NBC has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a Texas prosecutor who killed himself when confronted with cameras for the series “To Catch a Predator,” the New York Times reports. The family of Louis W. Conradt Jr. filed a $105 million lawsuit against NBC, which ran the “Predator” episode on its “Dateline NBC” newsmagazine series. The network refused to disclose the amount it paid to the family.
The lawsuit focused on the techniques used by the hidden-camera program to attract men online by having someone pose as an under-age girl in a chat room, then luring them to a house where they were confronted by a camera crew and host. “To Catch a Predator” drew high ratings, but ethical questions were raised over the program's access arrangements with the local police and an online watchdog group. In the Conradt case, when police, apparently encouraged by NBC, tried arrest him at his home, Conradt shot himself in the head. A judge later said that a jury “could find that NBC crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement.” would be issued. The Los Angeles Times which first reported the lawsuit resolution.