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Post by HOST on Apr 30, 2015 17:55:54 GMT -5
I am the founder of HOST and an avid supporter of sex offender transition.
My passion over all regulations is fixing the problem of residency restrictions but I fully support all other aspects as well including registration and supervision (probation).
It’s the transition piece that I enjoy more than any other. While I understand the importance of educating offenders on regulatory compliance, it’s important to remember the issues faced by offenders that little to no support is provided for. Jobs and simple friendship are hard to come by and providing any amount of help in finding these solutions for offenders is what I live and breathe.
Yes I am an offender myself and have my own personal story but I’m here to tell you that these obstacles can be overcome.
Let me be clear because I’m sure to get this question. I do not support the crimes that have been committed by any offender. What I support is their second chance so long as compliance with all laws and stipulations of supervision are being met. Mistakes were made but sentences either were served or are currently being served. It’s not our place to judge that the sentences were too lenient. These offenders have every right to live their lives within society, so long as no laws or conditions of their supervision are broken.
I survived incarceration as well as probation myself. Now my goal is to help others do it too.
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Post by Chrissy on Aug 30, 2015 20:54:56 GMT -5
Hello I need some advice desperately. I am a therapist but so disillusioned with the system I have decided to work to independently. I began working with rescue dogs for therapy. I needed a dog trainer and with an almost nonresistant budget it had to be someone special. More to the story but ill get to the main problem.
I began working with a man,who was a sex offender. When we first started working together. I explained my financial issue. He didn't care he listened to my dreams of dog rescue. He began working with me with absolutely nothing in return. He also turned out to be a great carpenter. He lives in a house called the exit program. The most horrible living conditions I have ever seen. Her never complained everey dayI would pick him up and he would come to my home work on kennels ect. My family also bought a trailer on some property. He worked on it. again no charge. This man has the best soul of anyone I have ever met.
I offer to let him live in the trailer and he also helped my parents with up keep on their farm.
This is where everything went bad. He put in with his PO for a transfer. and he was very supportive. The new PO was notified. She called me and was appalled she told me SOs should be destroyed. She told me I didn't know what I was getting into. after 4 month of lame excuses. She finally came out with a deputy. to my home and spoke with me. my home the trailer and my parents are all on te same road in a country setting. She couldnt find anything wrong. She went back to her office and got on his Facebook. A few week prior to that he was training a rescue dog and my daughter inlaw stopped by with my grandson. He is 4 I was taking pics of the training session. I didn't think about it but he said he had to go
because of his parole. We left as quickly as we could without causing a scene.but in a pic i posted on my FB is my friend and my grandson. Well so when she seen that she sent it to his original po. They sent a message for him to come to the office.When we did they arrested him. He is now waiting for a hearing I want to help. He dosent deserve this. I cant afford an attorney. oh and sinceI stood up for him they have suspician I am romantically involved with him.
please tell me what I can do
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Post by HOST on Aug 31, 2015 6:57:44 GMT -5
Hello Chrissy,
Welcome and thank you for joining our forums.
First off I would like to say that your rescue dog work sounds like a wonderful and positive program. I think it's great that you found the help you needed and I also applaud you for supporting somebody who has a status of a sex offender. Sex offenders can be productive people if given the chance so desperately needed but of course with that said, you have to be extremely careful. There is no reason to automatically assume they are any danger or threat based on their status alone, but you obviously want to keep your eyes open. It doesn't sound like he's given you anything but positive support for your rescue dog program.
It's true sex offenders can live in terrible conditions, and that's simply because most will never rent to a sex offender.
I think it's great that you offered him the chance to live in the trailer, and I'm very familiar with the transfer process required when persons on probation and or parole requesting to move. I am so sorry that the PO's initial reaction was that SO's should be destroyed. Nobody with such a negative and general opinion should be in her field. Their job is to supervise and monitor, not prejudge. She does not represent the courts. The courts already made their decision that supervision was appropriate.
The details of your story confuse me a bit, as I would assume she came out to the trailer long before 4 months. Then you mentioned that she got on his Facebook and that also leads me to a few additional questions.
Is he allowed on Facebook, or the internet in general? Everybody has different conditions and some states even consider a sex offender using Facebook a new crime. Most states however don't consider Facebook itself a problem, so long as the sex offender has the account registered with the local sheriff. Technically Facebook does not allow sex offenders to use their services, but it's a company policy and not a crime. The worst Facebook can do is ban the account.
If this occurred in a state that sex offenders are not allowed on Facebook, that could be what led to his arrest. I do not know what state this was happening in.
If however, the state you are in allows sex offenders on Facebook and if his supervision conditions allow internet access, and the Facebook account was properly registered according to Facebook guidelines, there is nothing illegal about a sex offender using Facebook.
You mentioned your 4 year old grandson, and I'm not clear if the problem was that he was around your grandson, but you mentioned that a picture of your friend with your grandson was posted onto Facebook. Generally sex offenders are not allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors, so it all depends what this picture shows, but if it implies your friend was alone with your grandson, that could be the problem. Photos of a sex offender with a minor child are usually not a good idea, even if the photos seem completely innocent. In this case the PO may be trying to show unsupervised contact with a minor.
So it sounds like he was arrested on a VOP (Violation of probation/parole). The question is whether that violation is for him being on Facebook in an unauthorized manner, or if it's the picture itself showing he had unsupervised contact with a minor. That will be for the courts to decide at his VOP hearing.
Without a private lawyer, a public defender will probably not be of much assistance, and the more important issue is to understand what they are accusing him of due to his arrest. Any additional information you can provide might help me determine which situation applies.
It sounds like the picture was harmless, but that it might be showing unsupervised contact.
I do wish both him and you the best of luck, as the legal situation plays out. If I can provide any additional help, feel free to ask.
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Post by help on Aug 31, 2015 9:28:22 GMT -5
Host thank for your reply.I thought I posted but I don't know where it went. We are in Ohio,yes they are saying he had contact with a minor.The po just came out last Thursday. His current residents is in The Exit program. Where the state pays 1000.00 a month. Where minors live next store.
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Post by HOST on Aug 31, 2015 13:36:58 GMT -5
You're welcome. So now that you've confirmed it's a contact with minor accusation I'll let you know what I see happening.
Unsupervised contact with minor is a very vague accusation. Nobody defines what unsupervised means. Sex offenders are confronted with possible unsupervised contact situations daily. Something as simple as a trip to the grocery store could result in unintentional but unsupervised contact with a minor. The child may simply ask you for the time and there is no way to win the situation.
The problem is that supervised usually means approved by the courts, and not necessarily an adult simply being present. Obviously the person taking the picture was present, and that was most likely you but that alone doesn't consider it officially supervised contact if no court authorized it. Since it's in a photo it is a bit more tangible evidence, but it's not actual evidence that determines foul play.
Hopefully the judge will see it as a harmless photo and possibly reinstate his parole/probation, but that will be an argument handled in court. It would be best for him to discuss this with his attorney, even if that's just going to be the public defender. It sounds like the PO is against all sex offenders as a whole and is thus using an innocent situation into an accusation against his conditions. Like I said previously, the best argument is to say sex offenders are around minors frequently even though it's usually unintended. What's a sex offender to do when approached by a child in a public place? Unfortunately a photo of this type of unsupervised contact is tangible evidence it occurred, even if it was an innocent encounter.
I sincerely hope that his probation or parole is reinstated, and I wish you and him the best of luck. A private lawyer is probably the best option, but that requires money and guarantees nothing. If he's using a public defender, then providing the details to them is probably the only action he can take.
You used a prime example in the irrational logic of the entire system. Sex offenders usually do live very nearby children and yet they are trying to convince the public how all these restrictions protect children. It's impossible to avoid contact with children if you live by them. All you can do is attempt your best to never encourage any contact with them. It's a game, and only by playing the game do offenders get released from probation and or parole.
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Post by chrissy on Sept 1, 2015 21:53:46 GMT -5
Hello again and thank you for listening. I was wondering if there an agency or law group that can help him.Today I was contacted by the parole officer. Telling me I would be subpoenaed and I feel tried to be intimidating. I don't know what my rights are.
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Post by HOST on Sept 3, 2015 5:52:50 GMT -5
Aside from contacting a private attorney, I do not know of any agencies or law groups that can help a witness being subpoenaed. RSOL (Reform sex offender laws) is a notional group and they do have an Ohio branch. They do not provide legal council, but they do support the rights of offenders and are specific to Ohio. Below is a link. It will provide another link to an organization they work called Constitutional Fights but that link doesn't seem to work from the link I'm sending you to. It can link you to their Twitter though so it may be a starting point. ohiorsol.wordpress.com/twitter.com/constfightsGood luck! |
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jev1a
New Member
Prison Without Conviction - True Confessions - Florida Action Committee member - Filmmaker - Writer
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Post by jev1a on Sept 18, 2015 7:58:17 GMT -5
Hello, Here are the specifics on Facebook and the RSO. I did extensive research including interviews with Facebook operatives. I'm located in Central Florida and in accordance with our State Statutes, all Internet Identifiers must be Registered. "FACEBOOK and the RSO" Sex sting nets Facebook child-attack suspect accused of soliciting mom to abuse son bit.ly/18uhM7pThis linked sex sting story I investigated and here are my findings. Facebook does not allow sexual content. If you post sexual content in any form your account will be deleted. I checked with a Personal User Account Executive of FaceBook in San Jose, California. "Certain key words will not allow a post, for sure the words used regarding this story would of not only "not" allowed the post but a warning would of been e-mailed to the user of the account as well says, Mimi." WARNING Florida RSO's Its important for all RSO's to report all Social Media Accounts in accordance to current Florida Law. The FDLE as well as your Sheriff's Office need this information. When you register or re-reg, make sure they have that information and it is up to date and most importantly, accurate. This includes IM (Instant Messaging Accounts), E-Mail, Twitter and Facebook. Speaking of Facebook only, the current rules state No Convicted Sexual Offenders can apply or maintain a account. "The user address and personal information cannot always be verified as the person actually subscribing says, Mimi." " We do security checks on suspicious activity and if a Sex Offender is found with a account and it's verified with Law Enforcement then the account will be deleted, she said." "If any person that falls under this category status changes they may send us a message to re-apply for a account, she added." Social Networking for any RSO in my own opinion cannot be a good thing. We know already Law Enforcement has access to all our user accounts and can use sophisticated technology to gain access to your accounts. Then if you are found to be involved with unlawful activity, new Law Enforcement forensics will discover your activities. On that subject I asked Mimi if she had ever received a call from a Law Enforcement agency to verify activity of personal accounts? "Yes, but I forward those calls to our Security and Legal Departments, she said." We are in the process of setting up a special Facebook hotline to report these kind of activities, she added " The question for the RSO, myself included is to Social Network or not to Social Network? I happen to be of that old school age where I do not feel the vital importance of having all this technology at our disposal so I'm cool with not having a Personal Facebook Page. "But what about the Eighteen year old, can they go through Life and today's Society without the same high tech Social Networking as the rest of Society? This is all part of the short and long term negative sociological effects of the continued punishment for Registered Citizens after our sentences have been handed down and cases closed. Its a political and governmental plan to exclude us from Society without the understanding of each individual case. A compliant RSO must maintain their dignity and understand that the rights others take for granted may not be so for us. JEV True Confessions / FAC |
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Post by HOST on Sept 22, 2015 9:00:12 GMT -5
Using Facebook, or any other social media for that matter, in a manner to post sexual content is not only unwise but for supervised sex offenders with internet restrictions it's also likely a violation of probation conditions. I agree with everything you mention about Facebook and their policy but I think the bigger issue is to reiterate whether the platform is Facebook or not, we neither encourage nor tolerate offenders using social media for any inappropriate purposes.
Facebook policy does state that sexual offenders cannot maintain an account. I try to educate there is a huge difference between Facebook policy and actual legal restrictions. It's a policy I accept but don't agree with that Facebook bans offenders. However, that's an official policy and not something usually enforced without a specific reason given. The decision to block accounts is usually content, not user status. If a non offender posts inappropriate material, it's just as harmful. So long as inappropriate content is not posted, unless probation conditions prohibit it, there is nothing illegal about offenders using Facebook in the state of Florida or many other states. It is a Facebook company violation, not a crime. The only way to fight discrimination is to stand up for your rights. With that said, offenders need to be careful about any social media, Facebook or any other platform. Some states do consider Facebook a criminal offense when used by an offender. Florida is just not one of them.
Internet identifiers is a subject that makes me cringe. FDLE does require offenders to report all internet identifiers. What they don't do is define what an internet identifier is. There is no doubt that an email address, Facebook account or many other social media accounts be registered. When you get into the not so popular social media platforms, or even down to something like on line banking, FDLE makes no definition what qualifies as an internet identifier. When in doubt, register it. Some social activity is however simply linked to your email. So long as the email is registered, you can't call every possible use of the email as a separate internet identifier.
I agree 100%, to social network or to not social network is a question that should be thought through long and hard by any RSO. Any platform which could lead to communication with minors needs to be considered. You could easily end up speaking with a minor without it ever being your intention. Certainly avoiding any type of sexual content or sexual oriented platforms should be avoided. With those things considered however, social networking certain issues can be a useful tool. So long as the content is appropriate, even if communication with a minor does occur it can't lead to any legal charges unless probation conditions are being broken. I'd highly suggest nobody on probation use social media. I'd never encourage communication with a minor, it's just not going to be a problem should it occur unintentionally so long as content always remains appropriate.
Since Facebook policy does prohibit offenders, other platforms can be just as useful without breaking any company policy.
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