To Catch a Predator

[MicroBob]

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I also think the majority of pedophiles (true pedophiles, not guys who bang 14 year olds) would jump at the chance to be castrated and try to live a normal life as best they could.



for some reason i kind of doubt this. so much of identity is tied up in your sex organs. Personally, I can't imagine being castrated. i think most guys would say that that would fundamentally compromise who they are since it compromises their manhood.

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I thought there were some countries that actually have done this and some of the dudes did choose the castration route.

Maybe somebody can find confirmation of this somewhere.

[Golden_Rhino]

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Anyone defending these perverts, or crying about how "unethical" it is, is a huge douche bag. I mean, wtf are you people thinking? The only problem I have with the show is that they dont cut the predators balls off.

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so its ok to be sadistically violent to sadistic people? you have a [censored] up view of morality.

i don't know if you are american, but do you not believe in the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause in the bill of rights?

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You are the one defending pedophiles...not me.

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But is anyone defending you?

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I'm with Guids on this one. He is not saying that he realistically expects for people's balls to be cut off on national TV, and it is illegal, but damn, I'd watch that show all day.

[siccjay]

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This never sat well with me, I always felt like Dateline was as much of a scumbag as these guys. These men are committing victimless crimes.


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LMAO

Defending guys that bang 12 year olds.....I have seen it all.

[almostbusto]

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This never sat well with me, I always felt like Dateline was as much of a scumbag as these guys. These men are committing victimless crimes.


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LMAO

Defending guys that bang 12 year olds.....I have seen it all.

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i think he is trying to say that these guys AREN'T banging 12 year olds. basically they have just been chatting with fat 40 year old women on the internet.

[siccjay]

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I think this is really unfair.

Talking dirty on the internet, and then showing up (invited) at their house shouldn't be a crime.

I don't believe putting men who may molest children in jail is effective in decreasing the number of molesters. And even if it was, I still don't think it would be an ethical solution.

It's disgusting that people can be sent to jail for thinking about doing something wrong, while not actually DOING anything wrong at all.

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It is against the law to solicit sex from a minor on the internet.

[vhawk01]

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I think this is really unfair.

Talking dirty on the internet, and then showing up (invited) at their house shouldn't be a crime.

I don't believe putting men who may molest children in jail is effective in decreasing the number of molesters. And even if it was, I still don't think it would be an ethical solution.

It's disgusting that people can be sent to jail for thinking about doing something wrong, while not actually DOING anything wrong at all.

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It is against the law to solicit sex from a minor on the internet.

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"I think the law is unfair."

"That is the law."

"Yeah, I know, but it is unfair, and these are the reasons."

"That is the law."

[siccjay]

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I think this is really unfair.

Talking dirty on the internet, and then showing up (invited) at their house shouldn't be a crime.

I don't believe putting men who may molest children in jail is effective in decreasing the number of molesters. And even if it was, I still don't think it would be an ethical solution.

It's disgusting that people can be sent to jail for thinking about doing something wrong, while not actually DOING anything wrong at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is against the law to solicit sex from a minor on the internet.

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"I think the law is unfair."

"That is the law."

"Yeah, I know, but it is unfair, and these are the reasons."

"That is the law."

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[vhawk01]

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I think this is really unfair.

Talking dirty on the internet, and then showing up (invited) at their house shouldn't be a crime.

I don't believe putting men who may molest children in jail is effective in decreasing the number of molesters. And even if it was, I still don't think it would be an ethical solution.

It's disgusting that people can be sent to jail for thinking about doing something wrong, while not actually DOING anything wrong at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is against the law to solicit sex from a minor on the internet.

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"I think the law is unfair."

"That is the law."

"Yeah, I know, but it is unfair, and these are the reasons."

"That is the law."

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Ok, my bad.

[ALawPoker]

Guids (and others I guess),

I think some of you are confusing what some people are actually arguing. I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone is actually defending the act of molesting a child. No one is saying that the people who show up at the house haven't done something bad, to some degree. But is what they've done really bad enough to get the felony and the tv exposure? Should consensual sex with a 14 year old really be seen as the same thing as forced rape or sex with a 9 year old?

Like others have said, a lot of these guys are probably just desperate for sex, and when a hot 14 year old invites them over, they eventually go for it. Exemplary behavior? No. Felony? That doesn't seem right to some of us.

To some extent, shouldn't the harm actually caused play a role in the punishment? Or are you just content with anybody showing any likelihood of hurting a minor getting the full treatment? What exactly is it that crosses the line for you? Is it walking through the door? Is it getting out of the car? Is it driving on the street? Is it getting in the car? Is it talking to the girl about sex on the internet? Is it telling your friend that you think a certain underage girl is hot? Is it thinking a certain underage girl is hot? What exactly is it? Where exactly do you say "BAM, that's a felony, no sympathy for him!"?

I believe most people have some latent potential to hook up with a minor. Men have hormones. But we also have a sense of judgment that usually keeps those desires in check. If someone's desires get the best of them in this artificial scenario, do you think that means that it was particularly likely to happen with a real 14 year old (who presumably isn't likely to be very hot, very willing, and very home alone)? Or do you think maybe all we've proved is that they have *some* capacity to hurt someone, and maybe that they are slightly more likely to do so than the average person? Since no child was actually hurt, I'm more willing to want to give them the benefit of the doubt (and maybe force them to attend counseling, and keep them under some sort of supervision for some amount of time) than I am to want to put them on national TV and convict them of a felony.

Does this mean I'm sympathetic to child molesters? According to you, yes. Or maybe it just means that I care about having a legal system that seeks to distribute punishments fairly, and differentiate critical circumstances accurately.

But the fact is, lenient sentencing of people who are perceived as child molesters does not win elections for judges and city officials. Being reasonable with your methods in sting operations does not fill quotas for undercover agents. It's how the system works. And as long as there are people like you out there screaming for someone's head rather than be willing to make some sort of level headed analysis of a situation, then it's how the system will remain. And it's a shame.

It's possible to care about an issue because of the precedent it has on your system. Accusing us of being sympathetic to scum bags is a real myopic (and unfair) way to look at what we're saying.


Ideally, I would like to establish different tiers of sexual abuse. It's ridiculous to think some sort of blanket offense is actually a good policy. Should a 45 year old who had forced sex with an 8 year old really be no different than a 21 year old who had consensual sex with a 15 year old? Not only does one person get a punishment/stigma that he probably doesn't deserve, but the scummier person benefits from a lightened punishment and a dampened stigma. On one end you have the most gruesome type of person out there, and on the other end you have a potentially decent person who was a little horny and made a mistake (and probably harmed no one). It's OK to differentiate between these things without being "sympathetic to child molesters." I'm sure you think you stand for some nobel things. But, IMO, it is stances like yours which make effective compromise (and ultimately the heightened punishment of the more serious offenses) close to impossible.

[luckyjimm]

Have any of you seen Hard Candy?

"Claustrophobic and brightly coloured, this tightly wound psychological thriller is constantly pulling the rug out from under the viewer, mostly due to the tense, explosive performances of its two main characters. The tale opens with a coffee shop rendezvous between 14-year-old Haley (the fantastic Ellen Page) and 32-year-old fashion photographer Jeff (Patrick Wilson), who have previously met only online in a chat room. Despite his questionable enthusiasm at meeting a girl half his age, Jeff comes off as slightly awkward and shy; rather, it's Haley who is unnervingly forthright in her flirtation. She suggests that they go back to his place, he complies, and, once there, Haley seductively convinces him to take pictures of her. She exhibits a beguiling mixture of innocence and precocious sexuality, but before anything happens between them, Jeff passes out under the influence of the drugs she's slipped him. When he wakes up, Haley drops her innocent demeanor and begins to undertake a meticulously planned game of retribution against her captive pedophile. She hacks into his computer and ransacks his house while he watches helplessly, and she ultimately raises the ante with a surgical procedure sure to make audiences squirm. The exact nature of Jeff's guilt remains nebulous, however, creating an intriguing uncertainty surrounding Haley's own mental state, and just how psychotic she might be. Expectations are continuously thwarted as the two characters--neither of whom is terribly sympathetic--enact a psychological and physical game of cat and mouse that is as fascinating to watch as a train wreck."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/r...324864-8603663