An online sting leads the squad to a photographer (Joshua Malina) who has fantasies about slicing up children. Murphy and Tutuola uncover his torture chamber, but Benson and Rollins can't find any real-life victims. Barba prosecutes him anyway, but the defendant is acquitted. Meantime, while already dealing with family issues, Amaro spots the photographer taking pictures at a playground. Nick beats him to a pulp and is quickly arrested.

We're talking about Special Victims Unit season 15 episode 23* "Thought Criminal." Our guest is Kimberly from the Date with Dateline podcast. 

Inspiration for this story comes from the case of the so-called "Cannibal Cop" Gilberto Valle.

*Note, because of a two-part season opener, some streaming services list this as episode 22.

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