Family Sues NBC Over Suicide of Man Caught in Predator Sting
July 24th, 2007 . by TexasFredNEW YORK — In the “Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator†show, men accused of having explicit online chats with people they think are underage children go to a house to meet them, where TV cameras, host Chris Hansen and police await.
Louis William Conradt Jr., of Terrell, Texas, a Dallas suburb, was suspected of being one of those men, except he didn’t show up at the house. That didn’t stop the TV producers and police from showing up at his, though, and as officers knocked on his door and a camera crew waited in the street, Conradt shot and killed himself.
His sister, Patricia Conradt, sued NBC Universal Inc. in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday for $105 million, accusing it of taking over police duties and then failing to protect her brother.
In the lawsuit, Patricia Conradt accused NBC Universal of engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity by bribing police across the country to let it film encounters with suspects it lures to a home where it has set up cameras.
She said in the lawsuit NBC “steam-rolled†police to arrest her brother after telling police he failed to show up at the rigged house 35 miles away.
I think it will be interesting to see how this all turns out, I also believe that these matters need to be left strictly to the police, and NOT to those like NBC, Dateline or Perverted Justice, if organizations have evidence that may help the police then by all means, turn that information over to the police and let them do their jobs, but don’t make a media spectacle out of it…
But I do have to ask this question in regards to the suicide of Louis William Conradt Jr., if he wasn’t guilty, WHY did he blow his brains out??
That is NOT the action of an innocent man…
She said her brother was unable to defend himself when police, NBC employees and associates swarmed his yard, creating a relationship between NBC and her brother similar to the relationship a prison guard has with an inmate.
Prison guards interact with prisoners every day, the prisoners aren’t blowing their brains out because of it, the sister is looking for someone to blame, and NBC/Dateline may well be at fault for over playing this entire matter, but it does appear that her brother was guilty of online solicitation of a minor, the chat logs offered by Perverted Justice did implicate him in that act and seem to be valid in their content, even if he didn’t show up at the bait house, he was involved in the INTENT on line, and intent is all it takes…
And as an officer of the court, he knew better, in MY opinion, there were no innocent parties involved in this entire debacle…
Full Story Here:
Family Sues NBC Over Suicide of Man Caught in Predator Sting
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Brother Fred, I have to disagree with you, yet again. *Just in case we both start once again getting that yes man ice creamer label* LMAO!
When I was in College, the last time anyways, we were asked to help out a Psych Professor with a research project…
It involved sexual predation on the INTERNET, enough said. I did MSN Chat Rooms, Samuel did AOL, and Michael did the Yahoo Chat rooms. There were also nine ladies
that were part of the study.
We recorded via paste methods to notepad everything that occurred. Now, please bear in mind, that the Colorado legislature had just changed the age of consent laws, and that it never got any big time publicity.
Among our self imposed rules were that we would never ask, or entice anyone for anything sexual. That included what has become to be known as cyber sex.
Anyways, Michael was propositioned one evening, by a 17 year old female, that sounded pretty sincere. He acquiesced, after the third night of offers/pleads and agreed to meet her. (That was a ruse, he recorded everything, and brought it to the Professor the next morning.)
Michael returned to his home in Arvada. Opened the door of his car, got out, and was rushed, and tackled without warning (per independent witness’s) slammed to the driveway in a classic combat tackle that broke all of his front teeth ( both uppers and lowers! Great technique!) and taken to jail for sexual assault on a child under the age of 18…
The “girl” was in fact, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy. The fact that the “meet” never happened didn’t matter under Colorado law. The FACT, that the age of consent law had been changed the day before without real notification to the public didn’t matter. The FACT, that, as was brought up at trial, was that it was a study by a bona fide Professor about sexual predation on the INTERNET didn’t matter.
Fred, My Brother, Michael went to the Department of Corrections, where he used a sheet to hang himself. He died.
Leave these things to the Police for God’s sakes! But use your God given brains in the process!
How, I ask, on earth…
Can we trust those entrusted to protect us?
I was God Damned Training Officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department!
I have no room for anyone that sodomizes a 4 year old. I also have no room for Prosecutors that concvict innocent people just because they can.
What happened to that guys brother is a crime in itself and I hope the surviving family successfully prosecuted the city or county involved. That doesn’t change the fact that a lot of predators are being taken off the streets before they can do harm, or further harm as the case may be.
Being exposed on national television must be extremely embarassing and is probably more of a deterrent than the threat of prison. The part of all this that seems wrong to me is having a TV show take on police powers. These stings are something that the police ONLY should be doing, not some private production outfit out to make a lot of money from sleaze. The police can do their own predator documentaries legally just as NBC does, and put the profits to good use.
As for the prosecutors, too often they go for convictions regardless of the evidence, if they think they can win anyway, as their jobs are political positions and they can get voted out with a bad conviction record. This is a really poor arrangement and antithetical to true justice.
Pat, I understand your story, somewhat, but WHERE is that disagreement??
His sisters suit is a crock of shit, NBC, PJ, the police, everyone involved was likely wrong, but so was the guy Conradt… And NBC was supposed to protect him?? Bullshit, and personally, I’m glad the son of a bitch blew his brains out, one less turdball we’re supporting in prison…
I for one am going to have to agree with Fred. The suit is a crock and good riddence to a child abusing whack job.
These people do not change their stripes. I’ve watched that Dateline show and some of the guys they pop show up again and again. They are sick.