"I wasn't OK with what he did, but I wasn't OK with him staying in jail, either. In her conflicted frame of mind, she began thinking ahead to the next year, when Todd could possibly be out on parole. She continues, "What are some of your ideas?" Chris Hansen is doing gods work. When asked about how the series came about, Hansen explained that, The idea grew out of a conversation I had years ago, with a fellow reporter, a friend of mine. Privacy Policy. Getting this newsit was like somebody died.". Filming & Production Authorities say that SOSA provided the operation with two female actresses who acted as bait. And we also have means to find out more about these people before they actually show up. And experts in the field say when it comes to female predators, you're more likely to see the teacher/student scenario, as opposed to someone meeting anonymously online. Plot summary Add synopsis Crime Drama Reality-TV Add content advisory January 30, 2007 (United States) See more company credits at IMDbPro Technical specs 44 minutes Contribute to this page You work closely with law enforcement, but how do you avoid being seen as too close to them? We actually got a call from the lawyers at Mike's Hard Lemonade asking us to not use their product anymore, Hansen said. She is the best women decoy and decoy in general in that show. (He was right; Dateline's decoys are always 18 or older.) And then youve got to make the decision of whether to air it. Her interactions with the predators were not very involved as she would invite them in and then quickly announce she was going to the back to change as Chris would come out for the confrontation. To this day, Dianna believes Todd's story. But she has a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old. Then, in 2006, one of those men committed suicide. The Dangerous Web is a place filled with predators of many kinds. But what isn't often shown is the grief and humiliation of those closest to the predators, particularly their wives and girlfriends. It's not that I think he was trying to actually have sex with a 14-year-old girl. And that drama, I think, is part of what draws people to watch this. A few times, she had to greet the predators on the beach with Chris emerging from behind the boardwalk after the predators made it to her. It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12 - 15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over the Internet for sexual liaisons. Date of birth May 5, 1987 Place of birth Salt Lake City, Utah Samantha Cope was the female decoy involved in the Flagler Beach, Florida edition of To Catch A Predator. Does he own a gun? She felt she had to give him a second chance, even though it wouldn't be an easy choice to live with. For upwards of US$100,000 per episode, the production hired controversial vigilante group Perverted-Justice to assist in the "exposure [and] arrest of men ostensibly interested in having sex with children."Perverted-Justice entered chat rooms and posed as children to lure such men to a . It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12 - 15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over the Internet for sexual liaisons. But in an egregious case where someone is very aggressive, and poses a threat to child, if hes 19 or 20, well allow him to come in. Technical Specs, See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro, field producer / executive producer / associate producer (12 episodes, 2004-2007), field producer / associate producer (9 episodes, 2006-2007), producer / additional producer (7 episodes, 2005-2006), senior investigative producer (7 episodes, 2006-2007), assistant producer / associate producer (6 episodes, 2005-2006), executive producer (6 episodes, 2006-2007), field producer / producer (4 episodes, 2005-2007), assistant producer (4 episodes, 2006-2007), assistant producer (2 episodes, 2005-2006), associate producer (2 episodes, 2005-2006), specialty camera / camera operator (12 episodes, 2005-2007), camera operator / specialty camera (11 episodes, 2005-2007), camera operator / specialty camera (9 episodes, 2006-2007), specialty camera / camera operator (7 episodes, 2005-2007), specialty camera / camera operator (7 episodes, 2006-2007), additional camera / camera operator (4 episodes, 2005-2007), camera operator / specialty camera (4 episodes, 2006), additional camera / camera operator (3 episodes, 2006), camera operator / additional camera (3 episodes, 2006), additional camera / camera operator (2 episodes, 2006). He laughs. According to a news release from the Canadian County Sheriffs Office (CCSO), the five suspects taken into custody include Trace Turkelson, 22, of Elgin; Cody Ewing, 27, of Yukon; Tracy Fisher, 41, of Tulsa; William Copeland IV, 29, of Calhan, CO; and Otha Smith III, 37, of Linden, Texas. When asked about the worst scenario he ever encountered while filming To Catch a PredatorThe one that made [you] question humanity the mostHansen didnt hesitate in replying, When the guy walked in, naked and wanted to involve whipped cream and a cat in the sexual scenario. (You can see the original clip here. As she drove to work through the predawn streets, she dialed the Harris County jail and asked the woman at the intake desk what was going on. Those arrested were processed and booked at the Canadian County Sheriffs Office Detention Facility on charges of facilitating sexual communication with a minor, lewd acts with a child under 16, intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance to a minor, and violations of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act. Jessica plucked from the bookshelf one of her favorites from the American Girl Library: The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls with a cover illustration of three young girls wrapped in bath sheets. If you view these people as sick, how do you square that? When the FBI conducts sting operations targeting online predators, it refers to the men who get caught as "travelers.". Dianna and Todd refused to watch it, but in living rooms across the country, 8.7 million viewers heard a voice-over say: "We've hired a young-looking 19-year-old named Amanda to play the part of an underage girl home alone. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. And there is a definitive link1 between child porn and child exploitation. In our society, we want one-size-fits-all answers, and this is not a one-size-fits-all problem. Jerry Lambe is a journalist at Law&Crime. Because Todd had been arrested in Georgia, where penalties for these crimes tend to be severe, he was given one of the harsher sentences in Dateline history. Do you black out his face? The man deserves to have a place to go worship. Those few friends who hadn't pulled away from her seemed to scrutinize her too closely. That night when she told her girls, they were ecstatic. And from HVP of course we have me, my mommy and . Justice was served. The women decoys can sound like children unlike the men, men have deeper voices than women so its hard for someone with a deeper . People were lured to meet with a decoy under the preten See production, box office & company info, [Chris Hansen, as he reads to Jeffrey Stacey from the chat log transcript of his conversation with the decoy], [In a high pitched Mickey Mouse sounding voice], JonTron: Top 10 Most Overrated Games of All Time. At the jail Dianna stared at Todd through an acrylic window scratched with the words "bitch" and "scumbag." Samantha Cope was the female decoy involved in the Flagler Beach, Florida edition of To Catch A Predator. Five men in Oklahoma have been arrested after law enforcement authorities conducted a four-day sting to catch child sex predators. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. He looked cowed and broken. "I knew what a sex offender looked like. [The suspects] have to make the first move, then raise the specter of sex, then come to the house. Snoo_85712. "You love him, and we love him.". All rights reserved. | The suspects are accused of sending nude photos to the decoys and describing sex acts the arrestees desired to perform with the purported girls. She often wondered, Am I the example I want to be? Friends advised Dianna to leave him, saying that a criminal shouldn't be around her children. 2023 Cond Nast. Do you wrestle with the idea that these people are sick and need treatment? Jessica told her mother that evening at home: "I wanted to tell them how great Todd was. Dumb.". According to a news release from the Canadian County Sheriff's Office (CCSO), the five suspects taken into custody include Trace Turkelson, 22, of Elgin; Cody Ewing, 27, of Yukon; Tracy Fisher, 41, of Tulsa; William Copeland IV, 29, of Calhan, CO; and Otha Smith . The next night, Dianna posted Todd's bail. Her comfort came from her relationship with the community of friends she and Todd had established via MySpace, most of whom didn't know about Todd's crime. I think we put it in the right context, and I hope he gets the help he needs and deserves. All movies, books and CDs with references to children were banned. "You don't know anything?" The stings follow a pattern: A man trolling online for sex exchanges lurid messages with a pseudo-youngster, expressing his interest in hooking up with, for example, a 14-year-old virgin. May 5, 1987 And what do you make of criticism that what you do isnt really journalism? Todd had been arrested for trying to solicit sex from a decoy disguised as an underage girl. Dianna had a revelation: Todd was part of her family. Authorities say that SOSA provided the operation with two female actresses who acted as bait. To Catch a Predator Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator (2004 - 2007) is a series of hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining potential child sexual abusers who attempt to contact children over the internet. Her friend Joe (who didn't want his last name used) says, "When Dianna asked me what I thought, I told her to get out of the relationship. Chris Hansen - Host: You ask her if she does anal. NBC But the series ended after some negative headlines, which included one of the show's targets dying by . The two had been married just a year. [1] It is safe to say of all the decoys that branched out into acting after the show that Cope has found the most success. The Dark Truth Behind The U.S. Alliance For Election Excellence! NEW EVIDENCE! If the police ask us a question, we answer. Then, she says, he hung his head in shame. He told her he'd started chatting online with the girl because he was scared of getting married. He posed a significant danger. Donations from readers like you are essential to sustaining this work. Every night Dianna and her girls got nasty anonymous phone calls, the mildest of which called Todd a "sicko pervert." The post Extremely disturbing: 5 men charged in child predator sting using decoys posing as 14 and 15 year olds first appeared on Law & Crime. Consenting adults can do whatever they want. Is he a police officer? The decoy never makes the first move. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. A talented amateur artist who managed a costume shop, he'd always been wonderful with her children. Like Vincent Ambrosio. To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series in the television news magazine program Dateline NBC featuring confrontations with host Chris Hansen, partly filmed with a hidden camera, of adult men arriving at a sting house to have sex with a minor and typically being arrested as a result. 2023 USSA News, The Tea Party's Front Page. Thats all its about. I dont think there is any way he could have known it was Chris Hansen and Dateline outside. "Todd is in jail," he said. Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. On the day before Valentine's Day 2007, Todd went to prison. And how will I put our lives back together? Dianna stared at him, tears blurring her vision. Advertisers got nervous. "Not especially," he says. Its a very loyal fanbase. I dont know if he had a closet life, I dont know what was going on. I think we evolve and get smarter every time we do it. "I kept asking myself, Am I a lunatic for putting this man near my children?". Have you come to have views on this? We did, and I think we handled it fairly responsibly. "I've done some rotten things. The reality is he did his time. "As crazy as it sounds, our relationship felt stronger than ever," says Dianna. There was a long gap in which you didnt do these stings, but many encouraged you to return to them. Now, the decoy girls have. Im not the moral arbiter of society. Her leaving him "is not about Todd being a bad man. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. "This [note] is to inform you that Todd West has been convicted of charges stemming from his arrest in the Dateline NBC/Perverted Justice sting operationin which he solicited, for sexual purposes, someone he believed to be 14 years of age," read the e-mail. "You deserve better than this," he repeatedly told her. 2020 Election Night Video Shows Ballot Shredding! Click this link for the original source of this article. It was devoted to impersonating To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television news magazine program Dateline NBC. At the jail, Todd requests an attorney, refusing to speak further until one is brought to him. Dateline returned to the spotlight in 2004, when a segment Hansen did with the cyber-vigilante group Perverted Justice catching men attempting to arrange sexual encounters with underage teenagers, "To Catch A Predator," garnered a huge amount of publicity. ", But in other ways, life remained eerily uneventful. I said, How did you know that? And he said, I watch the show all the time, and when I miss an episode, I download it from the Internet., There was only one investigation where some of the cases were not prosecuted," Hansen explained when asked about a story that a handful of cases were thrown out due to a legal technicality. Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0 Topics tcap, to catch a predator, internet sexual predators, educational, documentary. "I would have been mad if you left him," Jessica told her. Because the decoys never make the first move. There was also the matter of her dignity; Todd had cheated on her in the most humiliating way possible. Better than this, '' jessica told her mother that evening at home: `` I wanted to them... Grief and humiliation of those men committed suicide the example I want to be though. ( he was scared of getting married best women decoy and decoy in general in that show girls got anonymous. Dianna stared at him, and we also have means to find more... 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