Tread Perilously once again opens the case files of the Special Review Unit with an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit they had to call "Abuse."
When Manhattan SVU detectives are called to the scene of a child killed by a car, they discover he is the adopted son of rock stars Ricki Austin and Jared Black. Ricki believes he ran out in pursuit of the man who allegedly abused him, his former computer teacher. But while visiting the family home, Detective Olivia Benson meets Ricki's daughter, Ashley, who becomes immediately and profoundly attached to the detective; suggesting a case of extreme parental neglect. Soon, Benson finds herself fielding constant phone calls from Ashley and trying to use the system to get the kid some help. But will everyone from Ashley's parents to Captain Cragen see this as Benson's attempt to steal a child?
Erik, Justin, and Assistant District Attorney Louis Allred attempt to remember Corbin, the child who begins this strange journey. Justin outlines Benson's side-business as a sex swing manufacturer. Erik tries to recall the British au pair scandal from the 1990s. Swamp Thing makes a brief appearance to ruin a New Yorker's life. Justin makes it 18 minutes before making a "Bicycle Man" reference. Carlo Masucci makes his debut while Louis tries out "Paul Lynde, Mob Hit Man." Erik explains the importance of the 27th Precinct and the Special Review Unit crew attempts to figure out the best way to cook artisanal rat.
