"You don't have my permission to film me, " Capehart. "I don't need your permission, Hansen."

Summary

"You don't have my permission to film me, Capehart." – Have A Seat with Chris Hansen

Episode Date: June 8, 2026
Host: Chris Hansen

---

Episode Overview

In this episode of "Have A Seat with Chris Hansen," Chris takes listeners inside the recent Florida sting operation that led to the arrest of Nicholas Capehart, a 46-year-old married father and window salesman. The episode follows the investigation from online chats through arrest, interrogation, and sentencing, offering a revealing, sometimes chilling, look into predator behavior, excuses, and the sting methods law enforcement and Hansen's team employ. Hansen concludes with reflections on consequences, background checking tools, and a listener Q&A about cases involving family members trafficking children.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inside the Florida Sting Operation

• Setting: Marion County, Florida (occasional flashbacks to Polk County stings)
• Operation Update: Hansen records from his hotel in Ocala, actively working on a new sting, referencing prior successful stings (41 men in six days, [01:17]).
• Recent Catches: Includes a second-grade teacher and a 60-year-old man, the latter expressing morbid excitement about meeting Hansen—"He said he always wanted to meet me, but not in this way." [02:19]

---

2. The Nicholas Capehart Case

a. Background & Initial Chat

• Profile: 46-year-old Florida window salesman, married with children, master’s degree, Marine Corps veteran but no previous criminal record ([06:06], [31:47]).
• Chat Progression:
  • Initiated contact on May 4, 2025, with a decoy posing as 14-year-old "Haley" ([03:09], [03:17]).
  • Immediately confirms knowledge of the girl's age:
    • “You’re 14. Right?” – Nicholas ([03:47])
  • Highly sexualized grooming: body questions, describing sexual acts, trying to normalize the age difference ("I am looking for a sex friend…I'm fine with you being 14" [04:13–04:30]).
  • Repeated escalation of requests, including nude photos with face visible ([08:06]).

b. Grooming and Escalation

• Nick’s Manipulation:
  • “I will have you say you love me as we make love because you will be in euphoria.” ([07:25])
  • “I plan to lick your an also. Thanks Nick. Jesus.” ([07:58])
  • Requests for shaving and asks to come over, keeping the "relationship" emotional and sexual.

c. Approach and Arrest

• Nick drives by the decoy house, later claims he was "just curious" and never went inside—key defense point.
• Arrest Procedure:
  • Surveillance picks up his car, pulls him over for a taillight ([09:59–10:14]).
  • Nick immediately protests being filmed:
    • “Did I ask give you permission to film me? I don't have that permission to be filmed in Florida.”
      — Nicholas ([12:51])
    • “You don't have to consent, Nicholas.” — Chris ([13:08])

d. Interview & Interrogation

• Nick’s Excuses:
  • Claims “no real goal,” was "just messing around," says he never entered the house, implying that’s the only real crime ([15:17], [16:15]).
  • “They coaxed me.” — Nicholas, blaming the decoy ([18:58])
  • "You do [need my consent]." — Nicholas ([19:57])
  • "No, I don't." — Chris ([19:58])
• Chris’ Response:
  • Details that solicitation is already a crime, regardless of physical entry ([20:09]).
  • Pushes on Nick's responsibility, Marine background, and the gravity of grooming ([28:26], [28:54]).

e. Nick's Attempts to Minimize

• Denials: Repeats that “he just kept driving,” didn’t bring condoms, was "just curious” ([16:25], [25:25], [25:38]).
• Shift from Defiance to Resignation:
  • Finally admits: "I definitely blame myself. Not...Take my own blame." ([29:05])

---

3. Legal Outcomes

• Guilty Plea and Sentencing:
  • May 2026, Capehart pleads guilty, receives 5 years in Florida State Prison, sex offender status ([29:13]).
  • “Five years. Fool around and find out in Polk County, Florida.” — Chris ([29:49])

---

4. Background Check & Discussion

• Hansen uses sponsor TruthFinder to verify Nick’s mostly clean background apart from the sting charges ([30:47]).
• Emphasizes importance of due diligence and community vigilance ([31:27]).

---

5. Listener Q&A: Reporting Predators

• Tara from Alberta asks: Have any "family member sexual trafficking" decoys led to someone reporting the fake crime, instead of participating? ([31:52])
• Chris’ Answer: It's rare; he wishes more would report. Promises to follow up with specifics if he finds some ([32:08]).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You don't have to consent, Nicholas.” – Chris Hansen ([13:08])
• “They coaxed me.” – Nicholas Capehart ([18:58])
  • Chris’s on-air reaction: “Didn’t seem like Nick was being coaxed during the chat…That doesn’t sound like coaxing to me.” ([19:01])
• “There's no reasonable expectation for privacy when you commit a crime like this online. Whether you showed up tonight or not, you committed a crime by soliciting a child for sex online.” – Chris Hansen ([20:09])
• “How old are you, Nick?” — Chris Hansen
  “46.” — Nicholas Capehart
  “Is that appropriate behavior to tell somebody who told you they were 14 that you love them?” ([20:30])
• “Five years. Five years in prison. To think about what he did.” – Chris Hansen ([29:13])
• “Fool around and find out in Polk County, Florida.” – Chris Hansen ([29:49])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:08] — Hansen gives live sting updates from Marion County
• [03:40 – 09:41] — Detailed reenactment of Capehart's chat with 'Haley' the decoy, including grooming behaviors and arrangements to meet
• [09:59 – 13:08] — Arrest and initial confrontation; Capehart objects to being filmed
• [14:14 – 17:45] — Interrogation: Nick’s job, family, failed explanations, repeated claims of "not going in the house"
• [18:58 – 21:32] — Nick blames the decoy, claims coercion, pressed about intent, and repeatedly warned about significance of chat content
• [25:01 – 26:31] — Further denial, refusal to accept consequences, questions about bringing condoms and intent
• [28:26 – 29:49] — Nick’s criminal history, Marine Corps background, Chris’s condemnation, and legal consequences
• [31:47] — Use of TruthFinder to confirm background
• [31:52 – 33:22] — Listener Q&A about reporting fake familial trafficking, Hansen's candid reflections

---

Summary Takeaways

• Capehart’s case demonstrates the predictable patterns: overt grooming, attempts to minimize, blame-shifting, and late-stage resignation.
• Legal punishment was substantial: five years in prison and sex offender status.
• Hansen’s direct questioning, insistence on personal accountability, and refusal to let perpetrators evade responsibility are central to his interviews.
• The community and listener involvement segments reinforce the continual challenge and public good in predator stings and reporting.
• The episode balances the gravity of the investigation with careful, journalistic documentation, making it both informative and sobering for listeners.

---

For further episodes and updates, listeners are encouraged to tune in weekly and engage with Chris Hansen’s investigative work across platforms.

Transcript

[Narrator]

You're in your apartment alone. Then you hear something. You think, was it just the storm? You realize you're not alone. Your living room is not safe. With Unhinged, the new immersive game experience brought to you by Netflix. To make it out alive, you must answer the phone. The question is, when your phone rings, will you answer? Tap the banner to play Unhinged now only on Netflix.

[Chris Hansen]

I've confronted hundreds of men over two decades, men online looking for children to sexually assault Cody. I'm Chris Hansen.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I know who you are.

[Chris Hansen]

I tried to get into their heads and understand why.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

But you have it on your phone.

[Listener Tara]

That's true.

[Chris Hansen]

And ultimately make sure they face justice.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Can I just give you some money?

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

And me?

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I don't want money. I want the truth.

[Chris Hansen]

These are the predators I've caught.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I'm Chris Hansen.

[Chris Hansen]

As I record this episode, I am

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

out in the field on another sting,

[Chris Hansen]

this time in Marion County, Florida.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

You may recall last year we did another sting in Marion county in which

[Chris Hansen]

41 men serviced in six days. We are about to start day three

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

of this sting and as in many cases, I record from the field because I'm out working right now.

[Chris Hansen]

I'm in my hotel in lovely Ocala,

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Florida, and already

[Chris Hansen]

we have caught a

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

second grade school teacher trying to meet a teenage boy. He wanted the boy to uber to his home. Instead, he got a visit by the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

[Chris Hansen]

We also found a man who was 60 years old

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

trying to meet up with a girl. Very graphic conversation.

[Chris Hansen]

And when I walked in to talk to him, John was excited. It turns out that he had been watching takedown episodes on True Blue yesterday, the day we arrested him,

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

he said

[Chris Hansen]

he always wanted to meet me, but

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

not in this way. It continues to shock me 22 years into these investigations.

[Chris Hansen]

In this episode of Predators I've Caught, I wanted to take a look at another Florida case because just this past

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

week,

[Chris Hansen]

Nicholas Capehart was sentenced to prison.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He pleaded guilty.

[Chris Hansen]

Nicholas surfaced in May of 2025 in

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Polk county, about an hour and 20 minutes or so from where I'm sitting right now. Sheriff Grady Judd and his team.

[Chris Hansen]

Nicholas was then 46 years old, big

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

fella

[Chris Hansen]

who had been chatting on and off for nearly a month with a 14 year old girl named Haley.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Haley was actually a decoy with the Bull County Sheriff's Office.

[Chris Hansen]

But Nicholas didn't know that. He first approached haley online on May

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

4, 2025, asking you in Tampa area,

[Chris Hansen]

Plant city.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

She says, we chatted already last night.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes, we did. You're 14.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Right.

[Chris Hansen]

So immediately he confirms that he knows

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

he's doing something illegal and inappropriate. Lol. Yeah, says the decoy.

[Chris Hansen]

How tall are you?

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

What do you weigh?

[Chris Hansen]

5 4?

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I think 130?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, I'm fine with that.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He says. About the age you sound hot.

[Chris Hansen]

Okay, cool.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Smiley emoji. Then Nicholas says, I am looking for a sex friend. A sex friend at 14?

[Chris Hansen]

Oh yes. Then he says, you being 14, I am fine with even if you wanted

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

to be my sex friend. Oh great. He's fine with her being 14. As if he's accepting her into this elite category.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh gosh, you mean like sex sex? I'm a virgin.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I am fine. You are a virgin, says Nicholas. You on birth control?

[Chris Hansen]

No, but my mom has talked to

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

me about it before. She said when I'm 16 I can lol. I would still have sex with you condomless. Just would not come inside you unless you wanted it.

[Chris Hansen]

I can't get pregnant, she says.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

My mom would kill me. You won't. I won't come inside of you. Great, Nicholas. So then there's a break in the conversation and Nicholas asks you home alone?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, mom is working until 10.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Want to text me? Want me to come over?

[Chris Hansen]

Oh my God lol. I'm so nervous. Why would you want to come over

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

and hang out with me lol. So we can hang out and I teach you sex.

[Chris Hansen]

I don't know, I'm just really nervous.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Says the decoy. Sex is a huge stress reliever, says Nicholas. When you come. And also when I come, you feel so good after, I will make you come very hard too.

[Chris Hansen]

How big are your tits?

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He wants to know

[Chris Hansen]

now.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

You should know something about Nicholas. As I mentioned, he's 46, he's got

[Chris Hansen]

a good job, he's a window salesman.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He lives in Riverview, Florida.

[Chris Hansen]

He's married, he's got children, a daughter who's 18 years old. But here he is talking to someone

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

he thinks is a 14 year old girl.

[Chris Hansen]

No one has ever made me come

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

before, says the decoy. And my tits like my bra size?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, like a 32B.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

You are perfect size, he says.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh good.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I'm glad you think so. Lol. Great body, perfect sized tits and a virgin.

[Chris Hansen]

Now later, Nicholas is going to try

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

to tell me that he didn't do anything wrong because he didn't actually go into the home where the girl was supposed to be.

[Chris Hansen]

But he's thinking about it. He's thinking about it hard. And remember, this first conversation happens like 21 days, three weeks before he actually shows up. And listen to this. He drives by the house once before

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

he actually gets close. So he's thinking about it.

[Chris Hansen]

He's coming home from work, he's got to go right by there.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Or he makes a detour to go right by there.

[Chris Hansen]

And even though he didn't go into

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

the house, into the mobile home we were using in the sting, he would have gotten there. He was escalating.

[Chris Hansen]

And you can see the escalation in this chat. I will have you say you love

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

me as we make love because you will be in euphoria.

[Chris Hansen]

What's euphoria?

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Asks the girl. Perfect happiness not going to pound you hard. We'll take it gentle and slow, he says.

[Chris Hansen]

Maybe if all goes well, we'll make

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

you my permanent girlfriend. Wonder what Nick's wife would think about all this. His children also. My name is Nick.

[Chris Hansen]

Do you have your hair? This is where he goes next.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I am good either way. I plan to lick your an also. Thanks Nick. Jesus.

[Chris Hansen]

Do you trust me enough to send me a nude pic of you with

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

your face in it too? Oh my God. I don't know. I don't really know you yet. I haven't sent nudes before. I'm too shy.

[Chris Hansen]

I would really love. I would really love you if you sent one.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I am falling for you, Haley. Really mean that.

[Chris Hansen]

So he's going to tell this 14

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

year old girl he loves her. Love bombing. I really want to come over and spend time right now. Let me just come over.

[Chris Hansen]

So the decoy provides the address

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

of

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

the undercover location and the Suspect says he's 48 minutes away. Says he's falling for her really hard and thinks he's in love with her. He's grooming and he'll offend if given the chance. You and Lakeland, right, are really close to it. You say Plant City?

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Yes.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I thought you were coming over the other night. Lol.

[Chris Hansen]

I did, but saw a car there.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

This is what I was talking about earlier.

[Chris Hansen]

So he gets the address and as

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

he's on his way over, Nicholas gives updates on how far out he is from the undercover location.

[Chris Hansen]

He then asks to shave all her

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

body except her head. To brush her teeth, to be frightened. And then the suspect texts Nicholas. Texts he's six and a half miles out, just a few minutes. So right about now that the surveillance team picks him up his white Kia Sorento, he drives through the neighborhood of the undercover location and he's arrested. Take a look.

[Chris Hansen]

About an hour later, the Polk County Sheriff's office has spotted Nick's vehicle in the area and pulls him over. My crew makes the scene and finds Nick on the side of the road in handcuffs. More about this predator I've caught In a moment, I'm finding out something very cool about many of my advertisers on this podcast. Some of the products I actually used before they became advertisers, Aqua True is one of them. My son came to me and said, you know you need an Aqua True filter to clean the water in the

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

apartment in the house in Michigan because there are microplastics and other things in the water that can harm you.

[Chris Hansen]

So I took his advice and I got an Aqua Tru Filter water filter

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

for drinking water and coffee and things like that.

[Chris Hansen]

Well, just the other day my wife sends me a picture. She's very excited because she received an Aqua True shower filter. Now we got this obviously because we advertise the products on this show, but I have to tell you, it works. We are believers and did you know this? Your skin absorbs more chlorine in a 10 minute shower than from drinking eight glasses of tap water. That's why the Aqua Tru Shower Filter is a total game changer. You need to get this. It uses an advanced four stage filtration with kdf, a copper zinc blend that neutralizes chlorine and chloramines instantly. If you color your hair, that is a must have. Now I'm not saying my wife colors

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

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[Chris Hansen]

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[Listener Tara]

So good.

[Advertiser Representative]

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[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Did I ask give you permission to film me? I don't have that permission to be

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

filmed in Florida right away during his arrest. As you can see, Nick is lying on the ground, his belly hanging out.

[Chris Hansen]

He's asking if my crew has permission to film him.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He'll later ask me how I got all the information about him, how he didn't consent to that. Well, you don't have to consent, Nicholas.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I can get it over a tail light.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I know it's bull county, man. It's a rough county. All right, well, taillights get you up around here. Okay, well, can.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Can I. Can I. He got up. I mean, if it's a tail light, my God, I don't go with the autozone to do that tail light.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

The arresting deputies tell Nick that he

[Chris Hansen]

was pulled over for a taillight issue. Nick doesn't want to go with him.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He just wants to fix the tail light. But Nick's got bigger problems than maintenance on his car.

[Chris Hansen]

Nick is taken to the mobile command unit.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Tell me what happened.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

So the guy slow rode past the RV location. We had a surveillance unit watch him go past the location. He had a tail light out. I sent another surveillance team to the. The west side where he would probably exit. They picked him up on there, did a traffic stop, and then we took him into custody.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Thank you.

[Chris Hansen]

Nick is now brought to a mobile command center where detectives are going to interview him, and I'll have my chance

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

to ask my questions. Nick's not happy to see me.

[Chris Hansen]

He doesn't know who I am.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Indicates he's never seen my to catch a predator or take down investigations in the past. Well, Nick, now you're in one.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Hey, Nick. Hey. Good. Look like he got dusted up a little bit there. Tell me how you found yourself in this situation. Tonight we began. What happened? How'd you get here? Well, I got pulled over. You got pulled over? And what were you doing in this part of bull County? You talk about all kinds of sex acts with her. You talk about getting her pregnant, having her move in with you. It doesn't look good. Your goal in that chat?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No real goal. That's what I'm saying.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

So if you were just messing around, this is role playing or just help me to understand it?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Kind of.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

So, yeah, kind of, sort of. And Nick, what do you do for a living?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Certainly I sell windows.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You sell windows? In. In, like, windows for houses?

[Chris Hansen]

He tells me about his job selling windows.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He tells me he's a married fellow with children.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

And I'm just trying to understand how a guy with a good job who's married he's got a daughter of his own. Would have this kind of a chat online. Get in his car and drive.

[Advertiser Representative]

How far.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

How far did you drive today? I was driving home. You were driving home from where? Where were you coming from?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Davenport.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Davenport. And where were you going to?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Hillsborough County.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Hillsborough County. Tampa. Riverview. Riverview. So you live in Riverview, you were working in Davenport for. And you just decided to pull over here where you thought a 14 year old girl was available for sex?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I didn't because I didn't go inside the house. And it didn't get. They didn't. I kept going.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You kept going. Why did you go into the neighborhood where the house was?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Just curious. But.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Just curious.

[Chris Hansen]

Nick says he was just driving by.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

He thinks he's not going to get in trouble because he didn't go in the house. He didn't stop. Well, that's where he was headed. He didn't go in the house because he got arrested.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Curious about what scariest.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

And I just kept. I left. I didn't go to the door. I didn't go talk to anybody. I just kept going.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

So you had chatted for like four days. And the chat to me and I've read a lot of these chats over the years. It reads me like you were grooming a 14 year old girl in order to have a sexual relationship. Explain to me why. And if I'm wrong about that, I

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

think you're wrong because I did not. Like I said, I did not go to the house.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Nick is having a hard time explaining himself. I'm wrong because he didn't go into the house. But I'm right about the chat. The chat I just shared with you. Now he knows he's in trouble. I know he's in trouble. But he's gonna fight to the last minute to defend himself and then he's

[Chris Hansen]

gonna rely on the fact that he

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

didn't give consent to me to get any of this information. Well, I think we all know how that goes.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You tell her to shave everything except her head.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

The point being is I did not go to the house. I kept driving and I did not stop.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You talk.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

You can.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You can sh.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

You can see the footage. I didn't even stop.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

She kept going. But why? Why even take that chance? Why even put yourself in that situation? That's what I want to know. Nick, tell me.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I basically said that'd be stupid. Keep going.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

That'd be stupid. Keep going. And what were you trying to achieve with this online chat? You were nothing. Nothing's not A good answer. I mean, you got to go on a site where, you know, people go to for sex, right?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Not necessarily.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Okay, so why did you go to the site initially?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

To just chat and talk.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Just chat and talk to Google. Were you role playing? Playing on some fantasies? Nope. How did you get involved in. In a chat about having sex with a 14 year old girl.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

They coasted.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh, this is the best part.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

They coaxed me. Didn't seem like Nick was being coaxed during the chat. I love you. I'm falling for you. I'm going to make you come. You'll experience euphoria. That doesn't sound like coaxing to me. Does it to you? I think not.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

They won, they coast. They coaxed you. And how did they coax you exactly? What does that mean?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

They kept trying to like talk to me and stuff.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

They kept talking to you and stuff? Did that make it okay to do and say what you did and said? No. It's pretty graphic. You talk about getting her pregnant, having her come live with you. You want to know if she's still home alone. I have a question.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

How did you get a hold of all that without my consent?

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I don't need your consent.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

You do.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

No, I don't.

[Chris Hansen]

Your consent, Nick.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Consent.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Come on. I'm gonna give Nick a little lesson in the law.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

There's no reasonable expectation for privacy when you commit a crime like this online. Whether you showed up tonight or not, you committed a crime by soliciting a child for sex online.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

But I. I know, I know. I have privacy.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Not here you don't.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Because I mean, I give it to them. That I understand.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You told her you loved her. You told a 14 year old girl online that you loved her. How old are you, Nick? 46. 46. Is that appropriate behavior to tell somebody who told you they were 14 that you love them? No. Then why did you do it? What are you going to tell your wife? What are you gonna tell your daughter? Have you ever met anybody online for sex before?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No, dad, I'm 100 positive about.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Have you ever talked about. No. Sexual fantasies? No. With people.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Well, people that if they're over age it's different.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

But why did you start this week to have this kind of a chat with somebody who told you they were 14? I mean, whoa. Did something get triggered within you? Was this a fantasy? No. Then why?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I honestly don't know.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You honestly don't know?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Us deserts.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I don't know. I don't know isn't a good answer. Nick,

[Chris Hansen]

if what you've Heard shocks you so far.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Join us. Back in a moment.

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[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

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[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I mean, because it's a big leap to go from chatting with adults online about sexual things. You're chatting with a 14 year old girl who you tell you want to get pregnant. Someone you tell you love them. That's a big jump. And typically, in my experience, talking to a lot of guys in your situation, this jump doesn't happen overnight. It's a gradual slide. It's a gradual fulfillment of a long held fantasy. I'm just telling what I see.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I'll tell you this, you can go on my iPad and you go on my phone. Ain't nothing in there. So.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Ain't nothing in there? Nope. What were you using to communicate with this? My phone. Your phone. Any child?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Nope.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Which raises the question, and I asked Nick this. Does he have any CSAN child pornography on his phone? He claims no, and as far as we know, none was found. But it does seem pretty clear that Nick was headed down a path to offend.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No pictures, no stuff from my iPad.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Where were you when you were having most of this chat? At home?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Driving.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Driving. So you're texting and driving. That seems like the least of your problems tonight, but. And this was the first time you were engaging in this sort of activity? Well, Nick, what do you think should happen?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Well, obviously

[Chris Hansen]

I asked Nick what he

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

thinks should happen to him and he sort of nods as you see, as if, you know, he's arrested now, he's going to spend the night in jail.

[Chris Hansen]

And I think he still believes that

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

he's going to get out of this with a slap on the wrist.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

He'll get locked up, I'm assuming. Is that.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Yeah. I mean, it doesn't look good. You see how this looks, right? Yeah. What do you think should happen to you?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Well, first of all, I thought I was getting pulled for a tail light.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I was just getting pulled over for a taillight. None of the rest of this should matter.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

What did you think? What went through your mind when you got pulled over by the sheriff's deputies?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I thought maybe it was that I was speeding. I wasn't sure you thought you were speeding? I said I don't know. I thought maybe I was speeding. Were you nervous?

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Were you anxious about.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No, just driving home.

[Chris Hansen]

Now, I'm guessing that Given the chat

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

that he had with the decoy posing as the 14 year old girl and the fact that he was lurking about the area where the girl was supposed to be home alone.

[Chris Hansen]

Nicholas's heart had to be in his

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

throat when they pulled him over. But he's trying to play it cool still.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

You just decided to poke your nose down this road.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No, I'm talking about the speed where I thought I was speeding, that's what.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

But you knew that you were sneaking around this area where you thought a 14 year old girl might be home alone and willing to accept you. I didn't. Did you bring condoms?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No, I wasn't.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I didn't.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Told you. I didn't go. I didn't even go to the house. I kept going.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Yeah, but if you kept going. Yeah, you kept going after this sexually charged conversation with somebody you thought was

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

underage and I just kept going. I didn't go in the house.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Yeah, but the chat. Just so we're clear here, the chat itself is against the law.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Right, I understand that, but you're saying that I have bring hot him though, because I didn't go to the. I wasn't planning on going house in the first place.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

And remember he said that he wanted to have sex without condoms, that he'd pull out, guaranteed the girl she wouldn't get pregnant.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

But here's what happens. In my experience, guys get curious about this and then they have the conversation and then they maybe drive by and then a couple weeks later they get even more curious and they have another conversation and they find a child willing to engage in sex. Where was this gonna stop if you hadn't gotten caught tonight? Where was it gonna stop?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

It wasn't gonna do anything else. This is my point.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I know, but we see men surface just chatting in stings.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

What's your name?

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I'm sorry, I'm Chris Hansen.

[Chris Hansen]

Nicholas still isn't clear on exactly who I am or why I have camera

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

people in the interrogation room. So he asks one more time. And now I'm going to make it

[Chris Hansen]

very clear as to exactly who I

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

am and what's going to happen with his interview.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

All right, Chris Hansen, I'm going to tell you this. Go into my iPad and go on my phone and you show me where I've had any more conversations. I'm giving you that permission.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I appreciate that, but I am telling.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

And I had no pictures in there either.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Right, but I'm telling you, in situations that start like this, with activity like yours, it will escalate in many cases. To the actual sexual engagement with somebody who's underage. It speaks to a fantasy. I'm just telling you what I've seen. And I've seen it hundreds of times.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I've seen it. But that doesn't necessarily mean I did it. That I was doing that. That I was gonna go do that.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

But you were headed that direction.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

But I did not go do that.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I left. Right, but had you not been arrested tonight, you could have kept on doing this sort of thing until you actually engaged with somebody who was underage and fulfilled that task.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

You're putting words in my mouth.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I'm not putting words in your mouth. I'm telling you what I've seen and why they consider this such a serious problem.

[Chris Hansen]

I have all the words I need from Nick.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

And they're all the transcripts.

[Chris Hansen]

His words.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I understand what you're saying.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Okay.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

What I'm trying to tell you is, no, I have not done anything else.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Okay? So given that, if in fact that's true, what should happen to you based upon what you did this week, it

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

should be a warning. Not necessarily a.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

A warning. Anything in your criminal history? No.

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

Those 10 years. Marine Corps.

[Chris Hansen]

That's right. 10 years in the Marine Corps. Semper fine. Embarrassment to every other man and woman who served.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Here he sits.

[Chris Hansen]

Never been arrested before for anything like this.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

We'll look at his background in just a moment.

[Chris Hansen]

He thinks he should just get a

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

slap on the wrist, a warning.

[Chris Hansen]

Off you go, Nick.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

But that's not what's going to happen.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

Is this the kind of conduct becoming of a Marine?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

No.

[Interviewer Chris Hansen]

I know that. How do you fix those? Don't do it again. And who do you blame?

[Nicholas Capehart (Suspect)]

I definitely blame myself. Not. Not that. Take my own blame. I am On a. Sarah.

[Chris Hansen]

That's right. You are to blame, nick. And in May 2026, almost a year to the day from when Nicholas Capehart was arrested, he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to five years in Florida State Prison. Some of the charges against him were dropped, but he will still be classified as a sex offender. Five years. Five years in prison. To think about what he did.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Grooming a child. And I think we all know where this was headed. Even though he didn't go into the house that night. Five years. Fool around and find out in Polk County, Florida.

[Chris Hansen]

You know, Nick talked about his background

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

and the lack of criminal history.

[Chris Hansen]

Was he telling the truth? Well, we're about to find out. That is why we have partnered with Truth Finder. It's an amazing tool I use in all of my investigations. A background check, a deep dive into somebody's history, whether you're going to be doing business with them, whether they're a neighbor, whether you suspect them of some illegal activity. You can find out by subscribing to

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

TruthFinder.com

[Chris Hansen]

this is your weekly Truth Finder

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

update sponsored by our friends there. When we take a look at Nicholas

[Chris Hansen]

Capehart's background on Truth Finder, we find that he has a master's degree in Business Administration and Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. He's a well educated guy. In terms of his criminal history. We see the charges involved with his arrest in the sting operation in Polk County. Other than that, we see some speeding, touches with the law, reckless driving, expired inspection, failure to obey a highway sign, but nothing criminal.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

No felonies except for his arrest in our sting operation.

[Chris Hansen]

Truthfinder works for us and it can work for you. To get more information, go to truthfinder.com

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

to learn more.

[Chris Hansen]

More of our story in a moment. As always, we like to hear from you. This week's question comes from Tara in Alberta, Canada.

[Listener Tara]

Hi Chris, I'm Tara from Alberta, Canada. And my question for you today is during those stinks where you used a family member pimping out a daughter, niece, what have you, have you ever gotten people who actually did the right thing and reported it to the police? I've always been so curious when it came to those ones. Thank you, Chris. Keep doing God's work.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

That's an excellent question, Tara. And

[Chris Hansen]

it is shocking to me that somebody would take part in the sale of a child just recently in Polk

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

County, Florida,

[Chris Hansen]

the local Santa Claus. You may have seen this on my

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

streaming network, True Blue and elsewhere.

[Chris Hansen]

The local Santa Claus was arrested after chatting with somebody he thought was a

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

father selling his 13 year old child. Very graphic chat. This is a guy who had children sitting on his lap, Santa Claus.

[Chris Hansen]

And we see it in virtually every single sting we do.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

The sting I'm on now, we saw a case of that last night daddy daughter situation.

[Chris Hansen]

Has anyone reported it? I hope so. I can't give you a specific on it. I ask that question all the time, especially when the guy involved, the predator, gives me the excuse that he was

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

just coming over to interrupt the commission of a crime. Well, how about calling the local sheriff's office or police department?

[Chris Hansen]

How about calling Child and Family Services? I hope that's happened.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I'll do some digging, Tara, and get back to you if I find any specifics. But thank you for the great question and thank you for following this podcast.

[Chris Hansen]

As always, you can find me all over social media @chrishanson on x official Chris Hansen on Instagram Have a seat with Chris Hansen on TikTok cameo should you desire my streaming crime network True

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

Blue, watch trueblue.com T R U B

[Chris Hansen]

L U Every single Thursday, a new episode of our Predator investigative series Takedown

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

drops some 220 episodes thus far.

[Chris Hansen]

And you'll see the episodes I'm working on as we speak. Very soon on True Blue. I'll see you back here on Monday. Wednesday is when my other podcast, have a Seat With Chris Hansen, drops.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

We're just back from CrimeCon. Came straight to Florida from Las Vegas. I'm a little tired. Time for another cup of coffee. But there's work that has to be done and I want to thank my team, my crew, and all my law enforcement partners across the country without whom I couldn't do this work.

[Chris Hansen]

And as always, you can find me right [e-mail] send your questions in.

[Chris Hansen (Field Reporter)]

I'll be watching and listening.