SGL Café

NBC sued after 'Dateline' suicide

From the Associated Press NEW YORK — The sister of a man who was suspected of being a sexual predator and who killed himself as the cameras of "Dateline NBC" closed in on him sued NBC Universal Inc. for $105 million Monday. Patricia Conradt's brother, Bill Conradt Jr., shot himself in November in a Dallas suburb as police knocked at his door and a camera crew for the newsmagazine waited in the street. Conradt says her brother, an assistant county prosecutor, committed suicide after he was accused of engaging in a sexually explicit online chat with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy. Bill Conradt, 57, became a target of the series "To Catch a Predator," in which NBC and the activist group Perverted Justice set up shop for four days in a two-story home in Murphy, Texas. Perverted Justice staff members posed as boys and girls online and arranged to meet men there. Two dozen men were arrested, but the district attorney refused to prosecute any of them, saying many of the cases were tainted by the involvement of amateurs. The city manager was fired for approving the arrangement without telling the mayor or the City Council. NBC and Perverted Justice have filmed similar operations in other cities, and the network has said the show did not have the same problems elsewhere that it encountered in Murphy. "We plan to defend ourselves vigorously as we believe the claims in the suit to be completely without merit," said Jenny Tartikoff, a spokeswoman for NBC Universal. Patricia Conradt accuses NBC Universal of engaging in a pattern of racketeering by bribing police across the country to let it film confrontations with suspects it lures to a home where it has set up cameras. Her suit said NBC "steamrolled" police to have her brother arrested at his home after he failed to show up at the rigged house 35 miles away. NBC "trespassed and invaded upon Bill's property," she said, to "broadcast a spectacle to millions." Thanks 'B' for the heads-up on this story. This is a sad story, from whichever perspective you look at it. But it does beg the question, what responsibility do these tabloid 'ambush' reality shows have? Have some of these guys been entrapped into ruining their lives? One must wonder.

Dateline Predators: Like moths to a flame ...

They keep coming. An endless, sad parade. We've all seen the show. We've all heard the familiar line, "I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC, and we're doing a show on adults who solicit children online for sex." We've all seen the sometimes comical reactions of those caught in the sting. Even the guys caught have seen the show before. This show proves that sexual compulsion is almost unstoppable. All these guys have seen the program, yet they still stupidly walk right into the trap like moths to a bug-zapper. It’s sad, and scary. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking up for guys who wanna bang 13 year olds (they get what they deserve), but I think Dateline has proven that there’s a predatory element in society which isn’t going anywhere – regardless of the threat of public humiliation and prison. Old guys, young guys, ugly guys, handsome guys, weirdos who look like predators and clean cut guy-next-door types ... all line up for their 5 minutes of shame. What’s up with that? Why do they do it? All ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds are represented in this predator perp walk. Why? That’s the question I think its time someone studied. Because it’s apparent to me that Dateline can do this show ‘til the next millennium and guys will still line up to get caught in the sting. There will be those who’ll blame the Devil -- that easy, bullshit, timeless cop-out for base human frailty -- or internet porn. But just like horny predatory priests are nothing new, this element has ALWAYS been there. The real question is – why do they do it? Why do they see the flame flickering and walk right into it? Why do cities red-light districts have more parishioners than it's churches? Does the urge to get our freak on (no matter how darkly freaky) trump all possible consequence? I say the obvious answer is yes ... but I don't know why. What do you think?