Posting #81- How has Being Listed on the Public Registry Harmed You or Your Family?

By:  Multiple Contributors
Date:  05/18/2009

RSOL of Virginia received the below message from a supporter on May 15.

RSOL of Virginia,

My husband sent me this, to be sent to Prison-Talk, but I wonder if you at RSOL might post it also? 
 
Some friends of mine are challenging the constitutionality of sex offender registries.  Their lawyer is asking for examples where being on a registry has caused harm to the sex offender.  Harm could be things like losing a job, or vandalism, harassment and so forth. 
 
What we need are examples of harm that came from being on the registry (not just from being a former sex offender).  Suppose someone who harms a sex offender could have gone into court records or other public documents to find out about the sex offender.  Then, the government's lawyers will argue that the information about the S.O. would have been available -- whether or not there was a registry.
 
So, to make the argument that the registry is the CAUSE of the harm, we need examples where someone who harms an s.o. could have found out about that person ONLY through the registry. 
 
If you have an example of this kind of harm, would you please respond to this message?
Thank you."
Lori

So we e-mailed the request to every supporter and to all the RSOL affiliates.
We’ve received a huge response and we decided to share some of them in this posting.
I will share my experience first.

#1- RSOL of Virginia Organizer

I had worked for my company for a little over two years in which I had received two positive reviews, two raises and both full bonuses.

I had advised my manager of the accusation against my husband in the spring of 2007 and when he took the no contest plea at the hearing (that never happened) to avoid possibly being sentenced to Life plus 20 years in the late autumn of 2007, I informed my manager of the outcome and that he would be required to register. Within days of telling her she had convinced the regional manager that I should be required to see a therapist because the old happy and dedicated person that I once was, needed to return. So the regional manager and my manger sat me down on Halloween and advised me that I had 5 days to contact the companies EAP. I was told, “That this had nothing to do with my performance”. So I contacted the EAP scheduled an appointment with a therapist and met with her during business hours.

I filled the therapist in on everything that had been going on for the past 6 months including my 77 year old father dying on my husband’s birthday 5 weeks before the preliminary hearing. I believe his heart gave out because of the stress of the whole situation. She advised me that I was doing really well considering everything that had occurred and it was great that I had kept my job throughout. (Well, I had to I may have been left alone to support myself). She offered to meet with me again and I thanked her and left.

It turned out my company received paperwork from the therapist where she had noted that she recommended that I continue to see her (the therapist). My regional manager asked if I had scheduled a second appointment and I said that I was not planning to. The therapist called me around the holidays asking if I was going to schedule another appointment and I said that I did not plan to and she said it was recommended, I then became angry and said “no thank you”.

All of a sudden my manager was making up issues and stories and issues about my attitude and she was telling others these fabrications. My direct co-workers could not understand what our manager was talking about but no one would question her because they were concerned for their jobs.

Then the day came that I was given a “verbal warning” for issues that never occurred. I had 30 days to “fix” the issues and if I had not resolved them I would be given a “written warning”. Well since the issues never occurred and they were extremely vague, I knew there’d be a “written warning” in my future no matter what I did.

A few weeks later I received an invitation for a meeting with my manager and regional manger in another building and I knew what was going to happen.

I was 37 years old and because of this entire situation will be on high-blood pressure medication probably for the rest of my life. Through those 3 ½ months of walking on pins and needles with the regional and direct managers since the “intervention” on Halloween I had developed stomach issues. After receiving the invitation to meet I decided I was in a “no win situation” and would have to quit. I would not give my manager the satisfaction of firing me. I don’t know why she locked cross-hairs on me after I advised her that my husband would be a “registered sex offender” but she was on a mission and would not stop until I was gone. So I quit that afternoon.

Then I began a job search in my industry. It was early February 2008 and I sent out resumes in search of a job. March came then April, then May, I continued to increase the distance I’d drive, I decreased the amount of money I wanted and even the title I’d hold. I had NEVER had an issue finding a job right away; I always received lots of calls and then interviews. I did attend one interview that went really well and I sent them my information and they never called me back. Finally I received an e-mail telling me I was not selected, I thought OK they picked someone else. But then the advertisement for that position ran again and then again and a second position in the same department was then posted. I left messages asking for a second interview or to even be considered for the second position that was a lower one, but they never called me back.

In August I realized what had happened. The HR departments that received my resume, Googled my last name or my home address, the first two postings/hits were of my husband’s S.O listing.(This no longer happens when “Goggling”, thankfully)

I had blanketed my entire industry with resumes over the past 7 months and every company had discovered my husband was a “registered sex offender”. Not only was I unemployed, but I had lost the ability to ever get work in my profession within a 100 miles of my home ever.

The registries are extremely harmful to those listed on them and to every family member sharing their last name and address; don’t tell me it’s not punitive!

#2- Jeff

I have an example of how the sex offender registry has been a threat to me and my family. 
My younger sister was is school just the other day when her ex-boyfriend came up to her at the lunch table and threw a printout of my profile from the registry in front of her and her friends.  It devastated her. She now must try to avoid any conversation that might bring that up again because it is humiliating.

#3- Tonia

My 19 year old son had consensual sex with his 16 year old girlfriend.

He was in jail for 3 months and during that 3 months, his manager (at a gas station/market) held his job for him.  After his first day back to work, he went to report his employment to the police department (like he has to do) and they told him he was 300 feet from a school.  He had to quit.  His manager then sent him to another store (28 miles away rather than the 1 mile away he was working).  He worked a couple days and reported it to the police (he has 5 days to do that).  The cops told him that they would let the detective know and someone would get back with my son.  He told them that he had to go back to work in 2 days.  They again said the detective would contact him.  Two weeks later, the cops showed up at his work and told him that he was within the 500 feet restriction to another school.  He lost his job again. 

Of course now, after filling out 10-15 applications in the last 2 weeks, NO one will give him a job because he has a felony on his record and is a registered sex offender..  They all do background checks now and nobody will hire him. 

So, as you can see, it is ONLY because of this registry that he not only lost his first job and the one that followed, but he cant even get another job.

#4- Jim

I was convicted of carnal knowledge (consensual sex with my girlfriend) 17 years ago.

For the past 11 years I have been a taxi driver in the City of _________. Neither my conviction nor the registry were ever an issue but as of May 2009 my license renewal was denied and I’m now unemployed. I don’t know where I may be in a month.

#5- Maurice

 Due to the Sex Offender Registry I recently lost a position as a Grounds Keeper at an apartment complex.

 I passed the background check because it was on my juvenile record (I was 17 years old), but a tenant was going through the registry and saw that I worked there and I was fired immediately. It’s so hard to follow the rules and report working, because more than likely I will then lose my job. So sometime it's like work now and pay later. I have to feed my family, but” they” don’t care.
 I wasn't even able to collect Unemployment Benefits because they said “I didn't disclose my background info”. I never thought I had to disclose my Juvenile record.

#6- Chad

I was fired from two management jobs in restaurants.  At both jobs, I cleared a background check because the felony was farther back than the background checks could go in Virginia (10 years).  However, my felony was found on the registry and I was fired.  I now have EEOC complaints against both companies.  My felony was in Illinois and no one would have found it without the registry.

Second, before my conviction I averaged $50,000+ per year as a psychologist.  Since my conviction, I average less than $16,000 per year for the last 14 years and have been unemployed for 11 months to date.

I cleared a background check for the apartment where I live in a senior living center. However, two other tenants found my conviction on the registry and have harassed me to the point I had to call the State Police to pay them a visit.  These other tenants made flyers they then stuck under other tenants doors with information that wasn't even correct.  These two tenants may a point to speak to every new tenant that moved and informed them a violent sex offender lived in the building.

The State Trooper came and proceeded to tell the apartment manager to "evict me."

#7- Clint

When I first moved to Colorado, my wife and I were living with my in-laws and of course I had to register there.  After registering my father in-law was doing yard work in the front yard and was approached by person who lived in the neighborhood asking if he was me, I fortunately was at work, but this person became very angry when he found out that I wasn't there and said that I had better stay away from his home.  Fortunately, nothing ever came of this incident other than that. 

Later during the three years I was in Colorado, I was working for a company called __________ Electrical Contractors.  I was laid off from that company because I was honest with them about having to take time off work to register.  One of their biggest clients was a company called _________ and my boss told them that I was a S.O. and after that they didn't want me on any of their jobs so that in turn cost me a job because he didn't have any other work at the time. 

Then, later we were forced to move back here to Virginia because we were living in an apartment complex that initially didn't do background checks, because they didn't do background checks I answered the question about felonies with no.  I figured that they weren't going to check so why would I offer information that could cost me an apartment.  They were later bought out and the new company did background checks and because I was on the registry they started the eviction process on me claiming that I lied on the application.  Later those apartments were condemned due to asbestos in the walls, but I still have a judgment on my credit report. 

I have no problem attempting to prove that the registry is unconstitutional.

#8- Shelley

My son accepted a five-year probationary plea and was released (after six months) from jail in April 2008.  He had turned 20 while in jail. 

As soon as he got out, a friend who worked at a local grocery store went to bat for him, trying to get him hired as a night-time produce worker as he knew he was very skilled in this area.  (He had worked as a grocery checker for two years and a grocery stocker before that.)  Once corporate learned of his status, they denied him. Up to January of 2009 he had put in applications over and over again in our small community, to no avail. 

He had an excellent interview for a position as a graveyard shift dishwasher at the Casino here.  The interviewer said he was exactly what they were looking for and he was thrilled.  They then checked his status and called to inform that they would not be hiring him.

He then had two wonderful interviews at Walmart.  They rang our phone off the hook making appointments and talking to him.  The last thing to do was the background check, he never heard from them again.

He got a job at a furniture store and his supervisors -- he worked in stores here and in a town 30 miles away.  They raved about him, asked their supervisors in front of him why they'd never sent anyone like him prior, that he was one of the best workers they'd had.  He was there for three weeks, driving his own vehicle the 30 miles one way back and forth between stores.  They must have done the background check because they told him after the three weeks that they no longer needed him.  He called later and tried to ask questions, but they would not return the calls.

He was living in a $200/month rat-hole apartment because his probation officer said because I worked out of my home and had three computers in my office, he should not live here.  A general condition of probation is not to own or use a computer even though there were no such issues with his case.  I was paying his $200/month rent.  Because he could not find a job, I was also paying his $225 fines and fees per month.  In January of this year, for some reason, three probation officers showed up at his apartment, searched it, and found a Playboy.  They handcuffed him and took him down to the car, parked on Main Street, broad daylight on a business day, and took him to jail for another week for having the Playboy.  The day I picked him up from jail was the last day I saw him.  I leaned over in the car, kissed him on the cheek and told him I loved him and would see him later.  I have not seen him nor heard from him since, and my heart is broken.  All of his belongings were still in his apartment.  He has Crohn's Disease and is to take six pills daily but if he's concealing his identity somewhere, how will he get this prescription or the necessary medical treatment he so desperately needs?
 When he was released, random people would come up and harass him, calling him horrible names even though they did not know him or the facts of his case, threatening to beat him up, etc., because they'd seen his picture online.  This was a kid who was active in school sports, Boy Scouts, the school band for six years, proud to march in parades and at football games, was a community and hospital volunteer for years and an active member of our church youth group.  He was an avid hunter (and can no longer because of felony status) and also active in fundraising efforts for the Rocky Mt. Elk Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation.

The registry destroyed him and has taken him from us.  We do not know if he's dead or alive, and we know we cannot turn to law enforcement to help.  They are the ones who put him here.

#9- Levi

I recently lost my cleaning contract worth $85,000 a year with a customer due to them finding me on the Sex Offender Registry.
Their employees were scared I might harm them if I stumble across them working late at night while I was cleaning.     

#10- Jonah

I was released from a Tennessee State prison at the end of May 2008 after my conviction was overturned by the Appellate Court.

I arrived home to Virginia to my parent’s home; they both work over the state line in North Carolina. They are both disabled so I began looking for jobs near theirs in NC so I could drive them. I found out that ________ Technology College has a campus right down the road from where my parents work. I am a veteran and receive education benefits as long as I am enrolled full time in college. So, since I was working on a degree in Web Design when I was accused, and arrested back in 2003, I figured I would enroll at ________ and get my degree in Web Design, and help my parents out by driving them back and forth to work everyday. It was a perfect situation.

I called the campus and informed them of my situation. I told them that I had just been released from prison on an overturned conviction, and that I wanted to get my degree in Web Design. They informed me that it was not a problem as they have had several other people in the same situation apply there and graduate as well. I went to the campus and took the placement tests in June 2008. I was told that I scored higher on the tests than anyone they had ever seen, and they immediately began the process of my enrollment. After filling out the financial aid paperwork, they asked my why I entered all zeros in the boxes for the 2007 year. I informed them that it was because I did not work and did not file taxes. They told me that I needed to fill out "one more" paper stating why I didn't file taxes in 2007. So I wrote that I did not file taxes because I was incarcerated.

On June 30, 2008 classes began, and I was officially a student at _________ Technology College. That evening after classes ended the President of the campus asked me into her office. She told me that she had been informed that I was incarcerated and she has to interview me to see why. I began to explain to her that the "bulk" of my conviction was overturned; however there was one conviction that still remained that required me to register as a sexual offender, and not a violent offender. She then began to explain to me that even though  her school has what they call an externship program (where they find you a job as an intern before you graduate working in you selected field, not necessarily to get you a position there but simply for the experience), she is not entirely sure that they would be able to do this for me, but there are other avenues of approach that I can consider such as self-employment. I told her that I was aware of that and that I planned on self-employment anyway, so it was really not a big deal.

The next morning, July 1, 2008, I came to school and went to my first class. As I was sitting there the President pulled her head in the door and asked if I could meet her in her office for a brief minute. I of course said sure, and went there. When I walked in there was another lady sitting there who introduced herself as the head of admissions. She informed me that I was enrolled on a day that she was either off, or on vacation, and if she had been there that I would never have been enrolled there at all. Then the President very abruptly added that she didn't feel that __________ Technology College would be able to help me meet my educational needs, and asked me to leave the campus and not to return. Outside was a cab waiting for me to take me to my parents work.

Now I know that they never explicitly said "OH, you're a Registered Sex Offender!? Well we're real sorry but we don't want you to go to school here. LEAVE!” with their mouths, but honestly, they didn't have too. Their actions said it for them, and you can believe me, I was fairly devastated by it. It took me almost three months to muster up the courage to even leave the house after that.

#11- Jonathan

In my own case, I have suffered harassment as a direct result of being on the Registry.

The incident occurred several years ago when we were living in the small town of __________ Arkansas at the time.  It was a Sunday afternoon and my family was home after returning from Church.  There was a knock at the door, and I opened it to find a large group from Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA).  They were going from door to door informing the community of my presence and had knocked on mine so they could tell me that "they didn't want me in "their" community."  With them, also in the biker “colors” was the towns Chief of Police. 

BACA claims in their literature to avoid confrontation, but I can testify from personal experience that this is not necessarily the case.

Approximately two weeks previous to the BACA incident, an article had appeared about me in the local paper and a news crew from __________ had materialized on my lawn.  On the day the newspaper article appeared, I was abruptly fired from my job as a cook.  The owner gave no credible reason for the firing. The day previous, he was happy with my work.

I can't begin to count the number of times I have submitted an application for a job for which I was qualified never even to receive a call back.

Also, this may be relatively minor to most people, but I was also barred from participating in productions at the _________ Theater after holding major roles in two plays.  On learning I was a Sex Offender I was allowed to audition for three more plays but wasn't given a role.  When I asked about it, I was told that they had learned I was a sex offender and their rules forbade my being involved in the theater in any capacity.

I also had my membership in the YMCA canceled after I had been a member in good standing for about two years.  When Virginia changed their rules to put non-violent offenders on the Internet, the YMCA learned of my status and barred me.

Again, these may seem relatively minor, but as a retiree, they were a significant part of my life. They are basically quality of life issues.  My wife, who is disabled and was participating in water aerobics classes at the YMCA refuses to participate in any organization that will not accept me.

#12- Earl

I have a real life example that just happened to me yesterday.

I lost my job with an Auto Dealership in October of last year due to the economy.  I have been searching for a job since then. 
Two weeks ago I began working at an Auto Parts Store owned by a national brand.  I filled out the application truthfully and completely.  The application asked if I had been convicted of any crimes in the last 7 years.  My sex offense conviction was in 1999, so I checked the "no" box.  I passed my urinalysis with flying colors and began work last Monday. 

Yesterday I was asked to close out my cash drawer and not to come back, my services were no longer needed because my "background check" was not satisfactory.

If you were to ask my fellow employees and manager about my work, they would say it was exemplarily and beyond their expectations, in fact, I was told that I was recommended for a "fast track" to management.  That is, until my background check was finished and I was terminated.

#13- Dale

I have been discriminated against when applying for an apartment here in the city of ___________ VA.  I applied for an apartment with a friend and they asked if I had any prior felonies and I disclosed them with out reservation. After they received the application and had time to review it for a couple of days they still asked for the application fee for both of us at $30.00 a piece and soon after they received their monies they obviously denied us because of my convictions.

I easily could have moved to the next neighborhood and still be a threat to the community as displayed my ignorance of mankind.  I make $40,000 a year and would like to live where I can afford to live in a nice neighborhood and not be relegated to the slums that they would like to place us in.  I do not have any tendencies to act out on any of my felony convictions that I was guilty of and do not desire to go through that experience ever again. I have paid my price and I am still paying because every time a new law comes out it becomes retroactive. 

I hope you post this because it is not getting better or easier to maintain or get an apartment and to be able comply with State law in maintaining an address for the registry if they won't let you rent an apartment.

#14- Sue

My 18 year old son Paul 5’-2” is ADHD and learning disabled (All documented; report dated just weeks before his arrest show his comprehension level at the 4th grade, 7th month. This was an evaluation for special education paid for by the state to determine goals for life after high school).

We knew we risked prison time for him if we went to trial and lost, so when the state’s attorney offered a plea bargain in June of 2004 of 2 years probation we took it knowing he would never survive in prison being as small is he was, having low comprehension, and the maturity of a 12 year old.  God, I am so sorry that we didn’t fight then.  Had we known what a “sex offender” label was, we would gladly have even paid the $2500 to the mother to end this.

For 5-1/2 years we have been in a nightmare and it has now come to a head. Paul has had much difficulty in gaining employment, not only because of his “sex offender” status, but due to his disabilities. He finally gained employment, delivering pizzas and he was the happiest I had seen him since this nightmare started. When his boss found out he was an offender and couldn’t deliver to schools he was fired from his job and has not been able to gain employment since.

I am now watching my son slowly die emotionally because of this label. He is appalled that this label has been put on him, knowing he would never touch or hurt anyone in his life and that nobody wants to hear the truth.  He’s been accused of “touching” his cousin and to think that he is now labeled with others who have viscously attacked children.
 My son was released from a state mental health facility in mid-February after five weeks diagnosed as bipolar, brought on by the stress of being labeled a sex offender. He will receive services from a mental health provider and their goal was to have him moved to a respite program for 21 days when he was released to help with the transition to home. We were devastated to find out that it was not possible because it is across the street from a school and sex offenders can’t be within 500 feet.

My son has lost much and now he has paid the ultimate price by loosing his sanity. The diagnosis of bipolar is a lifetime sentence and because of his sex offender status resources will be limited to him.

#15- Anthony

After paying the price the justice system required of me in 1992, I built a life with my wife and two children only to have my world crash down around me when I was told I had to register in 2004 after living in my community for over 10 years unregistered.  The reason????.  My wife and I built our dream home and moved.

In addition, I have lost 3 jobs since 2004 due to my employers finding out about my registration.  The last time was in Oct 08 and it took me over 6 months to find another job.  I have no idea how long this one will last due to the same type of circumstances. 

#16- Riley’s Thoughts on this Issue

A little off topic but...

The Government’s argument is that information on the registry is available while doing routine background checks. While information contained in the registry is "supposedly" the same information it’s not exactly true.

The big difference is that background checks are not easy to perform and cost money. The average person hence doesn't have access. The closest parallel is registered gun owners. While that information is public, it takes a trip to the local records office and paying a fee to receive that information. All attempts at making these records readily available to the general public by publishing them on the internet has been fought successfully by using the same arguments that can be applied to sex offender registration information being published on the internet. Court records on those convicted of sex offenses while public information is not any easier to obtain than information on registered gun owners.

There is a big difference between public records and published lists. I feel it should be in the public’s interest to know and have readily the information on who in the community is carrying a concealed firearm. In addition community notification to all concerned citizens should be available in the same manor on concealed gun permit holders as is available for registered sex offenders.

I think the man next door who is carrying a concealed weapon all the time is a more potential risk to me and my community than the man next door who was convinced of some minor crime that was no more serious than a misdemeanor.

#17- Milton’s Thoughts on this Issue

After giving your argument some thought, I came up with what could possibly use as a corollary to the body of the argument.

The idea is to draw an analogy between the Brady Laws and the Sex Offender Registry.

 The argument could go something like this:  The Brady Laws are meant to provide a wait period for someone intending to purchase a firearm.  I recall that when this bill was being debated in Congress and the Senate, one of the central arguments used was that if there was a wait period, a person might have a "cool off" period before purchasing a firearm, thus (theoretically) preventing a rash decision.  I think the same logic could be applied to the Sex Offender Registry. It is known within correctional literature that the Registry does next to nothing to protect the public. But yet, S.O.'s are the only class of criminal to have their personal information so easily accessible.  People that NEED access to criminal information will still be able to go through proper channels to get it, since it is a matter of public record, so why continue with a Registry that makes that information SO EASILY ACCESSIBLE?

The analogy between the registry and the Brady Laws should be obvious now; why is a wait period ok for one thing, but not another?  If a good lawyer could develop this argument more fully, it could be a great tactic, since it essentially uses the government's own logic in one case to prove why they are wrong in another.

#18- Craig’s Thoughts on this Issue

I'm glad someone is looking at the punitive affects of the registry.

People need to remember that punitive doesn't have to be extreme to qualify. Remember simple probation or even bench probation is legally considered punitive. Bench probation doesn't require the person to report at all. The guidelines are just stay out of trouble or they will impose more punishment. I was on formal probation for 5 yrs. My restriction and requirements of probation were less than the registry. The people pushing this case seem to be looking for the obvious and large punitive situations of harm. The truth is in most situations it's very subtle but the damage runs deep. 

Employers will rarely say why they didn't hire someone. They simply say the back ground check didn't clear or maybe they aren't a good fit. The truth is the registered sex offender status is on the back ground check so the two are one in the same. That brings up a new concern as to why a non punitive label is on a background check at all. (it's regulatory remember) If someone didn't have the taboo label of sex offender but had a record more employers would hire them.

The registry causes a social death of the individual. They become an outcast and fear for their safety on many occasions. I have a bullets hole in my front window and found another crushed lead bullet in my front porch. People drive by yelling "pervert" and other damaging things. I have had garbage dumped in my driveway two times. I live in an upper income area out in the country. All this and I'm not even on the public web site. Oregon doesn't show low level offenders. The public has easy access to the complete list by requesting it from the police. One key punitive point of the registry that many people fail to see is how an offender is under the constant threat of future prosecution in criminal court for acts that are not even a crime. Failing to report a job change or a new car is not a crime for anyone else but the registry makes that and many other simple everyday things cause to register or go to jail. Some states have a life sentence for failure to report these small changes in life.

They say the registry is not punitive but regulatory. There is no other regulatory system that files criminal charges for noncriminal acts. From builders to bankers we have regulatory systems we comply with. If we get out of compliance we may be fined or in most cases allowed to correct the violation and move on. The sex offender registry is nothing more than a sentence of probation and public humiliation.

 If you place probation and the registry side by side you will see they are very much alike but updating information with the probation department can be done over the phone and a violation of probation has far less severe consequences.
 

#19- Bob’s Thoughts on this Issue

First and foremost, my public record shows I was convicted of one count of indecent liberty with a minor by custodian, a Class 6 Felony conviction in Virginia. This is what the public would see if they drove to the court records.

In contrast, what the public sees on the Virginia Sex Offender registry is that I am a Violent Sex Offender, even though I have a Circuit Court order that states three Court appointed S.O. experts deemed me as no threat to society and directing the Virginia State Police to remove me from the S.O. Registry.  I was evaluated by licensed, educated, and professional S.O. court appointed Psychiatrist. Neither the court, nor their appointed experts took my evaluations likely. However, Virginia later retroactively changed the law placing all people taken off the registry with circuit court orders, back on with no due process, protections, court representation, or justification. This is a distinct difference between the public court records and the S.O. Registry. The S.O. Registry is mandated by Federal and State laws purposely under civil law to bypass any criminal statues manipulating the intent of civil law.  Additionally, there is no over sight and the Federal and State Legislators can do anything they want retroactively without any due process to those impacted.

With my public record, I was afforded due process, where I admitted my inappropriate and wrong actions and I plead guilty.  In contrast, with the S.O. Registry, there is NO due process. The S.O. Registry laws circumvent due process by purposely applying it as a civil law under the guise of regulatory. Yet, all other US citizens are afforded their day in court all matters pertaining to civil cases and likely the public would rebel if the US and State Governments changed multiple laws that retroactively restricted their movement, impacted their families by promoting hate towards them and their families, job opportunities, and added punishment to already served convictions.

The public record does not misrepresent me as a VIOLENT PREDATOR, but the VA S.O. Registry absolutely does. The VA S.O. Registry places by my name I am a VIOLENT Sex Offender, even though I never used any violence in my offense.

The initial purpose of the SO Registry by initially was to protect society from dangerous S.O.’s.

My public records state that I am a low risk to re-offend based on court appointed experts. The public record shows the court appointed experts stating I obtained “a score of 1 (zero being absolute lowest) in the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism (RRASOR), which is an instrument used to classify sex offenders in terms of their relative risk to re-offend. This placed me in the low risk category for recidivism for sex offenses.”  

In contrast, the VA SO registry does not screen anyone for public danger. In fact Virginia does not honor court appointed expert opinions, court orders, and does not screen or consider screening offenders to determine if they are a public danger.  Virginia, and other states, decided to categorize S.O. by making all offenses felonies and violent to categorize and place all S.O.’s on the Registry by the charge, for life. Today, all Virginia offenses have been changed to violent lifetime classification and old offenses are retroactively applied to violent for the purposes of the registry.

Furthermore, if a person was convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense in another state registering for 10 years and then taken off, When they move to Virginia, Virginia considers the persons charge comparable to how Virginia charges their charge to a felony violent charge. The person is then placed on the Virginia S.O. Registry as a violent S.O. for LIFE!  If the person moves to any other US state or territory, they will then always have to register as a violent comparable charge for LIFE. Once the status on the registry has been moved up, it will never be moved down.  Even if the person moves back to the state they were originally charged with a misdemeanor for only 10 years of registration. It only moves up, not down.