The “To Catch a Predator” programs were on NBC from 2004-07 and hosted by Hansen. NBC worked with a group called Perverted Justice and local law enforcement to arrest adults who thought they were meeting children aged 12-15 for a sexual liaison. Instead of finding a child, the adults, all men, would find Hansen who would interview the suspects.
Hansen told WLW host Scott Sloan that Dayton-area business LexisNexis is involved in the “Hansen Versus Predator” broadcast, which was started as an online Kickstarter project. Hansen said LexisNexis will be involved in researching suspects.
“With this new technology, we have the ability to watch them through their day and learn who this person is before they walk into the door,” Hansen said on WLW.
Hansen's Kickstarter was launched in April and has raised nearly $90,000.
When Hansen was with NBC, in most cases, the suspects were arrested by local law enforcement in a sting operation.
“When we started doing the production, we merely used decoys in Yahoo and AOL chat rooms,” Hansen said on WLW. “Well the landscape has changed dramatically since then. You have Instagram and Twitter and Snapchat and Backpage and so many more ways for predators to come in contact with children.”
Hansen, who is no longer with NBC, said the “Hansen Versus Predator” program is in production and will begin airing soon.
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