originally posted 6/2012
In 2006 I was dating a girl who was 17 with her parent’s consent. I was almost 22. She and I dated then broke it off. A few months later she showed up asking for help due to a family issue. Of course due to our history I wanted to help and I did; I put her in a motel where I was not staying with her and brought her stuff as she needed. One day the police showed up and arrested me for a misdemeanor criminal sexual abuse. Now I'm married with a son, about to finish school, and just want this horrible experience to go away. Everyday is a new struggle and finding a home for my family is next to impossible. Not to mention life at school; I'm one of the top students at my class and can never benefit from it due to my current status in this society. Finding work is next to impossible and just living is hard. I feel like over one bad decision my whole life was turned upside down and if it wasn’t for a wonderful wife and loving son, I'd have nothing to live for, but I have hope one day soon that people will realize we're not all evil. Some just made a dumb choice at a young age. Some were manipulated and scorned after, and some were just in love at a bad time, but not all deserve to be grouped and socially humiliated in order for others to feel safe.
These are the types of registrations that don’t need to happen. You were so close in age, she was almost 18 and you didn’t assault her. Why were you even charged? I’m sorry for you. You shouldn’t be lumped in with predators. If what you write is true, you’re not one.