Law and Order
"Hunt, Trap, Rape, and Release"
SVU, Episode 22.07
Production number: 22007
First aired (US): 18 February 2021
First aired (UK): 16 July 2021
First aired (CAN): 17 February 2021
First aired (AUS): 25 March 2021
  th of 502 produced in SVU  
th of 502 released in SVU
  th of 1271 released in all  
Teleplay By
Kathy Dobie & Monet Hurst-Mendoza

Story By
Kathy Dobie & Julie Martin

Directed By
Batán Silva

Summary[]

Benson teams up with Lieutenant Carolyn Barek and the Bronx Special Victims Unit to track down a serial rapist with victims in both boroughs.

Plot[]

A woman is raped in her apartment in Manhattan. The rapist is nicknamed as "The Good Girl Rapist" as he asks his victims to 'be a good girl'. He usually attacks the victims in Bronx. Benson insists of having a joint investigation with Lieutenant Carolyn Barek, Bronx SVU's newest head and her subordinates Sergeant Ari Moldovan and Detective Ruz. As they investigate the serial rapist, political over jurisdiction collides between the two units arises. Garland officially blessed a joint task force involving Manhattan and Bronx. Tamin is informed by Ruz that a victim, Bella Gardner, last April was not included in the list. To Moldovan's defense, the victim did not not follow-up with Ruz. Moldovan and Rollins went to get Gardner's statement about the assault and along with that, an attempted rape occurred. Tamin, Ruz, Rollins, and Moldovan are all in pursuit. Moldovan shot the suspected assailant, Danny Gonzales, upon the suspicion of that he is pulling out a weapon. Rollins admonishes him. During the interview, Danny Gonzales states that he was locked up in Tallahassee during the assault last April in which is confirmed by the Police Department. Tensions and suspicions rise when Moldovan interviewed Rosie again for the voice line-up and implies on picking the guy that was caught accordingly on Moldovan's nudging. Clearly, Moldovan is tampering a witness. Ruz tells Tamin that Moldovan feels sorry about Rosie because Moldovan was close to the scene of the attack where he is drinking. The squad then figures the mystery of two odd modus operandi that stood out from the rest. Bella and Rosie states that their attacker had a smell of booze and was quiet unlike the others. Rollins concludes that Moldovan is trying to kill Gonzales.

Carisi suggests to go over to Moldovan's past cases to see what strays to pin him for copying other rapists' modus operandi. He and Tutuola visits Joey, a rapist that Moldovan collared. Joey is convicted of six rapes but only four had his DNA. Joey confessed to all six rapes as a deal with Moldovan in which he was promised to be locked near his ailing mother. Carisi brings the recorded confession from Joey to Garland. They surmise that Moldovan is a mess when drunk especially during this ongoing case and so they arrange to trap him through Rollins. However, the trap flipped over and Moldovan holds her hostage but he is immediately subdued. He attempts to shoot himself but couldn't. Ruz berates Tamin for making her feel invalidated as a detective. Barek worries that it'll be a stain on her career but both Benson and Garland convinces her otherwise.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Barek: [while doing a bit of a head tilt] Goren used to say our mistakes are our signature.

Background Information and Notes[]

  • The episode's title appears to be derived from the feral cat practice of "trap-neuter-release", or the hunting and fishing phrase "catch and release", but it is written more vulgarly to reference the episode's plot.
  • Annabella Sciorra reprised her role as Carolyn Barek from season 5 of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in this episode.
  • Another character that originated on Criminal Intent, Officer Louise Campesi (played by Caris Vujcec), also makes an appearance in this episode, though she had appeared on SVU before.
  • Moldovan mentions the Central Park lawsuit against the NYPD which was launched by Jayvon Brown in the episode "Guardians and Gladiators".
  • When Barek blames herself for not seeing through Moldovan towards the end of the episode, Garland says to her "nostra maxima culpa". This is a Latin phrase, which loosely translates to "it's all our fault".
  • Goof: 27:10 Caption shows the El Cuchifrito Superior restaurant address as 381 East 194th Street in the Bronx. However the Happy Garden Chinese restaurant next door to the restaurant shows an address of 1236 Spofford Ave, 5 miles away.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3

Office of
Lieutenant Carolyn Barek
55th Precint
The Bronx, New York
Saturday, February 13

Cypress Avenue
Mott Haven, The Bronx
Saturday, February 13

Apartment of
Bella Gardner
667 East 16th Street
Mott Haven, The Bronx
Sunday, February 14

4 5 6 7

55th Precint
The Bronx, New York
Monday, February 15

El Cuchifrito Superior
381 East 194th Street
The Bronx, New York
Tuesday, February 16

Green Haven
Correctional Facility
Stormville, New York
Tuesday, February 16

Le Club
687 West 207th Street
Wednesday, February 17

Previous episode:
"The Long Arm Of The Witness"
"Hunt, Trap, Rape, and Release"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 22
Next episode:
"The Only Way Out Is Through"
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