Chris Hansen: Arrest warrant issued for ‘To Catch a Predator’ host
Hansen says ‘court matter’ stems from ‘miscommunication about hearing’
An arrest warrant has been issued for To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen after he failed to appear in court.
The warrant announced on Thursday was issued in Michigan and comes after authorities say Mr Hansen ignored a subpoena in relation to a police sting operation conducted in October 2020. Mr Hansen had been called to testify about the operation.
Mr Hansen said on Instagram late on Thursday that the issue stemmed from “miscommunication about a hearing”.
“The court matter in Shiawassee County, Michigan today resulted from a predator investigation there. Defence lawyers for accused predator Michael Lott had requested video from the investigation. There was a miscommunication about a hearing today on the issue. The matter is currently being resolved!” Mr Hansen wrote on the social media platform.
The sting in the investigation resulted in the arrest of three men who allegedly had planned to meet underage girls for sex.
Shiawassee County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Koerner confirmed that a bench warrant has been issued for Mr Hansen, WEYI reported.
According to Mr Koerner, Mr Hansen was supposed to present records related to the Shiawassee County sting operation that the TV star was involved in.
NBC’s To Catch a Predator ended in 2007.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson invited Mr Hansen to take part in a press conference about the police operation in October.
“We worked with Chris Hansen to use his platform to reignite the awareness and the enforcement of what’s happening here and to duplicate it around the nation,” Mr Swanson told NBC 25 at the time.
Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian BeGole said they used undercover online chat rooms to pose as underage girls to catch predators. They communicated with 171 people – three of which tried to set up meetings.
The three men appeared at an Owosso hotel northwest of Detriot believing that they were going to have sex with girls aged between 13 and 15 years old.
“There were no weapons, no drugs, but there were suckers, there were energy drinks, there were clothing that was used by one of the individuals who has a fetish. These are all things that are very normal,” Mr Swanson said in October.
Police said the ages of the men were 18, 32, and 45.
Mr Hansen was arrested in Stamford, Connecticut in 2019 for larceny after buying items worth almost $13,000 in 2017 and failing to pay, providing two checks that later bounced, TMZ reported at the time.
Stamford Police said he purchased 355 mugs, 288 T-shirts, and 650 vinyl decals for marketing events.