Dateline NBC: To catch a predator. What are some of the court proceedings these pedophiles go through?

by Aaron Webb

Question by The Invisible Hand/Illuminati: Dateline NBC: To catch a predator. What are some of the court proceedings these pedophiles go through?
I’ve been watching Dateline’s Show:To catch a predator on youtube in segments. It amazes me how people are so stupid to do those things. One thing that crosses my mind is the charges and court procedures these felons go through.

I notice the common charges of
1. Intent to solicit sex with a minor
2. Attempted lewd or lascivious acts on a child

Some of their defenses are
1. I’m a lonely guy
2. I have a problem
3. I had no intent of having intercourse

The thing that makes me think is some criminals who show they have a psychological problem get off with a lighter sentence. Does this occur with these types of people?

or

Does their defense “I have a problem and need help” still land them the minimum jail sentence which I think is 5 years from what the show says?

NOTE: This is a legal question from the show To Catch a Predator. Please be mature and appropriate not using wild slangs. The segments on youtube such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNZttItbqpw&feature=related just make me think what the heck do these guys think they are getting away with. Thank you all for your time and answers.

Best answer:

Answer by Libraryanna
There are a lot of factors that go into sentencing. Where the crimes occurred. (You will notice some states are much tougher than others.) Who the judge is. Prior criminal history. Prior history of sex crimes. If they were already in treatment before they were arrested might make a difference, but it’s pretty much known that it is very rare for therapy to stop pedophiles. It also depends on the specific crime they are charged with.

Some of them only get a few months and probation. There is no minimum sentence, since they show people from a lot of different states.

They think they won’t get caught. Most likely they have all done it before and gotten away with it. What’s really stupid are the ones who have seen the show and do it anyway.

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