A teenager and his family in Oklahoma is discovering the troubling consequences of our sex offender and statutory rape laws. Ricky (his last name is being withheld at his request) had sex when he was 16 with a girl who allegedly told him that she was 16. She wasn’t and prosecutors charged him with having sex with a 13 year old. He pled guilty and was sentenced to a two years probation — and registry as a sex offender for ten years. While the judge would three years later expunge that record, Oklahoma still insists on registering him as a high-risk sex offender — forcing him to live like a pariah and satisfy the various restrictions put in place for recidivist child molesters.
Under the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections Sex and Violent Crime Offender Registry, Ricky is charged with Lewd Or Indecent Proposals/Act To A Child. His parents never imagined that this would be the result of his guilty plea.
The first problem was the criminalization of two teens having sex in Iowa. There is no dispute that this was consensual. Yet, prosecutors still pushed for a guilty plea and sex offender registration.
This problem is likely to get worse. States like California are currently deciding whether to comply with a federal sex offender act that would put adolescent sex offenders as young as 14 on a national public registry. It is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 that Congress passed without needed exclusions.
A person claiming to be Ricky’s mother posted the following on the Oklahoma registry site:
My son at sixteen had consensual sex with a girl who admitted to police she lied to him about her real age and now due to Oklahoma law he is a registered sex offender for life and on a aggravated charge for the three year age difference. After telling the cops the truth we were told she truly was only 13, but not to worry her parents did not want to press charges. Well unknownst to us the District Attorney had to prosecute due to my son’s testimony/statement and he was told he do twenty years unless he took a plea bargain which would require no registration and a deferred so no conviction. He agreed and five minutes before court learned the real truth he register ten years. Now since we moved home to Oklahoma he is a lifer at seventeen. I am amazed at the blatant ignorance of these laws by so many folks and hope those who read this will educate themselves further to realize the registry is full of teen consensual sex relations (Romeo/Juliet) and men who took a pee in the woods etc. I have begun a fight here in Oklahoma and across this country for all our son’s being subjected to this nightmare and destruction of their lives by starting a petition asking politicians to enact Romeo/Juliet laws. Patty Wetterling and Mark Lunsford have spoke out and said these cases are romeo and Juliet and to keep the registry accurate for real dangers to our children we must fix it now. So please go here: http://www.rickyslife.com and sign to remove kids like my son from the registry for teen consensual sex. Share it and if you have questions email me I am happy to answer all questions. I just ask you educate yourselves and realize we at this point cannot trust the registry since the Oklahoma HB 1760 puts consensual teens with three year age difference on Tier 3 status. if we had lived here the charge for this age difference be rape first degree…ask youself when you hear rape what do you picture? How can lawmakers denote using this word for a consensual act? If we are fearful of that teen next door who is on registry, unaware it was consensual as a juvenile, will we forget about the real predator two blocks over? The man/woman who really has harmed children? Again please help me in our fight go to http://www.rickyslife.com help me save these boys lives. Type in “is Ricky really a sex offender?” in google search engine read our story and articles, cause without change this could be your son.
The story represent the combination of well-known problems in both statutory rape and sex offender laws. We have recently seen great abuses here and here and here.
For the full story, click here. Ricky may glimpse his future by looking at the life of Wendy Whitaker who is still living under the restrictions of a sex offender for engaging in oral sex at 16.
What is troubling in these cases is that two teens have consensual sex and one if pronounced the victim and the other a rapist by prosecutors. There must be a better way in dealing with the problem of teen sex other than turning one teen into a felon.
For an interview with Ricky, click here.
I don’t even know the way I stopped up right here, however I believed this put up was great. I don’t realize who you might be however certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you happen to aren’t already. Cheers!
ads.duit@gmail.com
barabempo@ritfest.net
tobynws12@hotmail.com
mail@atlasmoving.org
P.S. Visit cfcoklahoma.org. Ricky is learning to be a pretty good web master. If your interested in having a website put up. use the contact button.
They can use the money. Mary, being blind is raising two children on $500.00 a month and may be evicted. You can also donate at http://www.Rickyslife.com and http://www.talkingpointsradio.com, http://www.ethicaltreatment.org,
Thanks
We can all thank John Walsh and Mark Foley for this. and the entire U.S. Congress and Senate, as the AWA was passed as non-controversial, which simply means there was no debate and no introduction of expert testimony.
The truth is that Oklahoma has the highest rate of anal sphincter muscle cramps in the US amongst its legislators. They can barely sit down on their brains as it hurts too much.
Hi Jack please write and advise me how to nail the Republicans ass like Gus blackwell on this matter. I have spoke to him and others and they just lie and tell me they are doing whatever to look into the law. Example, John auffet (D) told me two days ago he is looking to his staff to get info on a bill h elike to present to honor expungments from other states but honeslty think th eman is blowing smoke since our legislator kicks off in a few short weks. Federal law would remove ricky from this registry from the AWA if they pass the clause but Oklahoma politicians, who told me they were, now are claiming they’re not sure. Google “teens branded as sex offenders” and watch our latest interview and write the reporter aalford@fox23.com tell her we care about Ricky and we need reporters like her to put pressure on Oklahoma politicians…hell call gus blackwell demand answers to why we have kid slike ricky in this registry which misleads citizens to the true dangers and violent offenders. The man on May 1 when we met tol dme and a friend “the predators are hiding in the registry”!!!! So who I ask is at fault for this? Answer: POLITIANS for passing bad laws instread of looking to the reprecussions of their own actions. I ask all to educate themselves and know the truth and protect your children and I can send you a free educational brochure just email me or go to http://www.cfciowa.org and under library download free PDF file. Look folks we want change then we have to make it and fight for not just the juvenile boys but the men. The witch hunt is on and a woman can accuse a man of a sex crime and without evidence he is going to become registered…we must begin to take a stand and fight for our constitution and our rights. My contact info is on my educatinal brochure and thank you for signing our petition and caring. If interested in more stories go here: http://www.rickyslife.com, http://www.derekoftexas.blogspot.com, http://www.talkingpointsradio.com, http://www.ethicaltreatment.org, http://www.falselyaccusedindiana.blogspot.com Thank you and Merry Christmas
And Ricky’s Mom…you have been advised a thousand times to nail the Republican Party on this.
It isn’t enough to just say “we need more laws or addendi to laws”.
You have to focus the sun with the magnifying glass on a political party that hates males but expects them to vote for it.
Sadly, American male voters are slow on the uptake that it is the Republicans who hate them…because the Democrats hate them as well.
But, since the Democrats don’t need men to vote for them and the Republicans do…it is easier to punish the latter.
Exactly.
Republicans need to know that, if they ever want to win again, they have to turn away from their open hatred of premarital sex.
I mean…look at federal funding for Adult Abstinence Programs. That is so incredibly unconstitutional it isn’t funny.
To ever win again, the Republicans have to turn from their anti-male misguided chivalry position that causes them to ultimately agree with victim feminists on the idea that men are inherently evil and pollute the world of innocent females.
Hatred of males wanting premarital sex…
That is what this is all about. There are currently Republican politicians in Oklahoma and the Mid-West who are playing up how they want Ricky to be an EXAMPLE to all teenagers so they think twice about ever having sex before marriage.
If I were a 15 year old girl, I would set these bastards up. These hypocrites also now enforce a policy where it doesn’t matter if a teenager lies about her age…the male must not only check IDs but he has to know he will go on the registry even if he was shown an ID but it was false.
That is basically saying “You would be wise not to have sex at all…and if you do…you would be wise to chose a woman who looks older than 30”.
And the constituents who push most for these laws? Insecure women over 30.
Do you see a motivational pattern there?
Until the Republcan Party says that it is pro-male and will protect males from females who lie (about their age when under the age of consent or about false abuse when they stand to win a house or a car), the Republican Party will continue to lose elections.
Men are now a lot more aware about what is happening than they were in 2004 when all they could think about was how John Kerry was supposedly a wimp.
I believe that this issue is related to the religious nonsense that Bush and the neocons have brought with them these past 8 years. This kind of punishment reminds me of the Scarlet Letter treatment. It doesn’t surprise me that Oklahoma is so advanced in their thinking. Are they trying to outdo Texas and Florida in having the most antiquated laws concerning minors engaging in consensual sex?