Ep 18. Downloaded Child

In Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 15 episode 18, titled "Downloaded Child," the SVU team investigates a case in which a group of teenage girls gain notoriety online by creating a viral video in which they bully another girl until she commits suicide. The investigation takes a shocking turn when the detectives discover that one of the girls in the video is actually a preteen boy who has been using a virtual reality headset to pose as a girl online.

The episode opens with SVU captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and detective Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T) being called to the scene of a suicide. The victim, a young girl named Megan, had been bullied relentlessly by a group of girls at her school and finally took her own life. The detectives begin to investigate the case, interviewing Megan's friends and family and discovering that the group of girls responsible for her bullying have become internet-famous for their exploits. They call themselves the "Snap Girls" and post short clips of themselves being rude, insulting, and sometimes even physically violent to other people.

As the detectives dig deeper into the Snap Girls' online presence, they come across a video in which the girls bully a younger girl named Maddie, driving her to tears. But when they show the video to Maddie's mother, she reveals that Maddie is actually her son, Max, who has been using a VR headset to create a female avatar and interact with the Snap Girls online. The detectives realize that Max has been playing both sides of the bullying equation, as both a victim and a bully.

The investigation takes on a new urgency as the detectives try to track down the Snap Girls and uncover the truth about Max's involvement in the viral video. Meanwhile, Max's mother struggles to come to terms with what her son has been doing online and tries to protect him from the fallout of the investigation.

As the detectives unravel the web of lies and deception surrounding the case, they are forced to confront some difficult questions about the nature of online bullying and the role of technology in shaping modern society. And when the truth about Max's involvement in the video finally comes to light, they must decide on the best course of action to ensure that justice is served and that no more children fall victim to the deadly power of online bullying.