NBC Settles Predator Suit

NEW YORK, June 26: NBC has
reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of a man who committed
suicide after being confronted by camera crews for the Dateline strand To Catch a Predator.

Last year, the family of
Louis William Conradt Jr. filed a $105-million suit against NBC Universal.
Conradt shot himself in November 2006 after the Dateline crew showed up with police at his home. He had
allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to someone he believed was underage—it
was instead a volunteer with the group Perverted Justice, which works with NBC
on the controversial series that aims to expose pedophiles. When Conradt did
not show up at a meeting with the decoy—where he would have been accosted
by the Dateline crew—authorities
went to his house—at the urging of NBC, the lawsuit alleged.

“The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of
both parties,” a statement from both sides said.

It is not clear if To
Catch a Predator will return to
the NBC schedule.

—By Mansha Daswani