Post by Shuftin on Nov 21, 2006 17:37:47 GMT -5
One Less Lawyer: Former Rockwall/Kaufman County Texas The Right Thing And Kills Himself When Police Move In To Serve Arrest Warrant In Dateline NBC Perverted Justice Child Sex Sting 
2006-11-07 TERRELL, TEXAS -- A Texas prosecutor committed suicide Sunday, after allegedly being caught-up in one of the many popular TV news child-predator stings.
Police were trying to serve Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, with an arrest warrant at his home, alleging that he solicited sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy, but who was actually a decoy.
Dallas TV station KXAS reported that the explicit conversations even included a webcam and the telephone.
Officers had a search warrant for his computer. As officers moved in to make an arrest, they heard a shot. They found Conradt inside with a self-inflicted wound. He died later at a hospital in Dallas.
The warrant resulted from one of the now-familiar stings in which NBC "Dateline" and an Internet child-predator watchdog group lure people to a home, where they are confronted by a reporter.
"Without going into details -- it was extremely explicit," said Detective Sgt. Snow Robertson of the Murphy Police Department.
Police said Conradt had not gone to the house, but that they believe he had been planning to.
"(Children) shouldn't have to worry about getting on the Internet and worrying about an older person having sex with them," said Robertson.
Conradt was the chief felony assistant DA for Rockwall County, and was formerly the DA in Kaufman County.
The mayor in Murphy, Texas, told the paper he hopes his town won't be used again to try to trap child predators in this way.
NBC News confirmed that the sting operation involved "Dateline" and its "To Catch A Predator" series and issued the following statement:
NBC News' "Dateline" was in Texas reporting on its "To Catch A Predator" series in conjunction with online watchdog group Perverted Justice. In the midst of that effort, Rockwall County Assistant District Attorney Louis W. Conradt, Jr. contacted a decoy from Perverted Justice who was posing as a 13-year-old boy. Local authorities launched an investigation into Conradt's online communications and went to his home with an arrest warrant. In the course of that investigation, Conradt committed suicide. There was no contact whatsoever between Conradt and "Dateline" at any point in the investigation.
Other Names Released:
The Murphy Police Department has arrested more than 20 individuals on charges of online solicitation of a minor in connection with the investigative piece.
Last July, authorities in Murphy arrested six people on charges of online solicitation of a minor while working with the community watchdog group Perverted Justice. The group works to identify, locate and capture sexual predators who prey on children. The group has been in existence for four years and has assisted in the arrests of 260 people and more than 80 convictions across the United States.
With the success of last July's investigation, the Murphy Police Department arranged a four-day sting operation that would again partner the department with Perverted Justice as well as "Dateline NBC," officials said.
During the course of the sting operation, officials said more than 20 Internet child predator suspects were arrested after, police said, they traveled to meet who they believed to be a 13- or 14-year-old child for sex.
Murphy Police Chief Billy Myrick conceded that not all residents liked having the sting operation brought into their city but he defended the program and said that it was a benefit to the community.
In a news release, the Murphy Police Department said the suspects captured during this event did not know that the Murphy Police Department had partnered with Perverted Justice and "Dateline NBC." They had no way of knowing that this was a sting operation or that they were about to be arrested. Police said the suspects came to Murphy because they actually believed that they were in contact with a 13- to 14-year-old child with whom they would engage in sexual contact. Two of these predators drove from Houston, one came from Oklahoma and many others live just moments away from this community.
"These Internet predators are operating everywhere. They know no bounds and will go after anyone's child to satisfy their own personal interests," Myrick said. "We are committed to this community's welfare and we believe that we are doing the right thing."
The Murphy Police Department released the following list of suspects arrested in connection with the sting operation:
2006-11-07 TERRELL, TEXAS -- A Texas prosecutor committed suicide Sunday, after allegedly being caught-up in one of the many popular TV news child-predator stings.
Police were trying to serve Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, with an arrest warrant at his home, alleging that he solicited sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy, but who was actually a decoy.
Dallas TV station KXAS reported that the explicit conversations even included a webcam and the telephone.
Officers had a search warrant for his computer. As officers moved in to make an arrest, they heard a shot. They found Conradt inside with a self-inflicted wound. He died later at a hospital in Dallas.
The warrant resulted from one of the now-familiar stings in which NBC "Dateline" and an Internet child-predator watchdog group lure people to a home, where they are confronted by a reporter.
"Without going into details -- it was extremely explicit," said Detective Sgt. Snow Robertson of the Murphy Police Department.
Police said Conradt had not gone to the house, but that they believe he had been planning to.
"(Children) shouldn't have to worry about getting on the Internet and worrying about an older person having sex with them," said Robertson.
Conradt was the chief felony assistant DA for Rockwall County, and was formerly the DA in Kaufman County.
The mayor in Murphy, Texas, told the paper he hopes his town won't be used again to try to trap child predators in this way.
NBC News confirmed that the sting operation involved "Dateline" and its "To Catch A Predator" series and issued the following statement:
NBC News' "Dateline" was in Texas reporting on its "To Catch A Predator" series in conjunction with online watchdog group Perverted Justice. In the midst of that effort, Rockwall County Assistant District Attorney Louis W. Conradt, Jr. contacted a decoy from Perverted Justice who was posing as a 13-year-old boy. Local authorities launched an investigation into Conradt's online communications and went to his home with an arrest warrant. In the course of that investigation, Conradt committed suicide. There was no contact whatsoever between Conradt and "Dateline" at any point in the investigation.
Other Names Released:
The Murphy Police Department has arrested more than 20 individuals on charges of online solicitation of a minor in connection with the investigative piece.
Last July, authorities in Murphy arrested six people on charges of online solicitation of a minor while working with the community watchdog group Perverted Justice. The group works to identify, locate and capture sexual predators who prey on children. The group has been in existence for four years and has assisted in the arrests of 260 people and more than 80 convictions across the United States.
With the success of last July's investigation, the Murphy Police Department arranged a four-day sting operation that would again partner the department with Perverted Justice as well as "Dateline NBC," officials said.
During the course of the sting operation, officials said more than 20 Internet child predator suspects were arrested after, police said, they traveled to meet who they believed to be a 13- or 14-year-old child for sex.
Murphy Police Chief Billy Myrick conceded that not all residents liked having the sting operation brought into their city but he defended the program and said that it was a benefit to the community.
In a news release, the Murphy Police Department said the suspects captured during this event did not know that the Murphy Police Department had partnered with Perverted Justice and "Dateline NBC." They had no way of knowing that this was a sting operation or that they were about to be arrested. Police said the suspects came to Murphy because they actually believed that they were in contact with a 13- to 14-year-old child with whom they would engage in sexual contact. Two of these predators drove from Houston, one came from Oklahoma and many others live just moments away from this community.
"These Internet predators are operating everywhere. They know no bounds and will go after anyone's child to satisfy their own personal interests," Myrick said. "We are committed to this community's welfare and we believe that we are doing the right thing."
The Murphy Police Department released the following list of suspects arrested in connection with the sting operation: