nbc- To Catch a Predator nets reality-show holy grail...on air suicide.

[dysfunctional press]

they were perched outside the house of a texas assistant d.a., accused of cyber-sex with a (fake)14-yr.old male decoy.
when the cops went to his house to arrest him(he didn't show up at the dateline sting house) he wouldn't answer the door, and when they finally broke in- he shot himself in the head. they didn't have it on camera, but they did show him being brought out on a stretcher and helicoptored to a trauma center where he died.

[Pierre.Suave]

1. let the lawsuits begin

this will be expensive.

[Nicole]

6. Lawsuit for what exactly?

I don't get it? They didn't force him to commit suicide.

[Pierre.Suave]

8. But

he would not have committed suicide without the public humiliation the show was going to bring on him.

[Nicole]

9. But

The show did not seek him out, he went seeking for cyber sex with a minor. If he was humiliated, then he has only himself to blame for that.

The cyber sex & suicide were both things he chose to do. I still don't see how the show is responsible for his actions.

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. How do you know that?

:shrug:

[Katherine Brengle]

30. Same question.

What an assumption.

[alarimer]

2. I hope the family sues NBC

Maybe this crap will finally be taken off the air. I want to see actual investigative reporting. Like of Blackwater, Halliburton, Katrina but no, NBC is too busy convincing us that there is a predator behind every tree and driving some of them to suicide apparently. Sick. Just sick.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. Pedophile commits suicide. I don't see the problem here.

It's better than molesting a kid. I don't care if it was a fake decoy. If he'll go after a fake 14-year-old, he'll go after a real 14-year-old.

[dysfunctional press]

7. but he DIDN'T "go after" the fake 14-year old...

that's one thing that seems extremely strange about texas law(but then it IS texas)- they can arrest the guy just for chatting up online, with out any actual physical evidence as to who is doing the law-breaking...i.e. the guy could be home cyber-masturbating, without ever having any actual intent of meeting up with anyone- and still be guilty of a sex crime....seems odd.

[fizzgig]

15. it's the same way in colorado

you can be arrested for internet luring of a child for engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with a minor (or someone you believe to be a minor)

there is a task force here that targets people engage in this type of behavior. part of me agrees with the law because what's to say that they won't progress to the point of setting up meetings with a minor.

honestly, what adult seeks out 12-15 year olds in chat rooms and talks about sex with them?

[Katherine Brengle]

33. Solicitation. nt

[mduffy31]

12. I like to think of it as the latest proof of

Darwin's Survival of the Fittest.


:Edited for some really fucked up grammar

[Writer]

4. NBC is asking for it.

Jesus Christ are they ever.

[AlCzervik]

5. Nancy Grace and her flaming nostrils are probably fire breathing a sigh of relief.

"Ayup, i'm off the hook"

[wildhorses]

10. this borders on entrapment--

there could be lawyers involved...

[pokerfan]

11. It was someone he believed to be a 13 year old, not 14

Is that not wrong?

I don't think that it needs to be TV entertainment, but isn't it wrong to pursue someone you believe to so young?

As far as the entrapment defense goes, a person can only be 'entrapped' when he is induced or persuaded by law enforcement officers or their agents to commit a crime that he had no previous intent to commit.

Looking over some of the transcripts, it seems pretty hard that they are inducing the perpetrators of acting outside their nature.

[murielm99]

14. They are doing a few more things to

cover their asses.

I caught the end of the show tonight. They mentioned that on their website, they have some resources for those who think they may have a problem with sexual predation:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13191271/

I don't feel sorry for sexual predators. But this show crosses too many lines for me.

Read the Wikipedia article about them, too. They may not be as immune as they think from charges of entrapment.

[Mojambo]

16. Cha Ching! n/t

[hickman]

17. I don't understand. Did he actually touch a child or not?

Did he have sex with a minor? If he's dead, why? This is just wrong. I hope his family sues the people behind this into bankruptcy.

[dysfunctional press]

21. not in this particular case, but...

they couldn't get into his hard-drive because there were a number of complicated "locks"(their word- i don't know if they meant physical locks, or some type of security software) on it- and it was been sent to specialists to get into it...as of the airing, they didn't have any additional info.

[DainBramaged]

18. For those who don't understand how fucked up cyber sex with children is

Think about a creep like this trying to entice YOUR kid on the internet, and don't tell me for one split second YOUR kid at 11-14 wouldn't be innocent in this. How could they not be the victim? It's too bad he took the coward's way out instead of being a man and facing his punishment. And the rest of his life in jail with Bubba as his girlfriend would have been a fitting punishment.

One less cretan in the world. One more child safe from harm.:applause: :applause: :applause:

[Maine-ah]

19. agree w/you.

[Mad_Dem_X]

20. I totally agree. n/t

[Katherine Brengle]

31. Thank you. There is way too much sympathy on DU for

pedophiles and sexual predators in general.

[NorthernSpy]

43. what an utterly retarded thing to say!

There is way too much sympathy on DU for pedophiles and sexual predators in general.

:dunce:


Yeah, right. If people object to trashy reality TV, they must be molester-lovers! Bet they'd even want their sister to marry one!


:eyes:

[Phillycat]

44. Agree completely.

:thumbsup:

[mainegreen]

22. My opinion: Both the creepy perps AND the people who make the show are slimey scumbags.

I don't see the point in defending wannabe child molesters (outside of their day in court), but that sure as hell doesn't mean that the makers of this show aren't scumbags for basically making money off the topic of child molestation and human misery.

[Gormy Cuss]

28. I agree with you.

I have nothing but contempt for adults who think it's appropriate to have sex of any variety with children, but these shows are just a version of the old public humiliation punishments with the modern twist of advertising revenue.

[guitar man]

23. bwahahahahahaha!!!!

good riddance!

[Hugin]

24. It's been done...

Back in the late '80s some corrupt city or county official did it at a press conference.

They showed it all over the national media.

[dysfunctional press]

25. his name was bud dwyer, and that was before the wave of 'reality tv'...

although, it was probably part of the inspiration for wave in the first place.

[Coventina]

26. That show is beneath contempt.

And no, I'm not pro-child molester.

But the show only exists to fulfill some sort of self-righteous punishment fetish. It's like the stocks of the Middle Ages, public humiliation for the wicked. It doesn't mean that the wicked aren't wicked, but it does mean that mob mentality gets a perverted pleasure out of public humiliation and punishment.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. OMG. You recognize the punishment fixation as a fetish.

AND you like Formula One.

Are you an evil clone of me from Dimension X or something?

[Coventina]

36. LOL!

So who do you like this year?

Will Kimi finally show what he can do with Ferarri? Or have the days of glory at Ferrari passed?

Will Alonzo rescue struggling McLaren, or will he go down with their ship?

Will Super Aguri stop embarrassing themselves?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

37. I'm rooting like hell for Massa!

Although I wouldn't be surprised if Alonso pulled it. Mind you, the McLarens ARE fast, they just break down too damn much.

[Coventina]

39. Well duh! I guess I asked a stupid question, didn't I?

I have to say, Massa was impressive last year. I'd like to see him do well.

I think the McLarens are lovely cars, I'd love to see them win (but not Alonzo, I don't like Alonzo). It's too bad they have the habit of spontaneous combustion.

[Little Wing]

38. Super Aguri

:rofl:

[Coventina]

40. Yeah, I really wanted to root for them, I always root for the underdog

Longtime Minardi fan here.

But jeez, they REALLY need to get their act together, BEFORE taking it out on the road. Nothing wrong with being last, someone has to be, but there's a difference between being "last" and being, well.....a certified road hazard.

[hickman]

45. Finally someone defines that sneaky, slimy thing

that I could never put a name on. Punishment fixation. Thank you Commie.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

48. I normally name it Punishism, since it also has the characteristics of an ideology. -nt

[Katherine Brengle]

32. Bullshit.

This show has made Americans MUCH more aware of the dangers of unsupervised child internet usage.

If ONE child was saved from a sexual predator by this show, then it's worth it.

[DainBramaged]

35. Agreed, and some of these scumbags are GRANDADDIES

Imagine how they react to their relatives children?

[Kajsa]

41. Yep, it seems like this "new" 'Dateline'

is NBC's replacement for that high class show, 'Fear Factor'.

The mob mentality you mention explains the attraction to this
show and 'American idol'.

[Burma Jones]

27. I have no sympathy for the Texas assistant D.A.

And I have never, and will never, watch such shit on the TeeVee. Reality TV relies on cruelty and greed and all the other base instincts of people. Yeah, that goes for American Idol too.....

We get our news from AP feeds and online NYT and WaPo and our "commentary" from The Daily Show and Colbert

I think the last time I eagerly went to turn on a news channel was 9/11/01

I got Katrina Coverage from the Weather Channel.........

This Reality TV stuff will poison your soul

[Karenina]

42. It's ALL visual pollution

as I repeated remarked to my kids when they were young...

"Reality" TV
Advertisements
Jerry Springer
RW pundits
und, und, und so weiter

The American soul has been POISONED by this shit. I recommend Neil Postman's and Jerry Manger's writings...

[merh]

34. Honestly folks

When did the standards change? Isn't it that a person is innocent until proven guilty? What you see on television is NOT REAL and has been edited time and time again - don't you undertand - TELEVISION, EVEN REALITY TELEVISION IS NOT REAL.

[madrchsod]

46. that is such a sick show on so many levels

they finally got the ultimate tv moment-an actual death..must see tv!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

47. That's really sick.

I am disgusted by that and by the people on this thread HAPPY that somebody is dead.

Hell, I couldn't even dance on Bush's grave, nevermind some child molester's.

Really sick.

:puke: