To Catch A Predator

Hello There My Lovelies,

So usually over the weekend I sometimes come across reruns of NBC's To Catch A Predator. Basically, decoys from Perverted Justice are used to try and lure in male predators. These decoys pose as an underage boy or girl and try to lure the predators into meeting up or meeting at their house. There haven't been any new episodes, because it's been cancelled.

From an entertainment standpoint, the show was entertaining. I thought it was funny watching those pervs make asses out of themselves. Especially since no actual children were harmed in the making of the episodes.

All of the guys when questioned by Chris Hansen, always answered:
1.) This is my first time doing such a thing, I swear on my life !
2.) Please just let me go, I will never do it again !
3.) I never intended to have sex with him/her. I just came to talk/mentor/teach a lesson.


People are so shocked that people in well respected professions would be caught chatting or trying to engage in sexual acts with a minor. On the show, people from all walks of life were caught: Teachers, military men, fathers, Rabbis, preachers, government officials. Peoples' reactions are always: OMG ! I didn't see that coming. I never thought he would ever do such a thing !

In my opinion, this is why it happens more often than it should because people let their guards down. Why is it so shocking that people in respected professions would get caught up in this perverted business ? It's not shocking to me. I learned at a very early age that you never really ever know who you are dealing with. When it comes to your children, you can never be too careful with who you leave them with.

I read a book in my Criminal Law class that changed how I view things. The book was written in the 1970s by cops, and I forget the name, but the authors said that it isn't just the good people who want to make changes that take up professions such as teachers, doctors or preachers. Sometimes, it's the predators that take up professions like these because it's:

1.)Unlimited access to children.
2.)People easily trust them. You're more likely to leave your children with a teacher than a car mechanic no questions asked. It's easier for children to build up trust with them and keep secrets.
3.)It's easier to prey on problematic children, because no one really tends to believe them anyway. Also, problematic children tend to come from broken families where they don't have people they could turn to.

I am not trying to insinuate that people with professions that deal with children are usually wolves in sheeps clothing, because I am not. My teachers in school were wonderful, and the pastors at the sermons I've attended are upstanding citizens.
A pervert is a pervert, and pervs come in all shapes, sizes, and especially professions. It has nothing to do with money, education, or profession, and everything to do with the combination of morals, how you were raised as a child and if you are mentally unstable, and a will to change.

Entertainment aside, I am kind of glad that show got cancelled. On one hand, it instilled fear into sexual predators that may think of chatting with underaged girls. Now that they see people getting arrested on TV, they may think twice about hooking up with young girls.

On the other hand, because I've gotten to take legal classes, I think that Chris Hansen and this show has tried to take the law into their own hands which is just a bad idea. For example, after one of the seasons, 23 cases were dropped because Perverted Justice failed to provide enough useable evidence to the District Attorney. Since when is a TV station qualified to handle evidence? Had this been dealt with in a more private matter, combined with hiring more professionals, perhaps the cases wouldn't have been dropped.


Also, NBC worked with Perverted Justice, and paid PJ at one point $100,000 to help them lure in predators. In the legal field, that is what one might call Conflict of Interest. Combine that with the fact that NBC has an interest in its ratings. I would think that because NBC is paying Perverted Justice, that it would be added pressure to find more predators and that some lines would be blurred. How do we know that the decoys in Perverted Justice aren't the ones repeatedly harrassing men and immediately starting in with sexually charged conversation. How do you know that Perverted Justice isn't acting unethically ? It sounds like a great cause in theory. But when you add money and ratings and the public's opinion of sexual predators, it doesn't sound so great in practice.

It just seems fuzzy to me. A show like this dealing with law enforcement and the court system should never ever be treated like a reality show. Especially when peoples' lives and their families are affected so heavily. People are thrown in jail, reputations are ruined and the children of these predators have the whole country knowing what their dad did.

I don't think that a TV show which is clearly a money making business and concerned about ratings, should ever be involved in taking matters like this into their own hands. So easy to draw the line. It's like NBC is trying to portray themselves as heros, when they've really just got financial interests and board members to please.

Another example....... After the men were interviewed by Chris Hansen and walked outside, cops were there to arrest them. Instead of one cop making the arrest, there were three cops screaming at one guy with guns pulled and shoving him to the ground.

Was that really necessary ? Because the guys arrested weren't being violent. One could see that was clearly done for the show, and it was just tacky.

I mean, yeah, I didn't like the dirtbags Chris Hansen interviewed, I felt they should be slapped around, because I am a little biased and I don't ever think engaging in acts with a minor is ever okay. But save their mistreatment for prison after they've been convicted in a court of law.

I will still watch the reruns though, I kind of like watching Chris Hansen and reading between the lines.