Chris Hansen, the former host of NBC’s To Catch a Predator, turned himself in to Michigan authorities Friday after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Hansen, 61, missed a court hearing where he was supposed to explain to the court why he and his film crew did not give over more footage from a police sting operation to a defense lawyer. The case involved an October 2020 sting operation, in which three Michigan men were arrested for attempting to meet underage girls for sex.
Hansen went to the Shiawassee County jail in Corunna, Michigan, northwest of Detroit, Friday to turn himself in, reports the Associated Press. He was released and ordered to share the full video within two weeks prosecutor Scott Koerner said. Hansen also posted a photo from outside the county courthouse on Instagram Friday. “Corunna, Mi. All matters in the Shiawassee Co predator case resolved! Justice marches on,” he wrote.
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Clint Perryman, Hansen’s lawyer, told the AP that Judge Matthew Stewart rescinded the arrest warrant. “He wasn’t intending to not appear or to be somebody that was trying to circumvent the process,” Perryman explained. “It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that resulted in a failure to appear.”
Back on Oct. 15, 2020, Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian BeGole announced the arrests of three men who tried to meet with minor girls for sex after a sting operation, reports MLive.com. One of the men arrested was a Michigan Department of Corrections Officer. Hansen attended the press conference since he and his film crew were embedded with the sting operation. “While I think nothing will ever shock me, here again, is somebody who is a lawman, who is sworn to protect, whose job it is to monitor inmates in a state prison,” Hansen said at the time. “It goes to show that these guys come from all walks of life.”
Hansen and his team only provided the defense with an edited video from the sting operation. One of the defendants wanted all footage in the case. Hansen was supposed to attend a court hearing on the issue Thursday. “Defense lawyers for accused predator Michael Lott had requested video from the investigation. There was [a] miscommunication about a hearing today on the issue,” Hansen wrote on Instagram Thursday. “The matter is currently being resolved.”
Hansen is best known for hosting the Dateline NBC series To Catch a Predator from 2004 to 2007. He continued working for NBC until the network declined to renew his contract in 2013. He now hosts the podcast Predators I’ve Caught With Chris Hansen and a YouTube series. In 2019, he was charged for using a bad check to pay for almost $13,000 in merchandise for a show he was attempting to launch at the time.
