Ex-‘Predator’ host turns himself in, resolves video issue

LANSING, MICH. —
The former host of the “To Catch a Predator” TV series turned himself in Friday after a Michigan judge issued a warrant for his arrest for no-showing at a court hearing to explain why he had not given a defense lawyer more footage of a police sting operation.

Chris Hansen, 61, checked in at the Shiawassee County jail in Corunna – 65 miles (104.61 kilometres) northwest of Detroit – was released and has 14 days to produce the full video, prosecutor Scott Koerner said. Hansen later posted a photo of the county courthouse on Instagram and said all matters had been resolved.

“Justice marches on!” he wrote.

The October sting operation between the Shiawassee and Genesee county sheriff’s offices occurred in nearby Owosso. Three men, including a state corrections officer, were charged with trying to meet underage girls for sex. Hansen and a film crew had been embedded with investigators.

The bench warrant was rescinded by Judge Matthew Stewart, said Hansen’s lawyer Clint Perryman.

“He wasn’t intending to not appear or to be somebody that was trying to circumvent the process. It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that resulted in a failure to appear,” he said, citing bad timing and confusion over a subpoena. Hansen, who hosts a YouTube show and a podcast, has a home in Michigan but primarily lives in New York, Perryman said.

Hansen and his team had provided an edited video, but a defendant wanted all of the footage in case there is any exculpatory information, he said.