in her own office when she and Branch disagree over the appropriate action to be taken against Wayne Mortens, the young girl's boyfriend. Ultimately, as she can't get a plea bargain thanks to Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson)'s orders, Novak calls up a witness that upon cross-examination makes the defense's case and Wayne only gets found guilty of the misdemeanor Novak wanted to plea him out to. Branch, while not happy, doesn't go after Novak for it and instead sends the cops after the abortion clinic as their actions forced the desperate teens' actions. This episode is a 'ripped from the headlines' episode; the original case occurred in Michigan, but since there was no statute that specifically covered this incident, the teens were convicted on lesser charges.

• Skipp Sudduth, Judith Light, Robert Foxworth, Adriane Lenox and Fred Dalton Thompson guest star. 

When a teenager (Keke Palmer) and her younger sister end up in the hospital after a day at the park, detectives learn that both girls were abducted from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina along with a third sister who is still missing. Despite the interference of a local reporter, Jackson Zane (Matthew Settle), the detectives are able to catch the kidnapper, Alvin Dutch (Russell Hornsby), who is a known pedophile, and recover the girl. But when Dutch dies unexpectedly, and the lab discovers the cause was anthrax poisoning, it reveals that the deceased was involved in a scheme that stole anthrax from a laboratory in New Orleans during the Hurricane. Benson's ensuing actions to make sure the public knows about it puts her job at risk.

• Leo Marks and John Schuck also guest star. 

After young Sean Hamill (Daniel Manche) is stabbed in the back at the schoolyard, detectives are led to Charlie Monaghan (Sasha Neulinger), the older boy who had previously gotten into trouble over Hamill, but it isn't long before their attention turns to Monaghan's half-sister, Emma Boyd (Raquel Castro). Hamill had been torturing the little girl for months because she had two mothers. After getting a nice deal for Emma's side, Benson and Stabler are thrown for a loop when Emma's biological grandparents accuse Zoe Dunlop (Amy Pietz), who had never legally adopted Emma, of sexually molesting the little girl, and evidence seems to support their claims. When Olivia questions her with Huang in the room, he believes that she wasn't molested, and it turns out the grandparents got her to lie about it. The grandparents are charged and during their trial, the grandmother reveals that their lawyer (Stephen Bogardus) actually put them up to it as he showed them what Novak reveals are discredited statistics that horrified them. The judge calls a mistrial, and Novak offers a plea to the grandparents later in exchange for them testifying against their lawyer. After she provides evidence of his trickery, they agree, but Zoe decides to bar them from seeing Emma again.

• Dorothy Lyman, Patricia Kalember, Mary Beth Peil, Stephen Henderson, Daniel Jenkins, Paula Garcés and also guest star. 

Monica Phelps is found dead in her apartment, her son Nathan (Malcolm David Kelley) hiding in the closet behind her body. Detectives soon link Monica's death to philanthropist Ted Carthage (Gordon Clapp), who runs an organization dedicated to helping people get off the streets. Benson is certain that Carthage is the killer, but a shaky ID from Nathan puts him back on the street. After Nathan kills Carthage himself, Sophie Devere (Annie Potts) argues that Nathan committed the killing because he saw Carthage shoot his mother – something the gun manufacturers don't like. Benson's testimony makes Novak sympathetic, but the gun manufacturers, through Ted's wife, file a civil suit that brings the trial to a halt with Novak, Sophie and Judge Donnelly (Judith Light) as the defendants. When the opposing attorney (David Aaron Baker) calls Nathan to the stand, Donnelly convinces the other two to allow it. Nathan incriminates himself on the stand and Sophie, as part of the plan, uses it to call for a mistrial of his criminal case, which Donnelly immediately grants. With the mistrial, Novak calls for a dismissal of the civil suit as it's no longer relevant to the criminal case, which the judge does. The opposing lawyer (rightly) believes Novak and the others planned this, but the judge points out that the lawyer was the one who called Nathan to the stand, not them. Nathan is released and sent to a foster family as his father was murdered when he was six.

• Spencer Grammer also guest stars. 

The team investigates when young Carly Hunter (Gabrielle Brennan) disappears while walking home from school one day. While processing evidence found at the scene, Warner realizes that the little girl has leukemia, and they need to get her home as soon as possible to begin treatment. Despite the ransom drop going wrong, the detectives are able to find the little girl thanks to evidence O'Halloran finds at the scene, but as she tells her story to Stabler and her mother, it soon becomes clear that her kidnapper is someone very close to home. Stabler and Warner end up becoming hostages when the kidnapper approaches Jake Hunter (Tom Verica) directly by robbing his bank. He turns out to be Jake's druggie son Daniel (Shawn Reaves), who desperately needs money. Daniel accidentally shoots his father and knowing he's gone too far, Daniel lets everyone but Stabler and Warner go (Warner can't get Jake out without help) and decides to commit suicide by cop. Before he can get himself killed, Warner (who served in the Air Force in the past) shoots him in the leg with a gun Stabler gave her, disabling him and allowing the cops to take him down without having to shoot him.

• Kaitlin Hopkins and Joe Lisi also guest star. 

A college student (Schuyler Fisk)'s tale of rape and an unknown pregnancy becomes suspicious to the detectives when they learn that she has been linked to not one, but two abandoned newborns. A paternity test later reveals that her abandoned child was the result of incestuous relationship with her father (Željko Ivanek), who is a local politician.

• Željko Ivanek played the recurring role of attorney Ed Danvers on Homicide: Life on the Street, the show where the character of John Munch originates.
• Michael Lerner and Patricia Kalember also guest star. 

After the body of Vicky Riggs is found, Benson and Stabler delve into her private life and finally learn that in addition to being a respected lawyer, she was also a stripper. A surveillance photo leads them to Linus McKellen (Chris Potter), who is her boss, Tessa McKellen (Rebecca De Mornay)'s husband, who was also having an affair with her. There isn't enough evidence to prove he murdered Vicky, but when Vicky's co-worker at the club, Josie Post, is also found murdered, DNA proves that McKellen's semen was found in her body, despite his disabled wife Tessa's conviction that he would never murder anyone. Suspicion turns on Tessa herself once the detectives interview the only man who seems capable of having committed the murders.

• Betty Buckley and Holt McCallany also guest star. 

Doug Waverly (Teddy Ick) and Nick Pratt (Paul David Story) are charged with rape and murder in the disappearance of Canadian student Jennifer Durning (Barbara King) after Nick's cousin, Jason King (Harry Zittel), claims that while he had consensual sex with her that night the other two raped her. A stray pubic hair leads Novak to Keith Willis, a drunk who was paid off by the boys to get Jennifer out of the hotel and who later saw the boys kidnap her, but Willis isn't exactly fit to be a witness as his mind has gone after years of alcohol abuse. Jason King disappears. Although they are able to find a bug in Donnelly's office, they are not able to prove that it was placed there by Pratt or Waverly until after Judge Donnelly is forced to dismiss the case against the two boys since there is no case without Jason's testimony.

• See also "In the Wee Small Hours", a Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode. Michael Boatman, Susan Saint James, Barry Bostwick, and Maggie Siff guest star. 

Tutuola's son Ken Randall (Ernest Waddell) calls Benson for help after he's picked up in an alley late at night. He claims that he was looking for a body after overhearing a man talk about murdering a woman and dumping her body while he was at the bar that night. Tutuola is upset that no one informed him, and determined to clear his son's name even though Ken immediately gets his own lawyer. Tutuola turns his eye on Ken's cousin, Darius Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), who was with Ken that night and has been in and out of trouble for years, and after Ken voluntarily submits his DNA to clear his name, a shocking family connection between Darius and Ken is revealed. Darius confesses to having murdered the woman and her baby, but his confession is thrown out because no one had contacted his lawyer. This case continues in the season 8 finale episode, "Screwed."

• Lisa Gay Hamilton and Joe Grifasi also guest star. 

After Detective Benson's request is granted and she is transferred to the Computer Crimes Unit, Detective Stabler is temporarily reassigned to Detective Lucius Blaine (Anthony Anderson). Blaine is the first to arrive on the scene of a girl, Jessica DeLay (Rooney Mara), who was brutally assaulted by two overweight culprits, later discovered to be siblings Kenny and Mia Bixton (Wallace Little) and (Shahidah McIntosh), respectively). As it turns out, the siblings' oldest brother, Rudi (Omar Benson Miller), was the victim of a similar attack by Jessica and her friend, Tommy (Billy Wheelan). Novak originally takes the Bixton siblings to trial for assaulting DeLay, but when the eldest Bixton, relegated to a wheelchair due to his type II diabetes, takes matters into his own hands and murders Tommy outside the SVU squadroom, the tables suddenly turn. Detective Benson uses her temporary position at Computer Crimes to aid the SVU detectives in indicting DeLay for the original assault that she and Tommy committed; it turns out that she has an interesting secret as to why she assaulted Rudi Bixton.

• Anderson would go on to portray Detective Kevin Bernard on the original Law & Order series from 2008 through its series finale in May 2010.
• Natalie Cole and Paul Calderón also guest star. 

After Jamie Hoskins (Brittany Snow) falsely accuses two classmates of rape after a consensual act then hits nine pedestrians during an attempted suicide, medical tests reveal she has been taking medication for bipolar disorder and stopped her pills a week earlier. Jamie is charged with murder and released on her own recognizance after she agrees to take her medication, but after rock star Derek Lord (Norman Reedus), who is well known for his negative views on psychiatry, gets involved and begins spearheading her defense, Jamie again stops taking her medication. Novak is sympathetic to Jamie, but Jamie's insistence on following Derek Lord's advice leaves Novak with no choice but to take the case to trial.

• Peter Riegert, Jeff McCarthy, James Murtaugh, Zachary Booth, and Stella Maeve also star.