Seriously what is going on with this show? Paper thin storylines and inconsistent directing choices.
In this particular episode, like quite a few this season, the supposed perp is completely believable and the accuser isn't. They then shift suddenly to the baddie being a hand rubbing villain all while the SVU detectives completely step all over whatever character consistency they've had or supposed professional experience to suddenly act all conflicted or distraught. Multiple times in an episode they'll be completely sure about something unsupportable by what we see on screen, and completely oblivious to what is obvious to the audience.
It's like all conflict has to be forced into these paper thin premises because the writers can't come up with interesting storylines or the producers are imposing bad "we need ACTING moments!" Emmy bait for cynical reasons.
Characters I've loved for multiple seasons are increasingly unlikeable and frustrating.
Every once and a while there is a great, fun episode so it's not all bad. It's getting hard to believe this is just a rough patch, though.