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Because of how closely Dateline works with police authorities on To Catch a Predator, I don't think there's any way it can be termed "illegal" entrapment. I just can't see local police being "ok" with participating (on tv, no less) with an operation that was anything other than legal.

Let's figure out first what "entrapment" really is. From Wikipedia, it is "...the act of a law enforcement agent in inducing a person to commit an offence which the person would not have, or was unlikely to have, otherwise committed."

Now, when you watch the show it's a common defense of the accused that they've "never done this sort of thing" before, even though their chat logs tell a wildly different story.

To be entrapped illegally, then, one of two things must be proven in court.

1) The person would likely NOT have committed the crime otherwise.

They would have had no interest whatever in visiting an underage boy or girl for a sexual encounter. They would likely not have said anything explicit in their chat logs that would indicate any kind of intent or predisposition to break the law with regards to having sex with a minor. But as we see time and again on To Catch a Predator, these are individuals who lurk in chat rooms and know exactly what type of chatting to expect from the visitors there.

They're there for a reason, and that type of behavior is not typical of a person who has NO INTEREST in meeting up with a minor.

-or-

2) Judging whether the potential entrapment cold catch an potential innocent person or only a potential criminal.

It's pretty obvious that Chris Hansen and crew have careful set up their operation to be well within the law on both of those tests. There's NO WAY an innocent person would have an illicit chat online and then drive a couple hours away for a meeting with a minor. No law-abiding adult in his or her right mind is going to do that - nor are they going to bring beer to give to a minor (another crime), nor are they going to enter the home of a complete stranger totally naked. These are not the actions of an entrapped, guiltless person.

There's no way someone who wasn't predisposed to pursue meeting with a minor for sex would go through that much effort. It would be fairly easy to prove either or both of those things in court, so clearly entrapment is not the case.

Clearly, Dateline is providing a useful service: they are increasing public awareness about the potential dangers of the Internet and teaching young adults and tweens about looking out for their own safety online. They are helping the police catch people that, by all appearances, are predisposed to commit the type of crimes that landed them on Chris Hansen's hot seat.

To cry entrapment after considering all these facts, well, I just don't buy it.

Don't cry foul about this one, Dateline is definitely helping.

Learn more about this author, Lee Mathews.
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