3-17-2011 New Mexico:
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- How many times have you received a forwarded text message on your cell phone but did not know how to track the original sender?
A Las Cruces man said that is what is happening to him, except he is the focus of the message, being labeled a sex offender, which he is not.
"It's juvenile that people would do something like this," Roy Parra said.
Parra is an ex-con, trying to lead a normal life, but said a forwarded text message is jeopardizing his already bruised reputation.
"I did something totally different, there's no way I’m a sex offender," Parra said.
Parra served 12.5 years for armed robbery with a deadly weapon. His mug shot from the day he was booked into prison is real in a forwarded message, but superimposed text labeling him as a registered sex offender, is not.
"I’m uncomfortable being out in public now," Parra said.
ABC-7 searched the National Sex Offender Registry, finding no results for Parra’s name.
Parra said he received the message from a friend, who says it was forwarded from another friend…the original source, unknown.
“If the message is perceived to be a threat or harassing, this person who's receiving them can actually file a police report," Dan Trujillo, spokesperson for the Las Cruces Police Dept., said.
Wireless technology expert Philip Yost said tracking down the source may be challenging, but can be done.
"You have to contact the provider and you'd have to file like a harassment claim, it usually takes 20 to 48 hours, and through the data stamping or imprinting on the message, even if it's blocked, they're able to pull the information and see the mobile number that's associated with it," Yost said.
Parra said his problem should be a reminder of the possible damage from pressing ‘send.’
"Just because you get a forward about something doesn't mean it's necessarily true."
If a forwarded text hurts a reputation, Trujillo said, that could potentially be defamation of character – a matter that would have to be taken up in civil court. ..Source.. ABC-7 Reporter Jill Galus
March 17, 2011
Ex-Con Wrongly Labeled As Sex Offender In Text Messages
October 5, 2009
IL- Child murderer worried about his image
10-5-2009 Illinois:
Tony Dameron wants to make one thing clear: He's a murderer, not a sex offender.
Dameron, who is serving a life sentence for beating his 3-month-old daughter to death, filed a petition in Kane County Circuit Court this week asking a judge to take his name off the sex offender registry.
He says it's causing "irreparable damage" to his reputation.
Dameron was convicted in 1998 of murdering his daughter three years earlier in Aurora. Initially, he was sentenced to die but later agreed to life without parole in exchange for dropping appeals in the case.
In his latest filing, Dameron claims he was "unjustly" added to Illinois' sex offender registry and goes on to point out that he would be better suited for the state's list of child murderers and violent offenders against youths.
His name could not be found in either database Friday. Dameron says he has pointed out the error to the state's attorney's office, but no one would help him sort it out.
Court records suggest authorities at one time believed there was a sexual element to Dameron's case; he was charged with but not convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13.
State's Attorney John Barsanti could not immediately be reached Friday afternoon, but his office is unlikely to comment because it's technically a defendant in Dameron's complaint.
Dameron was convicted of first-degree murder after his infant daughter Rachel suffered 37 facial injuries, a fractured skull and severe brain damage in what he claimed was a tumble down the stairs. Her body was found Aug. 30, 1995, in a duffel bag hidden under dirty laundry in his apartment.
Dameron, now 38, is serving his sentence at Pontiac Correctional Center. The sex offender matter goes to Judge Michael J. Colwell on Jan. 19, 2010. ..Source.. by Josh Stockinger
March 31, 2009
TX- State to appeal judicial decison calling for more due process for child killer Raul Meza
3-31-2009 Texas:
The Texas attorney general will appeal a recent decision by a federal judge calling for an "appropriate hearing" in the implementation of parole conditions for notorious child killer Raul Meza. The decision could lead to a spate of suits from other parolees.
Last week federal judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ordered a "hearing meeting the requirements of due process" for Meza who was released from prison on mandatory supervision seven years ago. Despite his release, he has remained effectively incarcerated ever since, because of stringent parole restrictions he had little chance to rebut, Yeakel ruled.
Meza, who admitted sexually assaulting his victim, but was not prosecuted for a sex crime, was nonetheless ordered by the Parole Board to comply with sex offender restrictions known as Condition X. Yeakel questioned the state's sincerity in its efforts to help Meza transition back into the free world. "Regardless of the state's protestations to the contrary, Meza has remained incarcerated since his mandatory supervision began in 2002," Yeakel wrote. "No reasonable observer may conclude otherwise."
Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 1982 murder of 9-year-old Kendra Page. The parole board had no choice but to release him under mandatory supervision in 2002, but ordered tight restrictions, such as that he be accompanied by an officer at all times outside the Travis County Correctional Complex; that he only spend 8 hours a week outside the Complex; and that he only visit a job program on certain days. Those restrictions prevented Meza from reintegrating into the community, the judge wrote.
The ruling is "a step in the right direction," said parole attorney Bill Habern who has handled several similar cases. "We previously did not know what due process applied in this state, or in this circuit, on these issues. Now we've had the due process defined by the court."
A spokesman for the attorney general's office declined comment except to say the office would appeal. ..News Source.. by Diane Jennings
April 8, 2008
Former FBI Agent Says Sex Offender Label is Problematic
4-8-2008 National:
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - What should be done with sex offenders? That's a question child welfare professionals are tackling this week in Huntsville, and a former FBI agent has some very strong views that he's shared with others.
Sex offenders are treated as second-class citizens in American society, and most would say rightly so. To get the designation, they've convicted of a terrible crime, most of them against children. But for those convicted of a sexual crime, no matter what charge or the age of the victim, they all have the same label.
Ken Lanning spent 35 years as a special agent for the FBI. He now trains law enforcement officials across the United States on how to investigate allegations of sexual abuse. But even though he's seen and investigated some of the worst cases in the country, he doesn't like the title of sexual predator.
"The reason I don't like the term is while I agree that they are many are predatory in their behavior," Lanning said. "The label predatory conjures up an evil type of image that they're evil monsters, dirty old men in wrinkled rain coats, a wolf in sheep's clothing. Men prowling around and mean nasty people. And while there are people who fit that, a lot these guys are pillars of the community. They go to church on Sunday and they're nice to their neighbors."
That description would apply former Huntsville Police officer Kenneth Haga, who was convicted two years ago of possession of child pornography. Another example is Rev. Jerry Wayne Love, who was convicted of first-degree sodomy and repeated sexual abuse of three of his adopted children.
But while you can find the names of Love and many other offenders on bulletin boards and sex offender web sites, Lanning said the public shouldn't try to fit them all into the same category. Also, he said that not all people convicted of sex crimes should be required to wear electronic monitoring bracelets, and move 2,000 feet from schools or day cares, under laws like Jessica or Megan's Law.
"What happened to Jessica, what happened to Megan? These were two little girls who were sexually assaulted and murdered. Most child molesters don't abduct their victims, and most don't kill their victims, so why have we passed a law based on the worst possible case and apply to offenders who don't fit in these categories?" he said.
"I'm not against registering sex offenders," Lanning continued. "I'm not against community notification. I just think that we need to do it in a realistic, practical kind of way."
Lanning said it's not possible to put all sex offenders in jail. No one's going to pay for that. But all of them can't also be sent to counseling. He said the key is balance -- a balance that law makers don't want to take the time to look for.
..more.. by Reporter: Justin McFarland, Web Editor: Dana Franks
