'To Catch a Predator' sting turns to fiasco

[azathoth777]

MURPHY, Texas - A sting in which police teamed up with "Dateline NBC" to catch online pedophiles was supposed to send a flinty-eyed, Texas-style warning about this Dallas suburb: Don't mess with Murphy.

Instead, it has turned into a fiasco.

One of the 25 men caught in the sting—a prosecutor from a neighboring county—committed suicide when police came to arrest him. The Murphy city manager who approved the operation lost his job in the ensuing furor.

And the district attorney is refusing to prosecute any of the men, saying many of the cases were tainted by the involvement of amateurs.

"Certainly these people should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but the fact that this was all done for television cameras raises some questions," said Mayor Bret Baldwin.

It is the first time in nine "Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator" stings across the country in the past year and a half that prosecutors did not pursue charges.

"Dateline" has made prime-time entertainment out of contacting would- be child molesters over the Internet, luring them to a meeting place, and videotaping their humiliating confrontations with reporter Chris Hansen.

"Dateline" works with an activist group called Perverted Justice, which supplies adults who troll Internet chat rooms, posing as underage boys and girls, and try to collect incriminating sex talk.

City manager Craig Sherwood approved such an operation in this well- to-do community of 11,000 after being approached by "Dateline" and Perverted Justice, but he never informed the mayor or the City Council. He said secrecy was necessary for the sting to be effective.

Over four days in November, 24 men were arrested at a two-story home in one of Murphy's newer neighborhoods after allegedly arranging to meet boys or girls there.

Some other suspects contacted Perverted Justice decoys online but never showed up at the house. Among them was Louis Conradt Jr., an assistant prosecutor from neighboring Kauffman County, who allegedly engaged in a sexually explicit online chat with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy.

As police knocked at his door and a "Dateline" camera crew waited in the street, Conradt shot himself.

His sister, Patricia Conradt, told the City Council that police acted as "a judge, jury and executioner that was encouraged by an out-of- control reality show."

Then, last month, Collin County District Attorney John Roach dropped all charges. He said that in 16 of the cases, he had no jurisdiction, since neither the suspects nor the decoys were in the county during the online chats.

As for the rest of the cases, he said neither police nor NBC could guarantee the chat logs were authentic and complete.

"The fact that somebody besides police officers were involved is what makes this case bad," said Roach, who was informed of the sting in advance but did not participate. "If professionals had been running the show, they would have done a much better job rather than being at the beck and call of outsiders."

As details of the suicide emerged, Murphy's mayor, City Council and most of its residents learned for the first time that potential molesters were being luring to their city. Many were furious.

"They can chase predators all they want, but they shouldn't do it in a populated area with children, two blocks from an elementary school," said Lisa Watson, 33, who lives down the road from the sting house and has three children and another on the way.

Bryan Whorton, who lives with his wife and baby across the street from the house, said his neighborhood was put in danger. Cars sped up and down the street and police sprinted from hiding spots, guns drawn, to arrest suspects, he said. One suspect dropped a bag of crack, Whorton said.

"This is a family community. It didn't look kosher at all," he said.

Two weeks ago, the City Council voted to buy out the city manager's contract for $255,000.

NBC's Hansen said Murphy is the only place the show has encountered such resistance.

"I don't want to get involved in the DA's business or the police business," he said. "I can tell you in the other locations, these issues did not come up."

Eric Nichols, a Texas deputy attorney general, said that when law enforcement authorities pull an Internet sex sting, officers posing as decoys follow strict rules. Detailed chat logs are kept to ensure that "sex talk" is initiated by the potential predator. That way, a defendant cannot claim entrapment.

Eric Chase, a defense attorney specializing in sex crimes, said stings are the job of police, not TV crews. "Police should not be abdicating a very important function to either private organizations or entertainment organizations," he said.

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I'm all for catching child molesters and such, but I have to agree with the people that said TV shows should stay out of it.
While 'To Catch...' does a service, but I've always found it weird that people would consider it entertainment or even 'news'. Then again I thing it weird that anyone finds any reality TV type show entertaining.

[swbbangl]

I just watched that show last night. I do think Dateline is doing a good thing. Perverts think of dateline while chatting with someone underage now. Some people still go through with meeting the kids, but with worry in their mind. I think that after a few more of these shows, the number of sickos will go go down, even if only because the perverts are worried about dateline.

[LoudLon]

So, let me get this straight...a guy shows up hoping to screw a kid, sees the police outside his door and shoots himself, and people are raising a fuss over it? Good riddance, far as I'm concerned.

A quick bullet in the head is getting off easy compared to what his fellow inmates would have done to him if he'd been sent to jail. It's amazing; you go to a prison, you see all kinds of murderers and criminals who've perpetrated the worst kinds of crimes and offenses...and even they look down on child molesters, as they should.

Yeah. You won't hear me raising a fuss about one less pedophile in the world.

[jaybomb]

make sure you get your whole face in front the shut gun, have a good day

[Shazbut]

What got me about this article is that there is a totally negative slant all the way through on the way in which these paedophiles are caught. Neighbours complaining about the disruption to their cosy little neighbourhoods and police complaining about it being a policeman's job, not a tv show.

Did they all miss the point? I would find it rather more disrupting to find that my child has been abducted, raped and murdered by some sicko.

You have shows in which insurance scammers, wife/husband cheaters, fraudsters ranging from business men to high court judges caught on camera doing dirty deeds and being confronted by tv hosts or top reporters and we dont complain about them - so why not confront, and catch, the paedophile - with police presence. Why not?

I think its like a form of vigilante..... and why not, indeed!

[swbbangl]

I'm in favor of all of the shows showing people's true colors. With all the shows out today, all liars,cheaters, and nasties beware! :)

[Freak]

I support Dateline one hundred percent.They should embarass these sick bastards all over T.V. and let everyone know what kinda of person they really are.Plus I think it sorta helps in keeping other sick bastards from doing for the fear they'll get caught.

As far as that guy killing himself,good.He wasn't worthy of the life he possessed.

[corpse_grinder]

Good on ya Dateline!! They should do this every month to catch this sickos out..

[swbbangl]

Very well said Freak. I couldn't have said it better myself.

[The_Return]

"Certainly these people should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but the fact that this was all done for television cameras raises some questions," said Mayor Bret Baldwin.

I think that sums it up perfectly. Its great that Dateline is catching these sick fucks, but its nowhere near as noble as you guys make it sound. They arent doing it as a service to humanity, they're doing it for ratings.