"While it is never easy to accept that someone you know, even online, has been convicted of such a horrific crime, it is important that you, the general public, be made aware of this serious offense." "He knew that Todd had acted like an idiot," says Dianna. Filming & Production Three, it takes you into a world you wouldnt normally see. "), Dianna felt she knew something about mistakes and redemption. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. "I immediately thought about leaving him. "Rachel didn't say a word to me for two weeks," she says. He laughs. She gets into position, standing by the front door as a potential predator shows up at our undercover house." A member of SAG, Samantha found a modicum of success as a television actress and has been featured in series such as HBO's "Insecure", Private, "NCIS:Los Angeles, and many more. Why, she asked, hadn't Todd been around? "I was trying to live normally, but I had this incredibly depressed person on my hands," says Dianna. The voice-over continues: "Thirty-seven-year-old Todd West has no problem following our decoy right into the house. It's a whole 'nother playing field now. | ", In discussing how they pick decoys for the show, Hansen explained that decoys are chosen because they look young, but have the maturity to play the part in a responsible and safe way., When asked how he responds to those people who see To Catch a Predator as a type of entrapment, Hansen explained that, It's not entrapment. Every night Dianna and her girls got nasty anonymous phone calls, the mildest of which called Todd a "sicko pervert." Convicted murderer identified as suspect in 1980 cold case of 21-year-old N.J. woman foun The Construction Surge in Judea and Samaria Will Return. To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television news magazine program Dateline NBC. ), When asked about the most surprising reaction he ever received from one of his predator encounters, Hansen admitted that it was recognition. He's here to meet a girl who online told him she was a 14-year-old virgin. Decoys posed as underage girls and boys during the sting operations, to lure predators into the sting houses. ", Dianna carefully explained and told her daughters that though she wasn't sure about the future of the relationship, she was going to get Todd out of jail and take him to his home. As the couple left the courthouse, strangers approached Dianna, saying, "We're praying for you.". | He hadn't believed she was 14her language had been too sophisticated, and when he saw her in person, he'd sized her up as being of legal age. He said Todd had nodded his head in agreement. "Crime Watch Daily" host Chris Hansen, at right, speaks with Jeff Sokol, a man who police say drove two and a half hours to meet a 13-year-old girl. and our Samantha Cope Dumb. [The suspects] have to make the first move, then raise the specter of sex, then come to the house. She had to ask herself: Who is this man I said I'd marry? The mark would arrive at a camera-rigged decoy house, where Hansen would emerge with his signature line: Why dont you have a seat? After a brief, squirmy interview, police would swoop in for an arrest. Todd had been arrested for trying to solicit sex from a decoy disguised as an underage girl. All Dianna could sputter out was "What the hell?". Date of birth May 5, 1987 Place of birth Salt Lake City, Utah Samantha Cope was the female decoy involved in the Flagler Beach, Florida edition of To Catch A Predator. That's about as far as Todd gets. "I kept asking myself, Am I a lunatic for putting this man near my children?". The best decoy on To Catch a Predator is a woman, her name is Casey Mauro. So the guys dont see it. To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television news magazine program Dateline NBC. Longtime viewers of the show might remember that many of the predators were asked to bring along some Mikes Hard Lemonade, which didnt sit so well with the beverage-makers. Furious and confused, Dianna had had just one brief phone conversation with her fianc since the bust. Chris Hansen, the host of Crime Watch Daily.. I always thought Todd was nice. While reruns of To Catch a Predator still air regularly, no new episodes have been shot since 2007. | The show didn't ultimately cave to criticism about "entrapment." By going to the location of their own volition to try and sleep with someone they believed to be a minor, the perps on To Catch a Predator were freely attempting to engage in illegal activity on their own. Chris Hansen hosts the "To Catch a Predator" segment on "Dateline NBC" in this 2006 photo. It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12 - 15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over the Internet for sexual liaisons. And experts in the field say when it comes to female predators, you're more likely to see the teacher/student scenario, as opposed to someone meeting anonymously online. It comes with the territory of dealing with people who are, at base, uncaring, self-serving individuals more concerned with fking kids than being decent human beings. And it was tough. A life where Todd could meet her daughters only in public and only if at least six unrelated adults were present? And sometimes they freak out. At the Dateline house, Todd stands in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of tea, while the decoy flutters around, asking him if he brought the Jack Daniel's and condoms she'd requested. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. "You tell me." Those arrested were processed and booked at the Canadian County Sheriffs Office Detention Facility on charges of facilitating sexual communication with a minor, lewd acts with a child under 16, intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance to a minor, and violations of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act. "He called a few days later, and we were pretty much together after that." We actually got a call from the lawyers at Mike's Hard Lemonade asking us to not use their product anymore, Hansen said. Children spend hours chatting online with their friends, and sometimes with strangers. The reality is he did his time. "Um-hmm," he responds. And Dianna, a 34-year-old divorced mother of two adolescent daughters, was about to endure the private agonies behind what has become a very public form of entertainment. He later calmed down, but he still thought that Dianna should leave Todd. It's about me being a good mother." Dianna didn't remember all the specifics, but she knew that he couldn't be around any books or movies that featured minors. Two, its compelling television. Now she wasn't sure what to do. It's not everyone but's definitely all the major figures shouldn't be hard to fill out the rest. Anyway, the other decoys are Amanda (blonde from Georgia), Scott (guy from Flagler), and Palumbo's bottom boy (I wish they had used him more). On the drive to Todd's apartment, Dianna listened to his side of the story. Privacy Policy. In 2003 she left her girls with their father while she recovered in rehab. The male and female decoys that appeared in the various stings. Many in the medical community argue that people with sexual proclivities toward youth have a disorder. It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12 - 15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over Read allTo Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television news magazine program Dateline NBC. "Todd is in jail," he said. May 5, 1987 I think it would be socially irresponsible and somewhat dangerous. Im not the moral arbiter of society. A talented amateur artist who managed a costume shop, he'd always been wonderful with her children. She didn't initially tell her daughters, but later that week, when she picked them up from their father's house, she had to face a question from 13-year-old Rachel. With the visitor's phone held tightly in her hand, she asked him the question that had been gnawing at her: "How old did she say she was?" The Addams Family was out. At the jail, Todd requests an attorney, refusing to speak further until one is brought to him. Release Dates Hansens last segment aired in late 2007. At that time, Hansen reported that he was commencing negotiations with various potential broadcast networks in an effort to find a media platform on which to air the footage that was shot during the Fairfield operation. But no assignment has made him as familiar a face to audiences as To Catch a Predator, the hidden camera segment-turned-series in which Hansen and a team of decoys helped to expose a parade of Internet sex predators in a series of bizarre encounters that began with chocolate chip cookies and sweet tea and ended with Hansen instructing the suspect to have a seat.. He chatted with the decoy named mystyk_roses for a week.". Im not a psychiatrist, but Ive come to believe some can be fixed and others cannot. It was devoted to impersonating underage people (generally ages 12-15) and detaining male adults who contacted them over the Internet for sexual liaisons. But this whole mess has become more trouble than it's worth.". Earlier versions of To Catch a Predator included the suspect entering the house, getting a quick talking-to by Chris Hansen, and the suspect getting arrested. In the hallway she heard teachers whisper about the episode, saying, "One of guys even had a fiance! She'd had time to ask only if he was OK and had no details of what he'd done. Dianna expected to feel more settled after their quiet elopement, but the opposite proved true. I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. This led to a whole series of Dateline "To Catch A Predator" specials and a spin-off, "To Catch A Predator: The Raw Tapes", which shows . "He did a bad thing. Chris talks with Casey Mauro, who was the decoy actress in the Dateline NBC To Catch A Predator investigation episodes in New Jersey and Kentucky. When asked about how the series came about, Hansen explained that, The idea grew out of a conversation I had years ago, with a fellow reporter, a friend of mine. To Catch a Predator (2004-2007) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Series Cast Series Produced by Series Music by Series Film Editing by Series Sound Department Series Camera and Electrical Department See also Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs Have a tip or story idea? Biographical information 2023 Cond Nast. There is a notion that we stopped doing the investigations after the incident, which is not true we did others after that one, successful ones in which nobody got hurt. Decoy Highlights From To Catch a Predator - Part 1 (TCAP Compilation) 8,373 views Aug 7, 2022 Links: .more .more 178 Dislike Share Save Nathan Tagalong 9.33K subscribers 56 My excuse to. People were lured to meet with a decoy under the preten See production, box office & company info, [Chris Hansen, as he reads to Jeffrey Stacey from the chat log transcript of his conversation with the decoy], [In a high pitched Mickey Mouse sounding voice], JonTron: Top 10 Most Overrated Games of All Time. Every time they walked by a young girl, she glared at him to make sure he wasn't ogling her. And it never gets tiring., 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Friends left furious messages: Some called Todd a bastard or less printable names; others begged Dianna to leave him. The minors are adults impersonating underage persons (generally ages 13-15) in online chats. Two hours into their trip, near the exit for the decoy house Todd had visited, she finally exploded. But what isn't often shown is the grief and humiliation of those closest to the predators, particularly their wives and girlfriends. Have you come to have views on this? Israeli Minister Tells US Envoy to Mind his Business on Judicial Reforms. "I could feel them feeling sorry for me," she says. When we began, we used chatrooms on AOL and Yahoo! If he was released as a convicted sex offender, he would have to adhere to a strict set of rules. But with the help of a new Kickstarter campaign, Hansen is hoping to change that and unleash a new seriesthe forebodingly titled Hansen vs. Predatoron the world. A few years earlier she'd gotten hooked on crystal meth. Cookie Notice To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. Todd seemed like the furthest thing from that," she says. Israeli Minister Tells us Envoy to Mind his Business on Judicial Reforms was 14-year-old. West has no problem following our decoy right into the sting houses many in the various stings grief humiliation! Make sure he was released as a convicted sex offender, he 'd always been wonderful with her.... 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