Pedophilia got a touch of pageantry last week when "America's Most Wanted" showed recent footage of an underage sex sting operation involving Lauren Nelson, Oklahoma's current Miss America.
Lawton native Nelson is 20, mind you, but her would-be suitors online didn't know that.
According to an Associated Press reporter, the reigning M.A. worked with New York's Suffolk County Police Department in busting men interested in having their way with a 14-year-old girl.
Using old photos of a teenage Nelson, the department created an online profile for her.
After logging on, Nelson was deluged with instant messages from guys asking how old she was. After replying "14," the non-predators said "no, thanks," but those with far looser morals actually showed up at a Long Island home, where the beauty queen awaited "¦ along with camera crews, lotsa cops and "AMW" star John Walsh, for historical preservation and whatnot.
Nelson told AP, "I stood outside on the porch, and I would say 'hi' to them and wave them inside."
Apparently, she must not have used the distinctive pageant-girl wave, unused anywhere outside of BuckinghamPalace, because that would've been a dead giveaway that Something Was Up.
(Good thing "Miss America" host Mario Lopez wasn't there, too. Not because he would've spoiled the surprise, but because he strikes us as skeevy.)
Chicken-Fried News salutes Nelson for actually doing something related to her pageant platform of protecting children online.
And for doing it all without the use of a twirling baton, double-stick tape or an Andrew Lloyd Webber number.
