Prominent men caught in Petaluma sting

As the Petaluma police book the last of the men arrested in this operation, the total number of suspected sex predators exposed by Dateline over two years rises to 179.

And the attention our investigations receive has grown as well— all the way to Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (in session): Over the course of a three day sting operation in Riverside California, Dateline was able to nab 50 Internet child sex predators.

But in the last week, the issue of online sexual misconduct was in the spotlight in Washington for a whole different reason.  Congressman Mark Foley, the man who championed the Child Protection Act of 2006 resigned after inappropriate e-mails and instant messages surfaced that he sent to former Congressional pages.

On February 6 of this year, Foley went on Scarborough County on MSNBC to talk about this very issue.

Joe Scarborough, MSNBC Host:  Hey, Mark, are you telling me that courts in this country are saying, it’s a pervert’s right to send an e-mail to a 14-year-old kid?

Then-Rep. Mark Foley: As frightening as that seems, we have been foiled, if you will, by the courts repeatedly by using the First Amendment and people’s rights to have free speech. That’s why we have tried to toughen the laws. That’s why we tried to create a more difficult time for predators to roam free.

And Foley even praised Dateline.

Foley: The “Dateline” piece has probably done more than any law we can create. Hopefully more people will be forewarned.

Ironically, adding—

Foley: And, certainly, more people that have seen this segment that may be thinking about interacting with a child may go ahead and get mental health counseling.

The Foley story continues to develop. Foley himself has checked into rehab. No one has been charged with any crime.

In the meantime, get ready for our next edition of “To Catch A Predator” — a new city, a new house but incredibly, for one man,  it won’t be his first visit.  Eight months ago, the same man showed up at our undercover house in Riverside, Calif. He even told us then that he would never do it again.

Believe it or not in our upcoming investigation— a "second-timer."

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