12 April
2006 Chatmag News.
Following a controversial
"sting" aired on Dateline NBC, news and legal analysts question the ethics
of THE NBC news special report.
The "sting" involved
Perverted-Justice.com a controversial online vigilante organization, first
reported on in Chatmag News on 17 Feb. 2004. Operators from Perverted-Justice.com
entered Internet chat rooms posing as underage girls, in an effort to entice
adults into private chats. The methods used by Perverted-Justice.com has
been questioned by law enforcement, legal scholars, and professionals
in both online chat and online safety.
In a segment filmed
in Darke County, Ohio, the Sheriff deputized several Perverted-Justice.com
operators. In addition, NBC paid these same operators, The Washington Post
reported it was at least $100,000.
Deputizing and
paying the Perverted-Justice.com operators, according to The Washington
Post, "the sting crossed some ethical boundaries that could place the network
in an awkward legal position."
In essence, NBC
is stepping over the boundary of reporting the news, and is now creating
news. Furthermore, the deputizing of the Perverted-Justice.com operators
is tantamount to NBC paying law enforcement. Also, there will be serious
questions raised at the trials of any or all of the defendants, as to the
legality of the arrest by what amounts to NBC Deputies.
Chatmag.com has
long upheld that Perverted-Justice.com is a rogue vigilante organization,
with no legal oversight, training in proper evidence handling, and the
legal technicalities of conducting sting operations via The Internet.
It is time that this vigilante group be held to the same high standards
as the rest of our legal system, or disband. NBC should learn a valuable
lesson. Report the news, do not make the news.
Peter J. Carr
Publisher/Owner
Chatmag.com
Related Link:
Vigilante
Web Site Perverted-Justice.com harming legitimate law enforcement
efforts to stop online predators. Chatmag opposes "vigilante" web
site.
