To Catch a Predator

[ALawPoker]

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They do absolutely nothing to entice the men who appear on the show. They simply go to a chat room, or set a profile on myspace, and wait for someone to bite. They don't ask around for guys, or actively seek anyone out.

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I understand that in all the cases the guy sent a pm first. But that isn't a big deal to me. Sometimes you just click on names in chat rooms, and even if knowing it's a minor, it isn't a crime to pm them (until you initiate sex). So it means very little to me that the guy "initiated" the conversation. I'm more interested in how it went after that,

They don't release the full transcripts of the chat. So I can't say for sure to what extent they entice the man. But it's a TV show. I think it's a little far-fetched to assume that upon hearing they're talking to a teacher or a rabbi they don't make a goal out of enticing him.

I don't mind the idea of a sting when it weeds out people who are actual threats to minors. But your methods should mirror that. Proving that a man is capable of letting his lust get the better of him in this artificial situation, I don't think, means that you can assume he necessarily could have been capable of doing it in the real world. Most 13 year olds don't aggressively show sexual interest to a bald old man online. Most 13 year olds don't know exactly what buttons to press to interest the man. Most 13 year olds don't look like really hot 19 year olds. Most 13 year olds don't have an interest in meeting bad old men. Most 13 year olds don't happen to have a house all to themselves for the weekend. Most 13 year olds would probably give off a touch or two of awkwardness that might remind the man how he should feel about this. But when you're actually talking to adults intentionally trying to interest you, I think you might "feel" something different than the vibe you would get from actual minors.

I dunno. I admit I'm basically just not giving the "investigators" the benefit of the doubt. But I think that's just hard to do when you introduce the entertainment aspect.