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I was in a relationship with a 16 year old girl when I was 23, 17 years ago. I plead guilty to Rape 3rd in New York State and was told I would have to register for 10 years and serve 5 years probation.  After about 6-7 years laws drastically changed.  I was forced to move as where I had lived for several years was to close to a school. I was forced to register all email addresses and have my picture posted online labeling me a monster. I am forced to register my vehicles and work information if I am attending college etc. I didn’t plead guilty to this; I had no idea of the repercussions of that guilty plea. I was engaged to a local elected official, I was living at her residence at the time.  She received a lot of flak for this, as you might imagine.   As this is an election year for her, I left.  I was not…

I haven’t heard any new news on what’s happening with groups standing up and fighting this new law in Pennsylvania.  Last I heard, RSOL said they are going to stand up and fight this for a number of reasons.  Like 10 days after RSOL announced that, I got a call from my local A.C.L.U office and they took down my complaint, and said they have been swamped with callers and people looking to file a complaint, that they are forwarding all complaints to the legal team and they will determine which way to best handle this.  Also, the one advocate from RSOL named Frank is the liaison to a attorney that will handle this as well.  I am posting this in hopes someone has any news on what’s going on.  As this is stressing me out worrying about this.  I don’t want to seem like a whiner but I am trying to stay strong and keep the faith.   But…

You know this new law that came out in Pennsylvania on December 20, 2012 has brought back those same old feelings I had when I first was released in 2004… I didn’t go out except at night to shop because I didn’t want to run into people especially with children around.  Then I finally found a job that kept me out mostly at night.  Which was great that way I was safe from being around people and the fear of being picked out or pointed at and whispered about…then I got laid off and developed health problems and I slowly become a recluse and didn’t leave my home except for bill paying and shopping which slowly turned into not leaving except for health issues…THEN now that I need a nurses aide daily and I was ending my 10 year registration I hardly thought about my past except at that once a year trip to the PSP to be looked down…

As a offender who has been sentenced for a crime and paid my debt to society by completing a 13 year prison sentence along with 3 years of supervised release, I often feel that the registry laws do force a burden that is in effect equal to the death sentence. Here in Pennsylvania, I now have gone from 10 year registrant to a lifetime (when I was released in 2004 I had to register for 10 years); now laws keep changing. and I must register for life every three months. Also my car and all email accounts and place of work must be updated, along with any time I’m out of my home for vacation and where I’m spending that time. I must pay for the gas to go register along with the usual hour wait to get the registering updated. Not to mention the attitude you get from the state cops who are forced to do this job that they wouldn’t care to. I…