Law & Order: Special Victims Unit · Crimes

Blackmail & Extortion 10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes

Secrets turned into leverage, and the people who pay, or kill, to keep them hidden.

Season 2 · Episode 17
Folly

Aired March 23, 2001 · Assault and murder

A string of attacks on male escorts in Manhattan hotels leads the squad to the agency’s ruthless owner and then to a married couple acting out a violent shared fantasy.
Season 13 · Episode 23
Rhodium Nights

Aired May 23, 2012 · Homicide / prostitution

The death of an underage escort at the police commissioner’s son’s bachelor party draws SVU into a war between two escort bosses with powerful clients.
Season 15 · Episode 12
Jersey Breakdown

Aired January 22, 2014 · Rape of a minor

An underage strip-club waitress is raped by a VIP guest, and her case exposes a New Jersey prosecutor, a judge and a for-profit juvenile prison.
Season 17 · Episode 18
Unholiest Alliance

Aired March 23, 2016 · Sex trafficking and murder

With Benson removed from SVU and Tucker accused of running a trafficking ring, the squad pursues the clergy behind it after the nun who exposed the ring is murdered.
Season 18 · Episode 15
Know It All

Aired April 5, 2017 · Murder and serial rape

A data-mining executive suspected of disguising his girlfriend’s murder as a serial killer’s work uses hacked secrets to blackmail a forensic expert and Barba.
Season 20 · Episode 5
Accredo

Aired October 18, 2018 · Rape and murder

An Accredo member is found raped and murdered in a SoHo loft, and the trail leads from her abusive ex to the self-help group’s charismatic male leader.
Season 21 · Episode 17
Dance Lies & Video Tape

Aired March 26, 2020 · Unlawful surveillance, coercion and sex trafficking

When a ballerina’s secretly filmed sex video turns up on a porn site, SVU uncovers a ballet company where male dancers trade such videos and the leadership uses them to coerce women.
Season 24 · Episode 6
Controlled Burn

Aired November 3, 2022 · Sexual assault, attempted murder and unlawful surveillance

A woman who insists she cannot have been raped wakes up in the hospital after a secret party, and the investigation exposes a powerful businesswoman filming her guests.
Season 26 · Episode 5
Economics of Shame

Aired October 31, 2024 · Sextortion

After a TV reporter is sextorted by a man she met online, SVU works its way up through a ring that uses bait, middlemen and hidden cameras to blackmail its victims.
Season 26 · Episode 11
Deductible

Aired January 30, 2025 · Sexual assault and sexual coercion

A junior insurance agent is assaulted by a prospective client, and SVU finds her boss arranged to leave her alone with him to close the deal.

More themes: Crimes

All 69 themes