I have actually been friends with this guy for a long time. I read over his transcripts recently and there was nothing in there about pictures like that on his phone. He had visited some sites with content like that on it, but otherwise he would have been hit with felonies and gone to prison. What he did was dumb and I know he knows that, but a multiple life sentence for a misdemeanor of the lowest degree? He has suffered more than anyone I have ever known and lost more than anyone I have ever known. He will never have a decent job again or be able to live in a decent area. He attempted suicide once already and I am scared he may try again. I also know about the lies his cousins stated in court that I know for a fact were lies. I still can’t believe his own family turned him in. Oddly enough, his hell led him to save someones life, so I suppose that could be a silver lining.

https://www.change.org/p/donald-trump-reform-the-sex-offender-registry

Please, people… this madness has gone far enough. Our voices must be heard at the highest level, and maybe Donald Trump (an unregistered sex offender – and perhaps even a “child predator” according to recent allegations) will see the injustice and stupidity of this system and press for it’s drastic reform.
BOTTOM LINE: The sex offender registry does far more harm than good. This poor man is only one of many thousands of AMERICAN TAX-PAYING MEMBERS OF SOCIETY in a very similar (and sometimes even worse) situation. I doubt that suicide, isolation, depression, drug abuse, homelessness, and separation from society were the intended goals of this registry 20 years ago.

As one of the more fortunate registered sex offenders that was able to find good work and afford a small condominium just far enough away from any schools or playgrounds, I have seriously beaten the odds, for now. But every year these restrictions get worse and worse. I fear it is only a matter of time before some new restriction on registered sex offenders tears the ground out from under me again.

By the way, the worst part of this sex offender BS for me is being regarded by society (particularly by most women) as a dangerous, perverted, creepy guy simply because our ‘trusty’ government has put me on this registry (they would only do that if I was actually a serious threat to others, right?). And I’m actually the complete opposite of that type of guy. I’m 5’11, Caucasian, healthy and fit, a successful engineer, a homeowner, talented in many ways, a great sense of humor, generous and romantic, outdoorsy, resourceful, quite handsome (or so I’ve been told!), and I have never had a hard time in my life getting a date, even with women that other might think would be way out of my league (humor and chivalry go a long way, guys!).
But almost without fail, when I finally am comfortable enough to tell a woman that I am a registered sex offender (which she kind of needs to know if we are to have a relationship), she suddenly wants nothing to do with me. She may be able to completely forgive my past mistakes and have absolute faith in my rehabilitation, and even look the other way with regard to my felony criminal background (which doesn’t really affect my life much), but the impact to her life by having a serious relationship with a RSO is just far too great. Why would she settle for a guy with that social stigma hanging over his head when she can easily go find another guy that isn’t a “sex offender”?

It’s so ironic. The sex offender registry was created to save lives, particularly children, but instead all it does is ruin lives, and in many cases, the lives of children, too. Good job, American law-makers. You did the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you set out to do. ARE YOU GOING TO FIX IT, OR WHAT?????????????

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