Texas Ex-Prosecutor Commits Suicide After Child-Predator Sting

Last July, authorities in Murphy, Texas, worked with the community watchdog group Perverted Justice to identify, locate, and capture sexual predators who prey on children. During the course of the special sting operation, investigators said that six people were arrested as a result of the Perverted Justice volunteers posing as minors and chatting online with sexual predators who arranged to meet them.

The group has been in operation for over four years and has contributed to the arrests of 260 people and more than 80 convictions across the United States.

Because of the success of last July’s sting operation, the Murphy Police Department arranged another four-day sting operation in partnership with Perverted Justice, only this time "Dateline NBC" joined in the operation. This time, the sting operation resulted in more than 20 online predators being arrested. The suspects were arrested after they traveled to meet people they thought were 13 or 14 years old, to have sex with them.

In a statement to the media, police said that the suspects captured during the operation had no idea that the police department had partnered with Perverted Justice or "Dateline NBC," and they had no way of knowing this was a sting operation or they were about to be arrested. Police said that although many of the suspects live in the Murphy area, two drove to Murphy from Houston, and one came from Oklahoma.

Murphy Police Chief Billy Myrick acknowledged that the residents of Murphy weren’t all pleased to have such a public sting operation brought into their city, but he said the program was a benefit to the community in protecting their children from online predators. "These Internet predators are operating everywhere," Myrick said. "They know no bounds and will go after anyone’s child to satisfy their own personal interests. We are committed to this community’s welfare and we believe that we are doing the right thing."

One of the people captured in the sting operation was Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, who was the chief felony assistant District Attorney for Rockwall County, as well as the former District Attorney in Kaufman County. Conradt was Kaufman County’s elected district attorney for more than two decades before resigning in 2002 to run for a judgeship.

In the midst of the sting operation, Conradt contacted a "decoy" from Perverted Justice who was posing as a 13-year old boy. As a result, local authorities in Murphy launched an investigation into Conradt’s online communications, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. "Without going into details…it was extremely explicit," said Detective Sgt. Snow Robertson of the Murphy Police Department.

Police went to Conradt’s home with an arrest warrant, as well as a search warrant for his computer. When officers knocked on the door, Conradt refused to answer, and then a shot was heard inside. Officers forced their way into the home, where they found Conradt with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died later at a hospital in Dallas.

Police said that the suspects who have been arrested have been placed in the Collin County Jail, with bond amounts set between $50,000 and $100,000. All have been charged with the offense of online solicitation of a minor, and some were also charged with second-degree and third-degree felonies. Officials said those arrested could face more charges.

Murphy Mayor Bret Bishop told reporters that he hopes his town won’t be used again as a trap for child predators. "I think it’s a noble cause, but our police department is hired to serve and protect our citizens, and not to expose them to outside threats," Bishop said.