Why the 'Dateline' Predators Were Not Charged (Pervs caught on video walk free)

MSNBC ^ | 11/09/2005 | Dan Abrams

[Skooz]

It was just a TV show, not a police sting operation.

[Moral Hazard]

"Maybe "Dateline" should have had a skanky teen in a dimly lit room only to surprise the perp when he makes his move."

Wouldn't the folks at Dateline also be committing a crime under your scenario?

[Tall_Texan]

It's tv ratings month. The sting was actually to get you to watch it. For the pervs, this is more like a "catch and release" fishing show.

[Tall_Texan]

Wouldn't the folks at Dateline also be committing a crime under your scenario?

Possibly. But I'm certainly not going to cry about a bunch of tv producers getting hauled into jail.

[Moral Hazard]

"Not much difference between these pervs and the pervs in the California School system that want to ask 7 year olds whether they touch their privates too much.

For sure the 9th Circus would let these pervs walk."

Are you implying that people performing scientific research into early human sexuality should go prison? What about the policeman who asks a child if he's been sexually abused? Should he go to jail as well?

[TCats]

I share your confusion and am also perplexed. That's why I posted this because, apparently contrary to what you were led to believe, the authorities do not ever charge what appears to be the large majority of pervs flushed out this way. This article is just full of reasons why they can't pursue these people and it is just more of the same mumbo jumbo from these bureaucratic types all to the detriment of Public Safety - Their reason for being in the first place..

[Goodwillhntg]

"skanky teen" ...? lolol..

i cant say that ive seen that phrase before.. but good choice of words. i used to think one had to be a good 30-35 years old and have some years behind em to be skanky, but youre quite correct, there are some real skanky teens running about these days.. lol

[TCats]

"Because it's a NBC show and not an actual police operation."

But, if you read the article, this group who engage in this type of baiting operation and involve the Police say that there are relatively few charges despite the large number of pervs lured out in the open.

I guess they wait until a child is ruined or worse before they feel the need to take action.

[Huck]

I saw a bit of it last night. I was wondering why they weren't busted, too. I had to laugh at the TV guy though. He was so idiotic the way he confronted them. They're PSYCHOS, dude! He was acting like Geraldo or something. It was pretty pathetic.

[Flightdeck]

I saw that. Those guys were freaks, and for the most part looked fairly normal, which was even freakier.

[OldFriend]

This is how Scott Ritter got away with arranging a meeting with a young girl.

That Ritter continues to enjoy his status as a commentator on various talking head TV shows is disgusting in the extreme.

[narby]

Are you implying that people performing scientific research into early human sexuality should go prison?

Well I guess the precedent is set since Kinsey didn't go to prison for fooling with children. Got famous and had a movie made about him.

Certainly "research" into early human sexuality should AT LEAST be required to get affirmative permission from a parent. And should also have the strictest of oversight from outside parties.

I don't know the details of the California case, but I find it very hard to believe that it was genuine research. Probably just another perv that had a PhD behind his name and figured out how to practice his hobby on company time. Certainly it was useless research. There are some things that we really don't have a need to know about and should be left well enough alone.

[gcruse]

I guess they never heard of the concept of "attempt".

Let me know the next time you get a traffic ticket for attempted speeding.  

[FreedomCalls]

Maybe "Dateline" should have had a skanky teen in a dimly lit room only to surprise the perp when he makes his move.

If they did that, then MSNBC would have committed a felony. In the real world, police use young-looking officers who pose as teens but aren't really.

[John Jamieson]

Arrest actors, are you kidding?

[King of Florida]

When a nude man walks into my living room or my garage with a 12-pack of beer, I've got real problem with that and that looks like a crime to me. Yeah, I've got a problem with that, too.

[hdstmf]

The "Scientific research" in that California school case was done by a social studies graduate student. The sex questions were added without authorization after parents had signed forms to ok the survey that contained nothing related to sex.
The "Mental health counseler" had no professional certification. I would suspect a pervert in the woodpile with school administrators support. The 9th court judge Richardson who ruled against the parents is the same one who ruled against God in the pledge.

The network was only interested in ratings, not legalities.
They could have provided a valuable public service. Perhaps
embarassment of those exposed creeps is all we can get out of the program.

[MarkL]

I don't get it. Cops use this kind of sting operation all the time, don't they?

I think that this comes from a recent (federal, I think) court ruling in Kansas City.

A prominent KC attourney was arrested for exactly this sort of thing. The perv actually went to meet the "child," but was arrested in a sting. While the guy was convicted (I think), the judge threw out the conviction, because the "child" was actually a police officer. Since there was actually no child involved, no crime was committed, according to the judge.

In drug stings, illegal drugs are bought, so a crime is committed during the sting. But (this is how it was explained to me), since no child was actually involved, no crime was committed. The person that explained it to me said that the reason he wasn't convivted on charges of attempted rape of a child is because he wasn't charged with that crime. I believe that they will be filing those charges later on.

Mark

[wtc911]

The "sting" was not set up and controlled by a LEA so there would be no verifiable, sworn to chain of events to hand over to a prosecutor. Had LEOs set this up the story would be different.

[skinkinthegrass]

You want; to see ABCNNBC_BS do this, then have 'em "shut it down"....Get "Bubba" and/or "Swimmer" to show-up LIVE...Things I'd love to See. :D