From IMDB:
NBC is being slapped with a $100-million lawsuit filed by the sister of Louis "Bill" Conradt, the chief felony assistant district attorney for Rockwall County, TX, who committed suicide when Murphy, TX police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly soliciting sex from a decoy working for NBC's Dateline and posing as a 13-year-old boy. "NBC was responsible for his death," Patricia Conradt's lawyer, Bruce Baron, told the New York Post. "They conducted their sting operation and intentionally and with negligence sensationalized the situation." Critics of the Dateline "To Catch a Predator" series have been critical of the program's apparent efforts to lure men who otherwise might be reluctant to act out sexual fantasies. In a statement, NBC said that it intends to defend itself against the lawsuit, "as we believe the claims are completely without merit."
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Believe it or not, there are quite a number of apologists for these sickos who appear on Dateline's series of "To Catch a Predator" specials. Just go to imdb.com, type in Dateline NBC, and scroll down to where the message board is. They think that online predators are some kind of "bogeyman" who doesn't really exist, and that Perverted Justice, Dateline NBC, and the viewers are acting as some kind of "judicial branch" in filming these sting operations and embaressing these guys.
The latest is the sister of this assistant district attorney. Bill Conradt was an ADA in Texas who met a 13 year old boy (in reality, a Perverted Justice volunteer posing as one) online and began to speak to him in explicit terms about sex, and also sent him pornographic pictures. As all PJ volunteers do when they're conducting a sting with the aid of police, they arranged a day and place for Conradt to meet them. Conradt didn't show, but what he said and did with the boy online was still a crime under Texas law. So the police came to his home to arrest him, but he killed himself by the time they got through the door.
Murphy, TX is already infamous for dismissing the charges against all the predators caught in the sting operation. They claimed PJ was unwilling to come forward with the evidence or to testify, which is full of shit considering the record PJ has. Now, one of their own is suing NBC for 100 million dollars. How is NBC remotely responsible for his death? As far as we know, Conradt didn't even know NBC was in the neighborhood when he killed himself. He took his life because he was about to get brought in for committing felony offenses, and that his career was likely over. How many predators on TCAP do you see who say something like "shoot me in the head" when approached by Hansen or the police? They realize the gravity of the situation they're in and that it'll have lifelong consequences. The only person responible for Bill Conradt taking his own life, was Bill Conradt.
I don't see how NBC sensationalized his death in any way. And these men aren't "lured in", as this article says. PJ volunteers put up Myspace profiles or email accounts of people who are 13 or 14. These predators instant message and email them, and it's often not long before the conversation turns to sex, on the PREDATOR'S initative. PJ has very little margin of error, since if a case can be proven that they entrap these guys, it'll be thrown out of court. PJ has a great track record, and they haven't gotten it by playing fast and loose.
At best, the predator sympathizers want to wait until the pervert's dick is actually in the child before taking action, and at worst, they're predators themselves, although not as careless and dumb as the ones who appear on NBC. Conradt's sister should be ashamed of herself. I sympathize with her loss, but she should realize that her brother had issues and he needed help, rather than trying to blame NBC.
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