Teaming up in a sweeps-week ratings stunt aimed at snaring potential pedophiles – including, reportedly, the part-owner of a prominent professional wrestling organization – has Philadelphia's NBC affiliate WCAU-TV and Perverted-Justice.com under fire from local police and school officials.
On March 3, WCAU broadcast an expose on adults using the Internet to lure children into real-life sexual encounters. Police and school officials here say that the sweeps-week news story endangered the safety of children.
Newtown Township Police Chief Lee Hunter told the Philadelphia Inquirer the broadcast was "highly dangerous, totally unethical, and immoral." Hunter added that he wants to make sure the station was not "luring pedophiles" to the area.
The story involved WCAU's news department renting a house in Newtown Township and staff it with staffers of Perverted-Justice.com, a site that outs chatroom users who engage in lurid chat with possible child abusers. Site contributors pose as minors to arrange meetings with unsuspecting surfers, many of which involve similar group media busts. The Website is not affiliated with any known law enforcement agency.
Local school officials are also concerned that the March 3 broadcast risked the safety of local children by enticing possible criminals to commit indecent acts. "NBC 10 has acted irresponsibly," said a Marple Newtown School District statement, "endangering the children of our community in a needless, shameful effort to create news, not report it."
Perverted-Justice.com, whose mission statement claims to "root out and bring to light those who would use the internet as a way to sexually abuse children," is also being criticized for the methods it used to expose a popular Northeastern professional wrestling promoter.
Rob Feinstein, part owner of the Ring Of Honor wrestling organization, was one of at least three men set up in the WCAU sting. Feinstein has since stepped down from both ROH and RF Video, a well-known wrestling video and DVD distributor. Many wrestling fans have described the media operation as "entrapment."
"I find no reason to post all of the information from that chat on the Net. If [Perverted-Justice.com] want to post certain parts of the discussion that are evidence of a crime, that's fine. But why publish so many details of his personal life?" wrote a Pro Wrestling Torch message board user.
WCAU defended the story March 4. "In covering this story, NBC 10 believes that no one was put in danger and the station conducted itself responsibly," the station said in an announcement. "We have listened to and reported on the community's concerns about this story, and we are open to continuing a dialogue."
The station has also posted a Web page offering links for parents and others to find information and even help in protecting children from predators on and offline.
WCAU is not the only television news operation to have done this kind of apparent sting. Houston's NBC affiliate, KPRC, has also teamed with a Website in a similar effort to snare pedophiles in the past.
A KPRC spokesman was unavailable for comment when reached by AVN.com.
