Most of the predators from To Catch a Predator (TCAP) are now out of jail and trying to live normal lives, working different jobs, getting married, and starting families. Some have also had to move back in with their parents. There are also a few predators who are no longer living in the U.S.A., as they were deported back to their country of origin following their convictions. One example is Safraz Khan, who was deported back to his native Guyana.
Then, about eight of the predators from Catch a Predator are now dead. Some died of natural causes, such as Stanley Kendall, while others, including Maurice Wolin, ended their own lives, a testament to the devastating impact that their crime and exposure on the TV show had on them. Only a small handful of the predators from TCAP remain in jail to date. There is Jean Pierre Wehry, who was sentenced to 50 Years to life in prison because his conviction was his 4th for a felony, thus offending the three strike principles.
Synopsis of To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator is an American reality series that was aired on the NBC news magazine program Dateline NBC from 2004 to 2007. It was hosted by Chris Hansen and was targeted at exposing predators, i.e., older individuals who prey on underage persons for sex. To achieve their aim, the producers of TCAP worked together with Perverted Justice, an activist group aimed at tackling the menace of adults using online mediums to lure underage persons into sexual relations.
Together with Perverted Justice, To Catch a Predator set up sting operations in multiple communities. They basically hired individuals who could pass as underage persons, and these persons joined online chat groups. They talked with several adults, and when these adults proposed having sexual relations with them, they “agreed”.
The adult predator is then invited for a physical meet-up with the supposed underage person. At the point of the meet-up, law enforcement will now swoop in and arrest the person. Of course, all these, from the chats to arrests, were documented and were broadcasted on TCAP.
TCAP and Perverted Justice carried out their sting operations in ten towns, namely Bethpage, Long Island, New York; Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia; Greenville, Ohio; Fort Myers, Florida; Fortson, Georgia; Petaluma, California; Long Beach, California; Flagler Beach, Florida; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Murphy, Texas. They arrested over 100 individuals, all men, and the majority of them were charged with various offenses such as attempting lewd acts with a child, possessing child pornography, etc. Some were, however, let go and couldn’t be prosecuted due to the manner in which the evidence against them was obtained.
To Catch a Predator attracted large viewership numbers during its run and was even praised by Congress for its efforts in stopping those that prey on kids. The series faced some criticisms, though. For some, exposing the predators on TV means finding them guilty and punishing them without even trying them in court first.
There was also the issue of whether the sting operation bordered on entrapment, which is basically inducing somebody into committing a crime and then turning back to arrest them and prosecute them. Some people also accused NBC of focusing on viewership numbers rather than doing justice and fighting abuse.
To Catch a Predator Was Hosted by Chris Hansen
The major cast member of To Catch a Predator is Chris Hansen, the person who hosted the show during its duration. He was often the first person to confront the predators at the sting house and let them know that the jig was up. Chris Hansen is an award-winning American journalist and YouTube personality. He has hosted several crime-oriented TV shows such as Crime Watch Daily or Killer Instinct. He is, however, most renowned for hosting To Catch a Predator.
Since the show came to an end, Hansen has made efforts to revive it. These efforts have come in the shape of the TV show titled Hansen v Predator, which was partially successful but has not gone the long haul. Presently, he is hosting Takedown with Chris Hansen on TruBlu, a program that debuted in 2022 on the true crime streaming network. The show basically carries on from where To Catch a Predator left off.
Hansen scours the online space for would-be predators looking to meet up with underage persons. He reels them in and helps law enforcement apprehend them for possible persecution.
In April 2023, Hansen collaborated with a local police task force in Dayton to apprehend a 70-year-old man who expressed interest in having sex with a 13-year-old girl as well as her adult dad. The man, a retired engineer and resident of New Palestine, Indiana, was charged with felonies such as importuning (defined in Ohio as the act of soliciting a minor under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity) and possession of criminal tools.
He had a conversation with Hansen where he revealed that he had been diagnosed as suffering from a “love disorder” or some sexual deviancy. The whole drama aired in Episode 1, Season 4 of Takedown with Chris Hansen.
Chris Hansen has also been hosting a podcast titled Predators I’ve Caught since 2020. The podcast sees him discussing some of the most notorious cases he handled on TCAP, as well as providing updates on where the predators are right now. He also interacts with devoted fans of the show. The podcast continues to date and has accumulated about 138 episodes.
Chris Hansen has also been involved in some legal troubles of his own. In July 2021, a Michigan judge issued a warrant for him to be arrested after he failed to turn up in court to produce video evidence related to a sting operation. The sting operation was by the Shiawassee and Genesee County offices and took place in Owosso.
Three men were caught and charged with trying to have sex with underage girls, and Hansen and his team were part of the investigators. They recorded video footage, and the court asked Hansen to turn over the full version, but there was a mix-up in doing so. A warrant was thus issued for Hansen, but he cleared up the whole thing and was let go.
You saw me question them. You saw law enforcement arrest them. Now see their fate! The latest episode of Takedown with Chris Hansen is out! https://t.co/6lrbo1CqdL pic.twitter.com/RvoI2uV5J9
— Chris Hansen (@chrishansen) June 30, 2023
To Catch a Predator Cast
Chris Hansen was a major cast member of TCAP. Aside from him, other cast members of TCAP include Ann Curry and Phillip Stone. Both are renowned journalists who have worked for NBC and hosted the flagship program Dateline NBC, under which TCAP was aired. Other cast members of TCAP are the decoys who were used to lure the would-be predators in. They include Rochelle Therrien, Emily Bicks, Del Harvey, and Dan Schrak.
The cast members of TCAP also include law enforcement officers as well as private investigators who assisted in the sting operations. Finally, numerous predators are also among the cast members of TCAP. The series tracked hundreds of men, and many, at least 98, were prosecuted in the courts of law.
List of TCAP Cast Members
- Stone Phillips (Self/Host)
- Del Harvey (Self/Decoy)
- Dennis Kerr (Self/Perverted Justice CFO)
- Ann Curry (Self/Host)
- Dan Schrack (Decoy)
- Emily Bicks (Self/Decoy)
- Teri Schroeder (Self/iSafe CEO)
- Hilton Daniels (Self/Police chief)
- Rochelle Therrien (Self/Decoy)
- Casey Mauro (Self/Decoy)
- Lindsay Faye Wagner (Self/Decoy)
- Matthew Stapleton (Self/Police sergeant)
- Mike Burns (Self/Detective)
- Tony Knotts (Self/Investigator)
- Mike Jolley (Self/Harris County sheriff)
- Samantha Cope (Self/Decoy)
- Dani Miura (Self/Decoy)
- Lee Debrabander (Self/Police sergeant)
To Catch a Predator List of Predators
- Abhilash Bhaskaran
- Abraham Koujababian
- Aladdin Shamoun
- Alan Chernay
- Alonzo Hampton Wade
- Alvin Hall
- Alvin King
- Andre Jackson
- Andrew Lewis
- Anoosh Pajand
- Anthony Palumbo
- Anthony Phillips
- Anthony Sorrentino
- Anurag Tiwari
- Arturo Chirino
- Asif Khokhar
- Brandon Franklin
- Brian Dory
- Brian Emmons
- Brian Gosselin
- Brian Lindsey
- Brian Ruffino
- Chandra Nunna
- Charles Gregory Green
- Charles Harding
- Charles Lawrence
- Charles McAllister
- Chris Raynor
- Chris Urban
- Christopher Cannon
- Christopher Cothrum
- Clifford Wallach
- Cody Green
- Corey Ahia
- Corey Edgar
- Corye Blagg
- Dallas Lee
- Dan Allen
- Daniel Figueroa
- Daniel Peter Kelly
- Daniel Pulido
- Daniel Trust
- Danny Swinney
- DarkHero73
- Daryl Medley
- David Demers
- David Frandsen
- David Hilbish
- David Pann
- David Russell
- David Schumacher
- David Tiriolo
- David Wagner
- Davut Ozkan
- Deepak Bist
- Denis Coulson
- Dennis Ramsey
- Dennis Thomas
- Donald Morrison
- Donnie Vaughn
- Dustin McPhetridge
- Dwayne Chisholm
- Eddie Chan
- Eddie Paek
- Edward Hollingsworth V
- Elias Bailon
- Ellahzar Henson
- Eric Gamonal
- Eric Rubalcava
- Eric Thornton
- Erik Pallesen
- Ernest Timmons
- Ernesto Linayao
- Eugene Daily
- Farzad Kalantari
- Fernando Bernal
- Frank Sierras
- Fredi Fernandez
- Gabor Nagy
- George Cleary
- Gerald White
- Gilbert Sutherland
- Glenn Mitchell
- Gopichand Pai
- Greg Karnos
- Gregory Diederich
- Gregory Stewart
- Harold Higley
- Henry Guzman
- Howard Thornton III
- Inderjeet Singh
- Jason Cason
- James Wiles
- James Cisneros
- James Klein
- James Marcotte
- James Rutherford
- Jason Schoeppner
- Jaswinder Cheema
- Jay Reffner
- Jean Erick Saintil
- Jean Pierre Wehry
- Jeff Sokol
- Jeffrey Beck
- Jeffrey Couture
- Jeffrey Stacy
- Jeremy Keister
- Jeremy Todd West
- Jerry Griffitt
- Jerry Martin-Kosis
- Jesse Velez
- Jim Rauch
- Joe Wunderler
- John Adam Daniels
- John Baker
- John Christopher Weaver
- John Dupee
- John Elliott
- John Frantz
- John Kennelly
- John Mahon
- John P. Donnelly
- Jonathan Stemen
- Jose “Pepe” Falcon
- Joseph Federico
- Joseph Myrick
- Joseph Roisman
- Joshua Colon
- Joshua Larios
- Joshua Tuttle
- Josiah Walker
- Juan Carlos Gutierrez
- Justin Estes
- Justin Smith
- Justo Benavides
- Karampal Singh Nakai
- Keith Williams
- Kenneth Brinkman
- Kenneth Forton
- Kevin Carroll
- Kevin Westerbeck
- Kurt Lemke
- Lance Fine
- Lee Greer
- Loren Hayden
- Lorne Armstrong
- Louis Conradt
- Luciano Dimas
- Mahadevaswamy Chandrashekaraiah
- Malik Washington
- Manuel Uson
- Mark Baggette
- Maroof Farooq
- Marshall Girtman
- Marvin Harrison Smith II
- Marvin Lakhan
- Matthew Bland
- Matthew Cogburn
- Matthew Daly
- Matthew Nash
- Maurice Ruiz
- Maurice Wolin
- Michael Burks
- Michael Collins
- Michael Gentile
- Michael Joseph Patterson
- Michael Lubrano
- Michael Manzi
- Michael Meyers
- Michael Murray
- Michael Popovich
- Michael Reyes
- Michael Seibert
- Michael Warrecker
- Michael Wilusz
- Miguel Lozoya
- Mike Vestal
- Mohamad Abdalla
- Musti Quotiza
- Nathan Downhour
- Nicholas Bailey
- Nicholas Cocos
- Norberto Avalos
- Oanh Le
- Patrick Parr
- Paul Clemente
- Paul Constantinescu
- Paul Westwood
- Peter Christopher Moore
- Peter Ernandez
- Peter Sciacca
- Phillip Jaruhungsin
- Pulkit Mathur
- Qays Mahjoob
- Rabbi David Kaye
- Rafiullah Ahmadi
- Ramin Sarajari
- Randall Wolford
- Raul Antonio Brenes
- Reymundo Anguiano
- Richard Burnham
- Richard Watwood
- Richer Breault
- Rob Culbertson
- Robb Kline
- Robert Graber
- Robert Lyons
- Robert Salinas
- Robert Williams
- Roberto Forte
- Roger Brummit
- Rolando Restocruz
- Ronnell Stephens-Tun
- Ryan Hogan
- Ryan McIntosh
- Safraz Khan
- Sajjad Mohammed
- Samuel Harrison
- Satinder Thind
- Savio Noronha
- Scott Smith
- Sean Lee
- Sebastian Rodriguez
- Selvan Galeano
- Selwyn Knights
- Shaka Khan
- Spencer Cho
- Stanley Kendall
- Stephen Buchanan
- Stephen Coates
- Stephen Holt
- Steven Bennof
- Steven Cartlidge
- Steven Reddington
- Terry Warner
- Thomas Bodnar
- Thomas Campbell
- Thomas Coffen
- Thomas Moffitt
- Thomas Shin
- Timothy Gilliam
- Timothy Isaac
- Timothy Knowles
- Timothy Kyne
- Todd Barraco
- Todd Lewis
- Todd Spikes
- Todd West
- Vaikunth Soundarajan
- Victor Wells
- Vincent Ambrosio
- Walter Babst
- William Dow
- William Hare
- William Havey
- William Roach
- William Rowell
- Yancy Wallace
- Yazan Asfour
- Ziegfeld Rivera
Where are The Predators Now?
Many of the predators that were caught on To Catch a Predator have finished serving their jail terms and are now trying to go on with their normal lives. Some are finding it hard to get employed and hold down jobs, such as John Kennelly. Some, like Vincent Ambrosia, are in rehab facilities to treat their child porn addiction issues reportedly. Some, like Kevin Westerbeck, have moved back in with their parents while trying to hold down jobs.
Some of the men exposed on To Catch a Predator are dead. Amongst them is Stanley Kendall, who was caught in the Murphy, Texas operation. He died of complications from colon cancer on May 31, 2017, at the age of 64.
Another dead predator is Maurice Wolin, a middle-aged physician who was caught in the sting operation in Petaluma, California. He engaged in a long legal battle to escape conviction, but this was unsuccessful. He was required to register as a sex offender for life. His medical license was suspended, and he later moved to Singapore. He committed suicide on January 6, 2021, at the age of 62.
Jeffrey Douglas Stacy was one of the predators caught in Greenville, Ohio. He was convicted for attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and given a six-month jail term. He was also required to register as a sex offender for ten years. He later got married to a woman named Leann Cundiff Shaw in 2017. On 22 February 2021, he was found dead in his car after being in the vehicle for two days. Autopsy reports showed that he was intoxicated from a lethal combination of drugs. Further investigation showed that this was likely suicide.
Ernest Clayton Timmons was one of the predators caught in New York. He was a sergeant in the Air Force and, following his arrest, spent six months in police custody awaiting discharge from the military. While in police detention, he fell ill and was taken to the local hospital. He refused to take his drugs, and this led to liver failure and caused his death.
Donald Leroy Morrison Jr. was caught in Fort Meyers, Florida. He was found guilty of using the Internet to solicit/attempt to solicit a child for sex/lewdness. He was sentenced to nine months in jail and lifetime registration as a sex offender. He died on October 13, 2022. He was 65 years old, and the cause of his death is not known.
Charles Carlton Harding was a predator caught in Riverside, California. He was not only involved in attempting to have sex with an underage boy but also involved in the exchange of child pornographic images. He was charged with three different crimes, and his bail was set at the high amount of $500K. He died in jail awaiting trial on 10th August 2006. He was 66 years old and had stopped taking his blood pressure meds.
James Wayne Wiles was a predator caught in Florida. His case is similar to Harding’s. He was also guilty of dealing in pornography and was charged with this alongside other crimes. While awaiting trial, he stopped taking a vital medication and died in 2010. He reportedly molested his daughters, and one of them visited him in his final hours just to get a picture of him on his deathbed.
Only a handful of the predators caught in To Catch a Predator are still in jail. A good example is Jean Pierre Wehry, who was caught in California. He was convicted of various offenses relating to sexual activities with minors. It was discovered that he had three prior felony convictions, thus violating the three strikes law of California. He was sentenced to 75 years to life in 2009. This was later reduced to 50 years. Jean Pierre Wehry remains in jail. He was denied parole in April 2022 but will be eligible to apply again in April 2025.
Another predator who is still in jail is Rabbi David Kaye, who was caught in Virginia. He was originally sentenced to six and half years in jail and ten years of supervised release in 2006. He finished his jail term in 2012 but has since violated the terms of his probation multiple times: refusing to register as a sex offender, getting unapproved access to the internet, viewing pornography, etc. He is presently in jail in Alexandria City, Virginia.
Some of the predators from To Catch a Predator were deported, and as such, it is believed that they are presently living in their motherland. One example is Safraz Khan, who was caught in Flagler Beach, Florida. He was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to a prison term of 15 months, lifetime registration as a sex offender, and five years probation. He was detained by immigration authorities after his conviction. He fought long and hard but was deported to his homeland of Guyana in 2015. He was a permanent resident in the USA at the time he committed the crime.
Davut Ozkan was caught in Greenville, Ohio, and was sentenced to 65 days in jail as well as lifetime registration as a sex offender. He was deported back to his native Turkey after his conviction. He remains in Turkey presently and was rumored to have committed suicide, but this has been proven to be untrue. Another predator that is believed to have been deported is Mahadevaswamy Chandrashekaraiah, who was caught in Greenville, Ohio. He is believed to have hailed from India and, therefore, is likely living in India at the moment.
For more updates on the current whereabouts of the predators from To Catch a Predator, one can keep up with their fandom page. One can also keep up with the podcast titled Predators I’ve Caught with Chris Hansen. Hansen focuses on some of the most notorious cases he handled and provides an update on the current whereabouts of the predator. He also tries to contact some of these predators and schedule interviews with them. Some have been willing, while the majority have been reluctant to do so, which is understandable.
Why Was To Catch a Predator Canceled?
Chris Hansen has stated that To Catch a Predator was canceled because the show had simply run its course. However, a further dive shows that the reason is deeper than this. To Catch a Predator was canceled because of the mounting criticism against the show and its methodologies. There is also the fact that the liabilities it was incurring for NBC outweighed whatever benefits were coming from viewership.
For instance, in July 2007, NBC was slapped with a $105 million lawsuit after one of the predators shown on To Catch a Predator, Bill Conradt Jr., killed himself. Bill Conradt Jr. was a native of Kaufman County, Texas. He studied law and qualified as an attorney. He then spent his career in both public and private service. He served as the district attorney of Kaufman County from 1980 to 2002. By 2006, he was the chief felony assistant district attorney (ADA) for Rockwall County, Texas. He was unmarried and well-respected by his colleagues.
By November 2006, TCAP had concluded plans to carry out a sting operation in Murphy, Texas. A Perverted Justice decoy posing as an under-aged person was chatting with Bill, and they later concluded that they would meet up physically. Bill failed to show up, and the TCAP host, Hansen, decided that they should go to his house and confront him there. The police were able to get a warrant, and the TV crew proceeded to that place. When Bill saw them, he knew the jig was up and shot himself dead rather than face the shame of what was to come.
In July 2007, Bill’s sister sued NBC and alleged that they had contributed to her brother killing himself. The suit was later settled out of court, but the sum involved was not disclosed. However, NBC must have parted with a good sum. Bill’s suicide further increased the criticisms of To Catch a Predator, and NBC canceled the show after the lawsuit.
