Lately, on Saturday nights, I have been at home watching NBC’s Dateline show “To Catch a Predator.”

I don’t know about you, but it is almost funny to see how dumb these men can be. Even though I am not home often on a Satuday night, I have still seen the set up many many times. Men from all walks of life have been caught doing something like this.

Recently, Dateline has been looking for men who log on line and talk to girls who say they are 13 years-old. Sometimes they will just talk with the girls, but as soon as it turns sexual the decoy sets up a time and place for these men to meet the girl. As soon as the men arrive at the house, the girl will call them in, tell them that they’re going to change into their suits, and that they can hang out in the hot tub. Then the host of the show, Chris Hansen will come out and speak to the men to find out more details.

These men will say that they were not planning on having sex with the minor. Yet some admit to bringing a condom with them. Once the men leave the house, they are arrested. And that is when the craziest excuses come out. One guy ended up admitting that he had robbed a store with his brother. Another had a shotgun in his truck and he claimed that he was a sniper for the Marines. One guy actually dared asked to work for Dateline to go undercover to catch sexual predators.

It is insane. So many of these men have seen the show, and yet they still do it. Some of these men are actually highly respected individuals in their communities (teachers, doctors, lawyers).

In Texas it is a federal offense to solicit a minor over the Internet. An Assistant District Attorney had spoken with one of the decoys on line and he even sent pornographic pictures to the decoy then made plans to meet with the decoy. However, he never showed up. The local police had obtained an arrest warrant, but they never had the chance to arrest him because he had killed himself.

The law in Texas that makes it a federal offense to solicit a minor over the Internet means they are cracking down on predators. They are not going to let anyone get away with it. I think the law is necessary because the sexual predators are crossing a line. So many of these kids could be their own kids, and yet they still do it.

It’s amazing what kind of excuses these men come up with when they are trying to get out of it. And more often than not, they will admit they have seen the show. Some admit that they did think about not showing up yet they still did it. I shudder to think what would’ve actually happened if it wasn’t a decoy. If it was an actual 13 year-old girl.

However, it’s not just the men, it’s the teenagers too. They are trying to act older than they are and they’re the ones who invite these men over. Where does the line end? Teenagers should stop trying to grow up so fast and realize, life is good when you’re a kid with little or no responsibility.

I hope Dateline continues this show. It opens our eyes to what really goes on out there. It shows us that people are not always who they seem.