In the season 16 premiere, Sergeant Benson juggles work and her new role as foster mother to baby Noah Porter. Amaro, now working the traffic beat in Queens, arrests an underage prostitute with connections to Noah's mother Ellie, who was "greenlit" by her pimp and brutally murdered. Amaro's undercover work sets off a chain of events that puts everyone connected to the case - even baby Noah - in danger. Meanwhile, a new detective assigned to Manhattan SVU starts off on the wrong foot.

Amaro reports to the scene of a car crash where Hollywood starlet Tensley Evans tries to flirt her way out of an arrest. Amaro's by-the-book handling of the situation gets him back on the SVU squad, just in time to investigate Tensley's latest offense - the statutory rape of a 15 year-old boy. But Benson suspects that underlying issues may have led to Tensley's downward spiral - is the victimizer also a victim?