'Let me live my life': Registered sex offender shares his side of story

3-23-2014 New Jersey:

Victor Vega is a registered sex offender.

He’ll admit to that, no problem.

He is not, however, a pedophile. He is not a child molester, and he has no interest messing with anyone’s kids, he said.

“A lot of people don’t know the story,” said Vega, 44, from his West Main Street home. “They figure, because someone’s a sex offender, ‘Oh, he likes little kids.’ But that’s not always the case.

“Before you go judge someone, do your homework.”

Vega is one of three sex offenders who were registered as living within 1,000 feet of Par Excellence Academy, a local elementary school. By law, registered adult sex offenders in Ohio are not allowed to live within 1,000 feet of a school, preschool or day care facility, but that restriction applies only to people convicted after July 1, 2003.

Vega says his offense was in late 2002 and his conviction in early 2003. Newark Law Director Doug Sassen said officials are still working to determine Vega’s exact conviction date — it was out of state, which makes tracking down records more difficult — but if Vega’s story holds up, he can stay put.

Par Excellence officials said they want Vega and the other two offenders to move, but Vega doesn’t think he should have to. Moving is expensive, he’s happy where he is now, and he’s not causing any trouble, he said.

This past week, Vega sat down with The Advocate to share his side of the story.

Living with 290: Traveling to Cabo San Lucas

1-16-2014 California:

My boyfriend and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas as we do every year. After several scans of our passports at us airport we board the plane. He’s is a RSO from 20 years ago which was a *** deal to begin with!!

We land in Baja head to Mexican customs we are pulled out of line taken into this little room where they proceed to tell him he is not allowed in the country… They fill out all forms escort us with 5 armed guards back to the same airplane we just arrived on and sent us back to USA..

What the hell is going on? When we arrive to us customs they say have a nice day and they have heard of this happening more and more?? What a way to ruin a 10 day vacation!!!

Got off plane and flew to Hawaii for the week would rather spend my money in the USA anyway!!! As far as I am concerned its over priced there anyway Americans are not safe and they can make rules up as they go!!! Take Mexico and shove it where the sun don’t shine…. ..Source.. by CA-RSOL Living with 290 Series

NOTE: This post on CA-RSOL website has over 100 comments and other stories being told about International Travel problems.

Inside the life of a registered sex offender

2-23-2014 Colorado:

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, there are currently more than 10,000 registered sex offenders living in Colorado. Chances are some of them live in your community.

9NEWS was given a rare look at what life is like for a registered sex offender years after they committed their crime.

"August 16th of 2006... I was arrested for chatting online with an undercover officer... I thought this person was a 13-year-old girl," said Brent (we are not using Brent's last name due to privacy), a registered sex offender.

On that warm August day, Brent found himself surrounded by officers inside his high paying job at Lockheed Martin. From that moment forward he would be labeled a sex offender and lose every ounce of freedom.

"I was charged with criminal intent of sexual assault on a child," said Brent.

"I was just shocked. I don't know what else to say. I cried," Brent's wife Amanda replied.

In the months that followed, Amanda would learn more about her husband's problem. It turns out Brent had been battling his demons for years. In 2003, Brent says, he tried chatting with an underage girl online but got cold feet and backed away. Stressed by this information, Amanda nearly walked away from Brent... But ultimately, she stayed.

Child molester (Registrant) in Macomb County stopped from leaving country

9-6-2013 Michigan:

A convicted Macomb County child molester was stopped last week at an airport in his attempt to fly to Europe in celebration of his 25th wedding anniversary because he failed to notify operators of the sex offender registry.

He was arrested Aug. 28 by Michigan State Police minutes before he and his wife were to board a Delta flight at Detroit Metropolitan Airport headed for Amsterdam, and ultimately to Prague. He was to return Sept. 9.

“He said they were going on a 25th wedding anniversary cruise that he paid $16,000 for,” said MSP Trooper Craig Tuer, state coordinator for the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. “He wasn’t happy. He was in disbelief.

“I don’t think those school children (he was accused of molesting) would’ve been happy” if he was allowed to break the rules and go on the trip.

He was formally charged Friday in 46th District Court in Southfield with failure to provide the registry of his plan to leave the country at least 21 days prior to departure and failure to provide a copy of his passport. The felonies are punishable by up to four years in prison.

His attorney, Kenneth Karam, said his client did not intend to skirt the law.

“If there was any violation, it certainly wasn’t willful,” Karam said. “This was a long-planned vacation. It wasn’t something he was trying to hide. Everything was in his own name.

“The Registry Law is complicated. I think he complied, but we’ll see.”

He said the incident “was disconcerting, to say the least,” to him and his wife, who are both retired.

Tuer said when an offender reports his intent to leave the United States, the MSP informs that country, which can choose to reject the person. He said some countries typically ignore the warning while others will turn away a convicted sex offender.

He pled no contest in 2005 to one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in a plea agreement with Macomb County prosecutors. He was sentenced by Macomb County Circuit Judge Mary Chrzanowski to five years probation, with the first year in the county jail. Fifteen additional charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and another five counts of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct were dismissed as part of the deal. The offenses carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Warren Consolidated Schools and officials were sued by 10 girls in 2006 and one additional girl later in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Each settled the case for an undisclosed sum that they will begin receiving at age 18.

William Seikaly, who represented the victims, said “the general consensus” among the girls and their parents was that he “got off easy in the criminal case.”

“Like the victims in cases of this type, they have been deeply affected and haunted by what occurred,” Seikaly said. “Many of them resented the fact that he never suffered any serious consequences for his behavior.”

The settlement was to pay for compensation and psychological treatment for the victims, Seikaly said at the 2007 settlement hearing, court documents say. ..Source.. by JAMESON COOK