has anyone seen those dateline shows on internet predators?

[blackhole123]

Now im not saying that these men arent guilty and i think they should be in jail, but i dont know how they can be arrested. They say that it is because they were chatting with a minor about explicit acts and that when they are going to the homes that they were going to have sex with a minor. That may be so but the people they chatted with were legal adults pretending to be minors. Just because they say they are minors, it doesnt mean that they were. Sure you can show intent but they never actually broke a law.

 

What do you guys think about this?

[ecoli]

I'm thinking that acting with intent to break the law at a future date is still illegal.

[Phi for All]

These guys are oh so very guilty. The police nail guys all the time in undercover prostitution stings where the perp never actually engages in sex but acted with the intent to. This is even worse since they are preying on minors.

[silkworm]

Wait, don't they have to set up a meeting and the guy has to show? I think that has to happen and it has to be over statelines. I don't think they can bust into your house for chatting on the internet with a minor. That would be impossible to prosecute to conviction because you wouldn't even be sure it's him, and I'm sure chatting with a minor on the internet is not illegal. Attempted kidnapping is however, etc. If he crosses a stateline to meet an underage kid for what I'm sure the police establish in the chat the guy has a lot of stuff coming at him, interstate commerce, etc. etc. etc. etc. In fact I'm pretty sure it has to cross state lines to work because I'm not sure how you could legally get away setting these traps otherwise (because doing so helps a lot in showing criminal intent as well)- unless there are states that have special laws for this.

 

So it's not just talking, dude has to show or legally they don't even know who it is and they have nothing at all.

[scicop]

Chatting with a minor is not illegal, but once the conversation becomes sexually explicit and/or exchange of sexually explicit data with an minor, then it is illegal and subject to prosecution.

 

It does not matter if the "minor" is an adult pretending to be a minor. It is not entrapment. The fact that the perp thinks he/she is talking to a minor is irrelevant. When the perp engages in sexually explicit conversation with a minor, it is sufficient for prosecution.

 

My department not only has their own child abuse task force unit, but also collaborates with other agencies in sting operations, including the various county SPCC's (society for the prevention of cruelty to children) and federal agencies such as US Postal Inspectors.

 

So, its a good think that those guys are out there! Alot of unsung heros out there!

[The Peon]

Child predators are some of the sickest wackos on the planet, and I can care less how they are brought down. Humiliation on TV is an awsome way to do it, and I am glad that dateline is doing what it is doing.

 

I actually know 2 detectives who do the "acting" for a living. You should hear some of the sick **** they tell me these freaks tell them. They really REALLY deserve to be off the streets trust me.

[Phi for All]

Wait, don't they have to set up a meeting and the guy has to show? I think that has to happen and it has to be over statelines. I don't think they can bust into your house for chatting on the internet with a minor.

These stings always set the guy up to solicit sex in the girl's home when her parents are supposedly away. They do NOT have to cross state lines (this isn't about kidnapping). Just chatting is not the crime, it's when the guy invites himself over to what he believes is a willing, but underage, girl's house to break the law with her.

 

There are usually other guidelines, things the police have to get the predator to say, like he has to tell her very specific things he's going to do to her, bring certain things with him so they know it's him, etc. Believe me, by the time the guy shows up at the "house", they know exactly what his intent is.

 

This may seem like entrapment but these guys are never first-timers. They've done this for real before and they'll do it over and over again if they aren't stopped.

[silkworm]

These stings always set the guy up to solicit sex in the girl's home when her parents are supposedly away. They do NOT have to cross state lines (this isn't about kidnapping). Just chatting is not the crime' date=' it's when the guy invites himself over to what he believes is a willing, but underage, girl's house to break the law with her.

 

There are usually other guidelines, things the police have to get the predator to say, like he has to tell her very specific things he's going to do to her, bring certain things with him so they know it's him, etc. Believe me, by the time the guy shows up at the "house", they know exactly what his intent is.

 

This may seem like entrapment but these guys are never first-timers. They've done this for real before and they'll do it over and over again if they aren't stopped.[/quote']

 

Something must of changed, I'm almost certain at one point the peddler had to cross state lines. (Of course I use the term peddler because we all know there are women pedofiles as well). And I don't think this type of sting is automatically entrapment. That would be receiving a PM or seeing in the chat window "Hey, I'm a 10 year old, I'll give you my address and you come over and have sex with me." I'm sure the peddler (my sister's sex-neutral term for pedofile) has to initiate. I wonder how blow by blow things have to get in the trial.

[The Peon]

There is a big difference between selling drugs or guns or whatever and raping children. We must protect those who are innocent in our society with much more vigor and ferocity than in any other case in my opinion. I would even go to say pedophilia is as vicious a crime as murder.

[silkworm]

There is a big difference between selling drugs or guns or whatever and raping children. We must protect those who are innocent in our society with much more vigor and ferocity than in any other case in my opinion. I would even go to say pedophilia is as vicious a crime as murder.

 

Peon, I agree about the seriousness of child rape, but no matter what the crime is you have to make sure it was going to happen before arresting the peddler. Otherwise, I could get you arrested you right now for being a peddler, or I could get you arrested because I think you're having a peddler thought. I'm sure that the authorities make their best effort not to entrap, and I don't disagree with the practice, but I'd like to know that it's certain that the peddler was a peddler before we send him to get his ass punished for years in prison for being one.

[Pangloss]

These cases are also prosecuted based on transmitted imagery. AOL copies every transmitted image and does a comparative image analysis (much like a fingerprint comparison) with a database of known offending images (like 2-year-olds with... insertions). When a match is found, the account is shut down and authorities notified.

 

A case here in Miami just like this resulted in a conviction last week. (I personally spoke with a juror in that case earlier this week.)

[reor]

That's the problem with justice. It's blind. And like The Peon stated, those "wackos" are sick. What else would you call it when a guy arranges his whole life by his sexual desires? They are studying law or become policemen just to have better chances "getting some".

Sometimes i "almost" feel sorry for them.