To Catch A Predator and other Stupid Criminal Footage Shows...

So,

I'm flipping through the channels and MSNBC is running a "To Catch A Predator" marathon. Unseen Raw Footage and things of that sort.

And i'm just blown away at the people that are showing up.

For those of you who don't know, they do a 'sting' operation where they impersonate a minor (13yr old or so) on a chat room and fish for adults who want to have sex with the minor.

They work with a group called "Perverted Justice" and this group is trying to make the internet safe for kids.

ANyways, I was absolutely floored by these people.

So, the Darwin award goes to this one guy. He drives by the house 'right' as police are arresting a guy. And by police (mind you by now it is at night) there are five of them, along with bright shiny lights and cameras.

So the guy who drives by, calls the 'decoy' up and says, "Hey, I just drove by and there were a bunch of police in your driveway."

The decoy replies, "Hey, don't worry, they were just arresting my next door neighbor for drugs, just come by when they are done."

Now, what makes this priceless is that this guy has SEEN "To Catch A Predator" and in the phone call he says, "Are you sure, I don't want to get caught like to Catch a Predator"

The decoy responds, "Yeah, I'm sure, come on by"

So then, about 10 minutes later, the guy shows up

and they bust him and he is all like, "Damn it I knew it."

priceless.

Anyone seen this show? Any other dumb criminal show footage comes to mind?

Mel...

Queen of Swords said:

I remember the special ed teacher... and the rabbi... and the guy who showed up with his five-year-old son in tow.

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Yes, this one was a new low. I could not f**king believe it.

The one I saw, they caught another teacher who taught High School. He was 43, had a 16yr old daughter and showed up to party with a 13 year old. He knew he was screwed and admitted that he seriously just ruined his life. Unlike the others, he said this was his first time and somehow I did believe him. Anyways, it's amazing who they catch.

blacbird said:

Well, the ones they catch are, obviously. It's kind of a filtering mechanism: the smart perverts don't fall for it. Unfortunately.

Still, it's good these imbeciles are off the street.

Then again, you have to wonder if, at some point, this show begins to do more harm than good, simply through its public exposure making such "sting" operations less likely to succeed.

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I don't think so. Perverted Justice is really good at what they do, they set up the chat rooms and chat for weeks setting up the perps. Similarly, the setup for the sting is EXACTLY like what would happen in real life, so the perps cannot distinguish between a sting and a normal hook-up. And with most states, the instant they walk through the door, that is all the evidence you need. Intent to sexually assault a minor is a Felony. You don't have to catch them in the act.

If anything, I believe the show is a powerful deterrant that has prevented lord knows how many sexual assaults.

Jersey Chick said:

I love to hear some of the dumb ass excuses they come up with ...

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My personal favorite was this guy who brought alcohol and a box of condoms as well as email naked pictures of himself... He said he came to make sure that no sickos got a hold of her. He was just going to hang out with her, watch a movie and tell her that this sort of thing was 'wrong'.


In the course of their 2 day investigation, they said that 51 people showed up.

THink about that. They were set up for about 10 hrs per day.

So that is almost 3 people showing up every hour.

Incidentally, there is a flip side to this. I wonder how many children solicit this type of activity. How many young girls and boys are there on the chatrooms hooking up with adults?

In fact, I think i'm going to email TCAP right now and suggest this as an idea. Call it, "To Catch the JailBait"...

hmmm.... I'll have to think of a snappy title.

Mel...

Zoombie said:

I thought it was just a joke on South Park, actually. I didn't know it was actually real...

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Holy Shit!!! You've never seen To Catch a Predator?

Wow.

Go to Youtube, grab a beer, and enjoy.

Mel...

Elaine Margarett said:

I dislike this series. After seeing the first two or three episodes (we don't have cable so our TV viewing is limited to what channels come in best), I wanted to cry out, "Enough, already!"

Yes, there are preditors out there. Yes, as parents we MUST be aware of what our children are doing online.

But come on, the scenarios are depressingly the same. How many times do we need to see pedophiles in their desperate attempts to snare unsuspecting children? It seems to me that after the first few episodes it's all basically the same thing, again and again and again..

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I'm not sure I agree. Yes, there is a definite similarity in the scenarios, but the difference is the PEOPLE who show up.

On TCAP, they've caught doctors, lawyers, actors, teachers, law enforcement, college students, repeat offenders, etc. etc.

And I'm convinced that this show does have a powerful deterant factor. Of course, that is impossible to quantify. But I guarantee you that if the show became a 'regular' show with Stings that moved all over the country that you would seriously INCREASE its deterant factor.

Also, the thing that does change are the excuse and reactions of the pedophiles. And this can actually help in the understanding and prevention of these sorts of activities.

For instance, in 'some' of the cases, the perps start out just having fun on the internet, chatting with the teens, then the conversations turn sexual, then the fantasy ensues, and then it progresses to sexting, and then it progresses to an actual visit.

Now, i'm sure there are some guys who are just in the 'sexual chatting with teens' phase who may see this and think "Holy shit, i'm on this path I better quit".

But I do agree. The show is a train wreck. However, this is one of the few train wreck shows that I do feel has a positive impact on society and should continue.

Mel...

Elaine Margarett said:

...And the excuses are just that. They don't offer any insight into what drives a predator. People lie when caught. Plain and simple. If someone makes a *date* with an underage child after engaging in sexual chat, it's not hard to see through their lame reasons.

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I think there they indirectly show what drives the predator. It is a sexual compulsion. I mean, its pretty obvious. Some guy gets in his car, drives 2-4 hrs just to have sex with a minor. And in a lot of cases, they know it is wrong and are scared of the cops busting them, but they do it anyway. So, indirectly, you see that this is a serious sexual compulsion. And the guy who brought his kid. Holy freaking shit Batman!!!

Elaine Margarett said:

And as a parent, I've been uber-vigilant when it comes to the internet.

I like news based programing like 48 Hours and Dateline. I just think Dateline's Predator *series* crosses the line from enlightening, to salacious.

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Kudos to you. Most parents have absolutely no clue what their kids are doing online or talk to their kids about sexual matters. If I had a teenager, I'd make them watch TCAP with me and discuss it with them.

Elaine Margarett said:

I like news based programing like 48 Hours and Dateline. I just think Dateline's Predator *series* crosses the line from enlightening, to salacious.

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I can agree with this statement more or less, though I do say there is value in the show.

CACTUSWENDY said:

...Just think, these are the ones we know about. What about all the ones that do meet up with young girls......

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Not just young girls. About 15% of the perverts that they showed where there for young boys.

Mel...

jodiodi said:

We watch it just to see Chris Hansen tell them to "Have a seat"..

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Can you imagine walking into a building for whatever (lets say you have an appointment to look at some stocks/bonds).

You walk into the room, and Chris Hansen is there and he says, "Have a seat"

In fact, South Park did a hilarious spoof on that. Whenever he walked into a room, people said, "Holy Shit, Chris Hansen" and then they shot themselves in the head because they thought they were in the midst of a sting LOL.

Mel...