Hell's Kitchen

This episode was directed by former Chicago Fire (2012) star Monica Raymund who appeared in crossovers with SVU before. This was her first episode to direct of Law & Order: SVU and looks to direct another in the second half of the season.

The sexual assault against Bethany cannot be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired by the time it was reported. Bethany stated that she was held down while her attacker forced his hand down her shorts and panties and fondled her vulva, then as he tried to pull her shorts down she was able to get out from under him and ran off. These actions constitute sexual abuse in the first degree, since it happened to Bethany while she was a minor she had to report it within five years of her 18th birthday. The only sex crimes in New York that have no statute of limitations are rape in the first degree and criminal sexual act in the first degree.