Trip to Library Ruined Son’s Life

originally posted 9/1/2010
My son was 18 years old when he and his friend met two girls at the library.   They all went home to watch a movie together.   The girls told the boys they were 16.   Both girls had consensual sex with the boys.   Who would have ever thought that a trip to the library would wind up ruining my son’s entire life?  Turns out the girls were only 14.   The girl that my son was with told a teacher that she had sex and that she thought she might be pregnant. My son spent nine months in maximum security prison and is five years into a 10 year period of probation and is a registered sex offender.   He has tried to commit suicide quite a few times over the past six years.  Why?  Because he can’t get a job, no one will rent him an apartment, he can’t go to the mall, restaurants, movies,  amusement parks,  any place where there might be children under the age of 18.   For a long time he could not go to family functions or celebrate holidays with us because his cousins were under 18.   He spends his days and nights alone and in his room playing video games because he can’t go out and make friends because he’s not allowed to go anywhere.   He can’t use a computer, forget about the internet.   Even after probation is over he still won’t be able to work because he is a convicted felon, an ex-convict and a sex offender.   Who would hire him?  His self esteem is
non-existent, he feels like a leper that the whole world is judging, and he feels like a failure that will always have to live at his Mom’s house hiding in his attic room.   The worst part, he finally found someone who saw through all of this and started a relationship three months ago and fell in love with her. Yesterday, she broke up with him because she is fighting for visitation rights and custody of her daughter and would have no chance of winning if they knew she was dating a registered sex offender.  Last night my son attempted to take his life again by taking an overdose of pills.   I don’t know what to do or where to go for help!  Did I mention that during his trial and incarceration I was fighting for my life against cancer?  This nightmare will never be over, and it’s all because the laws are written in black and white, a sex offender is a sex offender, whether it is a 40 year old man with a five year old, or two teenagers making out on the couch.   My son had never been in trouble before this day, and hasn’t been in trouble since.  This could be your son, brother, cousin, grandson.  I never in a million years would have dreamed that this would be how my son’s  life turned out.