I joined the Marine Corps in 1999, got married in 2000, and had two wonderful children by 2005. I really didn’t have that bad of a life. Over the years though, I developed an unhealthy pornography addiction that that led to my conviction in October 2010. I was given a 4-year sentence in the brig. I served 3 of those and then was released on mandatory supervision for the remaining year. I have been offense free since my release in November 2013 and have been on the registry for 6 years. My state registration status only requires me to be on the registry for 10 years, so I only have 4 to go!
In the past 6 years I’ve had to deal with a lot of the negative repercussions brought on by the registry. I’ve had relationships fall apart, jobs lost, career opportunities squashed, etc. I’m sure many readings this know what I’m talking about when I say I feel like I’m always walking on eggshells.
Today though, I feel like I’m in a good place. I have 4 previous employers and many professional connections now that will ensure that I keep afloat. I’ve been dating my girlfriend now for over a year. She knows about my history and recently revealed my history to her mom and best friend, and they accept me for who I am today. My girlfriend and her youngest son live with me now and her brother considers me his best friend.
My two children I mentioned earlier are now teenagers and my first wife and I still get along well. It took her some time to trust me again after not only what I did, but by seeing that I’m not the same person I was. I see my children every other weekend and pay my child support faithfully and willingly. It initially started as supervised visits, but now that trust has been established, I have been picking them up alone for over a year now. I feel I have a great relationship with my girls.
Luckily, my military service was not completely deleted due to my crime, so I still have military veteran benefits. One of those was the GI Bill. I finished my undergrad degree in 2018 and after a short break, started my graduate program to complete my master’s degree. I should be finished with it by about the middle of 2020. Since my charges were military, they don’t show up on background checks. Only my status as a registrant shows up, so once my time on the registry is up, my charges pretty much disappear from my record. So, in 2023, when I’m off the registry, I’ll have a clean record and a master’s degree.
I also learned how to ride a motorcycle and bought my first Harley last year. This has opened me up to a whole new social world that I knew existed, but I didn’t know the extent of it. Provided my background doesn’t become an issue, I hope to join a veteran’s biker club soon after vetting them to ensure they aren’t criminal in nature.As for volunteering, etc. I haven’t been able to do anything like that due to finances. My dream career is to be a real estate investor, but it’s a difficult industry to get started in. Once I do though, I plan to use my money to support a cause near and dear to me. There seems to be a lot of felon integration services for prisoners recently released, but the help falls short after a couple of years offense free. These are the people that need and deserve the most help. I plan to start an organization to get felons (especially registrants) into sustainable employment, housing, and support.
Jeremy, you are fortunate that you have a release date from being registered. For most it’s a lifetime. My son also developed an addiction to porn and then child porn. He has served 1 year of an 8 year sentence but he has years of probation and will have to see a PO for a long time. It seems hopeless that he will be able to recover from this. He was 43 at the time of his arrest. He has a masters degree in electrical engineering but due to the length of his sentence and parole/probation requirements it seems his engineering career is over before it got started. The punishment for non violent, non contact sexual related crimes is so over the top. I commend you for wanting to start and employment company for people on the registry. Good going!
I also apologize, here’s a correction. It’s Commonwealth vs Haines 329 Pa Super 2019..
In 1998, I committed a sexual Offense, when I was a 13 year old child. In 2004, I was arrested, charged as an adult, and Sentenced to 8 years in prison, plus labeled a Sexually Violent predator for my Offense, thus being subject to Lifetime Registration, Counseling, and Community Notification… However the tides turned in Pennsylvania in 2019, in Commonwealth vs Janie’s, 329 Pa Super 2019, holding, that an offender who commits Sexual Offenses as a Juvenile but is Sentenced as an adult is not subject to sexual offender registration. I sought State Habeas Corpus relief in November 2019, and was granted my request in January 2020… I was removed from the registry in February 2020, and now I use my story to help other People in similar situations,I have made this Court decision known and as of today have successfully helped 3 people get removed from that status… At one point I thought my life was over but I beat the odds, everybody else can also, Juvenile, Adult, or Senior Citizens on the registry, your turn is coming, you just need to keep your eyes open for the opportunity…
Semper Fi. Please remain Faithful to OUR NEW MISSION: GETTING RELIEF FROM THIS EVIL REGISTRY!!
Hi I need help trying find the right person for a career and good housing. It’s tough being a registered
I haven’t ironed out all of the details yet, but I would like to start out as an employment agency only for felons. In our contract with our employers, we would accept any legal consequences of negligent hiring. With that said, we would still have to maintain a vetting process and deny those that break our rules; however, . I would want to do this as a non-profit so we could kick back monetary incentives for companies to join and ultimately hire our clientele permanently. For housing, since I’m in the process of building a real estate business, I will search for rentals and multi-family units in locations that are accessible to RSOs; outside of range restriction boundaries. For the most part, it will be first come, first serve with some exceptions. Felons with less issues in their history will be looked at more favorably. Also, felons with more time lapsed since the last release date (not conviction) will be looked at more favorably. Over 3 years clean since release is going to be the prime candidate. That doesn’t mean we won’t help the fresh felons, just that they will have to go to the back of the line. As for support, I was thinking that some of the housing I provide could be set up like college housing with four rooms and a common area. Another thing I’d eventually want to set up is legal support for family issues with an attorney on standby. These would be issues such as divorce, child support, visitation rights, etc. I don’t know if the moderators can connect us or not, but I give them permission to release my email to you so we can communicate more.
I am interested in learning more about what you want to do to help registrants find sustainable employment, housing, and support. I too am interested in accomplishing the same thing. To this end, I have developed my own company and Youtube Channel to begin the process of assisting in the development of awareness about sex offenders with facts. If you would like to chat about possibilities, I would be happy to talk with you, or with anyone aligned with said goals.