Posted on 08/14/2007 4:27:34 AM PDT by Dudoight
The show was an instant success. It lured would-be child-sex predators to a public shaming, delivered by a handsome host. Ratings, awards and even praise from members of Congress followed. But now Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series is taking heat. And so is the police chief of the Collin County town that hosted it eight months ago. The troubles stem from the show's visit to Murphy, where more than 20 people were arrested but escaped prosecution because of evidence problems. Also a former district attorney ensnared in the sting shot himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Actually, they have to show intent to molest. This guy showed intent when he set up a meeting.
The English Dept here is catching flak. You were right about them
Assuming the $100 was deposited into your account in error, of course it is. My point is, you don't know.
A moral person would contact the bank to find out what's going on. An immoral person would adopt the attitude of "possession is 9/10th's of the law" and spend it.
But filming that would not attract many viewers.
Unless you have some information the rest of us don't, I do not think that is what happened.
If my daughter were that age right now, she wouldn’t get within 100 yds. of a PC. It’s too dangerous, and yet, I have friends who have teen daughters up all night on the computer. Who is really to blame here? Chris Hansen and NBC are nothing but ghouls putting on a public humiliation show. Those stupid cops who come busting out of the back after the shamed guy is leaving are a disgrace, too.
If NBC is sued, I wonder if the transcript between the former DA and the decoy will be reviewed. That might help determine if the DA was trying to help somebody that he thought was a minor caught up in a tragic situation.
Not-a-bad-DA-2007: “Hey there, I see you are in a bad situation.”
Wideeyed 13: “Yes, I am. Can you help me?”
Not-a-bad-DA-2007: “What are you wearing?”
Wideeyed 13: “huh?”
Not-a-bad-DA-2007: “Do you like movies about gladiators?”
Wow!!! Talk about comparing apples and oranges!
Underage sex participants are only "currency" if you like to spend that kind of thing.
I think it might have been Bear Bryant who said the reason he told his players not to have sex before games wasn't because the sex tired them out. The problem was that looking for sex was an all-night deal.
I think you are making a big and unsupportable assumption.
Perhaps Conradt knew that his face was about to be plastered all over the TV as a child molester. I think reasonable person would find this a terrifying prospect.
Could it have driven him to suicide, in the heat of the moment?
We will never know, of course. The man is dead.
Wrong analogy. This was not an error. These men KNOW they are committing a crime.
If you give someone a car and say “This car is stolen. If you drive it, you could be arrested”, that would be a closer analogy.
There isn't a place in hell hot enough for child rapists. There is no torture I wouldn't subject them to, if I knew I'd get away with it.
[He knew he was busted.]
...and he probably had a sick and twisted past which would have become public knowledge.
The suicide did not show up, he backed out. However, NBC wasn’t satisfied so they, along with the police with whom they had a fiduciary arrangement, went to HIS house.
This is not necessarily so.
NBC certainly did not have "the goods" on him. Fellows they have on camera soliciting sex walked without prosecution. NBC had much, much less on this guy.
An innocent lawyer would salviate over that proposition. He would OWN the network. He would go to CBS and shop his innocence. If it were me, I'd be on every network waving my story. CBS and ABC would jump at the chance to make this show look ridiculous.
This is too much like Paul Crouch giving his ex-lover $100k and then insisting he was completely innocent.
How did they find his house?
My point is, she wasn't 13. No children were harmed, physically, psychologically, or emotionally. Unless, of course, those children were watching the Dateline show on TV.
If little Johnny or little Suzie goes to their parents and tells them they received some naked picture, fine, contact the police and set up a sting. Actual harm was caused to an actual child.
And that's where you're wrong. Arranging to have sex with someone you think is underage is a crime, even if no child is involved at all.
“I am amazed at the number of predators who would actually show up at these stings. I did wonder if this wasn’t some sort of entrapment.”
Well, its because there is this enormous pool of 14 year old girls that are trolling online for a 42 year old boyfriend with a bad goatee and a beer belly. WTFATT! The only fourteen year old girl who would comment favorably on some predator’s online photo of self-masterbation, is a cop.
My question is what happens when a 14 year old boy pretends to be a 42 year old online and gets importuned by a cop pretending to be a 14 year old girl? Does the cop get charged then?
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