New codification is in the works by a commonwealth lawmaker. It involves permission to use evidence of child predation in certain legal cases.
“On any given day, five hundred thousand. Let that sink in. I can relate to how any parent must feel when their child, or potentially their child is lured by someone to meet with the purpose of a sexual interaction, and if that case is not seen to fruition, imagine how that parent must feel.”
The show “To Catch A Predator” served as an example of national TV recognition toward this issue. It was later canceled in 2008, after an assistant district attorney committed suicide, following police breaking into his home.
The group 814 PredHunters is one local organization that aims catch these people. “The predator groups are becoming more and more prevalent. We want to make sure that they are doing this correctly. Getting information to prosecutors in every county, and that we don’t have cases thrown out in courts across Pennsylvania.”
This follows Clearfield County President Judge Fredric Ammerman throwing out charges in previous child predator cases. He says this is because of a Pennsylvania law stating that contact must be made with someone under the age of 18, or law enforcement pretending to be underage.
Clearfield county district attorney, Ryan Sayers, says this legislation would alter the dynamics of cases being handled. “If the law changes in Pennsylvania, and the legislature and the governor change the law, then obviously the manner in which we would prosecute and handle such incidents and cases as well. So, it’s all up to the legislature and the governor, if they change it, then we’ll act accordingly.”
We reached out to the 814 PredHunters organization for comment, but they have not yet responded.