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Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator IV

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Doesn't anyone think this is entrapment? I also don't like how they make fun of the guys once they are caught. For example, making fun of the guy because he was under 5 feet tall.
 
Those guys are so pathetic and some of the excuses are even more pathetic.

Such as "I am here to looking for a job", "I must be in the wrong house", "I don't need any 14 years old girl, I have all the girls in the world", "I am looking for a friend", "I am a tv producer and I am working on a project", "I am just role playing".... and on and on.

If you do the crime, face it, and pay the time. Put them all in jail and let them have a date with Bubba, up close and personal, no need for them to drive for hours 😀

 
Originally posted by: bubbadu
Doesn't anyone think this is entrapment? I also don't like how they make fun of the guys once they are caught. For example, making fun of the guy because he was under 5 feet tall.

how is it entrapment? they go in with a name like fem13 or so. then guys HIT ON THEM and they fcontinue. they do NOT start the sex talk but do react to it.


i have no trouble with them makeing fun of these shitholes getting caught.
 
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Originally posted by: bubbadu
Doesn't anyone think this is entrapment? I also don't like how they make fun of the guys once they are caught. For example, making fun of the guy because he was under 5 feet tall.
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Nope, the decoy girl states that she is underage but all of those guys still bite the bait. Those guys send the decoy pics of their penises, how is that entrapment? Some of these guys are in their 40s and 50s, yet hit on 13 and 14 years old girls. If you are that old and that STUPID/creepy, it is your own fault.

If you commit a crime, especially like this one, you lose all your rights as human being. Period.
 
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

What about the argument that pedophilia is like any other sexual orientation in that it's genetic (automatic/hard-wired)? Like my boss likes to say, "There was never one single moment in my life when I simply decided to be gay."

Worse still, how do you treat someone like this?
This is EXACTLY what I'm thinking the whole time I watch these stings. I don't believe people choose to be gay or pedophiles. Only difference is pedophiles aren't dealing with legal age partners. Gays can come out of the closet and live a halfway normal life. These guys are pretty much screwed... uh, or not. 😕
 
I read a book that covered the whole "internet predator" thing in a chapter. The author even went so far as to say he wasn't aware of one single confirmed case of it ever happening (reporters posing as children don't count.) I believe it too, go to perverted justice and read some of the chat logs. Let me tell you something, teenagers are not that stupid! The real sad thing is young girls are far more likely to be sexually abused by someone in their own family. But that doesn't make for good TV, so lets just ignore that story...
 
Originally posted by: bubbadu
Doesn't anyone think this is entrapment? I also don't like how they make fun of the guys once they are caught. For example, making fun of the guy because he was under 5 feet tall.

wow, we are sorry the humiliation and arrest of child molesters disturbs you. I will write an email to NBC on your behalf.

And its not entrapment. These guys make first contact and know what they are after.
 
How can it be legal to charge someone for sexually soliciting a minor who doesn't actually exist? If a crime has been committed, who is the victim? The minor in question doesn't actually exist - just an internet screen name/ account. This seems like a thought crime.



 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

What about the argument that pedophilia is like any other sexual orientation in that it's genetic (automatic/hard-wired)? Like my boss likes to say, "There was never one single moment in my life when I simply decided to be gay."

Worse still, how do you treat someone like this?
This is EXACTLY what I'm thinking the whole time I watch these stings. I don't believe people choose to be gay or pedophiles. Only difference is pedophiles aren't dealing with legal age partners. Gays can come out of the closet and live a halfway normal life. These guys are pretty much screwed... uh, or not. 😕

One thing that makes me think that pedophilia is an "illness" (as opposed to an "orientation") is simply that a majority of abusers were abused themselves as children. (Yes, people used to say that gay people are homosexual because they were abused - however that has been disproven). If people spontaneously became pedophiles, with no history of having been abused themselves, then I think it might be somewhat more legitimate to view pedophilia as a form of sexual orientation.
 
Originally posted by: aidanjm
How can it be legal to charge someone for sexually soliciting a minor who doesn't actually exist? If a crime has been committed, who is the victim? The minor in question doesn't actually exist - just an internet screen name/ account. This seems like a thought crime.

I think that once it gets past the point of idle banter on the internet, and the guy is showing up for sex with what he believes to be a minor, it has clearly transcended a mere thought process. The guys clearly expect to have sex with a minor, which of course is the sole purpose of *showing up*. It's not different then the guy showing up for any other type of sting.
 
You know CVSIN and I were watching Datelines episode of this when the came out with both of them on TV. Almost all of them admitted in the end they KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!!!

I find these people and their behavior very very disturbing and just downright dangerous. I don't think that this is entrapment at all. Let's define the rules of entrapment shall we???

ENTRAPMENT - A person is '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; and the law as a matter of policy forbids conviction in such a case.

However, there is no entrapment where a person is ready and willing to break the law and the Government agents merely provide what appears to be a favorable opportunity for the person to commit the crime. For example, it is not entrapment for a Government agent to pretend to be someone else and to offer, either directly or through an informer or other decoy, to engage in an unlawful transaction with the person. So, a person would not be a victim of entrapment if the person was ready, willing and able to commit the crime charged in the indictment whenever opportunity was afforded, and that Government officers or their agents did no more than offer an opportunity.

On the other hand, if the evidence leaves a reasonable doubt whether the person had any intent to commit the crime except for inducement or persuasion on the part of some Government officer or agent, then the person is not guilty.

In slightly different words: Even though someone may have [sold drugs], as charged by the government, if it was the result of entrapment then he is not guilty. Government agents entrapped him if three things occurred:

- First, the idea for committing the crime came from the government agents and not from the person accused of the crime.

- Second, the government agents then persuaded or talked the person into committing the crime. Simply giving him the opportunity to commit the crime is not the same as persuading him to commit the crime.

- And third, the person was not ready and willing to commit the crime before the government agents spoke with him.

On the issue of entrapment the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not entrapped by government agents.


You can place an ad, or put an online identity out there... that's all well and good, but if you the predator start soliciting the fake identity, then this is not entrapment. Entrapment is when LE tries to coerce you into something you would not normally do as a law abiding citizen, which is not the case with these people.

LE knows what they are doing with these perverts!! Trust me, I know the law in this area very well.

I am glad they are doing this and hope like hell they catch more of them. This is one area I have to say GO LE...!!! :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: aidanjm
How can it be legal to charge someone for sexually soliciting a minor who doesn't actually exist? If a crime has been committed, who is the victim? The minor in question doesn't actually exist - just an internet screen name/ account. This seems like a thought crime.

No not thought crime - more like attempted crime - like attempted robbery. They have merged attempt into the actual crime statute, which is a modern trend, to not distinguish between attempts and successful comissions of criminal acts.

TITLE XLVI - Florida Criminal Statutes

847.0135 Computer pornography; penalties.--

(1) SHORT TITLE.--This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 1986."

(2) COMPUTER PORNOGRAPHY.--A person who:

(a) Knowingly compiles, enters into, or transmits by use of computer;

(b) Makes, prints, publishes, or reproduces by other computerized means;

(c) Knowingly causes or allows to be entered into or transmitted by use of computer; or

(d) Buys, sells, receives, exchanges, or disseminates,

any notice, statement, or advertisement of any minor's name, telephone number, place of residence, physical characteristics, or other descriptive or identifying information for purposes of facilitating, encouraging, offering, or soliciting sexual conduct of or with any minor, or the visual depiction of such conduct, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. The fact that an undercover operative or law enforcement officer was involved in the detection and investigation of an offense under this section shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution under this section.

(3) CERTAIN USES OF COMPUTER SERVICES PROHIBITED.--Any person who knowingly utilizes a computer on-line service, Internet service, or local bulletin board service to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice, or attempt to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice, a child or another person believed by the person to be a child, to commit any illegal act described in chapter 794, relating to sexual battery; chapter 800, relating to lewdness and indecent exposure; or chapter 827, relating to child abuse, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(4) OWNERS OR OPERATORS OF COMPUTER SERVICES LIABLE.--It is unlawful for any owner or operator of a computer on-line service, Internet service, or local bulletin board service knowingly to permit a subscriber to utilize the service to commit a violation of this section. Any person who violates this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000.

(5) STATE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.--A person is subject to prosecution in this state pursuant to chapter 910 for any conduct proscribed by this section which the person engages in, while either within or outside this state, if by such conduct the person commits a violation of this section involving a child residing in this state, or another person believed by the person to be a child residing in this state.

History.--s. 11, ch. 86-238; s. 213, ch. 91-224; s. 71, ch. 96-388; s. 3, ch. 2001-54.

It's a felony, but only third degree, unlike the successful comission, which is probably first degree (too lazy to look it up). The difference in jail time is significant, and honestly, this felony can probably/possibly be plead down to a serious misdemeanor if its a first offense. These guys are probably getting off lighter than the TV folks want you to believe.
 
Originally posted by: TheAdvocate
Originally posted by: aidanjm
How can it be legal to charge someone for sexually soliciting a minor who doesn't actually exist? If a crime has been committed, who is the victim? The minor in question doesn't actually exist - just an internet screen name/ account. This seems like a thought crime.

No not thought crime - more like attempted crime - like attempted robbery. They have merged attempt into the actual crime statute, which is a modern trend, to not distinguish between attempts and successful comissions of criminal acts.



It's a felony, but only third degree, unlike the successful comission, which is probably first degree (too lazy to look it up). The difference in jail time is significant, and honestly, this felony can probably/possibly be plead down to a serious misdemeanor if its a first offense. These guys are probably getting off lighter than the TV folks want you to believe.

That is truly unfortunate...

This is the type of crime they need to amp of charges for instead of amping up charges for copying DVD's...

Makes me sick, our priorities are so screwed up in this country.

 
Originally posted by: TGS
I think that once it gets past the point of idle banter on the internet, and the guy is showing up for sex with what he believes to be a minor

yeah, but that minor doesn't exist, the minor is a figment of the pedophile's imagination.
 
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