To Catch a Predator

To Catch A Predator title card

To Catch a Predator is a series of hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining potential child sexual abusers who contact children (or what they believe to be children) over the Internet. The investigations, which have all been reported by Dateline correspondent Chris Hansen and producer Lynn Keller, are conducted as an undercover sting operation with the help of online watchdog group Perverted-Justice. Since the third installment, law enforcement and other officials have also been involved in the operation, leading to the arrests of most individuals caught in the sting.

Several other NBC affiliates, such as WTMJ in Milwaukee (which was the first news media to conduct a sting operation in cooperation with Perverted-Justice) and Kansas City's KSHB have also done local versions of To Catch a Predator, as well as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre NBC affiliate WBRE. A spin-off called To Catch a Con Man was developed in early 2007 using similar methods in order to catch con men performing advance fee fraud scams. Further spin-offs have included To Catch an ID Thief, To Catch a Car Thief, and To Catch an i-Jacker (featuring iPod thieves). To Catch a Car Thief is the only spinoff which does not include Chris Hansen.

Method

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Hansen in a typical encounter with a suspect.

The method used to catch would-be predators is derived from that normally used by Perverted-Justice. Perverted-Justice volunteers build profiles of clearly underage individuals on social networking websites, and enter chatrooms as decoys. They wait for an adult to message or email the decoy and begin a dialog. If the conversation takes a sexual turn the decoy will encourage this because according to Perverted Justice 'minors are curious'. This also can help the P-J team get increminating evidence on the alleged offender. This evidence could include sexual conversations, sending the decoy pornography, child pornography or other acts.

For the Dateline NBC stories, would-be predators are invited to an undercover house used by Dateline for the duration of the operation; in accordance with Perverted-Justice policy, phone contact is always established with a suspected predator before any appointment is set up. The visitors are led to believe that the supposed minor is home alone, and, upon coming inside the house, are soon confronted by Hansen.

Hansen attempts to interview each one at length about their intentions. Some exit the home immediately upon seeing Hansen, because they recognize that he is clearly not a teenager, or they have seen him in previous Dateline investigations. Hansen, without initially identifying himself, interviews the predators about their intentions, and also reads aloud some of the graphic portions of the chat. Those who have not seen Hansen's Dateline investigations before often assume that he is either the child's father or a member of a law enforcement agency. After a few minutes of questioning, Hansen identifies himself as a Dateline NBC correspondent and informs the visitor that the entire interview has been recorded on hidden camera as part of the Dateline NBC story. Then, people with large cameras and microphones come out, and the predator is offered a chance to make a final statement before being asked to leave.

The first two investigations did not have law enforcement officers on site, and individuals caught in the sting were allowed to leave voluntarily. Dateline would provide all video and transcripts to law enforcement and suspects would eventually be arrested, but the lack of an immediate arrest proved controversial - at least one suspect disappeared before police could arrest him. Arrests are sometimes made in a dramatic fashion by multiple officers who, with guns drawn, ambush the suspect and command him to lie on the ground, face-down, before being handcuffed. On occasion, a predator attempts to avoid capture and arrest by fleeing. Tasers are sometimes shown being used to subdue fleeing or unresponsive individuals.

During interviews, suspects often claim to not have any idea how old the supposed minor is, even when confronted by Hansen with chat logs showing the decoy clearly identifying him or herself as a minor. In many jurisdictions, online solicitation with the belief that the other person is a minor is a crime, regardless of whether or not the other person actually is a minor.

In addition, interviewees often claim:

• to have never solicited sex with a minor before
• stopping by the house en route to another event or activity
• coming to the house on business, such as buying the house or to do work on the house
• trying to teach children about the dangers of the Internet
• not planning to do anything sexual
• suspecting all along that the whole arrangement was a set up
• to have thought the person they chatted with online was of legal age to consent to sex
• to be Good Samaritans/Big Brothers for a child who was home alone
• that they always carry condoms with them, and didn't just bring them for the encounter
• that a friend or imposter used their password or other personal information to gain access to the chatroom, an excuse that quickly backfires, as the predator has to explain to Hansen why he showed up to an appointment at a time and place he supposedly knew nothing about.

Criticism

Among the more prominent critics of the series has been Brian Montopoli of the CBS News Public Eye blog and formerly of the Columbia Journalism Review. Montopoli argues that although Dateline NBC leaves legal punishment up to police and prosecutors, broadcasting the suspects on national television, in the context of exposing criminal behavior, is already a form of punishment which the media has no right to inflict. Montopoli also suggests that NBC News is more concerned about ratings than actually bringing online predators to justice:

But NBC is first and foremost a business, and the producers' motives are not simply altruistic. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but I find it telling that this program has been remade and rerun so often. You could argue that NBC is just making sure as many people as possible are aware predators are out there, but is it too much to think that a little thing called "ratings" might play a part as well?

In May 2007, a former executive producer for Dateline named Marsha Bartel filed a now-dismissed lawsuit against NBC and made assertions about To Catch a Predator that contradicted what the show purports to be about. She commented on the relationship the show has with the different police organizations and the group Perverted-Justice. The lawsuit was dismissed by the New York Supreme Court in October of 2007. NBC commented on the dismissal: "We believed from the beginning that this case was without merit and we are pleased with the judge's decision."

Entrapment claims

Montopoli also suggests that To Catch a Predator may not be as immune from the defense of entrapment as the show claims. Although Perverted-Justice volunteers wait for the suspect to initiate contact, former Dateline anchor Stone Phillips concedes that "... in many cases, the decoy is the first to bring up the subject of sex." (Phillips defends this, saying that "... once the hook is baited, the fish jump and run with it like you wouldn't believe." ) Montopoli contends that this alone may render Predator-related cases vulnerable to the defense of entrapment. This situation, however, may fail the "reasonable person" test of entrapment, as there is no persuasion or coercion involved, but simply an opportunity is offered. Contrary to popular belief, while the Perverted-Justice volunteers are not law enforcement, they could be considered "agents" of law enforcement personnel by the courts, and therefore would still be at risk for creating an entrapment defense.

The March 2007 issue of Law Enforcement Magazine, a publication of Officer.com, addressed the entrapment issue from a law enforcement perspective. "Though defendants raised the entrapment issue in Riverside, a judge's ruling later threw it out. The judge ruled it differs from a police officer presenting a handful of drugs to a subject and asking if he wants to buy some. In this scenario, the person's being invited to make a snap decision. In contrast, driving to a meeting location afforded these Internet offenders plenty of time to change their minds." The article continued:

Even so, Perverted Justice plunks precautions in place to thwart the entrapment issue. Volunteers never initiate contact with the person; all communication begins with the offender. Later, contributors never instigate lewd conversations or talks of sexual meetings.

The sexaully explicit conversations that the decoys find themselves in strongly resemble [cyber sex]. When 'cybering' many adults like to 'role play' as minors. In this fantasy one adult takes the role of a minor (like a school student) while another adult takes the role of an adult (like a teacher). In this case, the adult never believes the person is underage and therefore it is not technically a crime. Many of the 'offenders' caught by perverted justice appear to fit in this category. In thse cases it appears that the only thing that is accomplished is obstucting law abiding citizens from enjoying the freedoms of a free society. In fact many of the adults are shocked to find out that the decoy is underage when they arrive at the house and speak to Chris Hanson. This is further confused because the actress is actually not a minor, nor are any of the decoys. The entire court case is based on P-J's ability to 'pretend' to be underage.

Charges dropped

In June 2007, Perverted-Justice was criticized following a sting operation in Collin County, Texas, that resulted in the charges against 23 suspected online sex predators being dropped. Collin County Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis said the cases were dropped after Perverted-Justice failed to provide enough usable evidence.

Conflict of interest

Beginning with the fourth investigation, Dateline began paying Perverted-Justice a consultant's fee to do its regular work; the fee was reported to have been over $100,000 for that operation. It was suggested that this payment created a potential conflict of interest for Perverted-Justice, an organization run largely on the efforts of volunteers, and furthermore, that for Dateline to pay this fee would be tantamount to paying news sources, widely frowned upon in the journalism industry. In their FAQ, Perverted-Justice defends this consulting fee, citing, among other things, the costs of keeping its website running and the fact that "... everyone except [themselves] and the predators are being compensated for this massive amount of effort."

This claim was also addressed by the March 2007 issue of Law Enforcement Technology Magazine. A judge also dismissed motions to throw out indictments against seven of the 18 men arrested in the Ohio sex sting. To date, 16 have pled guilty and two were convicted at trial. Defense attorneys contended the sting violated state law because of Dateline's involvement with Perverted-Justice and petitioned to have related videos, statements and photos suppressed. A judge ruled against the potential conflict of interest, noting department officials that had partnered with Perverted-Justice and were unaware NBC had paid the organization for consultation services.

The department kept itself separate from Dateline staff during the sting as well, to avoid legal hassles later on, says Burns. Officials were positioned in a location near but not inside the house where offenders arrived for meetings. Communications and video equipment permitted authorities to keep tabs on what transpired, and all chats were transmitted directly to officials as they took place. "We didn't want to blur the line of ethics between law enforcement and the media," Burns explains. "We didn't even speak to Dateline officials during the operations."

The potential for conflict of interest was one of several concerns that lead to the non-prosecution of 23 cases in Collin County, Texas. District Attorney John Roach questioned circumstances of the May 2007 sting,

What is exactly the deal between the City of Murphy and NBC ? What is the deal between NBC and Perverted Justice? Who's getting paid what? Who has an axe to grind?"

Investigative journalist Byron Harris explains, "John Roach knew the money issue would come up in court as part of the required disclosure of benefits received by possible witnesses."

20/20 Investigation

On September 7, 2007, the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 aired an investigative report into the To Catch a Predator series by ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross. The report critiqued certain aspects of the specials, and also investigated the controversy over the suicide of prosecutor Louis Conradt, Jr.

In the report, two former police detectives with the Murphy, Texas Police Department, Sam Love and Walter Weiss, claimed that the decision to arrest Conradt at his home was made by Chris Hansen, a charge NBC has denied. Both Love and Weiss claimed that the NBC News crew had every intention to confront Conradt, and the attorney for Conradt's family charged that Dateline chose to stop at nothing to get Conradt. Love and Weiss claimed that Conradt's death was shrugged off by many in Murphy's police force, and the two of them left the department in disgust.

Neither NBC News nor Perverted Justice cooperated with Ross' report. NBC News accused ABC News of using the 20/20 report as a hit-piece on the rival newsmagazine Dateline NBC. "I chalk this up to the usual network silly competitiveness, in a territory of a much more serious handling," NBC News president Steve Capus told USA Today. "The competitive wars [for ratings] right now are at a very high level...That's fueling this." The allegations were denied by Ross, who is a former reporter of NBC News.

Investigations

Outside New York City (Bethpage, Long Island)

The first in the series aired in November 2004 as a Dateline NBC segment called Dangerous Web. The operation was set up in a home in Long Island, NY, to which 18 men came over two-and-a-half days after making an appointment for sex with a minor. One of the men in the investigation was a New York City firefighter, who was later fired by the FDNY.

Suburban Washington, D.C. (Herndon VA, Fairfax County)

The sequel to the first story was an hour-long special airing in November 2005. The operation was located in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and saw 19 men arrive over three days. Among the men caught were a Rabbi and a high school teacher; both of whom lost their jobs after taping and have since been convicted and sentenced to jail. Another man was interviewed by Hansen after showing up at the house naked, then encountered again the very next day at a local McDonald's, having been summoned again by the same people, in the same chatroom, he was sentenced to jailtime, but the judge suspended his sentence.

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Mug shots of the fifty men charged in the Riverside, California operation

Riverside County (Mira Loma), California

The third installment of the series was a two hour special aired in February 2006. The operation was located in Riverside, California, and, at the request of Perverted-Justice, was the first done in cooperation with local law enforcement officials. During this sting, 50 men were arrested over three days and charged with felonies -- so many that three arrived almost simultaneously, and law enforcement, at one point, ran out of personnel. One other person arrested was charged with a misdemeanor. The men arrested included a criminal investigator working for the Department of Homeland Security who was later fired and, for the first time, two men who claimed to have seen previous Dateline investigations of online sexual predators.

Charles Harding, 65, one of the featured predators, died of a heart attack in police custody. Unable to post bail, he had stopped taking his prescription heart medication. He had attempted to meet a 13 year old boy.

In August 2006, a Superior Court Judge dismissed charges against William Lawrence, who was arrested during the Dateline Riverside operation.

Greenville, Ohio

The fourth investigation aired in two one-hour-long parts during April and May 2006 as the first half of a month-long series of To Catch a Predator specials. The operation was based in Greenville, Ohio and resulted in the arrests of 18 men in three days. The small-town location of the undercover house meant that potential predators from the larger surrounding cities of Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cincinnati had to drive upwards of an hour and a half to reach the operation. Among the men caught were one who had been slated to start a prison sentence for a different charge of solicitation in four days and a 6th grade Catholic school teacher.

Three Perverted-Justice members were temporarily deputized for the length of the operation. It was also the first series that Perverted-Justice was paid a consultants fee by Dateline.

Fort Myers, Florida

As with the Ohio investigation, the fifth investigation was aired in two one-hour-long parts in May 2006, forming the second half of the month-long series of To Catch a Predator specials. The operation was based in Fort Myers, Florida and saw 24 men arrested in three days. Among the more notable moments in the investigation was the arrest of a man who had brought along his five-year-old son to the house, creating a challenge for arresting officers who did not want to traumatize the boy. Another man had asked a 14 year old decoy if she was willing to have oral sex with a cat. She replied that she would do so on the condition that he would strip naked after entering the house. He did so and was immediately confronted by Hansen. He was the second featured predator to strip naked in the house to date. Another man arrived at almost 4am, but refused to enter the house, trying to talk the girl into getting in his car with him. After pleading with her for over 30 minutes, he gave up and walked to his car where he was arrested. Another man confessed that he was "guilty of whatever's there" (the transcript) and admitted that he should receive the death penalty. Another duped his sister into driving him to the sting house and waiting for him in the car while he intended to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Fortson, Georgia

In August 2006, Perverted-Justice Template:Derefer that the sheriff's department in Harris County, Georgia had arrested 20 men over four-and-a-half days in another sting operation. The investigation aired on Dateline NBC in two parts on September 13 and September 22, and showed a growing awareness of the television series among potential predators; Dateline itself was referenced by name several times. Notable arrests included a military staff sergeant who on his knees pleaded with Hansen "not to ruin my life", a devout Christian man whose myspace page claimed "Jesus Rocks" and that God was his hero, and one man who had said that he had seen the show "about three times on TV already", and in another case a man who confessed that "he has interest in younger girls, It has just been a fantasy of mine" and also that the "cleanest best pleasure" would be to have sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Shortly after the first half of this investigation aired, the Georgia Governor's office announced a new Child Safety Initiative which would triple the number of special agents in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation dedicated to catching Internet predators and double the number of forensic computer specialists dedicated to helping prosecute computer crimes.

Many featured predators in this segment received some of the stiffest punishments of any jurisdiction. Those who accepted pleas were sentenced to an average of 3-4 years in prison. One defendant who was convicted at trial was sentenced to seven years.

Petaluma, California

From August 25 to August 27, Perverted-Justice and Dateline worked with law enforcement in Petaluma, California to arrest 29 men in three days. One suspect was later released due to lack of evidence. The resulting investigation aired on Dateline NBC on September 29 and October 6. The confrontations took place in the backyard, the first time they were taped outdoors. All of the previous interviews took place in a kitchen or living room.

Petaluma was the hometown of kidnap and murder victim Polly Klaas, and was also a former home of John Mark Karr, who made a false confession to the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. The last segment of the Petaluma investigation focused in part on the Mark Foley scandal, which broke just days before the investigation went to air. Several political cartoons published in the wake of the scandal explicitly referenced To Catch a Predator by name.

Partially due to its proximity to Silicon Valley, the investigation saw several computer engineers arrested, one of whom declared to the police that he was a well-respected man in society with a Ph.D. in computer engineering. Among the more notable arrests was that of a medical doctor who was the vice-president of a major cancer research corporation and an active-duty Marine Corps sniper who, in his chat, said: "I carry a gun everywhere I go". Police intervened immediately before any confrontation with Hansen and found a shotgun in the sniper's truck.

Long Beach, California

In September 2006, Perverted-Justice and Dateline once again worked with law enforcement in California, this time in Long Beach, to arrest 38 men over three days. The Long Beach investigation featured a man who had previously been encountered in the Riverside operation nearly a year earlier, a post-production video editor for Nickelodeon, and a man soliciting an 11-year-old decoy (Dateline's youngest decoy to date). This installment also featured a man who met his decoy at a public park after refusing to meet her at the house. This man had brought the decoy an MP3 player to give her after they had sex. Some predators were ushered out through the back door when it appeared that another predator was on his way to the house, in order to avoid tipping off the next visitor. During some of the encounters in Long Beach, there appeared to be security breaches involving the decoy playing the part of the young teen: one predator was allowed to shake her hand and lean in to kiss her before Hansen walked in, and another was allowed to hug the decoy before being confronted by Hansen. Typically, the decoy is instructed not to have any physical contact with predators, and Hansen usually walks right in when they make a sudden move or request any physical contact such as a hug or a kiss. During this investigation, the presence of the Dateline sting operation in town was leaked online through a Craigslist internet posting. This installment aired on 30 January and 6 February, 2007.

Murphy, Texas

In November 2006, Perverted-Justice announced that another To Catch a Predator sting had been conducted with law enforcement in Murphy, Texas. There were 25 men who arrived at the filming location over four days, with law enforcement investigating additional suspects. Most notably, these additional suspects, who conducted chats but did not arrive at the undercover house, included Rockwall County assistant district attorney Louis W. Conradt Jr., who shot and killed himself on 5 November 2006 at his home when police attempted to serve him with a search warrant. An NBC camera crew was waiting outside the house to film the scene when the fatal shot was fired. His estate, managed by his sister Patricia Conradt, is suing Dateline for US$105 million

This sting was also notable because it prompted protests from local residents, who were opposed to law enforcement officials purposefully attracting sexual predators to their neighborhood. Others countered that these predators were already in the area (or close by) and that this sting revealed them to be sex offenders. This investigation aired on 13 February and 20 February 2007.

On 1 June 2007, all 23 cases brought up against those arrested on this installment of the show were declined to be prosecuted by the Collin County prosecutor's office due to insufficient evidence. The cases were not expected to be considered again. This marks the first segment in which local law enforcement has declined an invitation to prosecute suspects involved in the show.

On Wednesday, September 5, 2007, Dateline aired the results of the forensic report on Conradt's computer. According to the report, Conradt's "CDs, laptop computers and cell phone all contained pornographic material -- some included child pornography." [2]

Main article: Louis Conradt

Flagler Beach, Florida

In December 2006, Perverted-Justice worked with the police department in Flagler Beach, Florida to arrest 21 men over four days, and the sting was filmed again by Dateline. Aware that potential predators might be reluctant to show up at a house primarily due to repeated Dateline investigations, the crew set up a second location at the beach directly across the street from the house. This second location was also rigged with cameras and microphones and had police hiding in a bunker below the deck. Some of the men arrested included a retired truck driver who claimed that he lied during his chat log about wanting to have sex with the underage girl because he is no longer able to achieve an erection, a Taekwondo intructor who masturbated on webcam for the decoy with whom he chatted, and a sheriff's deputy from Alabama who was arrested in a vehicle containing an arsenal of weapons. In one case, two potential predators arrived within five minutes of each other, resulting in Hansen conducting the first dual interview of predators who had each made separate appointments for sex. This investigation aired on February 27 and March 6, 2007.

Ocean County, New Jersey

From March 28 to April 1, 2007, Perverted-Justice worked with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office in Ocean County, New Jersey to arrest 28 men who showed up at Dateline's undercover house. The arrests spanned several Northeast states, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The investigation was covered by Dateline NBC for a two-show edition of To Catch a Predator that aired on July 18 and July 25, 2007. As in the Flagler Beach investigation, a second meeting location was also set up at a nearby beach for those who were reluctant to show up at the sting house.

The female decoy playing the young teen was played by the 18-year-old daughter of the homeowner who rented out the beachfront house to Dateline. (It should be noted that this property is strictly used as a summer rental, and neither the decoy nor her father actually live in the home.) She was more interactive in speaking with the predators than in shows past, doing a pre-interview with featured predators before Hansen conducted the main interview. For the first time in the TCAP series, the woman gave on on-camera interview on what it is like to play a decoy.

Those arrested included a school bus driver, a court administrator, a senior web developer, a bodybuilder, a United States Air Force mechanic, a former firefighter, and a registered sex offender from Pennsylvania who once molested a young girl he had met online. As in previous episodes, most of the men denied an intent to have sex with the teen, yet brought gifts, condoms, and lubricants with them.

This installment of To Catch A Predator featured a man who became so ill while being interviewed by Chris Hansen that he passed out and crashed head-first into the bottom section of a counter. After being treated for his injuries, which were not serious, he was arrested. Another man seemed pleasantly surprised at meeting Hansen, shaking his hand before leaving, knowing that he would be arrested immediately afterward. In addition, a man caught in the sting mentioned on-air that he was a religious watcher of this show on which he would be a featured predator. He had heard Chris Hansen on the Opie and Anthony radio talk show. He went on to mention he was "really funny." Opie and Anthony commented about the incident on their show the next day.

Ernest C. Timmons, 33, one of the featured arrestees, died in police custody on September 6, 2007, of liver failure. He was an Air Force mechanic due to be deployed to Iraq the week after being caught in the sting; however, he was unable to post $50,000 bail, and remained incarcerated until being hospitalized on August 24. He died two weeks later. He had brought a camera to take pictures of the 13-year-old girl he expected to meet. Timmons was sweating profusely while being interviewed by Chris Hansen and cried when told he was going to appear on Dateline and again as he was arrested outside the house immediately afterward. He is the third featured suspect to die before his case could be adjudicated in the courts.

Louisville, Bowling Green, and Northern Kentucky

On October 22, 2007, the Warren County District Attorney's Office announced that 29 men were arrested in an internet child sex sting conducted by local police in conjunction with Perverted Justice and Dateline NBC. Footage of this sting operation will air in an installment of the "To Catch a Predator" series at a yet undetermined date. This is the 12th investigation covered by Dateline and host Chris Hansen since they began the series in 2004. The sting was conducted on three separate occasions over the past year at three separate sting houses across Kentucky, as opposed to a single house as used in the past. One arrestee was a former Indiana police officer who had traveled 350 miles to meet an underage teen for sex. All men arrested face 5-10 years in prison if convicted.

See also

• Anti-pedophile activism
• Online predator
• Pedophilia
• Perverted-Justice
• Pro-pedophile activism
• Sensationalism
• Sexual predator

External links

• To Catch a Predator, official series website