Prosecutor Commits Suicide Over Sex Sting

Law Officer Sought For Soliciting Underage Sex Kills Himself As Warrant Is Served

(AP)  A prosecutor killed himself as police tried to serve him with an arrest warrant alleging he solicited sex with a minor, authorities said.

Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, a chief felony assistant district attorney for Rockwall County, died Sunday. Police had moved to arrest Conradt following a sting operation aimed at exposing child sex predators set up by a television news program.

Police forced their way into Conradt's Terrell home after hearing a gunshot when he refused to answer the door, a police spokesman said. The officers found Conradt with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later died at a hospital in Dallas, about 30 miles west of his home in Terrell.

Police in the town of Murphy said Conradt had solicited sex from a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old. Murphy police were attempting to serve an arrest warrant and a search warrant for Conradt's computer when he shot himself, Murphy Police spokesman Sgt. Snow Robertson said.

The Dallas Morning News reported in its Monday editions that the sting was a joint operation between Perverted Justice, an Internet watchdog group, and NBC's news magazine "Dateline." The sting lured men seeking sex with children to a house in Murphy, about 20 miles northeast of Dallas.

Murphy police said Conradt had not gone to the house but believed he would.

Robertson said there was nothing police could to do prevent Conradt's death, which happened while an NBC crew waited outside on the street.

"When somebody decides to do this, there is nothing you can do," he said.

There had been no contact between "Dateline" and Conradt, according to an NBC statement to the newspaper.

Murphy Mayor Bret Bishop told the newspaper that he hopes Murphy won't be used again as a trap for child predators.

"We're going to do whatever we need to do to make sure this doesn't continue," he said. "I think it's a noble cause, but our police department is hired to serve and protect our citizens, and not to expose them to outside threats."

[michihunt]

While his actions were wrong, he did not actually DO anything. If the police had arrested him and put him in jail without filming his humiliation, that would have been punishment enough. The journalists should not have driven him to this. -Michelle

[SpiritMatter]

How can the Islamic terrorists really believe that the US is the great satan? The media is helping to promote a sexophobic witch hunt mentality in the US. Fornication and adultery between persons of any age, are two of the worst forms of sexual perversion and abuse. Big Brother agrees with Christ that anyone that thinks of evil is guilty of evil. Brain washing techniques of the Communists have made a quantum jump in power since the computer revolution. A person of any age, that become sexually aroused by another person, will be identified by implanted arousal sensors. They will undergo behavior modification that will include electronic evil thought defibrillators that can reboot the mind and get it back on the course that Big Brother has determined is best. A simpler technology is now available for male perverts. It is called the "Erectometer". The pervert's *** is inserted in a box and he is shown pictures that many Homeland Security officials have studied thoroughly and determined to be arousing. If the pervert responds with an erection, he is jailed for life. An upgrade in the "Erectometer" can provide for instant *** removal from the pervert. Until these new approaches can be implemented, the media needs to encourage all perverts to remove themselves from society by suicide.

[texasmom5]

I'm local and have been following the story. What is missing from the national story is that the sting was done in a child-filled neighborhood and the community is mad that their kids were put in harms way. Reports have been made of police chases, tossed drugs and fear of someone bringing a gun and using it.

No one I've heard is upset about getting perverts off the street. But they are upset about the danger to the citizens that Dateline fails to present. Is it all about the ratings for them?

[wennay23]

Come on why_ma_raner, NOT guilty. People in this world have lived through humilation. Humilation is not what parents are having to face when their child is molested and or murdered by these child predators. Even if only a fantasy, that is still wrong. He committed the crime and was caught, thankfully before his fantasy turned into a reality.

[felkins3]

We all have let the defilement of our kids happen by letting these people defile the land we live in. It happens on TV ever night then we wounder WHY!
If it were environmental we would have persons put in jail. We pollute the land we live in by not doing away with the likes that commit murder, the likes.
Thanks for the say
FGE

[tiffshaveall]

People why are you using the media as the scapegoat for this man's murder?! If he didn't commit the crime he was judged for then tell my why he put that gun to his head. He was obviously guilty of something! We should be thanking the mass media for keeping our societies informed and reminded on the seriousness of child predators.

[avengersgirl]

The Dallas Morning News reported in its Monday editions that the sting was a joint operation between Perverted Justice, an Internet watchdog group, and NBC's news magazine "Dateline."

What concerns me about this is that Dateline is supposed to be a news magazine. It should report the news, not make it. Neither of these organizations are official criminal justice groups, they have no business running 'stings.'

Just as news purveyors have no business filming family members just seconds after they've learned of some tragedy hitting their family, or continually reporting fact and rumor about breaking cases rather than just waiting until all the facts are known.

[thgdriver]

marcelde sez

"THE NEEDLESS DEATHS OF OVER 2,800 AMERICAN SOLDIERS"

You brought up the needless "2,800 DEAD" at the hands of this Republican administration.

Just to keep "ALL' the "facts' in perspective I offer the following dead at the hands of "Democratic" administrations.

President Truman "Democrat' Korean conflict "54,000 DEAD". For what? They are still there, our boys are all gone. War ended under "Republican" President Eisenhower.

President Johnson "Democrat" Vietnam conflict "58,000 DEAD'. For what? They are still there, our boys are all gone. War ended under Republican Preident Nixon.

112,000. total Dead

So, Would the real hypocrites please stand up??!!

[why_ma_raner]

Obviously, this guy did NOT commit the crime he is being judged for. He developed the online fantasy but for whatever reason he chose not to turn it into a reality. Maybe he was suspicious and would have hurt someone eventually, true. But maybe it was only a fantasy all along and he never meant to act. And maybe he didn't act because of his conscience, because he knew it was wrong. The same positive force that keeps everyone in any society from acting on their base instincts and hurting others. If so, this is not the definition of what I call a predator. And then he took his own life out of humiliation without having committed a crime. All because NBC's advertisers want to sell more cars, deodorant, and insurance.

[wennay23]

If you are not doing anything wrong then you cannot be trapped doing anything wrong. This predator went onto the internet to view or solicite children. This man would not have taken his own life if he thought he was not guilty of something. He chose to be a predator and then chose to end his life instead of having to answer for his actions. Now he has to answer to a higher power.

[firststate]

Would Mayor Bishop prefer that Murphy become a haven for sexual predators. If law enforcement were provided adequate resources to combat these crimes, there would be no Perverted Justice. Law enforcement is denied the additional officers and technical support to protect the children. Politicians often refuse to make the hard choices necessary to provide the funding needed by law enforcement.

Instead of complaining about %u201Coutside threats%u201D like Perverted Justice and NBC, everyone should appreciate their efforts to protect children who can%u2019t vote, but they can be victimized. They have demonstrated the extent of the problem. You can%u2019t always identify the predators. They are from all walks of life, even prosecutors. Some have even brought their own children along as they sought to victimize someone else%u2019s child.

Mr. Conrad%u2019s made the decision to kill himself, just as he decided to victimize children. Using his death to prevent legal efforts to protect children is as flawed as Conradt%u2019s decisions. Perverted Justice and NBC aren%u2019t vigilantes. They don%u2019t try to deliver punishment, they simply inform police of crimes. Mr. Conradt is the only participant who short-circuited the legal system when he chose death instead of allowing the system to work.

It's not about any political party, it's about protecting children.

[mtredhawk200]

Slow down folks! Remember that most murderous child perps DON'T use the internet, most child molesters live next to or in the home of the victim. In our zeal to catch child molesters we're also putting 18 year olds in jail for 5 years because they looked at free pictures of 17 and 11 month old teens! Many people are tempted to do things they never would have thought of because of the skilled investigators who persevere in setting people up. Catch and imprison the real predators. The internet stings are easy, so we're missing the fact that kids are getting hurt by real molesters instead of people who may think about it but haven't done anything. Fine line here between catching criminals and thought police. We don't know the whole story, so sitting in judgement is bad judgement at this point.

[wennay23]

Let's for one minute set aside the politics and remember how many of our youth have been mudered in the past few years by child predators. These stings are very benificial. The mayor should be thankful, some of those predators may have committed a murder later on.......serve and protect.

[pudd54]

Now the family will sue NBC and the police for exposing this guy as a child molester and that caused his death.

Mr. Conradt chose his life and death. In many ways the world is better off without him. Glad he was exposed.

[marcelde]

PERVERSION IS NOT UNIQUE TO THE EVANGELICALS LIKE HAGGARD, FOLEY, JIM BAKER, et al, BUT IS ENDEMIC IN THIS BUSH REPUBLICAN MISADMINISTRATION!

(STEM CELL RESEARCH IS CONSIDERED IMMORAL BUT THE NEEDLESS DEATHS OF OVER 2,800 AMERICAN SOLDIERS IS NOBLE AND PATRIOTIC.)

HYPOCRICY DEFINED:

1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2. An act or instance of such falseness.

REPUBLICAN HYPOCRISY

[why_ma_raner]

Next up on Dateline: Stone Phillips parks a brand new 2006 Mercedes on the streets of South Central L.A. at 2:00am on a Sunday morning with the engine running and the door open. On the passenger seat is a pound of cocaine and a straw. When the prospective automotive predator comes up to steal the car, a Perverted Justice volunteer disguised as a 16-yr-old female walks up to the car and offers to buy an ounce of the drug at 3 times the street price, and will "show [the predator] a good time" if he will also buy her a pack of cigarettes.

Upon his subsequent arrest for grand theft auto, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, sales of controlled substance to a minor, and purchasing cigarettes for a minor, officers and camera crews discover in the trunk of the car a pumpkin containing microfilms of Donald Rumsfeld's 'Things To Do Today in Iraq' lists for the past year. Hilarity ensues.

[gslinger3]

life

[gslinger3]

Its is amusing how Liberals come out and politicise every bit of news that hits open air! The "How can we blame Bush and the Republicans for this" mindset is so lame and old, get a lige people!

[proginosko]

Mark Foley had great teachers...both Democrats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Studds
Gerry Eastman Studds (May 12, 1937 %u2013 October 14, 2006) was a Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay national politician in the U.S. In 1983, he admitted to having had an affair with a 17-year-old page in 1973 and was censured by the House of Representatives.

"Studds defended his sexual relationship with the minor as a "consensual relationship with a young adult." The page later appeared publicly with Studds in support of him. Dean Hara, whom Studds married in 2004, said after Studds' death in 2006 that Studds had never been ashamed of the relationship with the page. "This young man knew what he was doing," Hara said.[6]"

And

Barney Frank:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/tours/scandal/gobie2.htm
"Frank, one of two openly gay members of Congress, confirmed Friday that he paid Gobie for ***, hired him with personal funds as an aide and wrote letters on congressional stationery on his behalf to Virginia probation officials, but Frank said he fired Gobie when he learned that clients were visiting the apartment.

Neither of these "great statesmen" resigned. They rubbed it our faces. Foley at least had the cajones to leave quit and leave town. IF he broke the law, he'll get his. IF he doesn't get arrested, he come back as a Democrat. Nuff said.

[denisse_a-2009]

I AM SO SICK OF HEARING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO COMMIT SUICIDE ALL THE TIME. YES THIS PROSECUTER IS OFF THE STREETS AND ALL BUT STILL WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMMING TO? SUICIDE IS JUST NOT THE ANSWER.