Registering the Wrong People

 

Sex offender registries aren’t necessarily a bad idea.

For whatever reason, there are certain people who get off on molesting little kids or raping people, and who are not likely to be rehabilitated by a stint behind bars.  It’s how their sex drive is wired. If they get caught and go to prison, they’re not any less likely to stop doing it when they get out.  That’s not how sex drives work.  So they often reoffend.  To minimize this, we put their names on a list, make them register with the local police department, impose restrictions on where they can live and what they can do.  They’re basically on extremely limited parole for the rest of their lives.

Their lives are basically over.  The stigma is the worst our society can dish out.  There’s a fat chance of pursuing any meaningful employment or making something useful of one’s life.  The best that can be said for such an existence is that it’s not prison.

Of course, with people who have demonstrated a clear and present danger, for whom there is a real and realistic concern that they will victimize another child if given half a chance… well, their interests don’t weigh so much any more.

But are these people really the ones who get registered?

Here in New York, a 17-year-old kid can wind up on the registry for having sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend.  A jerk can be registered for grabbing someone’s ass.  Stuff that has nothing to do with sex, like even the mildest forms of unlawful imprisonment, gets you marked a sex offender.  A harmless loser will find himself on the registry for calling up a call girl.  There really isn’t any rhyme or reason to it any more.

These are not things that have anything to do with the policy underlying sex offender registries.  There is zero concern that the people who commit such offenses pose a present threat of molesting kids or committing rape.  It’s an unthinking response.  It’s a panicked “oh my God think of the children” shouted by people who aren’t actually thinking of the children.

It’s a huge expansion of governmental power, for no good reason.  It’s one of the worst penalties the state can impose, and it’s mandated for some of the most minor offenses we’ve got.  Clearly, something is wrong.

Fortunately, when the criminal law is stupid, or would have an unjust result, prosecutors have the discretion to do the right thing.  We give prosecutors enormous powers to decide whether to charge a crime, what to charge, and what plea and sentence most cases will get.  With that power comes the discretion to use it wisely.

So prosecutors have the discretion not to charge registry crimes.  Or to take pleas to non-registry crimes, when no policy is served by putting a particular defendant on the registry.  But oftentimes, that’s not what happens.  An overblown crusader might insist on a registry offense, because by God they’re offended at what happened and want as much punishment as the law will allow.  Some prosecutors have a big-government, big-brother attitude — the arrogant belief that they know what’s best, and the best thing is to have long-term intense supervision of someone whose conduct, though not dangerous, offended their sensibilities.   But more prosecutors simply don’t think it through at all.  They don’t know what the underlying principles are, they don’t understand the purposes and the real-life effects, and they don’t care.  Right or wrong, it’s a registry offense, so on the registry you go.  They fail to exercise their discretion at all (and by so doing, they abuse that same discretion, hardly ethical conduct).

So, unfortunately, when the criminal law is stupid, or would have an unjust result, you can’t count on the prosecutor to do the right thing.

New York isn’t alone in this.  It has become a routine injustice across the United States.  People who have no business being on a sex offender registry wind up there, and their lives are destroyed.

And it’s really a civil bit of bureaucracy, not a criminal punishment, so the same protections don’t apply.  Ex post facto nonsense is perfectly fine.  And there’s no need for due process to determine actual risk, before taking away one’s liberty.

A few years back, in Michigan, there was that case of Justin Fawcett.  A teenager, one of many seduced by a teenage girl who described herself as a sexual predator.  He was over-charged to begin with by a prosecutor who thought that “consensual” sex among promiscuous teenagers was a felony worthy of putting the kid on the registry till well into middle age.  Only after public uproar did the prosecutor back down and agree to a non-registry deal.  The deal was struck, the kid got probation, and he went about getting his life back.  It was tough, but he was doing it.  Time passed.  Then the news came out that the state was going to put him on the registry anyway.  He’d be a registered sex offender for the next 25 years.  He’d only been alive for 20.  His life was over.  So he killed himself.

Was there any reason for his life to be  over like that?  Was he a predator, a child molester, a rapist?  Nope.  Was he someone we needed to worry about, someone who posed a threat to the safety of others?  Nope.  Was there any reason for him to be on a registry?  Nope.  No reason other than the fact that an unthinking government said this particular act gets you on the registry.

That was back in 2004.  Michigan may have changed its rules somewhat since then, but New York and others are still just as bad or worse.

We’re registering a lot of the wrong people.  For the wrong reasons.

You may also like...

35 Responses

  1. SgtMom says:

    One large segment of the Sex Offender Registry population you left out are the falsely accused. Everyone is well aware of false accusations in custody situtations, but there are other, purely random false accusations as well. My 16 year old son was accused of violent repeated rape by a cousin when she wasn’t allowed to attend a party. As a person sworn to uphold the US Constitution, I was in shock during the entire criminal proceeding. I was told in accusations like these children don’t lie, the accused is considered guilty until proven innocent – but roadblocks such as rape shield made inadmissible her history of such accusations and “treatment” from a young age). Her medical history was “confidential”, and medical reports showing her virginally intact were “irrevelant”. After passing multiple polygraphs saying he didn’t do it my son was offered an Alford plea for no jail time after the accuser left the state and refused to return to testify. He was jailed anyway after passing another polygraph during the pre sentencing evaluation – he was now DANGEROUS and IN DENIAL.

    He was 16 and put through three horrrific years of forced confessions and ankle monitoring after he failed polygraphs confessing to the crime. A probation officer risked her job keeping him from being sent to prison for “not cooperating” because he could not comply with sex offender treatment as an innocent person.

    He is 28 now. We were told he could apply to get off the registry after probation. No attorney would take the case since the accuser claimed he used a knife (her reason for waiting over two years to make her claim).

    Our family has lived in shame the past 12 years. Once friendly neighbors now avoid us. His younger brother had to transfer to an out of town school after some Concerned Mother informed his classmate’s Concerned Mothers his brother was a sex offender. His older sister’s fiance broke off the relationship fearing his ex wife would use her brother’s sex offender status to bar him from seeing his son. The wonderful young couple next door lost a great deal of money and time selling their home next door to a listed sex offender.

    His accuser now says she’s “sorry” and to “just let it go”.

    …as if he could….

  2. B Nieder says:

    Erin Pizzey, the founder of the women’s shelter movement in England, has said the same for years but has been studiously ignored by feminists and bureaucrats. Across the Atlantic, Patricia Pearson (1997) has documented the violence of American women. They are responsible for the majority of infant and child homicides; the majority of child abuse; fifty per cent of the violence against the elderly; and commit almost half the assaults on intimate partners. Women also instigate violence more frequently than men. As well, it is documented that there is a high rate of domestic violence among lesbians.

  3. Nathan says:

    SgtMom, I wish I could say I’m shocked by the tragedy your family has suffered because of an unthinking false accusation. But unfortunately, I’ve seen it all too often.

    B Nieder, yes, domestic violence is committed by both men and women. But that’s not really the issue in this post. You might be interested in this previous post, however: http://blog.lawcomic.net/2010/05/13/our-inhuman-response-to-domestic-violence/

  4. B Nieder says:

    Nathan, thank you for the link and the constructive criticism My comment may not have been directly inline with the post. True, but indirectly wide misinformation about domestic abuse started this ugly boulder rolling. The contempt for males is everywhere, It is rarely exposed in the mainstream media. The hatred and viciousness is blatant. But men don’t count anymore and it’s perfectly acceptable to vilify them. Increasingly they are being regarded and treated as “Violent” and “Potential” rapist and pedophiles, being freely discriminated against in the media and sadly in the minds of a very scared and unforgiving society. All under the pretence of public safety and protection of children. The registry is a lie when applied to 75% of the people required to summit to it. I say 75% just to be safe. I am not on this list as most will assume from my comment. I am very aware how easy it could happen. I’m sick and tired of contempt for stories like sgtmom’s I read in other posts. My true heart filled sorrow go’s out to her and her position. This is all just IMO

  5. Tim P says:

    The other problem with the number of people we are now including on sex offender registry is that causes a lot of tracking of people who are of no danger at all, but it still uses a lot of Law Enforcement time. I have spent over 20 years in Law Enforcement time.

  6. David H says:

    You write: “Here in New York, a 17-year-old kid can wind up on the registry for having sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend.”

    Actually, in NY there must be a 4 year age difference for this to be criminal (if you are talking about consensual sex).

    I am in complete agreement that the sex offender registry is ineffective and counterproductive. 95% of those arrested for sex crimes in New York State are first time offenders who are not listed on any registry. The vast majority of those convicted of sex crimes in New York State are never arrested for another sex crime. This was true both before and after the creation of the registry.

  7. SgtMom says:

    Thank you, and God bless you Nathan for speaking the truth.

    My son was falsely accused in WA state. As a juvenile he was not allowed a jury trial. I also understand WA state has a “guilty until proven innocent” policy for all rape accusations, not just child accusers. We were told “You’ll never get an aquittal in Seattle” that there were powerful women’s groups who monitored court proceedings in these cases and strongly influenced the outcome of such cases. I know in my son’s case there was a large group of “advocates” who attended, sobbing, sniffling and passing boxes of kleenexes among themselves. They didn’t even know the accuser or my son.

    It’s very scary the unverified word of an 11 year old girl has the power to ruin another’s life – forever. Sadder and scarier yet is should her consicience one day win out, she wouldn’t be allowed to recant her story.

    At age 16 my son could not sign a legal contract, but had to represent himself (his father and I were barred for “retraumatizing the victim” when I tried to tell the court her history of falsely accusing others) but he could legally sign his innocence and chances in life away at that age.

    During my son’s revocation hearing I had to stand up and declare I now believed my son was guilty – they were recommending six years of prison “because he hadn’t taken the responsibility to make his mother believe in his guilt”. Most people don’t believe something like this happens in America.

    Many lives are ruined from these registries – not just the unfortunate ones who’s names and faces appear there, but their loved ones, their familes and friends as well.

    B Nieder – we are ALL just one false accusation away from being on a sex offender registry. Thank you for your kind words.

  8. Shelomith Stow says:

    Thank you for this powerful and factual article. You are right that other states are diligent in embracing the same madness. I live in Texas, and children as young as ten are now registered sex offenders for childhood play and curiosity. Children, teens, and young adults are the fastest growing category of those added to the registry daily. This is a national problem and a national disgrace. Thank you for what you are doing to bring it to the forefront of attention.

  9. Nathan says:

    David H, you’re mistaken. The list of registry offenses in NY can be found at http://www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/sortab1.htm. It includes the A misdemeanor of Sexual Misconduct, which includes any sex with a person who did not consent. A 16-year-old cannot consent, in NY. The only defense to sex with someone under 16 is if they were married. There is no such thing as consensual sex with a 16-year-old here, no matter what your age. There is no 4-year age differential requirement.

  10. Valigator says:

    Oh for God’s sake, every offender and their immediate family will try and convince the world they only “got caught with their underage girlfriend”. The registry is being tweaked in each state to alleviate that scenario but people like “Shelomith Stow and a few others” want to try and convince the world the “bulk of registrants” are those cases. Dont fall for it. The true BULK of Registered sex offenders have crimes that would set your hair on fire and leave you wondering WHY they are even on the street or on forums like this minimizing sex crimes. DONT FALL FOR IT. Look at the true devious leanings for People like Shelomith Stow, once Romeos are removed from the registry, the ones remaining cant use the “consentual underage girlfriend” story anymore..

  11. Valigator says:

    Shelomith Stow writes, “Children, teens, and young adults are the fastest growing category of those added to the registry daily” that’s a blatant LIE. If teenagers or young adults are being added, its usually involves a very young age 4,5,6 year old child being sexually abused by a very disturbed young person. Think about it, there is a very real correlation of cases that the ABUSED grow up to be ABUSERS. These young people have a distorted and unhealthy sexual identity. Wouldn’t common sense dictate we stop turn stiling abusers back out onto the public to feed?
    Offenders and/or their advocates want to convince the unsuspecting public the registry is full of over prosecuted, poor schmucks that were at the wrong place at the wrong time! DONT FALL FOR IT. Most offenders on the Registry should be sitting in a 5×7 not free to roam the Internet trying to convince YOU they are “really nice guys”…

  12. daniel goichman says:

    A Plan to enable ex-sex offenders to become citizens again of this great democratic nation

    You are a reputable man and that is why I respect your opinion. You said that people deserve a chance to start over once they leave prison but how about sex offenders? Why are they denied the same privilege? Did they commit a crime? Did they serve their punishment? Then how come they are not allowed to have a new life once they have changed their ways and started acting like good citizens?
    The answer is simple. First off, Megan’s Law doesn’t stop crime and it doesn’t prevent repeat offenders from getting in trouble again, so what does it actually do then? It prevents low- risk offenders from blending back into society and starting a new leaf on life. Now if there is no evidence or proof that labeling people for life reduces or prevents crime, why do you allow this? There is evidently a few flaws in the current system, to put it mildly. Basically, the system in place currently doesn’t allow ex-cons to start their lives over on equal footing. More specifically, the safeguards that police put in place prevents the ex-sex offender from re-entry into society.
    Flaw #1 – All sex offenders re-offend. The actual rate of re-offense is 5.3% which is the lowest recidivism rate for any type of criminal in the country. So that premise is clearly false.
    Flaw #2 – Knowing where sex offenders live prevents crime. Most crimes are committed by new sex offenders, so Megan’s Law doesn’t actually prevent crimes or lower occurrences of new crimes.
    Flaw #3 – Most crimes are committed by strangers. I don’t know what the actual statistic are, but crimes committed by strangers among young children is very small. Most sex crimes are committed by somebody who has already developed a long and grooming relationship with the victim. It could be somebody that babysits the child once a week, or the uncle, or the sports coach, but in very rare cases, the neighbor or some stranger. So if the probability of an actual crime being committed by a stranger or neighbor is so small, why do we have prevent all sex offenders from being people’s neighbors or being allowed to blend back into society?
    Another tough question to answer I know. What I do know is labeling a person a “sex offender” and making them stick out like a sore thumb doesn’t prevent crime. It only emotionally hurts a person who gets classified as one. But the real problem becomes greater than that. It’s like a snowball effect. As the snowball rolls down the hill it gathers more and more snow on it until it becomes a giant boulder upon reaching the bottom of the hill. The laws against sex offenders do the same thing. First they label people as sex offenders and make it a requirement that everyone knows where they live. So now they are set up as “sitting ducks” for any group of people that hate sex offenders. So people come to their house and torment them. Ask them to leave or else they will burn their house down, or poison their dog, or cause them physical harm. So now these people are antagonized not by any present or future actions, but merely because they have been singled out as sex offenders by law enforcement. And law enforcement is not watching their house to see if they are protected from these vigilantes. So, horrible things happen to them. Nobody cares because the victims are sex offenders so everyone feels like they got what they deserved. But is this how the government protects people?
    I sincerely hope not. I don’t think the government wants to take responsibility for setting people up for physical harm and watching them get it in the process. So how do we eliminate this problem?
    Well, the answer is simple. Since there is no actual proof that Megan’s Law stops crime or decreases it which I’m sure it doesn’t. I believe that the number of violent crimes committed before the passage of Megan’s Law and now after the law has been implemented is actually the same or very close. So that being the case we can say that Megan’s Law is a failure and repeal it. The basic reason that I am asking you to repeal Megan’s Law is because the law basically sets up sex offenders for physical assault and other abuses by people with an ax to grind by people who hate all sex offenders and not someone with a personal grudge against one individual. In addition to that, being classified as a sex offender basically prevents a person from starting his life over which he is entitled to upon the release of prison. If he has reformed himself and he proves it during the time he is supervised on probation or parole then he is allowed to live a normal life again after it is over. No matter what crime he has committed. Unfortunately, Megan’s Law doesn’t allow a person a chance to start his life over. It stops it several ways. The first way is it makes it close to impossible for the person to find a job because he now has sex offender listed on his criminal rap sheet. So no one wants to take the risk and hire him because they can get bad publicity or customers can avoid going to that business or store because they don’t like it that an employer has a sex offender working there. So now he can’t get a job and provide the money he needs to buy the things he needs.
    Now the second problem is just as severe. He tries to get an apartment for rent and they run his background check and see he is a sex offender and they tell him, “ I’m sorry, but I can’t rent to you. There are kids in the building or I can’t afford the bad publicity this may bring me and then I may lose all my tenants. “ So now he can’t get a job and he can’t find a place to live not because he is actually a menace to society, but because law enforcement classified him as such. But the government will help him get a place to live, right? No. The federal or state programs that help people with public housing will not rent to sex offenders so they are now excluded from all private households and public ones too. So where do they live? They move at home with Mom and Dad or live under a bridge. These sound like great options. So the government classifies this person as a sex offender and now he has all these new problems. No place to live and no place for employment. So what is the solution?
    The solution is so simple it makes me want to laugh. We no longer classify anyone as a sex offender and we don’t allow people to discriminate against people convicted of a sexual offense. Great! So how do we accomplish that? Basically, we repeal Megan’s Law. Nobody gets stigmatized with a sex offender label anymore. Nobody is required to notify police of where they live or where they work or where they go to school, so they merely blend back into society and fit in and get what they need to survive.
    So how does this prevent crime? It’s simple. We, as a society, give people a chance to turn their lives around. We give them a chance to remain anonymous so they can have a fresh start. They get a chance to start a new job and find a new place to live. Yeah, but won’t they re-offend? They won’t because they have money to satisfy their primary needs: food, housing, clothing, essentials, and they get a chance to make new friends. They actually lead normal lives again like anyone would given a fresh start at life. So they become successful at doing things normal folks do that make them happy so there is no motive for them to commit a new crime. Maybe they find a companion and live ordinary lives again. Blend back into society and no one knows them from Adam. Sounds like a plan. So how do we achieve it? We repeal Megan’s Law and come up with a new way to re-integrate sex offenders back into the community. We don’t single them out as monsters and allow people to set up walls to keep them out. We minimize what they did and we offer hope and support that they have learned their lesson and reformed. We allow them to anonymously blend back into society without letting anyone know where they live or what they did, but we make sure they complete sex offender counseling before releasing them and we make sure they successfully complete probation before we let them blend back into society and that is the plan. And we don’t exclude them from public housing and we don’t require them to tell everyone where they live and what they are doing. Sounds like a plan. When can we get started? How about right now? This only solves half of the problem. Now what is the second part of the plan to reform criminals? To allow them to get off the registry as quickly as possible. Making people register for life is not the answer. Not by a long shot. Same reasons as before. Law enforcement assigns them a limited time to be on the registry and if they complete that reasonable time frame successfully. They have a hearing and if they can convince someone they are safe, we let them get taken off registration and have their prior records sealed. Sounds like a plan. When can we get started? How about right now. Please help. I know you can help me become a free man and I am unable to do it by myself. Please set me free again. Thank you.

  13. Damian says:

    And to anyone who would pay the Valigator any attention, please note that her real name is Valerie Parkhurst, a known vigilante from south Florida, with a couple of arrests of her own, most notably for pulling her guns (yes, 2 guns were necessary) when she pulled them on an unarmed sex offender who merely confronted her for handing out flyers about him in their shared neighborhood. She considers herself a “child-advocate” or “victims-advocate”, accept that her own actions cause more harm than than good to her own cause. And who am I? A sex offender myself, charged and not convicted of statutory (I was 18, she was 15). Now ask yourselves, who would I rather have loving next to me: an NRA reject with a propensity for violence, or a sex offender whose crime poses absolutely no threat to you and yours? Not all offenders are of the same category, and many are in my vary shoes. Val wants to disple this as a myth, that there are no minors or R&j cases on the registry, but she is wrong. You wanna know if that guy living 3 houses down is a threat? Pull him up on the registry, then click on the statute, which will give you a VERY generic discription of what he did (let’s face it, more than likely it’s a man you’re gonna worry about, we all know the double-standerd of female sex offenders), then, in a safe manner (as in, bring a friend) go ASK him what he did. This will accomplish two things:a) if his discription lines up with statute, he’s being honest and wants to assimilate into the neighborhood. If he lies, well now he’s not just a perve but a lieing purve! B) now he knows he’s being watched, and guess who’s children or women he’s NOT going to go after?! Ding-problem solved.

  14. Jeff says:

    I am a registered sex offender, so right off the bat half of the people (a conservative estimate in my mind) will dismiss everything I have to say. At the risk of giving myself away by too much personal information, when I committed the offense I was near death’s door with a disease that affects your mind due to liver failure from another condition I was born with. The offense took place in the mid-90’s when I was an under-age teenager and it wasn’t prosecuted until a couple of years ago. All three judges that looked at the case told the D.A.’s office to drop it, but they refused (Judges have no power anymore to actually judge the merits of a case for your information). After he told the prosecutor that the case should never have even made it to court, the judge hearing the case gave me a Guilty Except Insane verdict, because that was the best I could get under the circumstances. He ruled I was cured from the mental problem and discharged me from any state supervision because the doctor’s who performed the transplant to save my life, the psychologist who evaluated me for trial and my family all testified on my behalf, proving that I was incredibly sick at the time of the incident and once cured didn’t do anything like it afterwards and have no psychological leanings towards re-offending whatsoever.

    According to the law in the state I’m living in, a GEI verdict is not a conviction and yet the state law requires me to register for the rest of my life as if I was convicted. Now, no matter who I talk to I can’t get a job anywhere. I can show the verdict, the psychological evaluation – which was done by one of the judges on the state psychiatric review board no less – the state laws and statutes regarding the legal status of a GEI, but when an employer gets wind of the fact that I’m a registered sex-offender they immediately end all communication. One employer a couple of months ago was ready to give me a management position, then the background came up and they won’t believe me that I wasn’t convicted because in their mind no one who wasn’t convicted would be forced to register.

    To the advocates of the registry I have to ask: How is this fair? What does this solve? When I got my transplant and realized what I had done I cried myself to sleep for years and prayed for the person I harmed. Nothing was said about it until 14 years later and despite the fact that I’d had numerous interactions with that person and their entire family in the intervening time and never once did anything even questionable after the fact, none of it matters.

    People somehow base the logic of these laws on morals and decency. Those are supposedly Christian ethics. As a Christian, who’s been in church my entire life, but now is scared to go because of the possibility of being looked up and ostracized, I wonder where the doctrine of grace and forgiveness went? We’re supposed to seek those who are having problems in life and help them past those problems with God’s help and influence on their thinking. With God’s help, after years of guilt I finally accepted the fact that I wasn’t that person, then the courts and government comes along and tells me I’m a piece of scum and even though I didn’t do anything to bring the disease on myself that filled my brain with toxins my liver wasn’t capable of processing which caused my behavior, I still deserve to be treated like a worthless pile of dung by the rest of society for the rest of my natural life. I can’t contribute to anyone in any meaningful way, I can’t serve in community outreach like I did in college without my motives being questioned, I can’t go to church without being afraid, I don’t even go to the store alone because if I’m in the area and something happens to someone, guess who’s getting a visit from the police first? I’d better have had someone with me that can say they know where I was. I might as well be in prison for the rest of my life because at least then I wouldn’t be a financial burden to my family who is totally innocent in this matter and are unjustly being punished because they’re unwilling to abandon me. I can’t tell you how many times in the last few years I’ve thought about suicide because of this whole mess: My parents may never be able to retire because of this and my wife will never have the chance to have children. Yet there are those who will read this and wish I had killed myself, and the more violent way the more they’d like it. You don’t care whatsoever for the people around me who’ve known me my whole life and can’t believe the tragedy we’re having to struggle through.

    Let me tell you something: You’re just as sick as anyone who’s ever made a wrong decision in the area of sex. The Bible says, sin is sin. You break one area of the Law, you’ve broken them all, so when you get on your high moral horse about how sex-offenders deserve to be persecuted and they’d better be happy they aren’t beaten in the streets everywhere they go or even shot on sight, you better think twice about your own thoughts. God said, “Thou shalt not kill.” Jesus followed that up with an even more extreme admonishment: If you hate your brother, you’re guilty of murder. Are you living that standard?

    Again I ask, where is Christian charity and grace in this equation? Aren’t we supposed to be the light of the world in a good way communicating salvation as a FREE GIFT OF GRACE (Grace is unmerited favor)? How is it that the people who hold themselves up as moral and concerned about the decay of society can have these attitudes and not recognize they are part of the decay themselves? I think most Christians light’s aren’t the kind that would match up with the Gospel message. Instead of being an example of Christ – which is what the word Christian actually means – instead of being a lamp of grace and good news they carry a torch and in the other hand a pitch-fork, ready to condemn anyone that they deem as deviant in any way, because they’re just so perfect themselves. I seem to remember a verse in the Bible about anyone who thinks they are without sin makes God a liar and the truth is not in them.

    I’m sure there are plenty of non-Christians out there who are just as moralistic in their hatred of anyone who commits a sex-crime, but can’t see anything wrong with stealing from their boss. Pride is a universal human trait after all, and we’re all just as capable of rationalizing our own brand of criminality as the next person. Such is the case with all mankind, and because of that, I think it is high time that we have a burglary registry, an adultery registry, a murder registry, a registry of petty thieves – even if it is just 10 year old steeling a pack of gum on a dare, or a pen you stole from the office supply closet. Ever take $5.00 from your Mother’s purse or Father’s wallet? You need to be registered, how can anyone ever trust you again? After all, everyone knows that once a person steels, they’re just going to keep doing it. You’re just a hopeless case that will never be able to change or develop any self-discipline. You’re permanently sick and really should be happy that people don’t hunt you down and kill you like a rabid dog in the streets.

    Shame on you, both Christians and non-Christians; but mainly the Christians, because having knowledge of the faith you don’t recognize the power of it (can’t imagine God healing the broken and changing their lives) and you condemn those around you to hell because of your own lack of understanding and self-righteousness.

  15. KerBear says:

    Jeff,
    I admire that you can get up on here and say what you have said. That takes courage! And AMEN!! to what you said! I agree. I am sorry you had to go through that. God doesnt give us more than we can hand though. Keep fighting the good fight and get your rear back in church.

    I just wanted to say, My brother isnt on the registry, BUT, he is on parole and they are treating him as though he is a sex offender because some girl about 10 years ago claimed he raped her after they found out she lied they allowed her to change her story 4 times until it was able to stick. The cops in the small town we are from hated my brother. They wanted to make an example of him. Basically hes on parole now and are making him take sex offender classes and harassing him calling him a scum bag in public and such…Its crazy! His record was sealed and he never had to register as long as he plead guilty, that was the deal. Now that he is parolled for something else years later this is what he gets. (mind you hes parolled for beating the crap out of a stalker that I had for 11 years that the cops failed to do anything about he did 4 years in prison for my sake) NYS has really raped my brother if you ask me. Maybe they should be on the registry!! Its enraging! Never judge people until you have the facts.

  16. Unforgiven says:

    The land of the Injustice! And Freedom HA……..
    UN forgiven

    In this land that we call free there is a lot of corruption and injustice. They say we are innocent until proven guilty but in reality its the other way around your are guilty before you are innocent. They use reverse psychology! And if you are of the minority it is worst because you don’t have the means to hire a honest Lawyer you have to settle with Public Defenders better know as (Prison Directors) .You see the court system here in Florida is very corrupt. They have a tendency of not wanting to defend you in court they just like you to take pleas whether you are guilty or not. So they don’t have to prove your innocence. They actually let you rot in jail for a long time until they make you think that any thing they offer you sounds good. And once you take a plea it haunts you for the rest of your life. Like in my case where I was falsely accused of 3 sexual battery on a 17 year old girl where she accused me of forcefully raping her. Now before I get to what really happen that day I would advise any one in my situation or similar to never take a plea even if it takes forever. If you do you will regret it for the rest of your life! This all happen in February 1996 Where I invited a so called friend I had met 2 weeks prior. She gave me her number and I called and she came to play cards (spades). Just so you can know my house was like a hang out. Every body use to come and hang out so you see it was nothing out of the ordinary that girls and guys would come to see me. And on this particular day she came to play cards with me. My bad was that I knew she had a crush on me but I was in a relationship with another girl at the time. She was at my house for about 15 minutes in between that time she asks me to be her boy friend and I told her I could not so she started to cry and left my home. later about 20 minutes past and she came back with her mother and called me out and her mother said I had rapped her and that they where going to call the cops and I told them to go ahead I was not worried be cause I had not done nothing wrong. So when the cops came they ask me what happen. And I told them so they took me to headquarters and they told me if I tell them the truth they would let me go. So I told the same thing the truth but they still arrested me. I was at Metro West detention center for 9 months And 3 months in T.G.K. And in that time they had offered me 45 years in prison and if I take it to trial they would give much more so I told them lets take it to trial. After some months then they offered me 12 years in prison and threaten me again that they would give me more and I told that I did not do anything so I want to go to trial couple months past and they offered me 5 years and I told them no I want to go to trial. Now going on the 12 month of incarceration my brother got ill with a tumor in his head and at that time they also offered me credit time served one years probation and withhold of adjudication which they said to me that I would not be guilty of any crime in this case if I would accept it. And also that I would not come out in any web sites saying any thing about my case. But in reality they had lied to me I do show up in the sex offender web site. I have to report to the cops 4 times a year the cops come to my house every month to see that I live there and now they are making me move out of my home because they say that I live to close to a school. Now thee only thing that I see here is they create hate from your neighbors with out knowing you or what really happened in your case. Make you hate as well. Break up homes because now I can’t even be with my son for something I did not do! I have tried to call my public defender and he just hung up the phone on me. I also tried 2 years ago to contact the senator of Florida and he wrote back that he can’t help me. I have written to the president, to the governor, to A.C.L.U., to the innocent project and I also have tried to talk to a private attorney and they told me it’s too late because I accepted a plea and signed the paper. It’s just a merry go round. Now I am going to tell you about the findings that the head doctor of Miami Jackson rape treatment center said on my deposition. She stated that she can not testify beyond a reasonable doubt that she the so called victim had sex that day. The doctor that treated the alleged victim also stated that she had a super facial laceration in her perineum that could have been caused by her self using the toilet. The alleged victim said she was a virgin and the doctor said she was not. The alleged victim said that I forcefully held her down and raped her but there was no bruising on her arms or legs (no where) that would show that I had held her down and forcefully raped her. There where no ripped clothing showing that I forcefully removed any clothing. There was no saliva, no pubic hair. No D.N.A.! The so called victim said I had cunnilingus with her that I digital penetrated and that I penetrated her with my penis. Just think of this scene do you think that it’s possible to have cunnilingus with some one and hold her down at the same time? I think not even superman can do that trick. Also the authorities never dispatched crime scene to my home so there can be more evidence to back up what happened that day. The alleged victim could not describe how my room looks like nor has how my penis looked like. I just don’t know this world has gone to the dogs. There is no justice. Nobody that cares and nobody that will help. But you see thee only thing that keeps me going is God! And the hope that somebody will help me some day and get my life back on track and finally see justice! GOD BLESS EVERY BODY.

  17. ELAINE T MCVEY says:

    hui my nephew whom was 18 mentally 12 was put on list malicously by district attrney and judge and lawyers misconduct he had a good job and a career an it ruined for showing a 3min clip of adult haveing sex its ashame the laws are not changed to protect the innocent on megans list whom did not have any sexual incounter with anyone we should fight for people with disabilities etc thanks et of haverford twp

  18. daniel goichman says:

    there is nothing in the constitution or bill of rights that gives the govt the right to put u on a hate list forever. its just not in there. registry is evil. its like calling people communists in the 1950s. once you are on the list, employment is over for all eternity. there are more people now that are against the registry than for it. have to figure out a way to get everyone on the same team. march on washington. join hands together and march across the country until these evil people called politicians change these laws. or pool money together and file suits in all fifty states at the same time. email me at diehard25fl@yahoo.com if you want me to help unify everybody. thanks.

  19. daniel goichman says:

    the sex offender registry was a bad idea passed by some very evil people who had no idea what consequences their ideas would cause. major unemployment or under-employment. innocent people murdered or had their personal possessions vandalized because their info was on the internet. thousands of lives wasted because they cant get their info off CORI. thousands of people homeless or forced to move a million times over. i know people who can’t live with their wives or kids because their family will be picked on. some thirteen yr old got two of her teeth knocked out because dad was on the registry. its not too late to fight these illegal laws. need to pool together money and contact me at diehard25fl@yahoo.com . as soon as we get 1000 people we sue.

  20. Daphne says:

    I am advocating for a family member whose life is ruined by the filthy mind of a young lady who intentionally gave the wrong age to get a date with a young man to ride in his truck and be treated like a lady. She does not dress or act like a 16 year old. She looks 25 or so is not interested in guys her age and has ruined my young family members life. There was no intercourse, the state charged him anyway and the attorney was afraid to take the case to trial because the state law is any contact with a minor. What a injustice for our family and thousands of dollars paid to this filthy lawyer , who told us plea because the DA will win three weeks before trial. Because she was coming into court with pony tails and little girl out fit for the jury. Justice? He asked her age she told him 18 and gave him the hotel to meet her and her girls for a party and the mother backs the creepy young lady up. A family with wealth can buy any court case now . He cannot get a job, cannot live in any apartments or buy a home without scorn. There are two types of offenders, unknowingly and knowingly dating a minor. Who will help the unknowing young men in America?

  21. I am advocating for a family member whose life is ruined by the filthy mind of a young lady who intentionally gave the wrong age to get a date with a young man to ride in his truck and be treated like a lady. She does not dress or act like a 16 year old. She looks 25 or so is not interested in guys her age and has ruined my young family members life. There was no intercourse, the state charged him anyway and the attorney was afraid to take the case to trial because the state law is any contact with a minor. What a injustice for our family and thousands of dollars paid to this filthy lawyer , who told us plea because the DA will win three weeks before trial. Because she was coming into court with pony tails and little girl out fit for the jury. Justice? He asked her age she told him 18 and gave him the hotel to meet her and her girls for a party and the mother backs the creepy young lady up. A family with wealth can buy any court case now . He cannot get a job, cannot live in any apartments or buy a home without scorn. There are two types of offenders, unknowingly and knowingly dating a minor. Who will help the unknowing young men in America?……….

  22. girlfriend of a offender says:

    I’m a girlfriend of an offender and we were in love with each other until one day some one in my family called on us just because I didn’t wanna talk to him because he is known as a sex offender and I didn’t wanna be around him cuz I know what he wanted to do so he got mad and called the cops and the law got involved and now my boyfriend is known as a sex offender and I’m trying to find a way to get him up out of this cuz he should not be on there so if u have any ideas can u give me some

  23. Tom says:

    They do this kind of thing to make law enforcement evil. There is no better explanation for it. They want law enforcement to learn how to be evil and practice evil.

  24. Tom says:

    As a matter of face, law enforcement has usually been evil. We’re just moving back to reality.

  25. Kacy M. says:

    My son started an on line relationship with a girl when he was 17. She was from out of state, and said she was 17 and would be 18 August 14, my son would be 18, June 5th. They talked on the internet and phone for several months, sending pics etc. When he turned 18 in June, they still had not met. Then she turned 18 in August they decided to meet after the first of the year. She then told him that her father had been molesting her since she was very young and that he drank heavily and did drugs. In December, he asked her to marry him (which I thought was a mistake, But…he was an adult now) She said yes and he went to her state in January to meet and marry her. When they met, she took him to her home. No one was there and they spent the night together. The following day her drunken, druggie of a father came home, caught them together and as she cried she admitted to my son that she was just shy of her 16th birthday. She put this in an email to the court, plus we took in copies of her Face Book and Myspace acct that showed her to be 18, with nude pics to boot. (She looked about 23-24) My son who had never even had so much as a detention is now a registered sex offender and him, his step father and I are all pretty much homeless. No one will rent to us (as long as he is with us) and every job he gets, he loses with a couple of weeks. (as long as it takes for the local police to notify the employer that he is a SO. He has attempted suicide and my husband and my health has suffered severely from stress and no home. We live from place to place in our RV hoping to find a place who would not rent to Charles Manson before they would my son. Sure, if we throw him out, we could easily get a home. We sold ours because of the continuous harassment we had to endure. But I can and will not turn my back on my son. What in Sam Hill is wrong with these people?? Why is the law enforcement treating him like some 45 year old child predator!? They are forcing honest hard working law biding citizens to become liars and borderline criminals just to survive! What part of this makes sense to these people! Any one know of a group or groups in Washington State who helps make these poor victims of a bad system human again??

  26. Honey says:

    my brother was playing with a student around the same age as him when he was 11 years old and somehow some touchy stuff supposed to happened so my brother ended up in trouble and had a juvenile case. Meanwhile the lil girl never shows up for court, because turns out it was a lie, so we were under the impression that the case got thrown out. Years later in his early 20’s he goes to prison gets out and now they want him to register as a sex offender and ruin his life. What do we do, we have little money for a lawyer. HELP!!!!!!!

  27. douglas thurber says:

    I have been forced to register as a sex offinder for almost five years my life put in danger and the rest of it is ruined. I have never committed a sex crime or been convicted of one. The state of California CDCR and riverside sheriff’s said that I had and registered me anyway, even though I provided papers showing the date in question I was unable to get any responses other than, “we don’t have those documents and cannot accept them from you”,
    Well after much time I finally have gotten D.O.J. to correct their files and remove the G.P.S. unit.Now it’s time to find out what the value of a negligently ruined life is worth. Today is August 5, 2014.

  28. viktor corso says:

    A good friend of mine ended up on this list. He is not a predator. He’s jumped threw every hoop. Done 2 years hard time. Payed the money they require agaian and again. Checks in 4 times a year. Constantly lives in fear. Is hoping he can get his passport and leave this country if he can’t he’s already told me he will kill himself. He had dreams of being a writer/musician. He is required to register the rest of his life. Its been 9 years he’s 30 now. No job. Homeless. I hope he finds some justice in this world. Someday

  29. Randy Churchill says:

    I recently applied for a job and submitted to a background check. I had to sign to my consent and give my SS#. I am 58 years old and have never been convicted of anything. I have two children. When I got my credit report back I was listed as a sex offender by the Department of Justice. My head has been spinning all afternoon. Never in my lifetime did I ever think that I would find myself on such a list. Right now I am not sure what I can do. I now have a stigma on my name and someone out there decided to put me on a list without any convictions or charges in a court of law. How you can defame someone like this without even knowing about it is shocking to me. I don’t know what to do. I guess I can’t get work. Maybe I’ll just go and throw a brick through a window and go to jail. If this is the kind of society we are creating then maybe jail is the place to be? This is a nightmare from hell.

  30. As a maliciously convicted sex-offender my life was shredded Oct. 19, 1994 (20) years ago for a rape that did not happen.

    Who was responsible?
    My Judge Leslie Rothenberg and own public defender named Ray Taseff, he withdrew himself from the case one month after we agreed on a plea of 5 years probation.
    All because I had a phone conversation with my mother, telling her, after my arraignment that I observed in court or it looked like my judge and public defender might have been lovers at the present time.
    A new public defender name Patrick Nally was appointed, I did not see him or new of him until (2) weeks before my trial. Once trial commence I was told to jury I assessed my situation and said why would I need a jury if I did not commit the rape, kidnapping charge or the lewd and lascivious count. So I asked for a “BENCH TRIAL”. In doing so the courtroom erupted between the state and my public defender Nally. The sate yelled at him saying, “you put him up to this you piece a shit, my attorney fired back telling her “fuck you, I never said shit you asshole”. The Acting judge was not Ms. Leslie Rothenberg. She decided to opt out the day of trial and have her colleague Judge Joe Piniero oversee the case. He slammed his mallet in anger and ask for both defense attorney and state to report to the bench. The argument ensued privately after they were done the defense attorney Nally took me in to the room they call “side chamber”. Once I got inside Mr. Nally tells me that the judge is gunning for me and that he wants me to take (5) years prison during this time the attorney who excused himself, Mr. Ray Taseff enters the room. I tell my attorney Nally, “what the fuck is he doing here? Ray Taseff say “I can be wherever I want. And begins to tell me that I better take the plea (5) years and attached to it would be (10) years probation. I could not believe what I heard and ask both of them why are you guys doing this? Mr. Nally came to my help but was stopped by Ray Taseff who was trying to coerce me to taking the plea. I told him to “fuck off”. He walked out and and Mr. Nally and I began talking, he was telling me that the judge had told him if I did not take this plea that the jusge was looking to give me (9) to (11) years in prison if I take it to trial, which falls under the guidelines of (15) years for an assault which I confessed to doing.
    You see I committed an assault on my wife’s niece at the time, who was a (12) year old girl. Because she was laughing at my (8)year old daughter who was in situation where she was being sexually abused by her step-father. Ten minutes after committing the assault I went with the victim to pick my wife at the time from work. When I got there I began telling my wife what I had done in fear she thought the worse. Her niece was in so much fear that my wife thought I might have raped her. I confronted my wife and told her that if she thought that then I would prove to her she was exaggerating the situation and that we and the victim can go to the police station to prove my innocent’s.
    THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE IN MY LIFE, that’s what my family tells me. I just wanted to do the right and clear any misguided thoughts about and my intentions.
    So they take me into custody after reporting to the police station in person, telling them I had committed an assault. The police to the victims statement as well as my wife and that day I was charge with sexual battery. I was saying to myself what the hell is happening, turns out that this is normal. To over charge a crime with a higher degree/charge to see if it sticks. Well they took the victim to the rape treatment center and took her clothes for DNA and mines as well. Then they tested her to see if she was raped. Turns out she was never raped and the medical records specifically that the doctor will not insert his finger or for vaginal check nor does he see any acute injuries and that she was completely intact. But in the police report it said that I took off her clothes, raped her and everything imaginable. My wife confirmed I was saying the truth about not raping her niece and the statement her niece had given were identical. My wife cried and saw me behind bars for eight months before going to trial. She vowed to take the stand in my defense but then the state got wind and they decide to tamper with the case by pivoting my wife’s family against her. Her family told her if she takes the stand in my defense they would oust her from the family. It was a hard decision she had to make but she stuck with me from the beginning of her misjudgment and her being (7) month pregnant, she was going thru hell.

    Then back to the trial.
    I was denied in seeing my family they wanted me to accept the plea and I new these people were gunning for me so I decide to take the plea so I could see my family, because they were being denied in the courtroom. Upon taking the plea I finally got to see them and when I explained to them that I took the plea, my family became irate and filled with pain. Seeing their pain I decided to retract the plea and was sent to a holding cell after being told they would alert the judge of my case moving forward with trial. After waiting for hours in to the night I a cell, waiting for trial they told me that I was heading back to my dorm/cell and that my case would be called sometime this week. A week past and they finally called, I was happy and then I was pulled into a prison camp called South Florida Reception. My heart ripped and it dropped to the floor, I was in prison a week after I was duped into taking a plea. I completed the five years in prison and when I came out I filed an FBI complaint and instead of coming to my defense in the matter they told my probation office who made my life a living hell. I had four officers in total for the entire ten year probation, and in 2004 one of the probation officers said I raped another (12) year old girl that year all because I did not give her my wife’s address. I completed a (10) year class for sex-offender and (10) year probation day for day with no early release and never committing no new crime since the assault of 1994 that got me in this situation. During my ten years in sex-offender treatment I witnessed several case of rape or sexual natured crimes being shuffle under the rug and out of the lime-light. A 83 year old man had got his (5) year old grandson to orally gratify him while he was urinating.
    What happen to him?
    Nothing he attended the class without being charged or taken to the state for charges and was told to attend the class until they were done with him or within in six months. The classes were spearheaded by a doctor Edward S. Sczechowicz, Ph.D.; Clinical Director and his Program Director, Jo Ann Miniea, M.S. Ed.;.
    Another case was a man who said he was there for drug charges and his reason for going to a sex-offender treat was because he could not find a program with drug dealing issues, he did only six months of the class with termination of all court information. In reality he was in there because they found his child porn bloated inside his computer.
    A third case was of a man who had (60) counts of sexual battery on a (13) year old one count for ever time he had sex with her.
    What was his sentence?
    Only ten years probation and to add insult to injury he got released even after the class voted him a possible threat to other in the future. But the insult to injury does not stop there, he was arrested again in 2008 for luring a child and again in 2011 for having child porn and distribution on his computer.
    What his sentence now?
    Only (6 to 7) years in prison this after committing three offenses, and me never committing a crime
    before my alleged rape in 1994. I was sentence to (5) years prison and (10) YEARS PROBATION, WHICH I DID DAY FOR DAY!
    Now in 2010 I submitted a (17) page complaint to the Florida Supreme Court giving the facts of my entire case because the state of Florida decide they can violate my plea agreement with additional registrations. Miami-Dade County got wind of my case and give me a offer to hide my case. It was done real slick to, they made an appointment for me to get a psychological evaluation because I file my WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS In 2011 and I wanted to defend myself and go PRO SE was told to attend this evaluation. So I did the Man’s name is/was a DR. Sanford Jacobson. He began to ask me question like what’s my color, my age, name, if I new the capital of France?
    I answered all his question and the he asks me ok what happen in your case?
    I told him everything I said in this “comment folder”. After I am done he tell me if the courts can hide his case would I be willing to relocate, after seventeen years in the fight I conceded. He asked where I wanted to live I said in Prague Czech Republic to be with my second wife and two son who were deported by I.C.E. as result to having this label as a sex-offender. He then in turn tells me “NO” and begins to explain how that is too expensive. I was mad, irate and he tell me to go live in a third world country in South America. I tell him after you guys ruined my life, you have the nerve to tell me to live in a third world country by myself with any love ones. He said take it or leave it. I told him “fuck you! and I am taking you to court”. He said if I try to bring him into court he will deny it. We split ways and I continued in my cases with the court. I just had trial March of 2013, I tried to exploit the case and the judge and state committed perjury, forgery, falsifying document, tampering with evidence and curving the case to find me guilty. When I made this case known to the Florida Supreme Court I was told to complete a certificate of service in Nov. 2014 which I did against Judge Dennis Murphy. And I also did one against my current judge and state for CONCEALMET of evidence, Now my trial is suppose to take place in March 2015. My case number is F13-007887 and F14-021131. Please show your support in fight this evil and corruption in the courts. I called upon the US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, but I have got no contact thus far.
    My e-mail is m1ngu1l@yahoo.com (contact me).

  31. vpd says:

    Thank you so much for posting this. My fiancè is on Megan’s law because we fooled around when I was under 18. Well over 9 years later and we are still together and so happy however Megan’s law destroyed our life. I’m forced to be the sole provider because he cannot get a decent job. Forget about my dream to move to Seattle because they make it near impossible to move to another state. I can’t even have a glass of wine with him on Valentine’s day because he cannot drink. Oh and my parents think he is a disgusting human being and refuse to attend the wedding. I’m the “victim” but somehow I’m also being punished.

  32. Howdy, You’ve got done an excellent job.. cdcr inmate locator I most certainly will undoubtedly bing it along with my opinion recommend to help my pals. I am sure are going to took advantage of this blog.

  33. Jd says:

    So how do we get states to change the parts of the laws for sex offenders to be written so that if a girl or boy who lies about their age to get with an adult man or women will get some kind of punishment. Some of the kids being repeat offenders where the adults are first time offenders who truly did not know the age of the supposed victim. I have heard and read so many stories of people that are registered sex offenders and have done jail time, for talking to a minor they thought was an adult. Some of those people did meet and not have actual sex and some did, either way in the eyes of the state the only thing that seems to matter is the age not the lies that got the person there in the first place. If you are an adult on a site made for 18 and over and someone lies about there age, the state says you should be able tell. I know 1st graders who sound like they should be in high school so why wouldn’t a middle schooler or high schooler be any different, especially when they do dress themselves up or maybe a little more mature looking. I have family members that look older than their age and some that look younger. I don’t understand if I don’t know you how would I know your age. I was told the way Oregon law is written a parent can tell you their child is 18 or older and be lying and that you would still be charged and not them. WOW!!!! Great justice system we have. I just don’t know where to start to help the ones being put as sex offenders due to a minor or even an adult I suppose due to someone getting angry, that were not looking for a minor or really didn’t do what was said due to a story being made up by a mad parent, girl or boyfriend, soon to be ex spouse, or you name it it out there. I sent a letter to my mayor and have been working on hopefully a better one to send to Senate. I was to young when this happened to someone I know and just worried for them, but now it’s happening to another person I know and I’m older and feel like we have to do something to help these men and women, and even some that are kids. The money involved for the family is insane 40000 to over 200000 in a few that I have heard from people that also know people in their situation plus the registering and jail time for most. SAD!!!

  34. Edwina says:

    Moms and dads meaning to seek Australian citizenship by descent for children born in China
    should get in touch with the Division of Migration and also Boundary Protection for more guidance.

  1. May 20, 2015

    […] to pass “Brittany’s Law,” to create a new public registry of offenders. Think “sex offender” registry, only for anyone convicted of any violent felony. People with a conviction in their past would have […]

Leave a Reply to daniel goichman Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *