Oops

Apparently, appearing on “Dateline: To Catch a Predator” has its upside – not for the perp (OK: alleged perp), obviously, but for his aggrieved family: The sister of a man who killed himself while the police were knocking at his door to question him about his sexually explicit online chat with what the guy thought was a 13-year-old boy is suing NBC for $105 million.

Most critics have been giving “To Catch a Predator” a pass because no one in their right mind would defend the dirtbags the show humiliates and helps put behind bars. (Besides, watching these guys squirm while host Chris Hansen turns the thumbscrews on them is spectacularly quease-inducing TV, even though Hansen of late appears to have become more theatrical in his self-righteous cudgeling of his perverted dupes; it’s hard to shake the feeling that “To Catch a Predator” plays more like a reality show than a newsmagazine report.)

What places this case in a somewhat hazy area are the facts that the D.A. handling this round of cases didn’t prosecute any of them, feeling that the evidence was tainted (and that NBC didn’t obtain the permission of the local mayor or city council for the sting) and that the dead guy in fact didn’t show up at Sicko Central, the home to which the pervs are invited during the online chats. Granted, the content of the online chat itself constitutes a felony. And it’s impossible to imagine a jury that’d be sympathetic to a 57-year-old guy who was willfully flirting with underage kids, particularly if NBC’s attorneys can find others victimized by him.

But, really, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Those nabbed in these stings are obviously diseased, but might be sane enough to understand that being exposed on national television as a likely child molester is about as bad as it gets, and there’s not going to be a whole lot in life to look forward to afterwards.

And while it’s difficult to feel much remorse that there’s one less bad guy (OK, OK: alleged bad guy) walking amongst us, NBC and the folks at Perverted Justice who set up these stings (just a thought, but perhaps the group might want to come up with a new moniker) should’ve considered the potential residual blowback on the innocent bystanders in these creeps’ families. And perhaps installments of “To Catch a Predator” should expend some energy on encouraging those who feel such urges to get psychiatric help in addition to jazzing audiences with the depictions of debasing these demented deviants.