To Catch a Predator

To Catch a Predator is a television program designed to catch adults trying to have sex with children below the age of 16. People were lured to meet with a decoy under the pretense of sexual contact and then confronted. Show host Chris Hansen clarified in an interview with NPR News that these subjects should be labeled as potential sexual predators, and not pedophiles. "Pedophiles have a very specific definition, people who are interested in prepubescent sex," he stated.[1]

The series premiered in November 2004, and featured 12 investigations in total held across the United States. The investigations were conducted as undercover sting operations with the help of on-line watchdog group Perverted-Justice. Since the third installment, law enforcement and other officials were also involved, leading to the arrests of most individuals caught. No new episodes have aired since December 2007.

NBC affiliates WTMJ in Milwaukee, KSHB in Kansas City and WBRE have also done local versions of To Catch a Predator. Various spin-offs have aired in the same format, including To Catch a Con Man, To Catch an ID Thief, To Catch a Car Thief and To Catch an i-Jacker, which featured iPod thieves. To Catch a Predator is also aired on FX and Crime & Investigation Network in the United Kingdom, the Crime & Investigation Network in Australia and New Zealand and FOX Crime in Portugal.

Notable people
  • David Kaye is a former rabbi who tried to have sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy. Kaye was sentenced to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to two federal charges.[2]
  • Maurice Wolin was a married former oncologist who tried to have sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.[3] Wolin is known for hiring lawyer Blaire Berk, who worked for Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan.[4] After three years of trying to throw out his case, Wolin pleaded no contest to one felony charge and was sentenced to two-months of home confinement and was required to register as a sex offender for life.[5][6]
  • Joseph Roisman is a former sailor for the Navy who tried to have sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.[7][8] He was acquitted of all charges after the judge ruled that the prosecution failed to show that he intended to have sex with the decoy and accused NBC and Perverted Justice of entrapment.[9][10]
  • Todd Spikes is a former Alabama police officer who thought he was going to have sex with a 13-year-old girl.[11] When police searched his car, they found an array of weapons, including a military assault rifle and 12 gauge shotgun, over 800 rounds of ammunition (including hollow point bullets), duct tape, tarps, a boat anchor, magazines with over thirty bullets on each, three cell phones, two bullet-proof vests, video and digital cameras, and pornographic DVDs.[11][12][13][14][15] In April 2010, Spikes was sentenced to ten years of sex offender probation and was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.[16][17]

References
  1. "Ethics of NBC's Sting Show 'To Catch a Predator'", Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio, January 16, 2007
  2. Boorstein, Michelle (October 26, 2012). "Bethesda synagogue grapples with presence of rabbi convicted of sex crime". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  3. Carter, Lori A. (August 8, 2007). "Petaluma Police Defend Online Sex Sting: Doctor's Hearing Continues in 'Dateline' Expose Case". The Press Democrat. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  4. Carter, Lori A. (August 7, 2007). "Man faces charges in sex sting". The Press Democrat. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  5. Payne, Paul (March 10, 2010). "'Dateline' Doctor Gets Jail Time In Child-Sex Sting:East Bay Physician Nabbed In Petaluma Must Register As Sex Offender For Life". The Press Democrat. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  6. "Piedmont doctor sentenced in sexual predator sting". East Bay Times. March 10, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  7. "Inside Dateline: Of prominent men and potential predators". NBC. September 28, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  8. Squires, Jennifer (August 17, 2011). "Former Watsonville Sailor Cleared in 'To Catch A Predator' Sting". Patch. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  9. "Sonoma Judge Drops Charges Against Sailor Stemming From 'To Catch A Predator' TV Show". CBS News. August 17, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  10. "Judge Dismisses Sex Case Says Dateline Entrapped Sailor". TMZ. August 16, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  11. Hansen, Chris (March 6, 2007). "The scariest potential predator". NBC. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  12. Nelson, Stephanie (March 6, 2010). "Former Florala Cop Plead No Contest To Child Exploitation". Andalusia Star News. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  13. Moore, Theresa (December 12, 2006). "Cop arrested in online sting". WTSP. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  14. Howell, Bob (December 13, 2006). "Dateline NBC Helps Bust Florala Police Officer". WSFA. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  15. Moore, Theresa (April 3, 2007). "Trapped In Predator Net". The Ledger. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  16. "Alabama ex-cop sentenced in child sex sting". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. April 22, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  17. "Report: Man arrested in 'Predator' sting in Flagler reaches deal to avoid prison". Orlando Sentinel. March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2023.

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