Sexual Assault Dateline: To Catch A Predator

[shimmerz]

I didn't know about this show. It was a televised sting operation with NBC and the local police to catch sexual predators of underage children. I have been watching the series of 12 on YouTube. I think it was fabulous (although I am certain triggery so please be careful).

What I really really liked about it was seeing the predators squirm. I liked that in later versions of the show, they were actually worried that they were being set up. They went to meet the underage girls/boys anyways. That is how reckless and sick these guys are. I could see in a few of them the predator instinct. I could see the change in them when they walked in the door, thinking that they had this child all to themselves. It makes me shudder. I can't imagine being a child with someone like that in my house.

I loved the 'oh shit' look in some of their eyes when they realized they were on camera. There were consequences. Finally.

In one weekend they caught 50 sexual predators. The stream of men looking to damage these children was disturbing - no sickening. In total they caught more than 200 sexual predators. I saw that some of these men were actually already on the registry. Some were lawyers, doctors, truckers, musicians, out of towners, grandfathers, fathers...most looked liked the guy next door.

But at the end of the day they were all sniveling, whining, lying, crying, begging pieces of shit. "I swear to you, I wasn't going to do anything!", they all proclaimed. "I wasn't going to have sex with him/her, I just wanted to make sure they were okay and warn them how dangerous it was on the internet". Pfffttt. I don't know how the people involved in the stings didn't spit in their faces. F*ing cowards.

I am aghast that the show was cancelled after a run of 12 in the series. There were complaints that there was entrapment involved. This reasoning was dismissed by the judges who tried these men. I don't give a shit, personally of entrapment. Aren't the children trapped for the rest of their lives with the abhorrent deeds of these men? They also stated that the company (Perverted-Justice) they were using to make contact with these pervs put themselves into a 'conflict of interest' position by taking a 100,000 payment from NBC to help cover the costs of their involvement in the 'sting'.

"In the United Kingdom, columnist and television critic Charlie Brooker wrote of the show that "when a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child-rapists, you know it's doing something wrong".

Really? Is it just me or is the above quote crazy talk?

Here is the Wiki link. Be careful if you decide to watch the videos. I tried to put enough information in this post so that you don't need to watch them in order to understand the issues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Catch_a_Predator

What if this show had continued all of these years? Do you think pedophiles would think twice before they hopped online and found a victim? Are the critics right? Is it wrong to lure pedophiles? Just wondering what your thoughts are. Would police be better off taking a more pro-active approach (as NBC did) in solving the pedophile issue?

 

[Friday]

I remember that show. It was played in one of my classes... And the UK journalist nailed the public reaction on the nose. The concept infuriated people, rightly so, but for some reason... By the end of the show... People were feeling sorry for the perverts. Clearly, it really was doing something wrong. Not sure how, I haven't watched it since school, but that's exactly why we watched it; because it was a local hot button debate and it was a current events class. By the end of I think 2 or 3 episodes, my entire class almost universally sided with the pedophiles. We also studied polling questions, test bias, and other things in that class... Showing how people are easily manipulated. So, if I had to take a guess? It would be at while cops & other jaded folk have no problem listening to heartfelt lies, and are unmoved by tears... The sob stories and "what if???" just got to too many people. But, again, I haven't watched it in ages.

 

[scout86]

"when a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child-rapists, you know it's doing something wrong".

Perhaps......... But maybe these scum bags are just SO GOOD at what they do, that they are capable of getting sympathy from "normal" people.

I don't know what the format was. (And I'm not going to watch. I already ""didn't sleep" last night, not going there.) IF they had a web site set up and these people more or less responded to ads, I wouldn't call it entrapment. If you're worried about the kids, you contact the authorities, you don't contact one specific kid, unless you're either an idiot, a pedophile, or both. I'm having a hard time imagining how there'd have been true entrapment.

But think about it. These "creatures" trick people as a way of life! It's what they DO. I'm not at all surprised that they can trick an audience too. People just like to think of themselves as being somehow too smart and savy to fall for a con themselves. I'm sure that's why some of these "people" get off in court as well.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've told someone that a "successful" pedophile is not some scarey looking guy in a sleazy raincoat, trying to lure kids into a dark alley. They some apparently nice, reasonable, "safe" looking person you'd never suspect. That's why they SUCCEED. And people look at me like I'm crazy........ (Oh, wait.....)

Personally, I think we should just kill them and be done with it. I think I'm willing to help.

 

[Changing4Best]

I do know that if a baby is born to a mother under the age of 18 in the USA, they prosecute the father. My cousin, who my family has not forgiven, got a 14 year old girl pregnant and my cousin spent 2 yrs in prison for this. He also is on parole and has to register ANYWHERE in the USA that he moves to with local law enforcement authorities. He was in the Army for 12 yrs until this happened and he was given a general discharge, but was eligible for the GI bill, which paid for him to go to college. He studied CAD and did get a job. Then he ended up in prison again, I don't know what for this time. He may have broken his parole or something. He wrote me on Facebook asking for my phone number upon his release, but I don't have the minutes to talk to him, so I refused. He has not written since then. That's life I guess. I have nothing with which to help him. I do write to him, but I don't want him in my life.

It was our grandfather who molested me when I was a very young child. This thing obviously runs in our family. It sickens me to think on it further. In some sad way I am glad I never had children. That gene died with me. However, my sister did have a son. So far he has not shown any signs that I know of. But one does not know what goes on behind closed doors....

 

[joeylittle]

People were feeling sorry for the perverts. Clearly, it really was doing something wrong.

In an effort to have an "exciting" energy, the show did not treat the situation with a lot of gravitas - so it was hard (I think) for the average viewer to grasp what is already a horrifying concept (child molestation). I truly think that if they had just scripted differently, emphasized the criminality and manipulation being shown by the perpetrator, and taken emphasis away from the cleverness of the sting operation, no-one would have been able to get distracted by the fact that you were watching a sucker get caught.

That's why people felt bad - they forgot it was a molester, and just saw the perp as a victim of law enforcement.

My theory, anyway.

 

[shimmerz]

I truly think that if they had just scripted differently

Yes, this is a good point. It takes an effort on my part to remember what these guys have chatted about with these young boys/girls. Much of it is so disgusting. The perps put on a great act (or are really just showing their truly pathetic selves) when they split apart as they realize the gig is up.

I wonder though, why police agencies can't set something like this up. The Kentucky Bureau of Investigation apparently worked with the agency Perverted Justice 2 times before Dateline was involved. The KBI stated that they didn't have the equipment that PJ did but wanted to send a strong message that they were not going to put up with children in their state being abused. I like that concept.

That's why people felt bad - they forgot it was a molester, and just saw the perp as a victim of law enforcement.

Yes, I notice to that as I expose myself to the series more, the shock factor is not hitting me as much. That is not such a good thing. I think for myself, I see this as something that has worked quite effectively at deterring these guys from stalking children online. I wish the powers that be would wrap it a little differently (without the sensationalism) and put it in place so that the perps would be afraid to go after children via the internet. I think it could be a really good tool to flush these guys out.

 

[joeylittle]

In the US, they still run sting operations. it's just not on TV. But they are time and labor intensive, and I think they look for larger patterns and then try and catch them, rather than just trolling for individuals. It's a terrible problem, though. And I think you are right, it would probably re-introduce that scare factor for wanna-be perpetrators, if there was a series like that again. But the really dangerous criminals will always be the most careful....that's the problem, too.