It is issues like this below that prompted me to start this blog.  Perhaps someone can shed some light on this subject and hopefully not too many people will hate me for talking about it.

Here we go…

Until recently I have never really looked into the correctional system or kept up with the laws on certain subjects, not that I didn’t care I just had no use to even put thought into them.  The subject I am speaking of is the Sexual Offender law in Georgia.  From my understanding, and please correct me, the group of people that fall into this category can range from rape, molestation, sodomy, being a sexual preditor, etc… as well as a young person not knowing to keep it in his pants with a young girl.  This is a wide, wide variety of situations that can vary from the sickening to the immature. 

In the past I have never known anyone with this “sexual offender” label but now I do.  So, my problem with this is I now know someone that has to live with this stigma of a sexual offender label for the rest of his life – why?  Well, he was a young, immature kid at the age of 19 or so, that had a girlfriend that was 15.  The girlfriend got pregnant, the mother was pissed about something and 5 years after the effect he was arrested and convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor. 

Jump ahead about 7 years now, he has served his time and is out of jail now, he works hard, has a wonderful loving relationship with his fiance and new baby, pays his bills and is trying to make a life for himself and his family.  He registers every year on his birthday like he is required to do, he works double shifts on his job where he has been since his release from prison and he is trying to do the right thing in life.

The problem is now…about 2 months ago he and his family moved into a house temporarly while the permant house was getting ready to be moved in and he did not register the temp address.  When the house was ready he moved in and now the new address is registered.  Well, because of the law, because he didn’t register the temp. address he has been arrested and is now back in jail waiting a court hearing. 

Why am I upset? Well, what bothers me about this whole deal is we all know how our youth of today grows up way too fast and teens are having sex at younger and younger ages.  At any point, the whistle can be blown by the parents of a teen or by the teens themself – even if it is consentual, it is still against the law.  So because a teenage can be irresponsible and immature this can lead to a lifetime of imbarrasement, legal issues, jail time, etc.  It just sickens me that this case is lumped into the same group of people as someone that has molested an infant or raped someone.  It would seem that the law would reflect the crime and I don’t believe that it does in this case.

So, where do we stand right now.  My friend and co-worker is in jail waiting on a court date that is about 3 weeks away.  His fiance and new baby (1 month old) are left at home.  She is not working and they have 2 other kids at home in addition to the new born to care for. 

What happens to them? Does anyone care?  I do.