For more than 20 years, Troy Mansfield was branded a “registered sex offender,” a shameful asterisk by his name that followed him everywhere.
The father of two sons struggled to support his family from a cleaning business, purposely in his wife’s name, Amy Mansfield.
“We lived between $16,000 and $19,000 a year, for a family of four – so very tight and very hard – because I’m trying to make a living but everywhere we go we get the door slammed on it because of this,” Troy Mansfield said.
One of his worst days came when he was kicked out of his church. “They came in that Sunday they said, ‘We want y’all to get out. You haven’t done anything wrong, we don’t have a problem with you but public opinion is killing us in this church and you’ve got to leave,'” he said.
Years later, in his 21st year as a registered sex offender, current prosecutors agreed Troy Mansfield was a victim of a grave injustice. In January 2016, a judge overturned Troy Mansfield’s conviction, ruling prosecutors violated his Constitutional rights by not disclosing favorable evidence.
“Amy [Troy Mansfield’s wife] and I just wept like babies that day thinking, ‘Is this the beginning of the end of this nightmare that we’ve been through?'” Troy Mansfield said.
Today, Troy Mansfield is no longer a convicted felon – no longer on a list with rapists or child molesters.
Troy Mansfield now has a lawsuit against Williamson County, trying to right a wrong for two lost decades. “There is no amount of money that anybody could ever pay me to give me back the 23 years that were stolen and the embarrassment that my wife and children had to go through,” he said.
Many people are falsely convicted of sex offenses, especially misdemeanor “catch-all” offenses where the proof is easier to produce and a prosecutor can use fake names, ages, witnesses, and mix it all up into the greatest story that never happened.
Unfortunately they cowardly hide behind their immunity and are never disciplined.
When a defendant is falsely accused these prosecutors will resort to unimaginable tactics rather than to drop the charge and expose the truth. The truth is they can’t win those cases without cheating the system.
This is why Mike Ramos pushed for more “victim’s protections” like Marsys’ law which when coupled with existing laws end up creating the conditions where your accuser can literally be a phantom and get away with lies at trial.
A phantom ultimately replaced by “the people of the state of…”
So we REALLY need to stop Marsys’ law. It’s a blatant attack on the presumption of innocence by granting accusers near-prosecutorial immunity. They’ve already fooled too many people. This might be the ticket that California Senator Kamala Harris tries to ride to get into the White House. If so, this country is on a dangerous path that’s going to result in more stories like the one here.
What stood out to me is the way the church did him. This is why so many people of all walks of life have turned away from the church because of how they treat people.
If I was the pastor of the church I would say ” If anyone has a problem with this family attending services here, you are welcome to leave as the one place everyone should feel welcome is at the church”.
Having said that, of course the guy if on the registry at the time, should not be leading the youth group or helping out in the nursery but sitting in a pew with your family worshiping God is not hurting anyone.
I have a feeling he must live in a small gossipy town where everyone know everybody and everything. I once went to a church so big you could be Charles Mason and no one would notice you.
My former pastor was an ex FBI agent and he welcomed me with open arms after my arrest.
Exactly. Any “church” that rejects “sex offenders” is not a true church. Organized religion IS the opiate of the masses. Many, if not most, of churches today are designer churches. They tell the flock what they want to hear. I hope all those hypocrites masquerading as Christians burn in hell.
Well I do not wish harm on them at all. It is not my place to wish them into Hell. I pray for them and hope their eyes will be opened to the truth. None of us are perfect and we all have things in our lives that need correcting. I think some of the issue is some pastors are in a Damn if you do and damn if you don’t situation and end up making a decision based on the majority. Do you want to lose one family from the church or every family from the church.
If we wish and damn them to Hell, we are no better than those who hate us for being on the registry. You do not have to love them if you don’t want to but just remember, if we act and judge the same way we do to us, we are no better than they are.
James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
I know that feeling all too well.
I can only hope and pray our day comes at some point, but I doubt it.
Still, I’ll be happy if he gets off the registry like he’s supposed to next year.
It truly sucks when someone can make up lies, and attempt to ruin your life
Money will not bring back those years of pure anguish and despair but money talks the most in this land of hypocrites so I will be hoping beyond hope they get enough money they never have to work or worry about money issues ever again. THAT to me is also the LEAST they can give this man and his family…….
“[P]rosecutors violated his Constitutional rights by not disclosing favorable evidence.” Now there is a suprise (sarscsm). I’m glad he won his case, which proves this does in fact happen…far too often. I’ve been fighting my case on similar grounds
no amount of money can make up for it and no amount of pleading can stop it..the internet is forever and so are the evils of the magazines and publications that feed off of it. sadly your name will always be on a list with rapist and molesters somewhere…the evil that created lists feeds off of the pain and suffering it creates and has an insatiable appetite..only way it will end is by death or by force.
“No longer on a list with rapists or child molesters.” What a nice way to put it.
No amount of money can make up for it but it will punish those who did this great injustice and didn’t give a damn about facts or the truth. I’ll pray for him and his family, that they have a happy and prosperous life from now on.