Category: Tales from the Registry

originally posted 12/28/2008 I, too, am the Mother of an adult son who was convicted of having(very old) child pornography on his computer. The FBI had no conclusive proof of this, just a hint. None the less, they went to “visit” my son, and being the honest person he is, he admitted them to his home and spoke with them. (They did not have a warrant, because they didn’t have proof; but coerced my son into a signed confession of possesion and confiscated two computers, then came back 2 1/2 years later to arrest him.) My son is 1 year into a 97 month sentence for 2 counts of possession. His 97 months may as well be a life sentence,although he does have the support of his two sisters, his father and myself along with a few really good friends who know he is NOT a sex offender, even though the laws passed by our “congress” say he is. I…

originally posted 12/16/2008 I am an elderly male, disabled, convicted sex offender; I have never touched or hurt anyone. I passed some illicit photos on the internet. I served 15 months in prison, but the worst was yet to come; I cannot find subsidized housing. I barely exist on my small social security income. but the worst is I will have to register for the rest of my life. I am regretful for what I did, but it is unfair as I have never hurt anyone. The laws need to be changed.

originally posted 12/16/2008 My son (same name…I am “Jr” he is “III”) has been convicted and served prison time after being entrapped by Law Enforcement. He had been 8 years in the Army and served this country in both Iraq and S. Korea (hence the “patriot” moniker). I served in the Air Force in the early 70s…considered myself a patriotic veteran – no longer however! I will not even fly the flag anymore. At my age, to lose one’s fundamental “belief system” is devastating.  

originally posted 12/12/2008 My husband was wrongly convicted of a sexual offence because of what a neighbor across the street thought she saw. There was a little 6 year old girl who was one of the children from across the street who would come to play with him when they lived here. One day the child came over and was stepping on his hand. He was trying to remove her from his hand and the neighbor thought she saw him lift up the little girl’s dress. He went to jail and a court appointed lawyer asked him to plead the Alfred plea to avoid trial. As a result he was accused as a violent sex offender. (And yet, this situation I am explaining was non-violent.) This incident happened in 1996. He has had a record ever since then, gone to probation; counseling for this and also anger counselling. He followed all of the rules, including to mail finger prints in every 90 days,…

originally posted 12/12/2008 I am the fiance of a sex offender. He was sentenced to 10 years to life probation of the highest level. I haven’t been able to see him since he was released in August, but have been able to speak to him on the phone and every conversation we have involves how his therapist and P.O. are mistreating him. For example he has been out for 3 months and has had none of his safety plans approved for general movement like taking the bus or just walking, for computer use to find a job at the Workforce Dept. His P.O. told him one week to just call and tell her what his plans are at the beginning of everyday. He does, and the next week she asks him why he didn’t call and ask permission during which time in the week she never called him back. We talk about our wedding and the potential to have a family and…

originally posted 12/8/2008 So who am I? I am an a very average person, born and raised in a middle class family, graduated from high school and entered the Air Force…served 4 years with Honorable Discharge, released then joined U.S. Army, served 4 years Honorably then discharged…no problems other than driving offenses…after no children. I married again and I bought a home computer. I used to look everywhere, amazed by the information the internet had to offer. One day my computer locked up and I could do nothing to resolve the problem. I took my computer in to a repair shop to resolve the problem. Later the same week I had a knock at my door and the local sheriff’s department said they had a warrant to search our family’s home. Nothing was found but they said my computer had “child pornography” on it. I contacted a lawyer who said he would represent me but insisted on $8,000. up front….

originally posted 11/30/2008 My husband of 32 years was also caught in a sting operation and is awaiting sentencing for getting on an airplane. Nothing more really. He has mental issues and was enticed by a sting operation in another state to get on that plane. He was arrested before he ever got off the plane. He was encouraged to plead because he was told that he couldn’t get a fair trial given the “evidence” against him which consisted only of chat logs and wiretaps. It seems that he’s fueling the political ambitions of some US Attorney in the state in which he was caught. Who’s sicker here? This has ruined our family in every way, financially, emotionally, etc. He will be about 70 when he gets out of jail and who knows where he will be able to live or if he will ever have a job again (he was a small business owner before his arrest). I feel…

originally posted 11/24/2008 I think your idea is a great one. I am a wife of a SO and I happen to think that he is the greatest as well. He had consensual sex with a 14 year old when he was 17 but they waited and charged him for it when he turned 18. They were both in school at the time.I think they need to classify their categories a little better. I think of an SO as a rapist or a man who (abuses) children not as a child who has just become a man and is still in high school who has some fun with a freshman or sophomore. if that’s the case then a lot of us are SO’s not charged. We have a boy and girl and 1 on the way. He has a hard time finding work and doing the things a 28 yr old should be doing. SO I know what you are going thru definitely. God…

originally posted 11/18/2008 This story is typical of many and is similar to mine as well. Jail time, probation, fines and counseling, or as they call it, “treatment,” were all what I expected for my crime, but losing my rights to live, work and play freely in my country of origin after I have successfully completed my sentence was not what I expected. To become a lifetime suspect in all sex crimes no matter how, who, what, when and where is to me the sign of a very paranoid and sick society. I’m appalled when I hear our politicians chastise other countries for human rights violations against their citizens, while the U.S. currently engages in depriving their citizens of basic housing. In their endeavor for security they are unwittingly building an army of outcasts, hardened in their prisons and then released upon their streets with little or no chance of redemption. With the decline of the economy, crime will inevitably increase, and…

originally posted 11/12/2008 My son is a registered sex offender in the state of Texas. He is also required to take mandatory lie detector tests (and pay for them) approximately every 3 months! I can empathize and sympathize with the stories that are posted on the RSOL site. My son had consentual sex with a 15 year old. At the time he was 21, had 50% ownership in a family fast food business, his own home & vehicle, and was attending Jr. College. The parents of the young lady were quite happy with their relationship until the father found out my son had an Iranian father! He pled guilty at the advice of his attorney and received 10 years probation and a life time on the Registry. He got out of our business due to probation restrictions on hiring policies for the store, sold his home only to find out he could not get find nor get approved for a…