Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 17
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 17: 23 listed episodes, with episode titles, original air dates and optional synopses.
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Season 17 · Episode 1
Devil's Dissections
· 60 min
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The SVU is called to a familiar crime scene - the beach where serial killer Gregory Yates buried his many victims. When another body washes ashore, Detective Rollins tries to coax him into confessing, but the surprising information he provides sends shockwaves through the police department. As the case goes to court, Barba faces off against two hotshot defense attorneys in a trial that leads to blackmail, an incriminating confession, a new victim and a fugitive suspect.
Season 17 · Episode 2
Criminal Pathology
· 60 min
Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ↗Episode synopsis (spoilers)
The SVU is called to a familiar crime scene - the beach where serial killer Gregory Yates buried his many victims. When another body washes ashore, Detective Rollins tries to coax him into confessing, but the surprising information he provides sends shockwaves through the police department. As the case goes to court, Barba faces off against two hotshot defense attorneys in a trial that leads to blackmail, an incriminating confession, a new victim and a fugitive suspect.
Season 17 · Episode 3
Transgender Bridge
· 60 min
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15 year-old Avery Parker walks home from school through Fort Tryon Park when she's surrounded by a group of rowdy boys. Taunts and jokes intensify to pushing and shoving, leaving Avery in the hospital and three assailants under arrest. When the DA's office decides to try one of the culprits, 15 year-old Darius McCrae, as an adult, the SVU squad agonizes over whether the punishment fits the crime, and must deal with the pain of both families involved.
Season 17 · Episode 4
Institutional Fail
· 60 min
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A starving toddler found wandering the streets alone leads detectives to the home of Manuela Ozuna and another child in grave condition. The police question Department of Child Services caseworker Keith Musio, whose vague and backdated reports on the family suggest he hadn't checked on the children in months. When the overworked Keith accuses his supervisor, Janette Grayson, of orchestrating the false reports, Chief Dodds promises to conduct an internal investigation. But when neglect leads to death, Barba takes matters into his own hands and arrests them for manslaughter. Meanwhile, Dodds indicates some changes coming to Benson's squad.
Season 17 · Episode 5
Community Policing
· 60 min
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In the pursuit of an SVU rape suspect, detectives from another precinct shoot and kill an unarmed black man. As racial tensions rise in the city, Barba is tasked to indict three officers who claim they had no choice but to follow police procedure.
Season 17 · Episode 6
Maternal Instincts
· 60 min
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Rollins' mother Beth throws her a baby shower while the SVU reports to a four-star hotel where a famous violinist was raped by her colleague, Anton Krasnikov. With no memory of the crime, Anton claims a hired escort drugged and robbed him, and evidence leads to the shocking return of Rollins' fugitive sister Kim. Meanwhile, Sgt. Mike Dodds arrives for his first day at SVU.
Season 17 · Episode 7
Patrimonial Burden
· 60 min
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The SVU investigates an unraveling web of secrets when the virtuous 13 year-old daughter of a famous reality TV family discovers she's pregnant.
Season 17 · Episode 8
Melancholy Pursuit
· 60 min
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The hunt for a missing teenage girl takes an emotional toll on Sgt. Dodds, and DNA evidence becomes a crucial lead in finding the girl's abductor.
Season 17 · Episode 9
Depravity Standard
· 60 min
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Lt. Benson seeks justice in the trial of child abductor Lewis Hodda, but when a plea deal is rejected, Barba must rely on decades-old evidence to make his case and faces off against former SVU colleague Dr. Huang.
Season 17 · Episode 10
Catfishing Teacher
· 60 min
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A high school student plans a clandestine hookup with his female teacher but ends up in a far more sinister situation.
Season 17 · Episode 11
Townhouse Incident
· 60 min
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Benson is taken hostage when she tries to stop a violent home invasion.
Season 17 · Episode 12
A Misunderstanding
· 60 min
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A murky he-said, she-said date rape case ruins the futures of two high school students.
Season 17 · Episode 13
Forty-One Witnesses
· 60 min
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A woman is followed home and raped outside her building, where several neighbors witness the crime but fail to call for help.
Season 17 · Episode 14
Nationwide Manhunt
· 60 min
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Chicago P.D. detectives Lindsay and Dawson join the SVU in the hunt for two escaped murderers they helped to convict.
Season 17 · Episode 15
Collateral Damages
· 60 min
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An undercover sting leads to the takedown of an online pedophile ring and the arrest of two high-profile suspects.
Season 17 · Episode 16
Star-Struck Victims
· 60 min
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When a lack of evidence leads Barba to drop rape charges against a popular actor, Rollins takes matters into her own hands.
Season 17 · Episode 17
Manhattan Transfer
· 60 min
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An investigation into the sexual exploitation of underage Catholic schoolgirls leads to shocking charges against judges, legislators, DAs, and members of the NYPD.
Season 17 · Episode 18
Unholiest Alliance
· 60 min
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When one of their own is implicated in a cover-up, the SVU struggles to unravel a sex trafficking operation deeply-rooted in government offices, the police department, and the Catholic Church.
Season 17 · Episode 19
Sheltered Outcasts
· 60 min
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Detective Carisi lives undercover at a homeless shelter to determine if one of its sex offender residents is the suspect in a string of neighborhood rapes.
Season 17 · Episode 20
Fashionable Crimes
· 60 min
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A young model is raped by a renowned fashion house photographer, who looks to his successful brother to make the charges disappear.
Season 17 · Episode 21
Assaulting Reality
· 60 min
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The producers of a reality dating series make Benson and the SVU part of the show when they investigate a contestant's claim that she was raped.
Season 17 · Episode 22
Intersecting Lives
· 60 min
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A corrections officer is arrested for sexually assaulting female inmates in and out of prison, and the union that supports him targets Barba and the SVU.
Season 17 · Episode 23
Heartfelt Passages
· 60 min
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When the investigation of Corrections Officer Gary Munson deepens, he and his union take drastic actions that threaten the lives of ADA Barba and the SVU squad.
Episode information and images from TVmaze, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Episode lists follow original airing order and omit specials. Dates checked September 10, 2026.