Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Yet another To Catch a Predator acquittal

To Catch a Predator failed to end in acquittal, and in Petaluma, CA, the site of one of the first stings and former home of Polly Klaas.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110816/ARTICLES/110819618/1350?Title=Man-acquitted-of-charge-in-TV-sex-sting&tc=ar

Man acquitted of charge stemming from 2006 'To Catch a Predator' TV sex sting

Published: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 1:01 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 5:16 p.m.
He was kicked out of the Navy and spent time in jail.
Tuesday, five years after appearing on NBC Dateline's “To Catch a Predator,” 26-year-old Joseph Roisman of Watsonville was acquitted of charges of attempting to have sex with an online decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl from Petaluma.
He is the only one of 29 men prosecuted in the 2006 sting to beat the rap.
“I’m ready to move on with my life,” Roisman said outside the courtroom following proceedings. “Hopefully the service will take me back,” he said of his desire to continue his military career.
His mother, Deborah Roisman of Watsonville, shouted, “Woo woo!” as Judge Arthur Wick ordered the case thrown out after six days of trial testimony, and later had harsh words for those involved in the TV show that implicated her son.
She said she and her pediatrician husband spent more than $100,000 defending their son. She vowed to sue NBC producers and called the sting a “huge waste” of tax money.
“They made my son’s life a living hell for five years,” she said.
A Dateline spokeswoman, Amy Lynn, did not return a call seeking comment.
In reaching his decision, Wick found prosecutors had not proven Roisman had “specific intent” to commit the crime - attempting lewd acts with a child under age 14.
He also criticized the tactics used by Dateline’s partner, online watchdog Perverted Justice, whom he suggested lacked credibility and engaged in entrapment.
“The axiom, ‘Actions speak louder than words,’ clearly does not apply in this case,” Wick said from the bench.
Wick stopped the trial and issued the verdict without the defense team presenting its case and before consideration by the jury.... 
Turer argued it was Perverted Justice officials who steered the conversation toward sex. Although Roisman was told the girl’s age, he was doubtful because of her mature-sounding voice and sophisticated talk, Turer said.
“This case is the poster child for the abuse in this program,” Turer said after the acquittal. “They took everything away from this kid just to make a TV show.”....
Sonoma County jurors leaving the courthouse Tuesday said they were not impressed by the Southern California-based group's methods. Windsor bank teller Kathleen Kerckhoff said they obviously induced Roisman to act the way he did. She said she would have found him not guilty if the case had come to the jury.
“I don't have any respect for Perverted Justice after this trial,” she said. “I think they do have quotas. They have an agenda. It was the right resolution.”
In all, prosecutors obtained convictions on 27 defendants. Sentences ranged from probation to nine months in jail.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Chris Hansen busted TWICE!

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Chris Hansen busted TWICE!

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/08/catch-a-predator-chris-hanson-caught-cheating-again-national-enquirer

To Catch A Cheater! Chris Hansen Busted For Second Affair


By Radar Staff

For a guy that made a living catching people out misbehaving on camera you'd think he might of been a little more discreet when it came to his own life.
But, RadarOnline.com can reveal that To Catch A Predator host, Chris Hansen, has been caught cheating on his long suffering wife a SECOND time.
The National Enquirer are reporting that the 51-year-old married father of two embarked on a steamy six month affair with Kathleen Collins, a stripper that he met in Las Vegas in early 2011.
According to the Enquirer the petite blonde fell hard for Hansen and was "floored" when she discovered that he had also been carrying on an extramarital fling with another woman, Kristyn Caddell, a 30-year-old TV news reporter for WPTV 5 in West Palm Beach, Fl.
Collins learned of Hansen's other mistress when she saw photos of the two of them together in the Enquirer, who broke the story - and a close friend claims: "I know this sounds crazy, but Kathleen really thought she was the only one."