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'She waved at me,' and other excuses

Posted: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:16 AM by Dateline Editor
Filed Under: , , ,

by Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent

Since we started our “To Catch A Predator” investigations almost two and a half years ago, I have confronted more than 200 men who had sexually explicit online chats with decoys posing as young teens before showing up for a date at one of our hidden camera houses.

Many of the men ultimately admit their intentions and sometimes go into great detail about their online addictions and compulsions that led them to our door.

But every once in a while, I run into someone who comes up with what he thinks is a plausible story-- an “innocent excuse” if you will -- for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such is the case with the first man you’ll meet tonight. He’s a 32-year-old successful real estate executive who was chatting online with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. As you’ll see, he’s a pretty confident guy when he walks into our house. When I start to ask him questions, he says he was in our area checking on some property he owned and had pulled off the road near our house to get a good view of the space shuttle blasting off. In fact, we’d been treated to the same inspiring sight just a short while earlier.


Click the photo for a video preview of the exchange.

Then he tells me he just happened to see our decoy in the driveway, assumed our house was for sale, and figured he’d stop in to check it out. Unfortunately for him that doesn’t explain his sexually explicit chat or the naked photos he sent. While there’s no face in the pictures to match the man standing in our living room, there’s a distinctive piece of jewelry that matches exactly the one he’s wearing. That’s where his crafty story starts to unravel.

During our investigation in Flagler beach, we’re not only prepared for excuses, we’re also ready for men who may want to meet at a location besides our house. It presents a technical challenge, but as you’ll see, it’s one that pays off.

The first part of the Flagler Beach episode airs Tuesday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.

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Comments

I am a new father, and it is alarming to me, that so many of these pervs are caught, in such a short amount of time on your show. Even more alarming, is to step back and look at the big picture, that your show is just 1 small town/city. If you multiply the number of pervs you catch by the # of cities....thats just frightening. Your show is doing a great job of calling attention to an obvious glaring problem. Hopefully we can start to address this problem that has been flying under the radar for so long.

Richard, Hooksett NH (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:12 PM)

I am a grandmother and I know that perverts are out there but before this type of program aired I didn't know that they(pervs) are everywhere. Not just big cities but small towns too. I am from California and there is a lot there. Moved to Michigan and by golly perverts are here too. Where can we go to get away from them, the moon. I have 7 grandchildren and am very frightened for them. What can the average citizen do to put these kooks in jail? Or better than that put them on the moon.

carole, gladwin, MI (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:17 PM)

These guys should go away forever or at least be changed from a rooster to a capon. The ACLU will probably step into save them since one of their own principles just got caught with child pornography recently and you know these guys are the real victims. No punishment is severe enough in my opinion to get these guys number one out of society and the gene pool.

Dave, Phoenix, AZ (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:21 PM)

Reality check. The following was submitted to the National Center for Missing and exploited children: "According to Washington ProFile, every fifth under age user of the Internet runs the risk of online sexual abuse. These statistics are given in the report of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Sexual molestation is a proposal to enter into sexual activity or provide sexual information (images, video). The authors of the survey did not register any case when Internet molestation led to real sexual contact or violation" Did everyone read that last sentence? They found NO instances of actual physical contact. Wake up people. The online predator craze amoungst law enforcment and the media is yet another scare tactic used to generate money for both. They have absolutely no interest in protecting children, they won't bigger ratings and more money for squad cars and ammo, respectively. This is a made up crime, envolving highly unusal entrapment tactics that are only one gavel fall away from being ruled unconstitional. If Cops and the Media are so interested in "protecting children", why don't they go into low income housing and drug neighborhoods where children face REAL threats, not just to their innocences, but to their lives. But, unfortunately for the poor and downtrodden, the law and the media still haven't figured out a way to make money watching them die. Great job NBC, and small town cops everywhere looking to make some headlines, and ask for a budget increase. Keep the fake problems in the spot light, while the real problems remain safely off the stage.

Sick of media hysteria (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:22 PM)

This is the absolute best show on tv. I find it amusing to see what complete idiots there are out there-knowing that so many people have seen the show-and that it has received an incredible amount of publicity. You would think that these perverts would be more careful. Good luck in catching more!

Kenneth DeMatteo (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:27 PM)

I watch your show with my 13 year old granddaughter. Her mother and I monitor her "my space" all of the time. Thank you.

Nancy Tatera, Gurnee, Illinois 60031 (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:28 PM)

It's been a long, draining, horrible, humiliating, financially ruinous 2 1/2 years since my exhusband was arrested. He served 9 months in jail. He lost his family, home, 1/2 of a comfortable pension, the dog, his good reputation, & friends for starters. He will never be the grandpa that cheers his grandkids on at their sporting events because sex offenders are forbidden by law from being on school property. The attitude of his family, led by his aged, bully, vicious father is he was "set up" and the whole mess is "not his fault". (I think that family has a lot of secrets they don't want to see the light of day.) The court dates in a strange city were a nightmare. Lawyers huffed and puffed about nauseating chat logs. What fun it was for our adult professional kids & me to sit in court and listen to disgusting things about their father! Guys who do this listen up: You are NOT smarter than everyone else. You WILL get caught. YOU set up a date with an underage girl, not your computer. Your car did NOT kidnap you and drive you 150 miles to a park with condoms and a picnic lunch for two. YOU destroyed your life all by your secretive arogant self! Take your punishment like a man. Quit whining! I have only scratched the surface of the horrors that await you felons! These Dateline shows have been (more) excellent therapy for me. I watch every single one. Thanks for shining the spotlight on this wide spread problem.

Michigan (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:29 PM)

i think this is show is a great idea. online predators are becoming more and more of a threat everyday. it's scary to even check my e-mail sometimes not knowing who might have gotten ahold of the address and what could be in there. maybe if the show continues it will make predators realize what they do is wrong!

Joleen, Corsicana TX (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:34 PM)

How about a Canadian episode? I have a pedophile in my family and the law did nothing to stop him. I'd love for you to catch what's really going on in these sleepy mountain cities...

Christy Turner, Calgary, Alberta (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:39 PM)

Story in Murphy was shocking when it came out in the news. I live in Wylie which is the next town over. I watched the show when it came on hoping to not notice anyone that I or my kids may know.

Tim,wylie,tx (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:44 PM)

This is an absolute shame. I applaud your efforts, you are doing fantastic work. Keep it up. Please do a follow up show, where we can see these monsters hauled off to jail "forever".

Doug, Lompoc California (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:45 PM)

This show is very informative for parents and shows just how easy it is for men to pray on the teens of America, but what about women? Do women ever use the internet to try to pray on the innocent youth because all we ever see is men.

Jennifer J, Atlanta, GA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 4:47 PM)

Dateline is absolutey the best reality program on television, great work Chris Hansen and NBC keep up the pressure on these predators.

Jim House Hope Mills, N.C. (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:22 PM)

Set up a sting in Peoria Illinois, I'm sure everyone has heard of this city and it is smack in the middle of the U.S., not only would it make for some interesting discussion around town but also will clean up some sexual predators. We had a 13 year old girl get raped on the walk to school yesterday. Anything we can do to target predators is a good thing.

Dan Weakley (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:48 PM)

I love your show. I have to laugh at these guys when they give those pathetic excuses. They, and you know what they did and they still try to get out of it. You should set up shop in Salt Lake and bust some pervs here. Also, I wanted to ask if you only talk to people in chat rooms? I think you should set up some fake My Space accounts and bust people there as well.

T Capece, Salt Lake City Utah (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:53 PM)

Chris, Great job I love watching your show. How about doing a follow up show on what happens to this pedators after they get caught. It would be very interesting to see statistics on this guys how many go to prison and how many get away with just probation. I think they should all go to prison!

Val Torres (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:54 PM)

I THINK THIS SHOW IS WONDERFUL FOR ALL YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT IT WHAT IF IT WAS YOUR CHILD THAT WAS BEING SOLICITED THAT WOULD CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN A HEART BEAT I THINK THE MORE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO STOP THESE SICK PEOPLE THE BETTER

MEL ST GEORGE UT (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:15 PM)

Please come to Virginia Beach. We need to catch the child predators/rapists here. Keep up the excellent work.

B.C., Virginia Beach, VA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:17 PM)

I watch the show all the time with my daughters. It helps them see that the person on the other end could very well be an adult. As a mom, when I say it, it's just their mom. This shows how dangerous the internet truly is for some kids.

mom of 2 (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:20 PM)

I love the service you're providing and would watch this weekly. I am amazed at how many "first timers" there are - and that they actually think someone buys that. I especially love the ones who are "just waiting for a parent to come home to tell them what could have happened to their kid" ... glad all the predators are looking out for the kids

Mary Mc Oklahoma City, OK (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:23 PM)

It is impossible to think that there are people in our society today that believe the problem of solicitation of minors (CHILDREN)does not exist. To fault a media network or law enforcement agency for allegedly being part of the problem and not part of a solution is lunacy, in my opinion. Clearly, NBC and various other agencies are bringing much needed attention to this crime. Parents, families, caretakers: all need to be made aware of the heightened dangers associated with the unmonitored use of the modern Internet. I, personally, would like to thank NBC for continuing this series. It was disgusting to see the scum ,for lack of a better term, that turned up on the first installment. There was a sense of satisfaction in watching these perpetrators get caught and facing the consequences for their choices. I makes me cringe to think what might have happened if this had been a real situation and not a sting operation. To Catch A Predator should continue, and I liked the idea stated before about this being a nightly program, until these criminals are all brought to justice. Our children have many things to worry about growing up in this age, sexual predators should never have to be one of them.

Brian McCarty, Huntingdon PA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:24 PM)

Dateline needs to come to Clearwater. There is an entire restaurant here (Sam Seltzer's) that is full of adults who think it's "cool" to have sex with the teenage girls who work there. The general manager even takes them out drinking and noone does anything to stop it even though everyone knows about it.

Kelly-Marie, St.Petersburg, FL (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:49 PM)

I think you are creating the crimes you then prosecute. Prior to the internet, many of these people would never have been traditional stalkers and would never have made a proposal face to face. But the internet gives them the nerve to try meeting someone. And then they do meet someone, but the person doesn't exist. The only reason they committed a crime is that you asked them to. I agree that these people have bad morals and make bad decisions, but you are ruining their whole lives - jail, lost marriages, kids uprooted, lost careers, lost careers, suicide? Over nothing real. This used to be called entrapment. Now its entertainment.

Brian, Seattle, WA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:49 PM)

Great show! I have only one suggestion, why don't you guys have a decoy father there to handle the situation the way it would be handled if this were a real life ordeal? I would love to stand in as the decoy father.

Stacey Tillery, Fort Deposit Alabama (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:51 PM)

Like others who have posted I would appreciate seeing what becomes of the predators after they have been caught. This might be more of a deterrant than showing the on-site interviews. Regardless, keep up the good work.

Mary, Reno, Nevada (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:51 PM)

I hope you address the creep from the ACLU on your show and also the names of the two creeps who gave him 10 to 12 months! absolutley outrageous !!!heads should roll!

Pat Leclerc Osage City Ks. (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:55 PM)

Thank you for the time and effort it takes to put this together. My husband and I watch every show, and we speak often of it to my family members with children who have computers. Nobody is immune. As for the councilmember who committed suicide; he pulled the trigger - Not Dateline. He solicited a minor online. His behavior brought him to this place, nobody else's.

Cara (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 6:58 PM)

I feel that these programs should be shown in schools. Too many young kids today, feel that they are to smart to be caught like this. But, unfortunately, some do not learn until its to late. These programs should serve as a wakeup call for us parents. Great job!! Keep it up!!

Reynaldo Corpus Christi, TX (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:09 PM)

you always show the guys i wonder if their is any women out their that would do something like this ? An if so please show me .

Billie Guy , Rochester Newyork (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:16 PM)

Kudos to NBC and Perverted Justice! Wish you'd come to Louisville, Kentucky and catch a few of these creeps in the act!

Eva Langnehs, Louisville, Kentucky (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:20 PM)

I only wish the law was as protective many years ago. I am an adult who was sexually assualted as a child. The method used when I was twelve began as a prank phone call. Eventually, I was kidnapped and raped by this 45+ man for over a week. When it was finally over, I had to deal with coming to terms with my sexuality. It was horrible. Because of trauma, I had a delayed start in life. I am now in my late 30's and have only recently left the bird nest to really be on my own. That is not to say that I haven't been on my own before. Its just that now as an adult I am using my past to help me become a better person. I am glad that this program is finally addressing an issue that has gone too long unnoticed.

John P, Fairfax, VA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:24 PM)

Good work me and my husband watch the show all the time,I think it's great so many gross men out there.They watch the show and still come to the house how STUPID.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK THANK YOU, CHRIS HANSEN AND THE COPS.

Alicia Dorsey Phoenix, AZ (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:28 PM)

Chris, Your show is amazing! How about another Bay Area show? I was so suprised that you caught so many people in Petaluma. I can't believe people working in Silicon Valley are so perverted. Please come to San Francisco~

Suzanne, San Francisco, CA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:33 PM)

Ironic that in 2002 the fire chief of Flagler Beach, Rob Creal, was forced to resign for viewing pornography on Flagler Beach fire department computers with teenaged boys. This is easily checked by searching the archives of the Daytona Beach News-Journal for "Creal" in 2002.

Concerned citizen (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:34 PM)

I am grateful for the service Dateline NBC is providing for this nation. Dateline is getting serious with sexual predators, and it is past time for these men to be put in their place. My father sexually abused me while I was a young teen. After several months of abuse, I finally had the courage to tell someone, I thought that he would be in jail for a very, very long time. I was crushed when he was handed probation. I was the one who was singled out emotionally. I was the one who felt like a freak. It is time for sexual predators to feel ashamed and face stiff consequences. Do people truly understand the ramifications of sexual abuse? I still struggle with guilt. Somehow, deep inside, I still feel like what was done to me is my fault. I feel, at times, that I should have kept the secret to myself and had just chosen to live with it. Probation wasn’t enough to compensate for the pain I endured at home and the humiliation I faced at school. I moved 1200 miles from the small town I grew up in to get far away from my father and to escape the pain. I left so that I could start a new life, a life where my past wasn’t supposed to follow me. Then, I went to college and became best friends with my husband. The first time my husband and I tried to have sex, I JUST SOBBED IN HIS ARMS. I have to bury the memories of my father EACH TIME I have sex, and I have been married for over five years. Dateline, THANK YOU for making a step to protect children. America please put sexual predators BEHIND BARS.

Pennsylvania (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:38 PM)

HOORAY for Dateline, Chris Hansen you are a HERO!!! We need to have daily To Catch a Predator shows, take off Jerry Springer and put on To Catch a Predator. Maybe oneday, someday these perverts will stop the madness, and get the message that they need to stop this crazy stuff. I watch this show with my teens (boy and girl) and tell them the dangers that are out there. I believe it's working because they don't chat, they use the internet for positive purposes, school, kepping in touch with out of town friends. They know very well a stranger on the other end could be a ugly, creepy old pervert trying to do evil.

Lisa, Memphis, TN (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:42 PM)

Keep up the good work catching those perverts! I hope you are able to keep doing this, because I believe there are enough perverts out there, the shows can keep airing forever. Just make sure you hit all different areas, including Dublin, Virginia where I live! THANK YOU so much for doing this!!!!!!

Shauna Shatto, Dublin, VA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:53 PM)

While I totally agree with what the show is doing for our communities, and I think it should travel across the nation to every town to catch every predator, I also think we should spread some light on our children... Why are so many kids sitting inside homes all hours of the night chatting with perverts??? I completely understand if your child is safely in a chat room talking with friends from school and some weirdo interupts them and tries everything in their power to strive for attention... but what about the enormous amount of little girls that actually want this attention???I am amazed when I watch tv or go out to the mall or wherever, and see little girls in minnie skirts showing off cleavage and god knows what else! I realize times are changing but COME ON.. lets get rid of the predators.... as many as we can.. and then lets try to set some standards for our kids! Take them camping, take them fishing, do whatever.. just get them outside and away from the computers!!! Too many little girls think that this is cool... an older man wants to have his way with me, well where in the world would they learn that? What are they missing in their home??????

Seattle, Wash (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:02 PM)

Try Virginia Beach, Va. I have seen many attempts on my daughters chat rooms.

Andy, Virginia Beach, Va. (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:15 PM)

its a great show to keep these perverts out of the streets in harming innocent children,but its true why do some parents allow kids online.i want to thank all the police dept. in all states for these acts on these sick bastards.

eddie ocala fl. (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:42 PM)

how do you get their permission to use them on TV ? please tell me they don't get lighter sentence

jim (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:45 PM)

I love you guy's @ Dateline and Perverted Justice! These pedophiles need to thank GOD for you and the cops catching them first. Keep up the great work because if I catch any pedophiles with any child, mine or not, in an incriminating manner, the court system will be the least of their worries. Come to my town or area anytime, PLEASE!

Conrad Dauphinais, Creedmoor, NC (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:46 PM)

My wife and I thought that it would be interesting if you devoted one or two shows to follow up with what has happened to the men caught, such as what sentence did they get, what happened to their marriage if they were married, and what friends thought of their activity once caught and exposed.

Dave Nelson, La Mesa, Ca. (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:48 PM)

Please never stop doing these shows. I watch everyone as if I am still living the nightmare of finding out the father of my children was a child molestor. There is no cure for this disease and keeping them in jail is the only way to keep our children safe. Thanks to all of you for your hard work.

Susan, El Dorado Hills, CA (Sent Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:17 PM)

Oh My Gosh Chris! My daughter and I have totally lost our respect for men in this country! I can't believe there are so many perverts out there seeking out our young unsuspecting young ones. Are television, magazines and commercials escalating this sick perversion? More and more men seem to be searching for the boyish undeveloped figures of pre-teens, children who are fresh and "un-used". It totally saddens me that men will lie and cheat to simply have sex with such a naive child. They definately should be locked up for a long time. God Bless you for your efforts in keeping these idiots off our streets. I pray for my grandchildren that they are protected from such perverts in the future thanks to your investigations.

Deborah Weiland (Sent Friday, March 02, 2007 12:38 AM)

I'm just curious when NBC will form its own network of "Catch A Predator 24/7". Seeing as how that's the only thing that seems to qualify as news in their eyes, lately. (lol parents keep your young children off the internet also thx)

wieruyasd,lexington,ky (Sent Friday, March 02, 2007 9:19 AM)

The not guilty pleas of the twenty one suspects in the Flagler Beach show reminded me of the annoucer during a hockey game when someone was penalized they commented on how nobody ever thinks they did anything wrong. The guy with the four and six year old daughter and the pregnant wife really got to me, he said he did it because he was bored. How can anyone with two kids and one on the way be bored?

Ed Millinger Ste. Genevieve, Mo. (Sent Saturday, March 03, 2007 4:11 PM)

I APPLAUD YOU CHRIS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING. DON'T STOP. I WISH THERE WHERE MORE PEOPLE OUT THER LIKE YOU WHO GO TO THESE LENGTHS TO STOP THESE GUYS AND EVERYONE OF THEM SHOULD BE LOOKED UP FOR YEARS FOR DOING WHAT THEY DO. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND I TRULY WISH MY SPACE AND OTHER WEBSITES LIKE IT COULD BE AND SHOULD BE BANNED. TO MANY PARENTS JUST ARE NOT HOME ENOUGH TO TAKE THE TIME TO SEE WHAT THEIR KIDS ARE DOING ONLINE AND IT IS A SHAME THEY ARE LONELY AND SEARCH THE INTERNET FOR THAT APPROVAL THAT THERE PARENTS SHOULD BE GIVING THEM. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK I LOVE THE SHOW AND SUPPORT YOU 100%

CHERYL,MARYSVILLE CA (Sent Saturday, March 03, 2007 8:51 PM)

When will you start busting females that stalk young boys? There are plently of them out there, yet you continue to only focus on finding males. I know of several instances where older women and used under aged men. Yet, in our society, some would think that is cool.

Melissa, Missouri (Sent Monday, March 05, 2007 11:51 AM)



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