ZERO prosecutions in To Catch a Predator Dateline NBC show

***UPDATE: This Texas city has since fired the police chief who orchestrated the sting.***

ABC 20/20: 'To Catch a Predator': A Sting Gone Bad
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/to-catch-a-pred.html

Esquire article on To Catch a Predator: "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die"
http://www.esquire.com/features/predator0907

Rolling Stone article on Perverted Justice:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15723886/to_catch_a_predator_is_nbcs_p...

A show that supposedly catches sexual predators online for broadcast on Dateline NBC has had all allegations against people on the show thrown out by a District Attorney. Contrary to claims made by Perverted Justice leader, Xaiver Von Erck, that no case has ever been refused by a prosecutor, it is alleged by prosecutors that Perverted Justice fabricates chat log evidence among other baiting tactics.

Uncut video from the sex stings led prosecutors to question who actually ran the stings. Dateline NBC cameras were worn by police officers. A lawsuit filed by the show's former producer, Marsha Bartel, alleges the NBC network compensates police agencies to enhance the dramatic effect of on-the-air arrests. "[NBC] unethically provides local law enforcement with video equipment and video tapes" in exchange for dramatically staged arrest video, the suit said. According to Bartel, Perverted Justice chatters "sometimes beg individuals to come to the sting locations" so they can be captured on camera. She alleges that the vigilante group tricks suspects into coming to the sting house for just about any reason.

Since the botched operation, the town's city manager was thrown out of office because of his authorization of the sting. The town overwhelmingly elected a city council majority who opposed the sting. In addition, a number of police officers prominently portrayed on the Dateline show are no longer in employment with the police department.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• to
• catch
• predator
• dateline
• nbc
• perverted
• justice
• legal
• disaster
• murphy
• texas
• xavier
• von
• erck
• phillip
• john