Man Who Sought Teen On Facebook Won’t Be Sex Offender

8-13-2011 New Mexico:

SANTA FE, N.M. -- A high school athletic trainer who pleaded guilty to sexually soliciting a student online doesn’t have to register as a sex offender.

The prosecutor in the case said it’s all thanks to state law.

A Santa Fe mother, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter, said she’s absolutely appalled by the ruling.

“His intent was to come to our home and perform sexual acts on our daughter,” said the mother.

The 28-year-old Santa Fe High School athletic trainer who admitted to trying to hook up with a 15-year-old girl won’t be known as a sex offender.

“The intent was there. They arrested him in front of our home,” said the girl’s mother. “So why not be a registered sex offender?”

Deputy District Attorney Judith Reed said that David Romero doesn’t have to register as a sex offender because he pleaded guilty to child solicitation by an electronic communication device. That charge doesn’t make a convicted person a sex offender in New Mexico. Romero got three years of probation.

“For his probation, he's not allowed to teach, he's not allowed to have any contact with any children under 18,” Reed said.

The victim’s mother said knowing Romero won’t be teaching again is a little bit of consolation, but she wishes the punishment had gone even further.

“I'd feel more safe and better if he was on a sex registration,” said the victim’s mother.

The mother said she wasn’t notified of the hearing, so her daughter never got to tell the judge how she felt about the ruling. They plan to ask the legislature to change the laws for the sake of future victims.

The Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office said they’re not sure why the family wasn’t notified of the hearing, but said they take every child predator case extremely seriously and seek the most severe punishment. ..Source.. by KOAT.com