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‘To Catch a Predator’ Star Chris Hansen Speaks Out About ‘Miscommunication’ Leading to Warrant for Missed Court Date

“To Catch a Predator” star Chris Hansen is in the hot seat. The TV personality recently garnered his own legal troubles and woes when Michigan ordered a warrant for his arrest. Now, Hansen is speaking out on the matter, and he promises it’s a huge misunderstanding.

“There was miscommunication about a hearing today on the issue. The matter is currently being resolved!” he wrote on Twitter. Hansen promised to resolve the matter and has turned himself in. The warrant itself resulted from a case Hansen worked on last autumn. Hansen partnered with the Shiawassee County, Michigan law enforcement.

Hansen assisted in a sting operation that arrested three people. These individuals solicited undercover police officers, who they believed were underage girls, for sex. Instead, they found Hansen and a pair of handcuffs waiting at a Michigan hotel.

In a trial, one of the accused’s lawyers requested Hansen attend court and provide a recorded video from the investigation. When Hansen didn’t show, the Shiawassee County Courthouse issued a warrant for his arrest. But Hansen claims a miscommunication made him miss the court appearance.

Chris Hansen on ‘To Catch a Predator’

Hansen chose to turn himself into the Shiawassee County jail to get the matter resolved. But the local court released Hansen with a warning provided that he produces the full video within 14 days. Hansen’s lawyer Clint Perryman discussed the miscommunication. He says there was confusion over the subpoena and the timing of the court case. Additionally, Hansen lives primarily in New York despite having a home in Michigan as well.

“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,” Perryman told Fox News. Previously, Hansen garnered an arrest in 2019 for larceny after two bad checks bounced.

The “To Catch a Predator” star has worked with local law enforcement in recent years to catch potential online sexual predators. Last year, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson wanted Hansen’s expertise on a local sting they were performing.

“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,” Swanson said previously.

Hansen hosted “To Catch a Predator” for three years but garnered national attention during its run. The show followed Hansen and his attempting to catch online predators. Often, Hansen would surprise people on the show before they were arrested by police. But the reality show ended up canceled. Critics accused the show of entrapment, and it garnered controversy as a result.

Since then, Hansen has continued to work in the same space, teaming up with local authorities.