Internet stings, your thoughts?

What are you thoughts about internet stings, like what they used to do on To Catch a Predator? Set up a decoy to chat online with grown men who think they're talking to a 13 year old and want to meet them and have sex with them, then when the guys arrive, they're arrested.


Some people call it entrapment...others say the men were FORCED by the decoys to come...I say where's the gun at the guy's head making him drive 300 miles with booze and condoms for a 12 year old? Some people say it's the decoy's fault, the guy wouldn't have done it if the decoy didn't keep pressuring him to do it. Well guess what? If somebody tells me to rob a bank, I wouldn't do it the first time they said it, and I wouldn't do it the 100th time because I know it's a crime and you get caught and go to jail and then ruin your whole life and shame your whole family.

Then there are people who say those televised stings are unfair because then it ruins the lives of those men...well a lot of these guys asked the decoys 'are you a cop? Are you with To catch a predator?', they KNOW the cops are out there, they know they could get arrested and ruin their families lives, they do it anyway, they don't care.

And then there are people who say these guys aren't dangerous, just pathetic...for the most part maybe. But there was one guy, was a COP, he drove from another state with 5 different guns in tow, a snub nose revolver, a shotgun, a rifle, etc., and 300 rounds of ammo...they didn't even wait for that guy to come into the house and find there wasn't a 13 year old girl, they busted him as soon as he pulled in. These people really mean to say this guy isn't dangerous? Was he just bringing his massive arsenal because he thought the girl would find it cool? These kinds of guys DO need to be locked up, and I think the only way anybody can say the guys who send the naked pictures and drive hundreds of miles to meet 12 and 13 year old boys are not to blame, didn't do anything wrong, etc., must also be pedophiles or friends of theirs, because I can't think any logical explanation for an attitude like that.

What's everybody else think?

It is entrapment, but I don't care....these guys know exactly what they're doing, have no qualms about making dates to have sex with somebody they thought was 13 or 14 y/o kid, and therefore deserve the humiliation and take down. I loved those TO CATCH A PREDATOR series on Dateline. Funny as hell to me, in a warped way. Too bad they became so infamous that they probably have a hard time pulling it off now.

There seems to be a fine line between entrapment and what they do. Entrapment would be like if the decoy started the discussions first and was sexually explicit, but that's not the case...some of these guys seem to really be...what's the word...vultures or something, just sitting there waiting because it was said they start talking to some decoys within their first 5 minutes online.

It may or may not be entrapment, it all depends on the conversation and what was said. Regardless, if they are ready and planning to have sex with these young kids, they deserve what's coming to them.

Sorry; BUT when an ADULT goes online looking for a Minor, be it a male or a female to have a Sexual Encounter with, the LAW is being broken. There is NO entrapment as everything is usually set up and in co operation with the State Attorney General and Local Law Enforcement. How would you feel if one of these scumbags tried to get into the pants of your little brother or sister about age fifteen or so?
I bet then you'd be trying to call Chris Hanson and NBC!

Honestly, when it comes to child molesters, I don't really care how they're caught... whether it be through unlawful entrapment or whatever else. I don't understand why anyone would be worried about whether or not a child molester was caught in a fair or unfair way. They deserve to be caught and thrown in jail regardless of how they're found out, IMO.

Of course, I don't think that Perverted Justice should be getting paid hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this, either. That's the only issue I have. I could create a fake account on Yahoo and pretend to be a child to catch a child molester, where's my damn check?! LOL

That said, I can't stand those Dateline To Catch a Predator profiles. I don't like the idea of parading pedophiles around as a form of entertainment. It's disgusting to read the chat logs, and although the show might pretend as if they're just trying to 'inform' people, the truth is that television is a business and they're out to make money. So, they sensationalize and play things out for entertainment value - even pedophilia. It's disgusting, IMO. Who needs to read the specific chat logs just to be informed that there are child molesters in the world? We already know this. We don't need the details of where and how they plan to molest their child victims just to be 'informed.'

Also, can you imagine what it must be like for family members of the pedophiles caught on this show? Damn. When I would watch I kept expecting one of the men to pull out a weapon and go batshit crazy on the host, Chris Hansen. It's a very real possibility, too.

Part of me thinks that any way to get pedos off the street is a fine but another part of me think it's not "right" to OFFER an alcoholic a drink IYKWIM. If these guys are there online LOOKING and propositioning kids then bust them but if it's just like a regular date site or chatroom and the decoy is the one starting convos with guys, pretending to be teens then that's wrong IMO.

I don't care how they are caught.

The guy behind Perverted Justice is an odd duck, though. And PJ is not exactly as it was portrayed on the show. Their volunteer base was huge, and included actual minors.

I think they can be a good idea if they're done right but I see easy potential to botch them up. lol

If someone is deliberately plotting to have sexual relations with a minor, then I couldn't care less how they are taken down.

I don't care how they're caught - love shows like Datelines' To Catch a Predator" If these sickos are soliciting sex from minors, they deserve to be c aught any way the police can catch them. The rights of the children they intended to violate come before their own rights.

Chris wrote:If someone is deliberately plotting to have sexual relations with a minor, then I couldn't care less how they are taken down.

The kids will be alot safer with these perverts off the streets!!!!! But i think that parents need to set some ground rules on their young childrens internet activities and to make sure that they understand what they mean!

I don't really care how these sickos are caught. If they're soliciting underage kids, then they deserve everything that's coming and however the police catch them is fine with me. They gave up their rights the moment they chose to target CHILDREN.