To Catch A Predator – Lights, Camera, Entrapment?
August 8th, 2007 . by TexasFredA high-powered celebrity lawyer representing a doctor accused of being a sexual predator went after “Dateline NBC” yesterday in a California courtroom.
Blair Berk, whose clients include Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson and Halle Berry, is currently representing Dr. Maurice Wolin, a prominent oncologist. The doctor was taken down by cops last year as “Dateline” cameras rolled. Prosecutors say Dr. Wolin made plans to have a sexual encounter with someone on the Internet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. In fact, the person who was IMing Dr. Wolin was self-proclaimed “evil vigilante” Xavier Von Erck, founder of Perverted Justice.
In yesterday’s preliminary hearing in Santa Rosa California, Berk grilled a cop whose department worked with Perverted Justice and “Dateline.” Berk maintained that Perverted Justice got money for snagging alleged predators and therefore entrapped her client to make a buck. She claimed Perverted Justice illegally recorded conversations with her client and also said the chat logs could not be authenticated. The logs have not been admitted into evidence.
The cop who testified yesterday called the chat logs “extensive” and “extremely incriminating.” In one exchange, the doctor allegedly asked to come over to her house, but added, “But you’re under 18 and I’m over. We would have to be soo careful.”
NBC rented the house that was used for the doctor’s alleged sexual liaison.
Xavier Von Erck will testify when the prelim resumes next month. The judge will then decide whether to admit the critical logs into evidence and then determine if Dr. Wolin will stand trial.
Full Story Here:
To Catch A Predator — Lights, Camera, Entrapment?
I guess Xavier Von Icky must be really good at playing girly man in the chat rooms maybe?? He’s a nasty looking little *goth* freak, he probably can.
Look, I personally have no use for Xavier Von Icky. He is seriously in need of some refinement where his social graces are concerned, he has the manners of a pig. But his personality is not the issue here.
The reliability of his organization and their intelligence gathering, and it’s legality is the issue.
I have NO problem with what Perverted Justice does, as long as they strictly document EVERYTHING and turn it over to the proper authorities and then back the hell OFF, and take NBC with them.
The idea of NBC and Dateline doing the actual ‘outing’ of these accused pervs is going to be the deal breaker if this is thrown out of court I think, the financial questions being raised about police departments supposedly being paid for their services.
That was the story going around here in Texas after the Murphy faux pas, if that rumor is even true, but any impropriety in that area is going to cause problems I’m afraid. I sincerely hope Perverted Justice did it ALL by the book, we don’t need this perv, or any OTHER perv turned loose because sensational ratings came before true justice.
Well Fred, there are a couple of good things NBC does with this issue.
They keep this issue in the forefront, they also let these freaks know that when they go to meet their prey, it might be a sting and they might end up on TV.
I would hate to see this good, go for not because of a liberal judge or POS ACLU lawyer. These guys showed up for one thing for sure… sexual contact with a child.
PJ is helping the victims before they are VICTIMS.
In this case all I see is a doctor trying to find a way out, he made the decision to go to that house, he made the choice. the stage was set for his behavior he provided the entertainment value by choosing to meet a MINOR for sex.
I really couldn’t care less how they catch these freaks as long as it doesn’t have to be after the fact all the time. the children deserve better than that.
Rob, you’re starting to sound like some ‘other’ folks did for a while, I am NOT bashing PJ, I agree with what they are doing, they just need to realize, THEY have some severe limitations, and mainly it’s called NOT being Law Enforcement, and the NBC thing is a crock of shit in MY opinion, they are gonna get cases thrown out with their half-assed sensationalism..
But MY issue is NOT with PJ, as long as they dot all the i’s and cross all the tee’s…
I have wanted to comment on these stings for quite awhile but I have not made it to comment on anything. First of all, I am experienced at both ends of the totem pole, I have a son, a survivor of molestation from a well seasoned pedophile and a relative involved in a dateline sting. I do not in any way advocate pedophilia, I know the effect it has on all involved. The world is full of perverts and there is a definite difference in a pervert and a pedophile. If I were just wanting to rant, I don’t think I would be shaking as I am now and my son’s case was settled nearly 7 years ago. The trial took 2 1/2 years, pretrial after pretrial but I wanted all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed. My family will never recover from the experience.
As far perverted justice, I do think they may have the right motive but they are going about it in the wrong way and getting pleasure out of humiliating these people, ruining the lives of families while boosting the ratings of NBC and padding thier pockets. All the while the true pedophile is attending the soccer games, hanging out near the play grounds, making himself your child’s best friend. To have the label of a “sex offender” is a serious thing to me and should be to anyone who has experienced it first hand. A sexual pervert is a different story, and how can the chat logs be authenticated so quickly? Was there a computer analyst hired to tear it down and prove, undeniably that the chat was not altered and is authentic?
In my son’s case, the computer analyst had such a back log of work, it took several months to even get to the computer in question and then digging into the hard drive to authenticate the times, websites and conversations was very extensive. But it was proven beyond the shadow of doubt, that the case was solid.
Would a child actually say some of the things that are said without being sexually experienced in the first place? I have visited the PJ website, I have read some of the logs involved in these dateline stings, they are very leading and provocative. If a person can be prosecuted in this country, for words alone, when in fact, they are just joking or just going along to see what it might lead to, where does it end.
Do we bring attempted murder charges against Xavier Von Erck
http://www.radaronline.com/features/2006/09/strange_bedfellows.php
Is this still the same country that our courts hail “innocent until proven guilty”, or have we made dateline and perverted justice judge and jury? I am sorry for the pain the families experience when a pedophile has altered their life, and I am sorry for the pain the families that perverted justice has ruined. It is not legal and it is not the right way to capture a person that is truly wanting to hurt your child. Research Von Erik and each of the “decoys”, they all have “baggage” and are filled with vengeance.
Joyce, that’s quite a post, thank you for sharing it, I know it must have been difficult, but sometimes it DOES feel good to let it all out… And again, thank you…
I quit watching dateline when it became all about the ratings….and PJ…well their heart is in the right palce most of the time….but doing this for gain, and jeapardizing a case to gloat, does bother me. I prefer the ones that go about the business of catching the paedos without the benefit of a lot horn tooting. People in constant need of accolades worry me when it comes to motive.
Here’s the problem. In the United States, a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law….that’s “PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW“. It’s not “assumed guilty on Dateline“. Dateline and NBC may, in fact, be counterproductive to the entire process by oversensationalizing it on prime time television.
What if the person was innocent? I’m not saying he is….but what if he was? Does he really stand a chance of returning to a normal life after having been “outed” on network television? Will he ever shake the stigma associated with having been accused of such a terrible thing? Doubtful. You think that any high dollar attorney worth her salt might be able to demonstrate that her client didn’t get a fair trial because the jury was tainted by the oversaturation of the case in the media? It’s not unheard of.
If there is an organization who’s sole purpose is to catch pedophilic would-be molesters and rapists by trickery or entrapment….MORE POWER TO THEM. Where do I send my check? But the media can do nothing to help them with such programming as “Dateline”. If anything, they’ll rip the case apart before it ever sees a jury. Perverted Justice would do well to disassociate themselves with such high profile coverage if they truly wish to continue to be instrumental in putting these demented predators behind bars. Dateline is a liability they could do without.