History Recap / LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS1E14Limitations

* MilesGloriosus: In defending the statute of limitations, Munch says he "was once considered a thorn in the government's side". In fact the [[Series/LawAndOrder mothership series]] established that Munch's FBI file was one page long, and described him as a dilatant, a non-entity, and not a threat.

* ShoutOut: Lois talks about how she was obsessed with [[Creator/BrandonLee Brandon Lee's]] death and subsequently went to go see Film/TheCrow [[SawStarWars27Times a lot]] the year she was raped, something that her rapist talks to her about.

Benson and Stabler race to solve a five-year-old sexual assault case mere days before the statute of limitations ends.

* BrokenBird: Lois, who is clearly barely hanging on by a thread and later breaks down in the interrogation room after her impassioned pleas to Jennifer refuse to move the other woman to name the rapist.
* CategoryTraitor: Once it is revealed that one of three women knows the identity of the rapist but won't tell anyone, one of the other victims calls her "A traitor to women".

* StepfordSmiler: A variation where Victoria's abrasive demeanor rather than cheerful is used to mask that she's as broken by her rape as Lois is. This becomes evident in the above-mentioned trope where she finally starts crying after an entire episode of being angry.

'''Victoria:''' You waited five years for this half-cocked legal manoeuvre. Is that supposed to mollify me? Am I the only one to know the law's an ass? I endured the rape exam. I let you know intimate details of my personal life. It was embarrassing, but I did it. And the promise was you would do something for me. And today, yet another person in a long line of incompetents tells me 'Sorry, Vicky, you got raped. We're not gonna do jack about it.' Thank you for making this the '''SECOND-WORST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!''' (''breaks down'') I think you know what the first was.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: The squad gets the case with three days left before the statute of limitations expires, one victim per day. They arrest the man at the end of the third day.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Harvey Denis ended up being sexually assaulted in prison himself and was subsequently involved in a car accident that left him confined to a wheelchair, forcibly halting his crime spree for good.

* EvilCripple: The detectives capture a serial rapist who suddenly disappeared several years ago, only to discover that he has been [[LaserGuidedKarma crippled in a road accident]] and is now confined to a wheelchair, which is why he stopped his crime spree.

** Justified somewhat. That the commissioner waits until a couple of days before the statute of limitations expires to ask the detectives to investigate is beyond frustrating.

[This description was copied in violation of our Administrivia/{{Plagiarism}} policy. Please replace it with original writing.]

At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request: close the case of the man who raped three women (Creator/JennyBacon, Creator/JudithHawking and Creator/SeanaKofoed) nearly five years ago before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead when they realize one of the victims knows the rapist, but she is not willing to talk. Following Cassidy's departure, Munch is partnered with Jeffries.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: The squad gets the case with three days left before the statue of limitations expires, one victim per day. They arrest the man at the end of the third day.

* EvilCripple: The detectives capture a serial rapist who suddenly disappeared several years ago, only to discover that he has been [[LaserGuidedKarma crippled in a road accident]] and is now confined to a wheelchair, which the reason he stopped his crime spree.

* CategoryTraitor: One it is revealed that one of three women knows the identity of the rapist but won't tell anyone, one of the other victims calls her "A traitor to women".

* BigShutUp: Lois gives one to Jennifer after she refuses to disclose the identity or location of John Doe 121, who is actually her boyfriend.

* BigShutUp: Lois gives one to Jennifer after she refuses to disclose the identity or location of the rapist, who is actually her boyfriend.

** Justified somewhat. That the commissioner waits until a couple of days before the statute of limitations expires to ask the detectives to investigate is beyond frustrating.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Cragen, who's normally level-headed and reserved, really gets his patience tested here and finally loses it on the commissioner. Not that the commissioner didn't deserve it.

At the request of a victim, the police commissioner comes to Cragen with a special request: close the case of the man who raped three women (Creator/JennyBacon, Creator/JudithHawkins and Creator/SeanaKofoed) nearly five years ago before the statute of limitations expires. The detectives finally get a lead when they realize one of the victims knows the rapist, but she is not willing to talk. Following Cassidy's departure, Munch is partnered with Jeffries.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Plenty to go around. The Judge who denied the motion to arrest John Doe 121, the Appellant Judge who also denied it (and was very unsympathetic to the victims), the third rape victim and her Quaker group.

* EvilCripple: The detectives capture a serial rapist who suddenly disappeared several years ago, only to discover that he has been [[LaserGuidedKarma crippled in a road accident]] and is now confined to a wheelchair, which the reason he stopped his crime spree.

At a victim's request, the police commissioner convinces Cragen & the SVU squad to close a rape case from five years ago before the statute of limitations ends. During the investigation, the detectives get a lead from one of the victims about the identity of the rapist, but she refuses to talk.