When my husband Sam was 17 years old, he made a life changing decision to go out with 3 guys he really didn’t know for a night out on the town. This night ended in armed robbery and rape of a working girl. He was part of the robbery but not the rape, but that doesn’t matter in the eyes of the law. A felony was committed and it didn’t matter that he took no part in the rape because he was there. He ended up doing 13 years in prison because of the plea agreement but there was no such thing as a registry then. When the time came for him to be released, the registry was a very real thing and it was retroactive, so he had to register twice a year.

We got married 18 months after he was released and he struggled. First people wouldn’t hire him because he was a sex offender, then he went to a temp agency and they put him to work.  He is a hard worker, and he would ride a bike to a bus station to take 2 different buses just to get to work!  But all the jobs were temporary and never longer then 6 months. Someone in my family said that they would get Sam an interview, but the rest was in Him. Like I said, he is a hard worker and he was given the chance to show them and he got the job. FINALLY. Unfortunately, the company had hardships, and everyone’s pay was reduced a lot, and he has a wife and two kids, so we needed more. I had in family across the country in a different state, so we decided to uproot our family and try for a better life for the kids. Well same story, different state.  He struggled to get work, and he went through another temp agency, and they said his record didn’t matter because he had not been in any trouble in the last 10 years. So, he started at a water company running a machine. He was great at his job!  He broke records and never had any issues, so they decided to make him a permanent employee but of course they were going to run his background.  We hoped we were safe  because he had no trouble since his release. We were wrong.  After 18 months they said they couldn’t keep him because he is a sex offender.  They literally told him it would have been better had he committed a murder!  WTF. So, Sam made a decision that day that he would never put our future in the hands of another company, and he was going to open up our own business.

I was so scared! I thought he was crazy.  We weren’t teenagers, after all.  We were 2 adults that had 2 kids and needed real money to pay our real bills, but I knew he deserved better than what he was getting so we took a leap of faith. It didn’t happen overnight, but we slowly grew and owned and operated a small family-owned business. Our son Pete worked with his dad and is the foreman of the crew and I do all office work. So, we bought a new truck for the business and like anyone who has to register you have to go and register it. So, Sam did immediately and this was at the very end of June and 2 weeks later in mid-July he registered the permanent plate. Sam is required to register every six months so his is Aug and Feb. Well, we forgot to register in August.  We honestly thought when we did the truck in July that we were good didn’t have to go again for six months. No excuses.  We forgot. We had been dealing with life on life’s terms. I had to have surgery in July and again in Aug. Our Son had gotten himself in some trouble and we were dealing with his court, and our daughter got a promotion, and we moved her across the state for her new job. We just were busy and we assumed we were ok after registering the truck. So, we forgot to go in. On September 4, 2025, at about 10 am someone was beating on my door making my dogs go nuts, so I was pissed but when i opened the door and police outside my door in tactical gear, I got immediately scared.  I had no clue what was up. They were asking me where Sam was, how long does he work, where is he, had he been sick, was I his wife or girlfriend? I asked a few times what was going on with no answer. I called Sam and he said OK no problem I’m on my way home.

I knew in my heart something was seriously wrong. They left to go to the store because it was going to take him about 30 min to get home. Sam got here and I explained everything to him, and he thought I was overreacting. He was right that he hadn’t done anything wrong and that he had been in zero trouble in 26 years since his release.  He told them that we don’t drink or do drugs and that all we do is work and spend time together.  We are living in the edge if we are not in bed by 11.

Then he saw what I had seen 3 blacked out cars, 4 officers in tactical gear rolled up and he looked nervous now. They told us that he hadn’t registered In August 2025. We told him that we thought we had we explained everything about the truck and we must have gotten confused. As we are pleading our case at this point more tactical officers are pulling up, sheriffs are pulling up in their cruisers. Nosy neighbors are literally walking up to the cops to ask is everything alright?? Sam and I are trying to explain that we did register. Sam walked over to our car to get some paperwork to show them and one of the officers immediately went on high alert and wanted to know where he was going and what he was doing and if he had any weapons in the car?

At this point we both knew in our hearts they didn’t care what we had to say.  They didn’t care that he has NEVER forgotten to register and he has never been late. I forgot to tell you that 2 days prior a police officer was here to do their normal spot check a nothing was mentioned then. Remember at this point he is technically only 4 days past his register deadline. As we were talking to them i started to notice that all these police were boxing him in. I don’t know if they thought he was going to run or fight even though he has been in no trouble in 26 years since he was released. Then they said “Put your hands behind your back, Sam.”  At that moment I wanted to lose my mind. I was so angry and confused so I asked why?  You can’t give him a warning?  The other officer was here 2 days ago they couldn’t have said something we would have went right in. Sam would have turned himself in if he had none just to avoid what was happening now!

They didn’t care they treated this man like he was an animal or a career criminal. If I was a neighbor, I would have thought they got Pablo Escobar with the way they pulled up and behaved. So completely defeated I asked fine where can I bail him out? The lovely Lieutenant informs us that he won’t be getting a bond that it an automatic 30 day hold because this was an offense that required prison time like when a felon in in possession of a gun. After Sam was arrested, I contacted a Lawyer who told me some of what the Lieutenant said is true some is not. Sam could get a bond if the Judge agreed. Long story short I was able to bond Sam out, but the Judge made him wear a tether and those stipulations meant Sam couldn’t leave our county.   They didn’t care that all our jobs were in surrounding counties.  Us being able to work and make money was not an emergency. They don’t care that we have to come up with $40,000 for a Lawyer and that you have to work to be able to get that money. So, Sam did his time in prison, he did his required time on parole. Sam did a complete 180 with his life.

He is a husband a Father, a business owner. He helps out people in need. He treats our workers the way he wished he had been treated when he needed a job. He will hire someone with a criminal background and give them the chance to turn their life around. He has been a member of our church for 16 years and he volunteers his time whenever it’s needed. This man saved my life literally but that’s another story. But these officers came to our home our Sanctuary and treated him less then human. Like an animal because he carries the title of SEX OFFENDER! Please tell me when enough is enough. When will the system have their pound of his flesh? They are telling people there is absolutely no point in bettering yourself because you will never have any rights you are not entitled to privacy. The day after he bonded out, we saw his picture and charges on Facebook. People were saying one shot to the head is the cure, feed him to alligators and other things i don’t even want to repeat. So this being spread on Facebook could literally destroy everything we have spent the last 22 years building! Again, I ask when it is enough?