MANCHESTER, N.H. —Nearly three decades after a Manchester, New Hampshire, man pleaded guilty to sexual assault, his attorney filed paperwork to try to get his name taken off the sex offender registry.
Earlier this year, the state Supreme Court ruled that New Hampshire's law requiring certain criminal offenders convicted before 1994 to register is unconstitutional.
The victim at the center of the case, who is now an adult, said she recently learned that the man who assaulted her was seeking to be removed from the registry.
"This isn't a 17-year-old who made a mistake," the victim said. "This is a grown man that hurt a child for 10 years over and over again."
The woman said she was shocked when she learned the man who assaulted her decades ago in Manchester was trying to get off the sex offender registry.
"When you are a murderer, you don't become not a murderer anymore," she said. "He is a sex offender. He doesn't get to be not a sex offender anymore."
The man, who pleaded guilty to sex assault in 1987, has been allowed by the courts to go by "John Doe."
According to court documents, he brought a lawsuit against the state in part because he wanted to qualify for public housing and wasn't allowed to because he is on the registry.
In February, the state Supreme Court ruled that offenders convicted before 1994, before lifetime restrictions were enacted, can apply to get off the registry. According to the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, there are few guidelines regarding the process.
According to court paperwork, John Doe decided to not go forward with a hearing to determine if he was dangerous.
"He did not want to subject her to the humiliation, embarrassment and emotional stress of testifying in open court," the documents said.
"I'm not afraid," the victim said. "I'm here. My voice is going to be heard this time. I'm not the scared little girl from 30 years ago. I'm a grown woman, and I did nothing wrong."
The man's attorneys declined to comment on the case.
The Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence said it is working with state agencies in hopes of passing legislation that would create a clear framework on how someone gets off the registry that would include victim notification. ..Source.. by
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