Should she lose her crown for not protecting kids from predators?

[MissJacksonCA]

Miss America helped Americas Most Wanted by posing as a 14 year old girl and waiting for men to contact her online in a child sex predator sting operation which lead to 11 arrests. She now refuses to testify against them which may ruin the chance of prosecuting these men. Considering one of her platform issues is internet safety for children I feel she has an obligation to testify and if she refuses can't we take away her crown? The story... Miss America Won't Testify in Sex Sting Cases The Beauty Queen Helped Cops Catch Four Men CBS News HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (May 1) -- An undercover sex sting that used Miss America as bait may be in trouble after the beauty queen told prosecutors that she does not plan to testify against the men she helped arrest. Lauren Nelson, 20, of Lawton, Okla., worked with police in Suffolk County to target would-be Internet sexual predators, taped for an episode of the TV show "America's Most Wanted." She posed as a teenager and lured men into chatting online and meeting her at a home, where police and crews were waiting. Eleven men were arrested in the sting. But one or all of the cases against the men could be in jeopardy after Nelson told prosecutors she did not plan on returning to Long Island to testify, said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota in Newsday's Tuesday edition. "Her agents have told us that she's not coming back to testify," Spota said. The Miss America Organization did not return calls for comment Monday from a Newsday reporter. Attorney Michael Brown, who represents one of the 11 men swept up in the sting, said he had the right to cross-examine the beauty queen if she contends that she spoke with his client. "You've now made Miss America a witness," he said. "I know that under the constitution of this nation, my client has an absolute right to confront those that are accusing him of any crimes, so in order for the prosecution to go forward, they must produce her and make her available for cross-examination purposes," Brown told WCBS-AM's Mike Xirinachs. Given that Nelson actually spoke with at least one of the men arrested during the operation, Spota said he had instructed prosecutors not to present any more cases to the grand jury until they can "determine her involvement." One case already presented may falter, he said.

[fartpants]

why the hell did she go through all that trouble of helping to catch these creeps if she had no intention of testifying. She should be stripped of her crown and charged with wasting police time...

[zombie04]

I say wait to see what happens. I've heard reports that the story wasn't right and she did agree to testify. I say just let some dust settle and see what happens before rushing to judgement.

[_liam_]

why the hell did she go through all that trouble of helping to catch these creeps if she had no intention of testifying. She should be stripped of her crown and charged with wasting police time... ditto. sounds like she wanted a good publicity stunt, then she realised she'd be responsible for getting some people in the sh!t and backed down

[Danny]

geez, so what?, the cops asked for here help because she won a beuaty pageant? Thats 3 shades of dodgy right there.

[MissJacksonCA]

I think they used her to raise awareness with their younger more impressionable viewers and it bit them in the keyhide now that she doesn't want to testify.

[Cody]

she confuses me

[fartpants]

shes a women, so confusion is something they do very well...

[Marie]

shes a women, so confusion is something they do very well... Trust me, she (and all other Beauty contest contestants IMO) are more like inflatable dolls than women. The entire idea of a beauty contest meerly perpetuates an unattainable ideal. She got confused like any terrier brained nit and backed out of the deal once the cameras went away. A real woman would have stuck it through for the kids. M_

[Terran]

The entire idea of a beauty contest merely perpetuates an unattainable ideal. Its not unattainable if one was already born with the genes and other various biological circumstances that determines the appearance of a given individual..... So if one was born with a certain “lottery card” then they could attain that ideal…… Yeah I know Im totally being facetious …Its just that sometimes I get caught up in commonly used phrases that don’t particularly mean what they say but generally describe what people have commonly accepted as what they particularly mean. ….. .... *sigh*....I swear every day I get a little more crazy....

[Marie]

Its not unattainable if one was already born with the genes and other various biological circumstances that determines the appearance of a given individual..... . Not to start a big debate, but such things as gluing your suit to your bottom for the swimsuit competition not to mention some of the other tricks they use in pageants (such as vasiline on the teeth) pretty much bolster my arguement rather than yours. Yes, they have looks, and some of them have gone on to actually contribute and develop true beauty, the internal kind. She didn't have any character, and in my opinion few brains either. M_

[Terran]

Not to start a big debate, but such things as gluing your suit to your bottom for the swimsuit competition not to mention some of the other tricks they use in pageants (such as vasiline on the teeth) pretty much bolster my arguement rather than yours. I dont really want to debate either....you did notice that I said "Yeah I know Im totally being facetious …"? A lot of that stuff they do is to exaggerate a given quality so that it looks "spectacular" from a distance....because the judges see them from a distance....its not like they get to walk around them up close and inspect them... If you had a face to face with one of those girls when they were all gussied up for competition they would look alien to anyone.....but from a distance and on camera it appears much more "normal".... But most of them with their regular street walking makeup on would still appear to have those sparkling white teeth even without the vaseline because a lot of them have had them bleached anyways.... Yes, they have looks, and some of them have gone on to actually contribute and develop true beauty, the internal kind. Yeah but that is a horse of an entirely different color..... Beauty...a very vague concept on almost all interpretations....Especially vague is "internal beauty"... The only type of beauty that is most easily interpreted is physical beauty.... Beauty pagents wouldnt exist if they were judging internal beauty because there would be no litmus test to compare the contestants against.... Dont expect any future Marie Curie's to appear in any beauty pagent..... Beauty pagents have always been based on at least two priorities.....Which girl is the hottest.....which girl has the most agreeable personalty.....thats it....To hold a beauty contest to any other standard is a clear deception.....

[ProfessorChaos]

i hope this isn't the start of a new trend.... not that i support child predators, but i think that celebs getting involved with law enforcement for publicity's sake (or whatever) is too much. let the professionals do their jobs, that way we don't run into this sort of faltering and waivering by someone who's supposed to be an example for millions of others.

[EvilNed]

Why is everyone so surprised? US politics are all about flips and flops! Said in jest, damnit, in jest! Don't burn me!

[Chic Freak]

Beauty pageants are really competitive. After the girls have "improved" their physical appearance and appeared as enthusiastic as they possibly can, they have to turn to oher self-promoting means to rise above the competition, and to me it seems obvious that that is what this girl did. I imagine her agent or whoever suggested it to her an she hopped on board without thinking, then when it all got too real she opted out