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Keeping Children Safe~To Catch A Predator (In Flagler Beach!)

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Services for Real Estate Pros

 

I just found out tonight that Dateline NBC was right here in my back yard filming its series To Catch A Predator, The Episode is called The scariest potential predator. I don't know when, but judging from the wreath on the door of the decoy home they used (that I recognized) it was around the Christmas Holidays. I'm surprised it wasn't in the paper or on the news, if it was neither Steve nor I heard about it. They arrested 21 men in their combined operation with PervertedJustice.com and The Flagler County Police Department, one man was a police officer from Alabama! <Little side note, when you click on the Dateline NBC link there is a interesting story about web scammers.>

This all began when a Officer from the Flagler PD began his own test online to see if what he was hearing was true. He made up a fake online profile pretending to be a young teen girl. He entered a local chat room and said within a few minutes he was being hit by emails and instant messages from older men. He asked his Chief if he could contact Dateline. His Chief requested the Office contact other agencies first and make sure they were happy with the results. The agencies the Officer contacted were in fact pleased so the Chief agreed with the Officer.

If you are not familiar with the series, it goes like this: PervertedJustice.com goes online and pretends to be young teens, they work in conjunction with police departments around the country to catch older men trying to have sex with underage children. They log the chat between them and the person they are talking to, save the photos that are sent. In some cases if a meeting is arranged it is the police that will show up, not the person at the keyboard. Dateline NBC and PervertedJustice.com have been traveling around the country for a couple years now luring in perverts just like this with the local Police Department standing by to arrest the sicko when they leave the house.

You can watch the entire episode by clicking on these links in sequence:

1: The simultaneous interview  

2: Meetings by the beach

3: More men arrive at the house

4: Refusing to answer

5: The cop with the arsenal

6: What happens to the men?

Let me know what you think.

 

 

Thanks to the Codgers for the graphic!

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Cynthia Sloop
Community Association Manager - Indianapolis, IN
Lysa - WOW they did one in your backyard.  I didn't see the one you wrote about but I have watched this series from time to time.  Some of the answers these guys give for being where they're at is just ridiculous!  It's scarey!  Especially if you have children around the ages these undercovers portray.  (With the net being such a big place, I'm not sure they'll ever be able to catch all those preditors.)   
Mar 21, 2007 01:19 PM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL
Whats really scary Cyndi is the cop that came from Alabama to Flagler Beach to meet a 13 yr old with 800 rounds of ammo, a semi automatic, a loaded snub nose in his pocket 2 bullet proof vests and a porn video. He never made inside, and he is out on bail but no longer works as a police officer. Really made Steve and I wonder what were his real plans. You're right in your comment... We need to make sure our children and grandchildren are careful on the internet. It is up to us as the adult.
Mar 21, 2007 01:25 PM
Heather Saul
Weichert Realtors Hoey Group - Wildwood, NJ
Lysa...  I have watched a few episodes and they are absolutely terrifying.  The people who pull up to the house are such a mix - professionals of all types.  The scariest part is that no town is safe from Internet predators.  It could happen anywhere and we need to be aware of the sites our children visit and keep computers in very visible places.
Mar 21, 2007 01:30 PM
Terry Lynch
LAR Notary and Closing Services - Saint Clair Shores, MI

Lysa,

Here in Macomb County our sheriffs department has had an online predator unit in place for years.

The thing that amazes me is the fact that even with all the national and local media coverage, these scumbags still do it. A Michigan State Police Sergeant was arrested a couple days ago. That is about as scary as it gets.

Mar 21, 2007 02:00 PM
Bob Sloop, Consultant, Indianapolis, IN
RS Mortgage Consulting - Indianapolis, IN

LYSA, Unreal, as usual you did it again, never seems to amaze me as to how you get into such action.  I think we all need to be alert as to what is happening around us, it is so hard to do so with the computer age already here with our children and grandchildren now on the airwaves.  It is frightening.  I hope some day we will be able to not worry so much, this is my prayer.  I think we are in for long haul on this one.  I can only hope we catch as many as possible and put them away. 

Mar 21, 2007 05:46 PM
Randy L. Prothero
eXp Realty - Hollister, MO
Missouri REALTOR, (808) 384-5645
Predators are everywhere.  They need to be removed from society.  I get really upset when you hear of the repeat offenders who are walking the streets.
Mar 21, 2007 11:43 PM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL

Heather, Yes you are so right, this is why I do this series, to make parents and grandparents aware of what happens online. Sometimes these predators pretend to be teens, and set up meetings with other teens which can also be disastrous.

Terry, Believe it or not alot of State Police Depts have a "Computer Crimes Unit" and have had them set up for years, but they have kept it quiet from the public to be able to remain anonymous. Now with programs like the one Dateline has in place, you are so right, the sicko's are still at it. Some of them are more wary as you notice if you watched the links I put in. But they still come from miles away to meet the teens.

Bob, Because of the work I did for Mark Lunsford and having 2 nutcases approach my step daughter online over 10 yrs ago I've know of the threat online. Yvette knew enough to come get me when she was approached, and we never talked about it, she just knew it was wrong, I never in my wildest dreams even considered back then what is actually happening now. I'm not sure the computer crimes divisions existed back then, and never considered turning those people in. 

Randy, that is EXACTLY what Steve said this morning as we were watching the news and he was reading the paper. He told me if "they need more proof that laws need to be harsher for repeat offenders, all they need to do is open the paper" and he pointed to the story going on in GA about the little boy recently killed by a repeat offender, at the EXACT SAME TIME our local news on TV was talking about a repeat offender who strangled a bartender until she passed out and dragged her back into the bar, luckily the bar owner came in and stopped him from whatever his next move was going to be and he was arrested. 

 

Mar 22, 2007 01:22 AM
Randy L. Prothero
eXp Realty - Hollister, MO
Missouri REALTOR, (808) 384-5645
Lysa - I think in many cases the laws aren't the problems as much as the court system.
Mar 22, 2007 06:17 AM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL
Randy~Yep that too!
Mar 22, 2007 06:40 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Hey,

That is really scary, were you freeking out?

Were you surprised?

You know in my city of Weston, there is a new law, sexual preditors are not allowed to live in Weston, and i have a property ready to close and the buyers needed a police background check beofre they were approved, and it was for that new law, there is some kid who was in prison, got out and went to live with his parents, and was fighting the city because they changed the law before he got out, it is a sickness.

Mar 23, 2007 01:24 PM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL

Neal, nope not freaking out. Amazed I didn't know it was going on though. Steve and I always know whats going on in the news locally. How we missed this one is like WOW.

I actually considered briefly volunteering for prevertedjustice.com, but decided not to, 1, I just can't type like a kid with the abbreviations, 2 doing that kind of work really puts me in a "dark place", I learned that last year. Now I do what I can through my blogs. I've never heard of a city banning predators before. That is great. Unfortunately some have the mark of the predator on them and all some 19 yr kid did was have fun in the back seat of their car with a under-aged minor (perhapes 16) and got caught, I'm not saying that is right, but that does not make the 19 yr old a predator. Laws need to be changed.

Mar 23, 2007 01:33 PM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate
Really, i just saw a movie on this about 2 months ago, the women posed as a 15 yrd old I think, and she caught men when they came to the location the cops arrested them
Mar 23, 2007 01:42 PM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL
Neal, no kidding, do you remember the name of it?
Mar 27, 2007 08:48 AM
Anna Lukyanova
Century 21 Sundance Realty - Daytona Beach, FL

Hi Lysa,

I think it is great that they are doing those series on Predators. Lat week they did a story about those e-mails that everybody gets that are supposedly from people that live in Africa and want to share with you $20,000,000. Great public awareness campaign. Good Job!

Mar 27, 2007 08:51 AM
Lysa Napolitano
Daytona Beach, FL
Anna, Thanks! I saw that story on the Scam Spam too.. Believe it or not there are people that believe that email :(
Mar 27, 2007 11:30 AM