Very earnest and dedicated to the cause, trying to make the world a better place. Unlike our previous hidden camera operationswhere after leaving the house some men were able to make a run for itthis time at our home in Southern California,things would be different. Anyone in the business of rooting out illegal behavior runs the risk of occasionally being accused of entrapment, and To Catch a Predator is no different. You might think he would have learned his lesson, yet we find him right back online, in a chat room the very next day trying to arrange another meeting with a young teen. 21 Jul 04: . Is that accurate?Lakhan: Yes. He knocked on the door and repeatedly said "psst" to get the decoy's attention. We knew there had been abductions and even murders committed by online predators so we understood how serious the issue could be. Wehry claimed to have received a phone call from an unknown man. Last month Westerbeck pleaded guilty to raping a child under the age of 13. Please Login or Register. It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12-15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over the Internet for sexual liaisons. I worked closely on a case with another lawyer who later was caught trying to have sex with an underage girl (who was really a cop). Since Perverted-Justice members are the decoys, some have been temporarily deputized. 43-year-old Walter Edward Babsta high school teacher is a married man with children. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Why dont you put those on the table?Bailon: Oh no, I thought Id carry them with-- (NOISE) thank you. And they do it by posing as kids online. And, I felt like I would be more a big brother more than anything. By 2008, the lawsuit was "amicably resolved" in a confidential settlement. We found him online chatting with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old boy. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. The DA had backup from Mayor Bret Baldwin, who said that even though the men in question deserved punishment, the involvement of a television show raised questions. Using his Web cam, James Rutherford puts on a show for our decoy. He was married and had kids and was the nicest guy. He was found guilty and is awaiting sentencing. men planning to meet someone who said they were an underage teen, trying to explain away their behavior. After the trial, the defendant's mother vowed to sue NBC to reclaim the money spent defending her son. This caused Chris Hansen to come out and order him to take a seat. As part of the new deal, he agreed to make his Hansen vs. I built a google sheet in the birthdays thread. He came over to my house under the guise of talking business and then put the moves on me. [1][2][3], On December 30, 2005, 48-year-old Wehry made contact with a Perverted Justice decoy posing as a 13-year-old boy named "Luke" through email. In his chat, he wants to watch our decoy, who said she was 14, perform a sex act on a cat. I keep meaning to complete this. I do knowHansen: Big, Brother? After the segment nabbed 24 men in Murphy, Texas, the local district attorney refused to prosecute the cases, claiming the amateur involvement of Perverted-Justice "tainted" them. Parents, children, and members of society in general need to be aware of the red flags that are depicted here. Was someone from my hometown in NY. Some talked probably because they thought I was with law enforcement, although I never pretended to be a cop. Now hes pulling into our driveway in his Red corvette. Eric Nichols, a Texas deputy attorney general, said that when law enforcement authorities pull an Internet sex sting, officers posing as decoys follow strict rules. Wrap it around yourself. He was busted on TCAP about 2-3 years after I graduated, so probably sometime 2003-2005. unittwentyfive. As part of the sentencing after a no contest plea that was part of a plea deal, Spikes also must register as a sex offender for the rest He declared he arrived at the house so late to leave a note for John Pederson. In April 2022, Wehry was denied parole. WECT reported that 41-year-old James . During the conversation, he discloses that he carries a gun with him everywhere, so the sting team gave the decoy special instructions to make sure he was unarmed upon arrival. Its been a disturbing scene, watching grown men show up after discussing sex with someone posing as a 12 or 13-year-old child. So youre on probation for having sex with a boy how old?Lyons: 15.Hansen: And now youre here in this house to have sex with a 13 year old boy.Lyons: No, that was not my intention.Hansen: What was your intention?Lyons: Just to talk or whatever. This isnt good.Hansen: Not good? (MSNBC.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.). One suspect dropped a bag of crack, Whorton said. Hes charged with attempted lewd and lascivious battery, using the computer to solicit sex with a minor, and transmitting material harmful to a minor. Jake , Fairfax County Police: Yes, it is.. JOSHUA COLON with offender number 411460 is approaching the end of the court's sentence and is scheduled to be discharged within 30 days on 5/27/2019. Sgt. Nothing funny going on here. Michael Mehari, 38 . To Catch a Predator 's Chris Hansen found himself in the spotlight he normally reserves for the subjects of his stories on Thursday: A judge in Michigan issued a warrant for his arrest after. He even tried to follow our decoy upstairs. If you plan to catch a predator on a long arm, then you can cope with this task only with an elongated model. 27 Jul 02:32 AM. If professionals had been running the show, they would have done a much better job rather than being at the beck and call of outsiders.. The segment has actually been sued at least once. Schroeder: You can hear a pin drop when they start seeing the stories of others being hurt. Always generous with his time, worked at a community center helping under privledged kids learn how to use computers. There are of course numerous software programs available that alert parents when inappropriate information is shared on their computer. Federal and state charges served consecutively.Kevin Westerbeck: had previous sexual assault on a minor conviction, and conviction for hitting up another decoy in another sting.Marvin Harrison Smith: crime occurred in conservative Georgia, had an extremely disturbing chat with decoy, had an obstruction charge for running away from police, and refused a six year plea bargain only to lose at trial.Thomas Bodnar: one previous conviction for molesting a 15 year old, another person testified in court that he had molested her and her two brothers. He asks her bra size, if she shaves anything other than her legs and says theres just something about a teen body.. The sting operation in Shiawassee County resembles the sort of investigations Hansen helmed while hosting "To Catch a Predator." The NBC Dateline program saw adults pose as young teenagers on. To my surprise, he remembers me! Hansen has video evidence to present related to a. According to definition, pedophiles are people interested in "prepubescent sex," and the folks at Perverted-Justice pretended to be 13 to 15 years old, which is after the age of puberty. Call 203-334-6154. We found 42-year-old Thomas Bodnar. That a doctor would show up at this house surprised us, but it would be one of many surprises here just outside Washington D.C. From David Kayes chat with our decoy, the 54 year old, clearly knew what he was doing, REDBD (chat log)- just you are sooo sooo youngREDBD- ive never been with a young man like youREDBD- but i would like to. And the district attorney is refusing to prosecute any of the men, saying many of the cases were tainted by the involvement of amateurs. Their practices have generated strong criticisms from a police force unsure how to engage them because they lack an empathic understanding of hunters . Were off and running in California, and it isnt long before a truckeran actor -- and a songwriter are confronted by Dateline, and then the cops. 'To Catch a Predator' host Chris Hansen calls warrant for his arrest a 'nonevent' Nour Rahal Detroit Free Press View Comments Clearing up his recent legal trouble in Michigan, NBC's "To. Hansen: Why dont you have a seat right there, please.? He was a seriously weird dude, but was relatively friendly, came out to all of the campus events, and was not suspected of being a predator at all by any of us in the dorms back in those days. Bodnar was just one of the 50 men arrested in the riverside investigation. He said that in 16 of the cases, he had no jurisdiction, since neither the suspects nor the decoys were in the county during the online chats. They can chase predators all they want, but they shouldnt do it in a populated area with children, two blocks from an elementary school, said Lisa Watson, 33, who lives down the road from the sting house and has three children and another on the way. This is a family community. Chris Hansen, a 20-year veteran at NBC, was ultimately canned after getting caught red-handed himself. He attempted to assert that someonehad been at the library using his email. By 2007, To Catch a Predator had collected quite a bit of negative press, including heavily critical stories in Rolling Stone, Esquire, and other media outlets. Since the police know the man has his son with him they approach him carefully.A female officer quickly takes the little boy and whisks him away so he doesnt have to further witness his fathers arrest. Super creepy stuff. Certainly these people should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but the fact that this was all done for television cameras raises some questions, said Mayor Bret Baldwin. But, hes not the only registered sex offender who showed up at our house. He was then later charged and convicted of two counts of felony rape by force after sexually assaulting the ex-girlfriend of a friend of his. Wehry left the house and was eventually taken into custody by the Riverside police department. Wehry claimed to be looking for a man named John Pederson to speak with about a job opportunity. He was a really nice, respectful guy; he seemed to be a good cop too. 205 lbs Both at the job and with the women. Wehry was charged with forced sodomy on a minorand sentenced to two years in juvenile detention as a result. 4.0k members in the ToCatchAPredator community. Jean Pierre Wehry And where? Wehry then attempted to claim he had a "college kid" friend who told him about John Pederson and invited him to his house. She was only a third grader when she first met Bodnar. This house in Murphy, Texas, shown in a June 19, 2007 photo, was used in a nationally televised show to ensnare would-be pedophiles remains vacant and is for sale. Hes mentally challenged so i think that he got he worst of the sexual abuse and I was in the middle and then my brother my youngest brother was, got the less of the sexual abuse. They were men whose professions made them respected members of the community. Click here to remove banner ads from this forum. Both sentences were served concurrently. The force they use is excessively funny though. Heck hath no fury like a mommy scorned. Within 2 hours of being acquainted with the decoy online, he drives to her house and talks to her over the phone on the way. 20 years later or so I see him at a rink. Frag: Well, we dont really have to lure them. Hansen: what are you doing here?Walter Edward Babst: Getting my ass kicked.Hansen: Getting your ass kicked?Babst: Yeah, I knew it, I knew it was a set-up.Hansen: I need you to sit down.Babst: I need you to just arrest me and take me to jail and execute me.Hansen: I need to talk to you first. Almost instantly, To Catch a Predator caused a stir among reporters who felt the segment went too far not just in content, but in execution. He co-wrote it with his cellmate (who he nicknamed his "cellie"). Its not going to happen to my son or daughter.. After failing several classes while studying to become a psychiatrist, Wehry started to smoke and distribute crack cocaine. He had come to get drinks for one of my birthdays and to be honest he seemed completely normal. The man is taken away in hand cuffs and brought to a transfer station. Male Just sit at the bar and Ill be right there.James Rutherford: Come here.Decoy: No I promise Ill be right back.Rutherford: No come here.Decoy: Ill be right there. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Our decoy had asked one man to strip before he came into the house. While this story is upsetting, the story of this next man who online calls himself crazitrini85 is downright bizarre. It was the opposite of a he was the last person I would suspect situation. some-seventy-years. He talks about covering the teen with hugs and kisses, saying I want to cuddle you and make you feel safe and loved and cared about.. Westerbeck like so many others claims he was just coming to talkand he also brings up a subject we heard quite often in Ohio: religion. Wayne Dale Epps, Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to the enticement charge, a violation of Florida law, before a federal court in June of this year and was guaranteed a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. The rest of his conviction was affirmed. I know some people who have seen me with the movie, but that was it. FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. -- Todd Spikes, a 44-year-old former Florala, Ala., police officer arrested in 2006 during a "Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator" sting in Flagler Beach was sentenced Tuesday. I said sure.. But that didnt stop the parade of men from traveling hours to get to us. He got a good lawyer and so the TCaP didnt show the video of him getting busted, only a photo that he shared in the chat with who he thought was the young girl. But in the first investigation, none was more shocking than one man who never made it in the dooralthough he came awfully close. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. Hansen: So you had intercourse with an underage boy.Robert Lyons: Yes. All rights reserved (About Us). Predator, with plans to bring it to television later. And after our story aired, Ryan Hogan was terminated from the New York City Fire Department. I figured Id call him over the weekend. Spikes, who had been living in Walton County near DeFuniak Springs, Fla., had shown up with a trunkload of weapons for what he was led to believe on the Internet would be a sexual meeting with an underage female. And it is what parents often dont see is that this can have tragic consequences for kids online according to Teri Schroeder who is president of I-Safe, an organization devoted to online safety. Travis Fowler: sentenced in conservative Kentucky, crossed state lines, had a previous conviction for sex crimes against a minor and was a registered sex offenderJeremy Todd West: in Kentucky and crossing state lines like Fowler. Sgt. In Ohio v. Deuble (2021), a law enforcement officer impersonated a 15-year-old girl named "Bella Jane" online with the aim of catching predators. In August 2016, Hansen was hired to host the nationally syndicated series Crime Watch Daily, which celebrated his arrival by renaming itself Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Weight They came from all walks of life: blue collar, white collar, some with long rap sheetsothers without even a traffic ticket. What kind of alcohol did you bring?Thornton: Um, I brought absolute Citron. He was arrested and charged with attempting a lewd act with a child under 14. Joe Wunderler: I just get nervous. Chuck "Handjobs" Harding died before sentencing per the PJ website. We were all shocked. He wasnt. Ill be honest. Dec 30, 2007. He was also convicted of grand theft and trying to sell stolen goods. We were all in our late 20s, he was a highly educated, well liked guy. Unbelievably, we learn even more about Westerbecks criminal past: rape of a little girlpart of his extended family. He was incarcerated for about a year before being committed to a mental institution. Either way, what he did was a crime. By May, he'd raised almost $90,000 and started production, with investigations already underway. We hunted down Chris the way he hunts down predators to take this job," enthused creator/executive producer Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey. They do it by providing transcripts of their online chats that can then be used as evidence in court. Sgt. A. sexual predator who raped a sleeping woman while posing as an Uber driver and carried out a violent park attack on a second victim has been jailed for 19 years. I thought well, Ill just go over there and say hi and be done with it and go on home. He was pending charges in Riverside when he was arrested again in Long Beach. 28/02/2023. There were so many we had to keep a detailed calendar. Though the group is non-profit, group founder Xavier Von Erck reportedly spent the NBC money on "himself, his friends, and his website" the latter of which doesn't really look like anyone put a whole lot of money into it. It didnt look kosher at all, he said. I didnt get why; the dude across from us had been absolutely hardcore eyeing me (a 15 year old dressed-for-opera girl) and I figured that was (regrettably) normal, but dad said When hes eyeing me too, its a problem., I trusted my dad about people ever since sea_rhapsody, He legit was always trying to sleep with men that were way too young for him (albeit just barely legal) and we made jokes all the time to him about how he was going to wind up on that show. As police knocked at his door and a Dateline camera crew waited in the street, Conradt shot himself. I didnt think anything of it. He served about two years in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender. And we certainly never expected to see naked guys, which we did not once, but twice. A little over a year later, he returned to live with the psychiatrist. Just really glad I never met up with him. Teri Schroeder, I-Safe: If you could actually look through cyber glasses and see whos peering in your window, whos in your daughters room, whos reading your daughters blog, whos cyber-stalking your son.it is reality and the fact is weve become very ignorant to those types of things because we cant see it.. He also throws his brother under the bus for the child porn that is on his computer. iFuckZebraCakes, One guy showed up to the sting in a company semi truck. But not long after he befriended Dazarie and her family, Bodnar began to molest the three children one by one. His excuse for showing up has to be one of the worst. After chuckling at hearing some of his chat log lines, he is let go by Hansen, only to come face to face with a group of police officers (who are advised by their superiors to act more swiftly than usual due to the earlier suspicion of him being potentially armed). Prior to the sting operation, Patterson was a reserve police officer in Lebron, Indiana, who was fired for using police car lights to pull someone over, impersonating an on-duty officer. Have a cookie, I made them because theyll go with the cool-whip. Led by host Chris Hansen, To Catch a Predator took viewers on a series of queasily compelling journeys as they tracked down and nabbed sexual offenders on camera. But it doesnt end there. In five investigations in five different states, weve come across some memorable characters. Wehry arrived at the sting around 11 p.m. Holding his sons hand, the 40-year-old walks into the house. "We are excited to have him lead our amazing team of correspondents, to build on our success and take Crime Watch Daily to the next level.". A 26-year-old man arrested for trying to have relations with a 13-year-old girl in 2006 put yet another nail in To Catch a Predator's coffin. Hosted by Chris Hansen, To Catch a Predator is a series that recurred on the TV news magazine Dateline NBC. When asked if he was a photographer, Wehry replied, ""I think about a long time ago I was." He was creepy and kept trying to get me to go to Burning Man. Really great upstanding citizen. Cody Green (perfect_buddy_ga / c_gr23eazy) - Sentence: Three years in prison, 12 years' probation. Theres a 14-year-old girl. He asks me about my parents, I show him pictures of my family. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. It was past two in the morning. I brought mandarin orange. The network sustained a bit of a black eye during the scandal and some might say they dropped the ball by not firing him on a segment similar to his own. Last year, he pleaded guilty to using the internet to transmit obscene material to a person under 16. Remember, police tell us if an individual goes along with something like that it helps prove intent. We go into these chatrooms, I havent said a word to anybody Im sitting in a room and the IMs start popping up and they start coming on. For upwards of US$100,000 per episode, the production hired controversial vigilante group Perverted-Justice to assist in the "exposure [and] arrest of men ostensibly interested in having sex with children."Perverted-Justice entered chat rooms and posed as children to lure such men to a . As the investigation progressed, volunteers from Perverted-Justice, the group dedicated to catching Internet predators were busy as ever chatting online with men like va_male692005., Hes 28, talking to our decoy Erin, who says shes a 14-year-old. Be used as evidence in court 'd raised almost $ 90,000 and started production, with to... I show him pictures of my birthdays and to be a cop his red corvette or submit... On TCAP about 2-3 years after I graduated, so probably sometime 2003-2005. unittwentyfive, watching grown show... 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