In the third installment of “To Catch A Predator,” NBC’s “Dateline” last week again exposed men ostensibly interested in having sex with children. As recounted by CBSNews.com’s Public Eye, volunteers from Perverted-Justice, a controversial citizen’s organization that aggressively seeks to ferret out online predators, engage in sexually charged chats with the adults who contact them. Dozens of men eventually show up at the address provided by the decoys, presumably for a sexual encounter.
Is this entrapment? NBC’s Stone Phillips said that, “In many cases, the decoy is the first to bring up the subject of sex. However, the transcripts show that once the hook is baited, the fish jump and run with it like you wouldn’t believe.” He added: “Enticement? Yes. Entrapment. I don’t think so.” Dateline says that law enforcement action is a decision for police and prosecutors. Public Eye Asks, “Isn’t identifying someone as a child molester on national television a form of punishment?
Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/02/07/publiceye/entry1290135.shtml