Perverted Justice: Sex Stings Stir Up Controversy

Today the New York Times ran a front page story about Perverted Justice, an organization that came into the limelight when it began allowing Dateline NBC to film its sting operations. Perverted Justice, the article states, trains its volunteers to go online and ferret out pedophiles and sex offenders, often by posing as minors. They do this by engaging their victims in lewd chat and IM sessions and, ultimately, agreeing to meet them in person. Meanwhile, they're gathering transcripts of the conversations and readying evidence for arrest. By allowing Dateline NBC to film these "stings" (often with police present to make arrests), Perverted Justice has brought high ratings to Dateline and criticism from those who question whether this sort of Internet vigilantism is a form of entrapment.

Anyone I've talked to who's seen the Dateline TV segments or visited the sites says, "I don't understand why anyone would answer someone's sexual overtures in an Internet chat room." But if you believe that sex offenders have a disease or an addiction, not unlike drug use or alcoholism, you can understand the pattern.

The Internet pumps all of our weaknesses into our homes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whether it's drugs, gambling, infidelity, or sex with minors, it's all there—a few clicks away. I've watched Perverted Justice do what it does for a couple of years now. I believe the organization is good at what it does, which is luring adults into conversations with people they believe are minors and then waiting for those adults to solicit people they think are minors.

But for me, visiting the Perverted Justice web site always conjures up the image of the snake in the Garden of Eden. The organization's method for ferreting out sex criminals is to taunt and tease people struggling with their problems, promising them the thing they want most in the world, a sexual encounter with a minor.

Who's at fault? The snake, for offering the apple or the person who succumbs to temptation and takes a bite?

What do you think? By going into chat rooms, posing as minors, and participating in encounters with would-be child molesters, is Perverted Justice part of the solution or part of the problem?