Prosecutor Commits Suicide Over Sex Sting

(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.

[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.