http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/10/video.vigilante.ap/index.html
Crusader accused of setting up prostitution encounters
'Video Vigilante' made tapes to sell to media, police say
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) -- An anti-prostitution activist known for videotaping prostitutes and their customers and giving the footage to police and TV shows has been accused of setting up some encounters so he could sell the tapes to the media.
Brian Bates, 34, who is known as the "Video Vigilante," was arrested and spent a night in jail before he was released Wednesday.
An arrest warrant lists criminal complaints of pandering and aiding in prostitution.
Bates denied the accusations. "The way they were listed -- they're calling me a pimp," he said.
Capt. Jeffrey Becker said Bates paid the prostitutes.
"Initially he started paying $40 each time," Becker said. "He later came back and said he would give $60 for good footage."
Police said Bates was making the tapes to sell to media outlets. He has a Web site that displays some of his video footage and is a regular guest on Maury Povich's television talk show.
District Attorney Wes Lane's office will decide on the exact charges this week. Conviction on a felony charge of pandering could carry up to 20 years in prison.
In July 2002, Bates provided footage of two white police officers hitting an unarmed black suspect repeatedly with nightsticks. Bates had alerted police that the man and a prostitute were having sex in a van in church parking lot. The incident sparked racial tensions and allegations of police brutality.
Bates has been crusading against prostitution since 1996. He said he began videotaping prostitutes and their customers after becoming frustrated with prostitution in his neighborhood.