Quote:As somebody that has served time on a sex offender unit in the state of Texas, let me offer a little awareness here that might support Doc's argument.
I would estimate about 40% of the inmates there that I did time with were men that were between 17 and 25 when the offense was committed and their sexual partner was between 14 and 16. I'm sure this will start a shitstorm in here, but I don't view a consensual relationship between a teenager of eighteen and one of fifteen as morally reprehensible. But now we are permanently seen as the worst of monsters in our communities. I'll probably end up back in prison for not finding a job honestly, so this polygraph likely won't matter one way or the other. Who wants to hire a sex offender, regardless of the explanation behind it? You aren't human now. You are a scarlet letter or in this case, three scarlet letters; RSO.
waldenrefugee,
I'm sorry for your situation and I can somewhat empathize. Our justice system, particularly in the southern U.S., needs some revamping. The laws are outdated and we (the U.S.) send more non-violent offenders to jail than anywhere else in the country. In high school and college, many teenage males who are 18 and 19 have girlfriends who are a few years younger. It is natural. Most women like older men, and most men like younger women. How can someone be jailed for something like this? These relationships are generally consensual between two adolescents, no matter who is legal age and who is not. Women mature faster than men anyway, so the boy and girl are usually on the same level of maturity.
I personally am now in a very tough situation. I have a good education, good job, high level security clearance, and until recently had no arrests and no criminal history. However, a certain southern state decided that me trashing a motel room constituted felony vandalism, and I was booked and charged. Instead of just receiving a bill from the motel, like every other hotel/motel does when you have incidental expenses, they called the cops and a warrant was issued for my arrest. Now I'm in jeopardy of losing my clearance, thus my job, being unable to get any other job with a criminal record, all my professional credentials, right to vote, freedom, and the list goes on. All for something that could have been settled in civil court or with a bill to me. I've lawyered up and am fighting this tooth and nail, hoping to settle this pre-trial and get an expungement.
This is not the first hit on my security clearance. I also have a previous clearance denial from a failed polygraph based on false accusations, a security violation, a foreign contacts from very unfriendly countries which I reported, all this within the past 6 years. This felony charge is probably the final straw and I can soon kiss my clearance goodbye.
I lost all faith in our justice system years ago. And the recent incidents of police shootings only perpetuates my distrust in our system. Anyway, these laws need to change. The taxpayer dollars do not need to be spent on jailing people for silly victimless crimes, or crimes that can be settled with a bill without any permanent damage to the accuser.