17: Meet the worst and most hated predator.

Thomas John Bodnar is a child sex predator involved in the Riverside, California edition of To Catch a Predator. He is arguably referred to as the worst and most hated predator caught in the history of the show. Bodnar, 42 at the time of his chat with whom he believed was a thirteen-year-old boy, was already a serial child molester at the time of his arrest. He was part of a big brother program in Salem, Oregon and was befriended by a single mother who wanted to give her three children a positive male influence in their lives. He would betray that trust by systematically molesting and raping all three: two boys and one girl. The children would later come out about it and Bodnar would be sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1999, he was arrested again for having oral sex with an underage boy. In this instance in Riverside, California, he expressed love for the boy, sending nude pictures. Upon arrival at the house, he called out for the boy as soon as he made it to the door but took off running the second he saw Chris Hansen. Check out our sponsor, Talkspace! You’ll get $100 off of your first month with Talkspace. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com. Make sure to use the code Predators ​to ​get $100 off of your first month​ and show your support for the show. That’s Predators and talkspace.com. Adapted from journalist Chris Hansen’s popular TO CATCH A PREDATOR series, each episode of PREDATOR I'VE CAUGHT features Chris recalling the most notorious cases and providing a “Where are they now?” update. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices