Jesse Lee Soffer (ex-Will, AS THE WORLD TURNS et al) leaves CHICAGO PD after 10 seasons. The actor will step out of the crime drama this fall. He issued the following statement to Variety, “I want to thank the amazing fans for their unwavering support over the past 10 years and want to express my deepest gratitude to Dick Wolf and everyone at Wolf Entertainment Peter Jankowski, Matt Olmstead, Derek Haas, Michael Brandt, Rick Eid, Gwen Sigan, NBC, Universal Television, my cast mates and our amazing crew. Crafting this hour-long drama week after week has been a labor of love from everyone who touches the show. I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead. Soffer is the latest alum to step down from his long-term prime-time roles. Kelli Giddish (ex-Di, ALL MY CHILDREN) is leaving LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT after 12 seasons, but unlike Soffer, the decision wasn’t hers. “I wanted to address the chatter I saw online and let everyone know that this will indeed be my last season on ‘Law & Order: SVU’. Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I’ve been blessed to be a part of the “Law & Order” family for the past 12 years. There’s simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and so am I. I started on this show in my late twenties and am grateful to have spent so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life. I want to thank Dick Wolf, Mariska Hargitay, Warren Leight , Peter Jankowski, NBC, Universal Television, all of my co-stars, every crew member and all of the writers here for our incredible work together over the past 12 years I’m so excited to take all the things I’ve learned during my time on ‘SVU’ and putting them into whatever is to come…. #SVU”