Miss America: crime fighter? Lauren Nelson went undercover to help police apprehend sexual predators. The 20-year-old Oklahoma native, who won the title in January, impersonated an underage girl in an Internet sting.
Officers in Suffolk County, New York, created an online profile of a fictitious 14-year-old girl that included photographs of Nelson as a teenager.
Speaking by phone from Atlantic City, New Jersey, Nelson said officers were present while she chatted with respondents, both by phone and on the Internet.
The operation was filmed for a segment of the TV series America's Most Wanted. It will air April 28.
Avery Mann, a spokesman for the show, says at least four men were arrested and face charges in the ongoing operation.
Art McMaster, president and CEO of the Miss America Organization, says he was initially hesitant to cooperate, but agreed after speaking with Lauren Nelson's father and the producers of America's Most Wanted.