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NBC Settles To Catch a Predator Lawsuit
The family has no shame!
I despise the sister and her family whose brother committed suicide because he was afraid he was being revealed as a pedophile.
The judge in this case sides with the pedophile.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:18 PM
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Sorry, but my sympathies lie with the victims & their families.
I do have sympathy for the various suspects' families, but in no way to I feel that Dateline, NBC, or Chris Hansen were responsible for that "person" taking his own life.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:36 PM
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The judge obviously doesn't have young children or grandchildren who might be affected by one of these perverts or he wouldn't have been so hard on NBC. Does this mean the show is done for?
The sister now gets to reap the "benefits" of her brothers actions.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:42 PM
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You know, its not about whether the judge has children or grandchildren. Its about application of the law. A judge is required to set aside his/her personal feelings and looking at the facts and circumstances objectively. If the judge cannot do so, he/she must recuse him/herself.
I was a NYC prosecutor, and worked in the Crimes Againsts Children section. That being said, this show always appeared to skirt the edge of entrapment. I am also not sure why a journalist felt the need to enter the realm of law enforcement time and time again. While I'm not familiar with the specifics of this case I can see that it at least had merit.
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Jun 26, 2008 12:52 PM
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honbun26,
If the DA is not guilty, why would he want to kill himself?!!
I would feel sorry for the family if they don't try to profit the crime. They are as guilty as the DA by trying to profit from the crime. They should be put to jail!!!
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Jun 26, 2008 1:00 PM
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john_c11 - unless you have some psychic connection to this guy, you will never really know why he killed himself. We can only make assumptions based on the facts as presented.
As far as the family and profits, who knows what their motivation was? Quite often, the sting of having to pay out a sizeable award serves as a deterent to wrongful behavior. Or, perhaps the family was financially dependent on this guy and now they are struggling. Or, perhaps, they are just greedy. Do you really know or are you just viewing the situation through your own preconception?
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Jun 26, 2008 2:26 PM
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honbun26,
I only know if he was not guilty, why would he killed himself just because the camera and police were coming to his house! Unless he has mental disease and there has not been any evidence otherwise how could he be an ADA or DA.
Anyway, I don't think it is the right thing to do to sue if one feels he/she was wronged unless you are a blood suckign lawyer.
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Jun 26, 2008 2:34 PM
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Why would an innocent man commit suicide? Well, as demonstrated in this and every other comment thread here about this subject, he has already been found guilty by the public, despite the fact that there are legitimate concerns about entrapment. Even those found innocent of crimes like this will have had their names dragged through the mud so much as to make living a productive life nearly impossible.
Hell, people are talking about his victims and their families as if it is a known fact, instead of a purely unsupported supposition, that he did something like this multiple times. How do you survive in a culture who is convinced you have dones things that no one has even accused you of doing?
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Jun 26, 2008 2:55 PM
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For those who support the notion that NBC and the cops were wrong, I guess you would feel okay if this guy did not kill himself and ended up sexually abused a child or children?!
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Jun 26, 2008 3:08 PM
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Don't they get the names from a person contacting someone they think is underage on the internet? If they had his name they had a transcript. That is what they always did on the show. Wouldn't that suggest they had a transcript that time too. He just did not show up at the house.
I do not think the sister should have sued. If he was innocent it would have been easy to prove that he was not the person chatting with someone he thought was underage. Instead he committed suicide. If there are any child victims of this person they should sue.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:15 PM
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john_c11, there are proper ways to investigate and arrest criminals. Wanting to do things the proper way does not mean we approve of child molestation.
To Catch A Predator, for all the good it might do in raising awareness for parents and for identifying potential abusers, is a circus that NBC aired for entertainment. They could have quietly aided the police's investigation without splashing suspects' faces all over television. In reality, they pretty much prevented justice by obstructing the accurate investigation of this man.
It's sickening that these alleged child abusers are being put on TV for our entertainment. It's not entertainment. If they really wanted to do investigative reporting, there are less invasive ways that would actually aid law enforcement instead of hindering it.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:21 PM
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Dianora,
I sincerely hoped that none of your loved one, especially, children, would have the experience of being sexually abused because you would know how devastated the abuses have on these children.
The pedophiles are criminals. They are even worse than murderers!!
Conradt was a prosecutor, he knew the law. He knew that the cop had the evidence and he would go to prison. If he did not think that he was guilty, he would not need to take his own live.
For the family, if they wanted justice, they would refuse to settle and process with the trial so that NBC would find guilty for "entrapping" Conradt. Instead they chose money over justice without requiring NBC to admit any wrongdoing.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:28 PM
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Wow, john_c11! Your world must be so nice, where you are right all of the time. Dianora and I, both attorneys (and, myself, a former NYC prosecutor that prosecuted crimes against children) have explained the possible reasons why there was just a civil suit and just how wrong this Dateline show is. Yet, still, in all of your infinite knowledge, you tell us we are wrong.
I'll tell you what - I did work with child victims. Hundreds in fact. How many have you worked with? And, before you ask why I left, it was because I had a child and I found it too hard to be detached enough to be an effective prosecutor of those crimes (well, that, and the death threats! They'll get you everytime!).
We live in a society where you are innocent until proven guilty. Except on Dateline. Oh, and on john-c11's world.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:52 PM
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john_c11, last time I checked a person is innocent until found guilty in a court of law. I'm not familiar with the facts of this case but I don't see anything that says he was found guilty of anything in court. Maybe he would have been, who knows, we'll never find out.
As for why he would kill himself if he was innocent? Well, quite frankly, because of people like you. Especially, but not limited to, cases involving sex crimes and/or children, which any normal per finds sickening, many people such as yourself see the accused as guilty until proven innocent. You let emotions take over and throw rational thinking out the window. Furthermore even in cases where someone is found innocent, people with attitudes like yours will always see them as guilty no matter what. Generally their lives are ruined no matter what the outcome is in a court of law. Being a prosecutor, surely this man new his life was ruined, again because of people like you, even if he were to be found innocent.
I'm not defending the guy, like I said I don't know much about the facts of the case. I'm just trying to explain in general, while tying into this case, why someone who isn't guilty would kill themselves. Again, their lives as they knew them are pretty much over even if they're found innocent because of people with your guilty until proven innocent attitudes. If he was guilty I hope he rots in hell, but now we'll never know since they don't bring dead men to trial.
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Jun 26, 2008 3:54 PM
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