She's played the girlfriend of an alcoholic and a woman with super, ghost-whispering powers.

But Jennifer Love Hewitt is primed for the most serious role of her career: a rape victim on Law & Order: SVU.

The actress will guest star on the September 29 episode of this NBC drama, playing a character "named Vicki who has been raped multiple times and is afraid to leave her house," producer Neal Baer told TV Guide.

"One of the reasons we wanted to do this episode is because it addresses Mariska Hargitay's passion for rape kits, which can help gather evidence to convict the rapists. But for some reason these kits have been sitting around unopened in cities all over the country."

Expect this episode to receive more promotion than usual because it will serve as the lead-in for the premiere of Law & Order: Los Angeles.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.