Random Best Law & Order: SVU Episodes Based On True Stories (30 items)

(#20) 'Spousal Privilege,' Based On Ray Rice & Janay Palmer

The Episode: Detective Fin Tutuola comes across video footage of sportscaster A.J. Holmes violently confronting his girlfriend, Paula, in a parking garage and dragging her to their car, unconscious. Paula tries to stand by her man, despite the fact that he continues to hurt her.

Real Life: Football player Ray Rice got into a fight with his finance, Janay Palmer. Video footage of him knocking her unconscious and dragging her out of an elevator surfaced, and Rice was indicted in the third-degree. Despite his pending charges, Palmer married Rice six weeks after the incident. Rice was eventually cleared of all charges when he agreed to go to counseling.
(#15) 'Glasgowman's Wrath,' Based On The Slender Man Case

The Episode: On Halloween night, two best friends, Mia Harris and Perry Gilbert, drag Mia's younger sister, Zoe, to the park in search of the mythical Glasgowman. Zoe winds up in the hospital the next day with wounds and a serious head injury. The other two girls are missing.

When detectives investigate, they find out that Glasgowman is a fictional comic book character written by Gilbert's babysitter. They question him, and find out that he based the character of Glasgowman off a mentally ill man who lives in the park. The man, named Charlie, is a repeat offender, and has been off his medication. Their investigation leads them to Charlie's lair, where they find Harris and Gilbert with a knife.

The two girls claim that Glasgowman attacked Zoe Harris and locked them up, but police discover that Harris was the perpetrator because, in a fit of insanity, she truly believed that Glasgowman would harm her if she didn't end her friend.

Real Life: In May 2014, two 12-year-old girls led one of their classmates into the woods and tried to end her in order to appease a fictional character called Slender Man. They were convinced that Slender Man was real, and that the only way to save themselves was to give their friend as a sacrifice. Luckily, the little girl lived, and has since returned to school.
(#25) 'Scorched Earth,' Based On The Dominique Strauss-Kahn Case

The Episode: A hotel maid is taken advantage of by an Italian Diplomat who tries to claim immunity to avoid being convicted.

Real Life: Dominique Strauss-Kahn was a French lawyer, politician, economist, and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. During his stay at the Sofitel Hotel in New York in 2011, one of the maids claimed that Strauss-Kahn took advantage of her. Many other women came forward and accused him of the same. It was later discovered that he was also involved in a prostitution ring back in France.
(#17) Pornstar's Requiem
- October 22, 2014
The Episode: 18-year-old college freshman, Evie Barnes, agrees to film an adult video in order to make some money to pay for her college tuition. When a couple of older boys see her at a frat party, they take advantage of her in a bathroom. When the jury decides that the boys are not guilty, Barnes returns to a life of adult entertainment.

Real Life: Belle Knox AKA the Duke P*rn Star, turned to the industry to pay for her $60,000/year Ivy League education. She was outed in 2014 when her classmates discovered her adult videos online. Her actual name was released to the press, and her family and schoolmates found out her real identity. She received many threats and messages of hate by people who disagreed with her choice.
(#19) 'Funny Valentine,' Based On Chris Brown And Rihanna

The Episode: Micha Green is a famous pop star who is dating Caleb Bryant, a rapper with a mean streak. Bryant hits her several times, causing her to file a restraining order against him. She chooses not to help SVU detectives prosecute him, however, and unfortunately ends up deceased.

Real Life: In 2009, rapper Chris Brown was caught hitting his then-girlfriend Rihanna.
(#16) Personal Fouls
- September 28, 2011
The Episode: Several prominent basketball players come forward with allegations that their high school coach, Ray Masters, had taken advantage of them while they were under his tutelage.

Real Life: Two basketball coaches in different youth divisions in New York - Bob Olivia and Ernest Lorch - were convicted of taking advantage of their past players in 2012.