NBC's Dateline's ..."To Catch a Predator"?

Question

How many feel that this show engages in entrapment? Would you find it hard to convict someone from this show, if you were sitting on a jury?

How come very few males are not answering this question? Almost 100% Females.

Answer 1

I'm watching the show right now and these guys are sick!!

Answer 2

Nope. It's not entrapment. As long as the guys stay online and just talk, they don't do anything. But when they come to the house expecting to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, that is against the law.

I wouldn't have a bit of trouble convicting the guy if I were on a jury. As long as it stays an online fantasy, even though I find that morally repugnant, at least he isn't physically harming anyone.

Once he brings it from cyberspace into the real world - he becomes a criminal. Period.

ADDED: In answer to the post below, although the men never actually meet or talk to a 13-year-old girl, the host (Chris Hansen) is ALWAYS very careful to confirm that they came to the house EXPECTING to meet a 13-year-old girl. Of course most of them deny they REALLY intended to have sex, but most of them bring condoms with them. So it becomes a question of INTENT. As in, if you accidentally kill someone but you did not INTEND to, that's manslaughter. If you MEANT to kill them, that's homicide.

In this case, some of the men drive for HOURS to get to this house. Would any reasonable person assume they went to all that trouble just for a chat? I don't think so.

Answer 3

I don't feel it's entrapment. The guys they've caught were willing to come and meet teenage girls for sex. If they were sick enough to talk to them online and come to the house even if it was by using a decoy at least they're off the streets. It's on national TV and they still show up knowing this is airing on TV and they make a conscience choice.
So no I don't feel it's entrapment and no I wouldn't have a problem I wouldn't find it hard to sit on a jury.

Answer 4

Me and yes.

It skirts entrapment laws by having people outside the police ask and answer all the questions to gather all the evidence. Then they arrest these men for visiting a woman of legal age who invites them to come in. So basically they have never chatted with a child, and, never talked with a child. It is legal for them to write whatever fiction they will on the internet, but; when they show up they are supposed to have broken the law. When? They haven't tried to have sex with anyone. They haven't talked with a minor. All they have done is gone to a house and walked in when the woman says "Come on In." That is dangerously close to entrapment if the woman were a cop or the guys on the internet were cops. Instead it strikes me as a case of selective prosecution. It is a felony to urge a person to commit a felony. The group that is setting up all these meeting is causing the felony to happen. They should be facing 5 to 10 years for that. In the case when men cheered on rapists that was the punishment they received, not for committing the crime, but for urging the rapists to commit the crime. This is very much the same thing. They are as guilty as the accused of using the internet to mislead others into committing a crime. So, yes, this is dangerously close to entrapment in that the police do not prosecute the people on both sides of the conversation.

Answer 5

Absolutely not. Those guys are scum and taking advantage of young kids who don't know any better. I would convict every single one of them. I used to work within the court system of my local county government and these guys were nothing but predators who's only thought was how they could get these kids alone and molest them. We had people, mostly men but some women, of all age groups and from all walks of life. They runied many young lives by their actions and left wounds on these kids that will heal in time, but will leave scars forever. They are perverts and should be shown no mercy or pity. I would like to make my answer stronger and really tell you what I think, but it would break the Yahoo Answers rules.

Answer 6

I've actually worked on cases like this, and they almost always end in a conviction. The intent is the key, if they thought she was 14, and went for it, they're done in the eyes of the law.

There are some nasty boys on line, no doubt. I had 44 contacts, and all but 5 were married with children! Executives, male nurse, engineers, teachers, you name it, they bit. They were really disgusting in their chats and all but a few showed up for the meeting. Two went out of their way to set it up somewhere remote where no one would see them, we all thought they meant to kill the girl after they picked her up.

Answer 7

Ahhhh NO....these are grown men going to houses to have sex with 13 and 14 year old which are CHILDREN..why would anyone feel sorry for these men..which they are considered paedophiles in which they are....people like that don't deserve respect or second chances....and i have the show on the TV right now...

Answer 8

I would have no problem convicting these sleaze balls. Just imagine how many times they got away with these crimes before they were caught. There are strict guidelines for catching people who go after kids. And it is all admissable in court.
Do you want them out there?

Answer 9

No way. ALL of the men on the show are going to meet underage kids. In no way , shape, or form is that ok. Try to imagine if that was your child. It is scary.

Answer 10

It is somewhat entrapment I guess...but I would convict, I just love how most of them say "oh I was just going to talk to her/him"
Riiiiiiight.

****I agree with Dreamweaver...

Answer 11

No, all those men had the intent of having sex with an underage child. They all deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.