originally posted 3/6/2011
My local state representative, Nathan Fletcher, wrote Chelsea’s Law.
Even though he is our representative, his office has refused to set up a meeting to meet with him.He is young, good looking, and is making a name for himself. He is now introducing more restrictive new laws. Chelsea’s parents have now moved to Illinois. They plan to introduce new laws in several states. It is important to pay attention to California because most states will follow suit eventually.
We have some of the strictest laws and penalties in the nation.
Some background: Our son was sent to prison for talking to a girl who he believed was 19. She told him she was 19. When he found out that she had lied, he refused to take her calls. Our son was 31.A year later, the police set up a pre-text call to his home. He talked to her, and was arrested the following month. He fought the charges for 1.5 years. In court, she testified that she was still a virgin. She was almost 18 when our son went to trial. They never had sex. They call it lewd acts. He is on parole, is strapped to a ankle bracelet, can’t live within 2000 ft of school, park, etc. etc. can not have contact with his own son. We can never be all together as a family. It is a life sentence.
As you know California has a very public online registry. When our son was allowed to live with us in San Diego County we were subjected to harassment from our neighbors. We have owned our home for the past 25 years. I felt as a prisoner in my own home. I couldn’t sleep thinking that someone would harm someone who I loved. We were again the subject of harassment when a girl in our neighborhood, Chelsea King, was murdered by a registered sex offender. Chelsea Kings family lived just streets away from our home. Our son resided a mile from our home then. People printed out the picture of our son off the registry and plastered it everywhere. On his front door, on his car, on everyone’s mailboxes, and all around our community. Our son’s vehicle was vandalized. We did report this, but no one cared. I feared for the safety of our family.
Our other son teaches in a elementary school. Recently his ex-wife used the fact that his brother is on the registry against him in court during a child custody case.
Although our other grandchild (the child of our son on the registry) lives in another state, his friends are finding out (via the public registry) that his dad is a registered sex offender. It is all just too horrible for a family to endure because it effects every member of the family. Our son, like so many others, never harmed anyone.