Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 5) - Episodes

Episodes

No. in
season		 No. in
series		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code		 U.S. viewers
(millions)
1 92 "Tragedy" David Platt Amanda Green September 23, 2003 E4403 13.23
A high-risk pregnant woman (Karen Goberman) is kidnapped when approaching her due date. Multiple suspects are revealed when they learn that the father (Gabriel Olds) is seeing a new girlfriend (Kellie Martin) and that her mother (Shirley Knight) is determined to make sure the relationship lasts.
2 93 "Manic" Guy Norman Bee Patrick Harbinson September 30, 2003 E4401 11.50

Detectives Benson and Stabler learn that an alleged victim (Rory Culkin) of a school shooting that claimed two lives, was in fact the perpetrator. After learning about the boy's psychiatric problems from his mother (Mare Winningham), the squad realizes that a major pharmaceutical company is also responsible.

  • Special appearance by Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch.
3 94 "Mother" Ted Kotcheff Lisa Marie Petersen & Dawn DeNoon October 7, 2003 E4404 9.90
A psychiatrist (Susanna Thompson) is almost fatally attacked - possibly by her patient, but she refuses to reveal information due to doctor-patient confidentiality. Two patients become suspects. One is a recently released serial rapist who is later cleared. The other is a college student (Jon Abrahams) who suffers from fugue states. His hyper-concerned sister (Sherri Parker Lee) gives clues to his traumatized emotional state. Eventually, detectives Benson and Stabler find a link between the attack, a child abuse and an unsolved homicide.
4 95 "Loss" Constantine Makris Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters October 14, 2003 E4402 12.65

Alex Cabot gets in over her head while prosecuting the rape and murder of an undercover federal agent. With the help of a confidential informant (Josh Hopkins), the detectives learn that the killer is Rafael Zapata Gaviria (Jacinto Taras Riddick), a powerful drug dealer working for the notorious international drug lord, Cesar Velez. When she refuses to back down, the cartel threatens to kill Cabot and her family, driving her into witness protection.

  • Special appearance by Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch.
5 96 "Serendipity" Constantine Makris Lisa Marie Petersen & Dawn DeNoon October 21, 2003 E4408 11.80

A male dermatologist (Martin Donovan) is suspected of murdering a baby and her mother. When he agrees to a paternity test, the detectives are surprised to learn that it matches the DNA of a serial child molester who applied honey to his penis. Detectives Benson and Stabler soon find out about a victim (Jolie Peters) who remembers the abuse. The new ADA, Casey Novak, has difficulty accepting the nature of the crime and asks to be reassigned.

  • Special appearance by Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch.
6 97 "Coerced" Jean de Segonzac Jonathan Greene October 28, 2003 E4409 12.10
A homeless and schizophrenic man (Leland Orser), desperate to see his son (Spencer List), kidnaps a different boy (Dylan Bluestone) from his bed at night. After being attacked by the man, Detective Stabler begins to contemplate the factors that caused him to snap. This investigation exposes further crimes at an adult group home.
7 98 "Choice" David Platt Patrick Harbinson November 4, 2003 E4411 13.20
A man (Rick Aiello) is arrested for attacking his pregnant wife (Josie Bissett) in protest of her drinking during pregnancy. Detective Benson finds out that she also overindulged in alcohol while pregnant with an earlier child (Katherine Roberts). The wife is taken to family court by her husband, who accuses her of endangering the fetus by putting it at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome.
8 99 "Abomination" Alex Zakrzewski Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters November 11, 2003 E4410 12.99

The homosexual poster-boy of a sexual re-education group is found murdered. After a local fundamentalist is cleared, the detectives turn their attention to the victim's thesis about the failure of sexual re-education groups. An opposing professor (George Segal) is found who has a dysfunctional relationship with his son (Jonathan Tucker).

  • Inspired by Fred Phelps and his protests.
  • Special appearance by Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch.
9 100 "Control" Ted Kotcheff Teleplay: Neal Baer
Story: Dick Wolf		 November 18, 2003 E4413 13.94
Detectives Benson and Stabler question a witness (Mickey Hargitay) who saw a mutilated man (Austin Pendleton) stumbling through a subway station. The victim soon becomes a suspect when they learn that he used to abduct women, make them his "brides" and force them to live in his dungeon. However, before the man can be arrested, the mother (Jacqueline Bisset) of one of his former victims (Samantha Mathis) manages to kill him. The victim claims to have reported the crime four years earlier and took the law into her own hands because Detective Benson did not believe her.
10 101 "Shaken" Constantine Makris Amanda Green November 25, 2003 E4414 13.14

When a missing infant is found showing signs of brain damage, Detective Stabler and Captain Cragen suspect that she was beaten by a pedophile. However, they soon learn the baby suffered from shaken baby syndrome, which leads them to suspect the mother (Cynthia Ettinger), the nannies (Olga Merediz and Nicole Leach) and the mother's boyfriend (Richard Shoberg). When the infant later lapses into a coma, Detective Stabler begs the mother to put aside any fears of the charges she may face and do the right thing.

  • Special appearance by Fred Thompson as DA Arthur Branch.
11 102 "Escape" Jean de Segonzac Barbie Kligman December 2, 2003 E4415 13.65
When a convicted sex offender (Stephen Lang) breaks out from a Virginia prison, the detectives fear that he is heading for New York City to seek out his former victim (Milo Ventimiglia). Olivia teams up with a Deputy Marshal (Craig Bierko) from her past to find out the real reason for the convict's visit.
12 103 "Brotherhood" Jean de Segonzac José Molina January 6, 2004 E4412 15.40
A local fraternity pledge master (Michael McDerman) is sodomized and murdered. The detectives link the crime to a pornographic website that features college girls at a local bar. The investigation later re-focuses on ceremonies held for prospective pledges in the fraternity, even though the members won't talk. A conflict of interest presents itself in court, when the sadistic ring leader (Toby Moore) is represented by the father (Gary Cole) of the deceased.
13 104 "Hate" David Platt Robert Nathan January 13, 2004 E4416 14.00
A man (Reynaldo Rosales) murders two Arabs (plus a third, while in custody) and claims his genes and biology enforced the hatred and violence in him. However, detectives Benson and Stabler discover a different reason for his Islamophobia.
14 105 "Ritual" Ed Bianchi Ruth Fletcher & Christos N. Gage February 3, 2004 E4406 13.81
A young boy is killed in a way that looks ritualistic. Fin recognizes marks of Santeria and the detectives question the leader (Barry Shabaka Henley) of a local chapter. Their attention turns elsewhere, however when they learn that the victim was one of many slave children smuggled from Nigeria. The squad rescues a number of Nigerian children, including the boy's sister (Malika Samuel). The investigation leads them to a professor (Michael Emerson) who lives a double life as a child molester when his wife (Trini Alvarado) is not around. Hoping for leniency, he gives up the name of his contact (Sullivan Walker) inside the human trafficking ring. Fin and a diplomat (Erika Alexander) apprehend him, allowing the SVU to save many others.
15 106 "Families" Constantine Makris Jonathan Greene February 10, 2004 E4419 12.89
When a pregnant teenager (Jenna Gavigan) is murdered, detectives learn that she was involved with a boyfriend (Patrick Flueger) whom his parents (Tom Mason and Jane Seymour) forbade her from seeing. When the squad investigates the boyfriend's parents and the victim's mother (Helen Slater) and younger brother (Spencer Treat Clark), they learn about a deep family secret.
16 107 "Home" Rick Wallace Amanda Green February 17, 2004 E4420 14.37
A young boy (Jesse Schwartz) found digging through garbage cans leads to a paranoid, overprotective mother (Diane Venora). The case takes a twist when the boy is later found dead and his older brother (Joseph Cross) confesses to shooting him.
17 108 "Mean" Constantine Makris Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters February 24, 2004 E4421 14.42
A sociopathic bully (Kelli Garner) in a private high school tortures and murders her own friend. Her other two closest friends (Arielle Kebbel and Kimberly McConnell) appear to protect her throughout the investigation. However, the detectives learn that they are also accessories to the murder who are protecting themselves. Olivia identifies with an overweight girl (Lindsay Hollister) who has been bullied by the four girls since she arrived at the school.
18 109 "Careless" Steve Shill Patrick Harbinson March 2, 2004 E4422 12.50
When a young boy (Steven G. Smith II) dies due to a religious ritual gone awry, Fin and Munch unravel a mysterious pattern of violence, abuse and murder within one foster care family (Cress Williams and Malinda Williams). The social worker (Julie Hagerty) faces charges for failing to protect the child, even though it is really the overcrowded system that failed both of them.
19 110 "Sick" David Platt Dawn DeNoon March 30, 2004 E4423 15.55

A rewarding non-disclosure agreement causes two parents (James Colby and Jennifer Van Dyck) to refuse to have their child (Shane Haboucha) questioned about a suspected child molester (Will Keenan). It is also revealed that in hopes of getting millions worth of settlement, a grandmother (Cindy Williams) decides to seek out the same man and falsely accuse him of similar crimes against her granddaughter (Madeleine Martin), using clips she found in the paper.

  • Based upon the Michael Jackson sex abuse allegations.
20 111 "Lowdown" Jud Taylor Robert Nathan April 6, 2004 E4424 12.60
A prosecutor (Dean Strange) is found dead with HIV in his system. Suspicion points to another attorney (Michael Beach) who was secretly in a sexual relationship with his co-worker. Casey Novak puts her job on the line and involves the suspect's wife (Bethany Butler) to get a confession.
21 112 "Criminal" Alex Zakrzewski José Molina April 20, 2004 E4425 12.82
A criminology professor (James McDaniel), who served a sentence for killing a woman when he was 19, is among the suspects in a graduate student's rape and murder. His daughter (Zoe Saldana) says he is a good man, but Captain Cragen, the arresting officer in the original crime, refuses to believe that he has been rehabilitated. After a false conviction, the SVU realizes that the real perpetrator is another student (Joe Towne) who killed out of jealousy.
22 113 "Painless" Juan J. Campanella Jonathan Greene April 27, 2004 E4426 12.78
A defense lawyer (John Cullum) challenges the assisted-suicide law in a case involving a hearing-impaired embryologist (Marlee Matlin), whose website encouraged a woman (Karen Young) to kill herself. The suicide survivor claims she was raped, and later commits suicide by medicine. Munch takes a particular interest to the case, which is revealed to be for personal reasons.
23 114 "Bound" Constantine Makris Barbie Kligman May 4, 2004 E4427 13.04
An elderly woman's strangulation leads to a case involving mass murders in a home-nursing company owned by a brother (Anthony Rapp) and nursed by his sister (Jane Krakowski).
24 115 "Poison" David Platt Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters May 11, 2004 E4428 12.28
A four-year-old girl passes out and is hospitalized after having a huge amount of detergent in her stomach. Her seven-year-old sister (Sloane Momsen) reveals that their mother (Cynthia Gibb) forced the child to drink it, but a judge (Tom Skerritt) disqualifies the sister's testimony. Novak and Clark (Marlo Thomas) investigate the judge due to his prior mishandling of an earlier child abuse case, in which he falsely jailed a woman (Lecy Goranson).
25 116 "Head" Juan J. Campanella Lisa Marie Petersen & Dawn DeNoon May 18, 2004 E4418 18.36

A man is investigated for hiding a video camera in a public restroom for sexual pleasure. To escape trial, he reveals an incriminating clip. In the clip, a middle school female principal (Stacy Edwards) commits statutory rape with her male student (Jake Weary) in a public restroom. When the incident is exposed, her ashamed son attacks the student she seduced at their school. It is then learned the principal did it due to her brain tumor, which can be cured by surgery. However, it is known to be able to grow back. Therefore, she agrees to register herself as a sex offender as part of a plea bargain. In the end, the principal finds out that she is pregnant with the child of her student, much to the horror of his mother (Diana Scarwid).

  • Inspired by a real story about a sex offender male teacher in Virginia, who had an egg-sized tumor in the right lobe of the orbifrontal cortex. Once it was removed, he stopped his harassments. Once it grew back, he became a sex offender until it was removed again.


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