My life is hell. I was accused of a sexual relationship with my Step-Daughter. My Step-Daughter was not the one doing the accusing. Her Grandmother who hated me was accusing her first in her bedroom. Her Grandmother slapped and hit her yelling that she was having a sexual relationship with me. I was pissed off about the accusation. When her Grandmother was done interrogating my Step-Daughter she came to me. She yelled at me accusing me. She push me against the wall and hit me in the chest. I stood there looking at her and my wife as I took the abusive accusations. When she was done I asked her to leave. I went outside to have a cigarette. My wife came outside to join me. My sat down with and apologised and.said that her mother called and apologised. I was very upset with what had just happened and.I wanted to call the police on my Mother-in-law. I wanted to press charges on my Mother-in-law for hitting my Step-Daughter, but my wife talked me out of it. We all calmed down and went to sleep.
The next day I went off. I was upset with the whole thing that happened last night. I decided to take a break from my wife and her family and stayed at the hotel. My wife called me several times but I did not answer the phone. I was thinking about divorce and I was going to ask my wife for a divorce.
It was later in the afternoon I answered the phone. My wife was yelling at me. I was confused about what she was saying. She was stating that her and her mother went to the police and filed charges. I was upset and rushed home to see what was going on cause I didn’t believe what I heard. I got home but the locks were changed. I knocked but nobody answered. I went to the managers to see if she changed the locks. I sat outside for an hour waiting for someone to come home. No one came home. I was approached by officer’s that told me I was not allowed into my home or on the premises. I didn’t know what to say. I looked at them and asked where was suppose to go? They said to just leave. I have no clothes or my books for school or my tools for work. Everything was in my home. The officers went to my home and knocked on the door and my wife answered. The officers went into my home and came out with a backpack with 2 shorts, shorts, and socks for me. They said you need to leave. Where? I said. Go to a Motel or stay with some friends. I just moved here from California. I just know names of some co-workers I said. They escorted me off the property then told me to wait for a phone call from some detectives cause they want to talk to you. I waited and got the call and met with two detectives. I was asked if I was having a relationship with my Step-Daughter. I said no. I was asked if I have had any sexual contact with my Step-Daughter. I said no. I then told them what had happened the night before. I told them about the argument and fight my Step-Daughter had with her Grandmother and that she was hitting my Step-Daughter until she was crying. I was pushed and hit until my Mother-in-law got tired. I went outside and my wife came out to tell me my Mother-in-law and her were sorry about everything. Then I told them I left the next day and stayed at a hotel because. I wanted to have a divorce and then my wife called me to tell me that her and my Mother-in-law went to the police station and placed charges on me.
I was told that they would call me later for more questions. I asked for my things that I needed for school, work, and clothes, but they said I could not get anything. I said I need my.things and don’t have any place to stay. I only had $260.00 in my pocket. They said they would call me if I could get my things and call me for more questions.
I waited for a couple of days sleeping at a Motel 6 one night, but I knew I would be out of money if I stayed there longer so I stayed in my car. It was 30° outside this winter and I was trying to go to class and find some work, but things got desperately thin. I needed to first find a place I can rest and stay warm, but I didn’t have the money. I live on a border town to Mexico and I would go over there once-twice a week to visit some friends or my wife’s family. I knew they had apartments there for $80-$100 a month. They were not pretty, but I would be out of the cold and be able to rest. It was a hour from my school, but with everything moving so fast I couldn’t focus on school, so I had to drop my classes. I only had about $100 left and I needed work. I called many past employers, but nothing was going on for a couple to a few weeks. Since I was living in the Border town in Mexico I asked my friends where I could get work asap. That day I started working for a dentist office, then in 4 weeks I got hired for a second job at a Plastic Surgeons office. I was just getting things together, but I never got a call from the Detectives. I kept on going figuring that I could save up some money and move back home to California.
Then one morning my friend came to me with a newspaper with my picture in it stating I was wanted by the authorities. It was the next day the Mexican Police came to my work and arrested me. I was handcuffed and the Mexican Police took my keys off of my belt buckle. They pressed the alarm button to my car. They took my car and everything in it. They threaten to beat and rape me if I did not give them money. They slamed me onto the floor in the backseat face down. They drove to some apartments and left me alone for an hour facedown handcuffed. My legs and arms went numb. An officer came down for a minute and asked me questions in spanish, but I did not know what he was saying. Another 20 minutes went by and the officers came back. They drove me to my apartment and asked me which key was the.one for my apartment. I told them which one. They went into my apartment and took all the electrical appliances I had. One officer started slapping me asking me for money. I said I did not have any. He said they are going to kill me if I did not give them some money. I said I get paid the next day $600 and I would give it to them if they wouldn’t kill me. The officer was pissed off and the others finished loading up the SUV. They robbed my whole apartment. I was then taken to the Mexican Police station. They ran my prints and took pictures of me with hooded officers that didn’t show their faces. I was later driven to the border bridge and sent to the U.S. . the U.S. took me and held me in County for my arraignment. I was given a Public Defender. Before the arraignment the Public Defender interviewed me and asked me for my testimony, and asked me if I had money or if I had family that could send me money or if I had anything of value to pay him with. I did not anything and told him the Mexican Police stole everything.
I did not get released on my own recognizance because I did not have an address that I could stay in the U.S. . I was held in County for 8 months. There was no evidence against me. My wife wrote to me stating she tried to drop the charges, but the District Attorney threatened to take away the children. Her and her daughter and my step-son moved and did not want to show up for court, but the State picked up the case without her. I challenged every month for a fair trial, but would not get one. I was being held without any evidence and only allegations. There was nothing and I knew there was nothing, but I was being held. It was torture being held when I thought I was innocent until proven guilty. The County and State was getting away with holding me indefinitely with any just cause. I wanted my speedy trial, but not my Public Defender or the District Attorney. On the 4th month my Public Defender did not even show for my court hearing and then two months later he did not show again. The 8 months I waited to go to trial my Public Defender would just tell me that the District Attorney could not get a jury together and I had to wait another month.
In the time I was in County it was horrible. It was so horrible I cannot write. The things that happened to me I do not know why I even want to still live. I asked for help, but was denied or moved to a different cage. I wasn’t allowed my glasses to read. I wrote to my Public Defender asking him to get my glasses sent to me that the County was holding in my personal belongings. He never got them to me and never responded to my letters. I wrote to a friend in California telling him about what was happening. I asked him to call the County Jail and make a complaint for me that the Sargent was not allowing me my glasses to read. The Sargent came to the cell I was in and called my name. He showed me my glasses and reached out to give them to me. I was saying thank you as my glasses were being handed to me and then he took them back and put them in his pocket and walked away. It was his way of saying f##k you to me. I wasn’t allowed warm clothes or good blankets for the cold, cause they would keep the cells at 55° all the time. It was for the guards cause they all wore long sleeved shorts and bullet proof vests . Any time I was able to steal a blanket or extra shirt the guards would take it away. The food was like eating a kids meals, but it tasted like dog food. The food is animal grade food. Its not even humane grade food they were feeding us. If someone got killed or raped it was a story time. The person died from suicide or I did not see anyone raped even though they were 10 feet away from me. It came to a point where I knew I was next to be killed or soon to be. I just heard, but I didn’t know when or who. I couldn’t sleep and I was scared. I told my Public Defender, but he didn’t do anything. I had to get out of county, so I asked my Public Defender to get me something, anything, probation. He came back to me with a 3 year sentence for bumping my elbow into my Step-Daughters breast. I asked again for probation I had not done anything and this would be my first time offense. He said that was the best he could do. I asked if I would be moved right away if I agreed. He said yes, so the Public Defender asked me to sign papers for the plea-bargin. I couldn’t read them because I had no glasses so I just signed. The Judge did a small briefing about what I was about to sign but I was in shock and could not hear or understand him. My Public Defender told me what to say. I was later taken to a different jail cell and was picked up by the Sheriffs and taken to Prison. In prison it was hell for the next 3 years. I was alone. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t eat, I tried to commit suicide. I was put on medication after my attempt to hang myself. Many people died and got raped. Many people had mental breakdowns. I lived in a world inside my head and in prison.
When I was released I went back to the hometown where my wife and I used to live. A neighbor found me and told me my wife left some things for you for when you got out. I kept what I could carry. I lived in the park and in the streets. The Salvation Army or any other place would help me. I committed myself to a mental health facility and they got me a apartment for a year. I have gone from job to job and live in my car for the past 10 years. I can’t get a job because now they all don’t want to hire people who are required to register for a prior sex related offence. I can’t get an apartment because they don’t want people that are on the registry. I can’t go to a library to get information to help me. I cant go to a park to exercise for my health. I can’t go to church cause people listed on the registry are not allowed. I can’t go to school for the same reason. I can’t love a woman. I can’t have a family. I can’t do anything to make a life. I have no choices. The State, city and Federal laws condemn all people with a prior sex related conviction no matter if your charge is taking a leak behind a tree because if you have the word sex on your record the State, city, neighbor, and google punish you everyday and they do not care if you just took a leak behind a tree. Once you have the Scarlet Letter on your head everybody automatically thinks you are a monster. They think you are the worst. That you must be that person who physically raped, tortured, and murdered children. Its double punishment and there is no way out. I was always told that I’ll never get out of this world alive, no one will. I’m going to take there advise.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

The opinions expressed within posts and comments are solely those of each author, and are not necessarily those of Women Against Registry. Women Against Registry reserves the right to edit or delete any content submitted.