The DA in Murphy, Texas, is the first one to decline to prosecute any of the apparent predators captured in the To Catch a Predator series. I have always wondered about the methods used by NBC and the Perverted Justice group that assists NBC. Nonetheless, prosecutors in other jurisdictions have successfully prosecuted the perverts or gotten guilty pleas from a significant number of the perverts. According to the Murphy prosecutor, however, the cases are tainted by the involvement of amateurs involved in producing a television show. So, to the 24 men who showed up, expecting to have sex with a young girl or boy, so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye--although they'll still be around, of course.
It's kind of disturbing that the TCAP shows proved so entertaining (I liked watching it). It's even more disturbing that there are so many men out there who are quite willing to have sex with an underaged child. Seems to me that it would have made more sense to consider each case on its own merits rather than letting them all walk.
2 comments:
Sure, we need to go after these pervs. But, is this the BEST method? By "best" I mean, constitutional, fair, etc? Regardless, these TV specials must have a deterrant effect, right?
I doubt the shows will have a lasting deterrent effect, and I don't think that TV stings are the best method, no matter how you define "best". I think the value of the shows was to highlight the problem and how ordinary so many of the men appear. I'd like to think it moved local law enforcement officials to take that crime more seriously, but I know that many are short-handed and underfunded. That said, when a TV sting hands you suspects on a silver platter, I'd like the DA to do with them what he can.
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