Dateline NBC's to Catch a Predator - What Were These Men Thinking?!

Bruce Morgan is on his way to see someone he's met online. His objective is to have a sexual liaison with this person. However here's a snag; the person Bruce is meeting is a 14 year old girl (in some cases a 13 year old boy). This is just a piece of the Dateline NBC show To Catch a Predator. This show puts would-be predators (some who already have a record) on the spot by having a decoy talk to them online and meet for a date. Just when they think the fun is about to begin; in walks Dateline correspondent Chris Hansen. He goes through his series of questions and no matter how many men he's encountered they come up with responses that become redundant after 4 guys. As he's going through the transcripts of the chat, Chris introduces himself and the camera crew comes out; the offenders cover their faces.

It is apparent that these men are disturbed. Once they get caught they realize a mistake was made; they're chat says otherwise. They have to be stuck on stupid if they way out and not know about the possibility of their chat being thrown in their face. You can tell that their heart drops at the sight of Chris. Some think he's the father of the child while others think he's a cop; all of a sudden they have morals and express concern for their families.

These men come from all walks of life - teachers, military officials, fire fighters and even men of the cloth. During one of their investigations in Fortson, Georgia, Marvin Smith, a former minister, arrived at a house to meet with a 15 year old for a threesome with his girlfriend Phyllis; he's also happens to be married. Like most of the men in the investigations, Marvin high tails it out of the house and is quickly apprehended by the sheriff's department. While being questioned Marvin is crying his eyes out saying he's gonna lose everything. He's not the only one who breaks down after getting caught. Amazing how the excitement of having sex with and underage girl goes out the window.

Dateline teamed up with Perverted Justice, a group of volunteers who set up profiles as underage children on social networking sites; after two investigations the police got involved. The volunteers enter chat rooms as decoys and wait for the guy to initiate the conversation. Should the chat become sexual, the decoy doesn't discourage or encourage it. At some point in the conversation the guy sends the decoy explicit pictures and videos; some there sex acts are shown. They ask the decoy if they'll perform the acts shown to them and of course the decoy acts reluctant. The conversation heads to a rendezvous at the child's home; this is where they have an 18 or 19 year old they hired to pose as the teen the guy spoke to online. In other situations the guy comes inside and talks to someone they believe is the teen; the baffling thing is the girl doesn't even sound like a young teenager most of the time.

When Chris comes out to talk to the alleged predators that stay; the claim is that they were there to talk and hangout. Some even claim they came to let the girl know they weren't interested or teach them a lesson about talking with adults online. Chris tells them it's hard to believe when they've brought alcohol and condoms; the things law enforcement find in some of their cars are shocking. One man went as far as buying sex toys and lingerie.

Not to say that these incidents aren't disturbing but there are two that truly stand out. The first was a 41 year old man named Todd Spikes from De Funiak Springs, Florida - 350 miles away from Flagler Beach where he was chatting with a decoy he believed to be a 13 year old girl for almost a month. Not only was he a police officer, he also has a large amount of firearm the officers found all to be loaded. As luck would have it, he wasn't expected to show and the investigative team was prepared to go. The second ended more tragically.

While conducting an investigation in Murphy, Texas, TCP and Perverted Justice discovered a district attorney by the named Louis Conradt Jr. was posing as a male 19 year old college with pictures to back it up. Transcripts showed Conradt chatting with a decoy he believed to be a 13 year old boy; this of course was a shock to police. What happened next was unexpected by all involved. Unlike previous investigations where the predators are arrested at the undercover house; the Murphy police along with a SWAT team came to Conradt's house to arrest him. Upon entering his home, the D.A was in the hallway telling officers that he wasn't going to hurt anyone. Seconds later he shot himself in the head; he was pronounced dead at the hospital. This had to be the most devastating result to their investigations. Conradt's sister took it a step further.

Patricia Conradt voiced her opinion at a Murphy Town Council meeting and said "My family and I have experienced a great deal of hurt and sadness over this situation and I intend to fight as hard and as long I can to prevent other people from becoming victims of such reckless actions as those taken by your employees, which was set into motion by a self appointed group acting as judge, jury and executioner that was encourage by and out of control reality show. I will never consider my brother's death a suicide". Although she and family have suffered this great loss, she fails to realize that her brother had a problem. According to Texas news station KWTX, state investigations found three laptops, a cell phone and computer disks - all containing child pornography. This shows that the families of these sexual predators suffer just as much because of their obsessions on the internet. This cold cause parents to have second thoughts about allowing their child to sleep over at a friend's house.

There has been some negative reaction to the investigations, one being the perception of entrapment. Ken Lynch, Deputy D.A of Los Angeles County, CA stated that "Entrapment is when a person who would normally not commit a crime commits the crime because of police misconduct. Obviously there wasn't any police misconduct when they are talking to the decoys about sex and sending pictures of their private parts as well as lewd acts on webcams. They look for their prey on websites like MySpace and Teen Spot. This can prove damaging to these and other social networking sites.

With the exception of Marvin's girlfriend Phyllis, no woman has been considered to be a sexual predator. The people at Perverted Justice say it isn't for lack of trying; goes to show that women have better things to do with their time. Chris says "You can't help but feel sorry for some of these guys, but then when you go back and reread the transcripts and you see the explicit nature of what was said; you feel less sorry for them". Not just that, there are also the excuses given where the only person they can realistically be convincing is themselves because Chris wasn't buying it.

Here are some of those lame excuses (as stated earlier):

I had a feeling this was a setup

Yet you still come over. Common sense would tell you if you have such a feeling turn the car around, go home and pray that the police don't give you an unexpected visit.

I was gonna talk her out of it/I was gonna let her know I wasn't interested/I was gonna tell her she shouldn't be doing this

They need to come over to do that. Just as they chatted with who they believed were 12-15 year old girls online; they could have these same things also online.

I just came here to hang out/She wanted me to come over/I was bored

These men range in the ages of 22-64. Just because an underage girl wanted you to come over don't make it right. You're either old enough to be her brother or her father. And if you're bored, read a book or go to a bar and meet someone your own age.

I've seen this on television/I knew this was a mistake

Two very interesting points coming from these would be predators; again they still come. Curiosity gets the best of them and they are no longer using their brains if you follow.

I wasn't going to do anything/She didn't tell me how old she was/It was just talk

When you're bringing alcohol and condoms the intent is fully there to do something. To open your mouth and say you weren't given an age makes you look more stupid for showing up. If it was just talk you should've left it there; showing up made matters worse for you.

The overall goal for Chris Hansen was to find out what goes through a man's mind that leads hem to go to the house and hook up with a teenage girl. It would be safe to say that for some it's fulfilling a sick fantasy and other a strange curiosity. Regardless of what reason given, these men have one thing in common; they need help. As stated before many of these men have been prosecuted; they've also received prison sentences and supervised probation. Hopefully they can get the help they need.

As for the situation regarding Louis Conradt Jr., the Los Angels Times reported that NBC "amicably resolved" a $105-million lawsuit with his sister; makes you think that she profited from her brother's guilt. This marked the end of the To Catch a Predator investigations. For five years these investigations have brought awareness to the dangers parents should prevent their teens from facing while on the internet. In fact, after every telecast Dateline refers viewers to their website for tips on how to keep their children safe from internet predators.

To Catch a Predator may be over but there is no denying that it helped in bringing dozens of men to justice. Men who have hopefully learned their lesson and in the future will use more common sense; meet people their own age. As of now Perverted Justice continues to do their work. So to the men out there, use the brain above the neck; not the one below the belt.