originally posted 4/6/2009
In 2002, almost 7 years ago, I was railroaded into taking a plea of possession of child pornography– “30 years to life if I fought or 9 months for a plea” — what would you risk?
Had I known at the time that I would be required to register as sex offender for the rest of my life I would have never taken the plea. After I served a short stay in a federal prison I returned home to find that employment opportunities had all but disappeared. I was also told that I could no longer take residence in most areas of my home town as they were too close to a church or a park or a school, etc.
After my face was plastered in the local paper along with all the other “predators,” I discovered how people can quickly turn from a friendly acquaintance to a hateful stranger. Now with the introduction of a new bill called International Megan’s Law 2009 it appears I may face the same prejudice exclusion and discrimination in every country as I do in this country.
Thanks to the politicians supported by the media who promote an unhealthy fear of everyone labeled and often mislabeled “Sex Offender” I may never know again how it feels to be normal.
One fact to bear in mind is that Sex Offenders only account for 10% of all new sex crimes. Not surprising since almost half a million have been labeled as such already. The sad fact is that as long as an injustice doesn’t affect us or someone we love directly, we tend not to care.