First, they came for the sex offenders
17 year-old kid becomes a registered sex offender because he had sex with his 15 year-old girlfriend. A few years later, he’s arrested for being within some arbitrary distance of a school. He was playing basketball in his driveway.
I’ve mentioned before that I have, in the past, done some work with sexual offenders. A cheery lot, no doubt. Most worthy of being put in a hole or shot. But we occasionally had the person who was there who shouldn’t have been. We had one kid who was 17. His crime was he had consensual sex with a 16 year-old girl. And the girl’s dad was none too happy that his little darlin was doing black dudes. Pity. His life was kinda ruined after that.
December 16th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I work in this arena and it AMAZES me to no end at how little common sense is applied here. In the TN the age of legal consent is 13, if there is an age differance of 4 years or more then it is statutory rape(I am also amazed that some mothers think if they give permission for a child to date an older person that makes it ok. No one can give another person permission to violate the law) The 17 year old should mount a challenge to the issue based on hte fact that the girl was old enough to form consent and did so, and that the age difference was not enough to be statutorily ilegal. the simpl truth here is that people should keep a closer eye on thier kids and teach them to make better decisions, not prosecute others when they dont.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I don’t even get how the laws work in this case? I mean isn’t 17 still a child under the law? Are there no age difference statutes?
Disgusting stories! Makes me sick to my stomach!
December 16th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Actually, there are two different age difference laws, if I remember correctly. THe minimum age is 13 with an age difference of four years, and I think 15+ (till 18) it’s 5. SOmeone will have to do a bit of research on the second figure, because I only have limited time till later tonight.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
You can’t challenge a guilty plea after the fact.
Problem is there are people who need to be on a list. Actually, their penalties should be life without parole or better yet death. If they can’t be rehabilitated, the criminal penalties should be severe enough. All this civil commitment and sex offender list stuff is just weaselly.
Unfortunately, the sex offender laws are rolling up a lot of kids who shouldn’t be stigmatized for life. That makes the whole list concept suspect. Certain offenses should carry an automatic listing. Other offenses should be part of the penalty phase with judicial discretion based on a report of findings by experts, i.e, consensual sex with a age similar partner whose parents disapprove should not get you on the list since your repeat offense is likely zero.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Many a man is married to his “victim” and is on the list for having sex with her consent prior to marriage.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
All these “zero tolerance” and “my hands are tied, the law is the law” types who defy basic good sense should be locked away as mental incompetents or removed permanently and fatally from the society they are harming. My vote is for the loony bin for them, but I could see an argument for the other.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I am in agreement with those who are disgusted by this. I am in favor of much harsher penalties for sex offenders, but at the same time I’d like to see a hell of a lot of the statutory rape laws go.
December 16th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I’ve made friends with a man that is on the registry. His story is much like this, and the girl testified on his behalf at the trial. It was a case of the parents not liking him and perverting the law. He lost six years of his life in there. He’s a good man, I’ve come to really like and trust him. But I whole heartidly agree that there needs to be a revision of the laws, and the death penalty needs to be put on the table. Some of these guys (and gals) need to be taken out back and shot like the dogs they are.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Yes, actually you CAN challenge a guilty plea after the fact, JKB. It’s called Post Conviction Relief.
I too am a registered sex offender, and took a plea after the DA (running for reelection) stacked multiple charges on me for daring to come out publicly to expose her and the judge’s corruption in this small Tennessee town.
All “sex offenders” should be put into a hole or shot? Maybe all judgmental assholes who make such blatantly cruel proclamations without any knowledge of the facts should be summarily shot?
Hitler indeed first came for the sex offenders, the homosexual to be exact. When the people of Germany, the country that was the pinnacle of civilization at the time, decided to allow their government leeway to attack a certain hated segment of the population they misunderstood the fact that by allowing their Constitution to be abused in this way they were allowing government to abuse other not-so-hated people in much the same way. Do you realize that every single Jew, Gypsy, Homosexual, Pole, etc., etc. that was exterminated in those camps was first “lawfully” convicted of a crime against the state?
December 21st, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Reading comprehension! It’s what’s for dinner.