Friends, Family & You!

“The very worst thing about myself having to be Registered for “Life” here in Florida is that once your Family and Friends realize that they are living or spending time with a RSO they will never treat you the same again!

For myself, although I told my Family about the Registration process it was still a total shock to them once they viewed my FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) Flyer on the Internet. A few year’s back, I was involved in a high profile work related project that made the News. My Mom bragged around the neighborhood about how proud of me she was, that is until a young man across the street from her decided to do a Google search on myself. When my “Monster” Flyer popped up, of course he printed it out and handed it to my Mom whom cried for days and days.

When I was initially arrested in Florida and after I was fingerprinted and booked, I was made to wear a badge around my neck that identified myself as a SO! So therefore all the other inmates would see this. You always want to make a least one friend in Jail I say, but this Jail System tactic had me in fear of my life. This was in 1992 and the Jail I was held in was in the middle of several wrongful death suits with Jail Guards accused of beating to death inmates. So when I made phone calls first to my Mom and Stepfather, when my Stepdad called back he asked what I did and was told that I was chasing and taking photos of underage girls in which was a complete lie and not even charged or related to my case! Until the day my Stepfather died I was never able to convince him that the Jail Officials lied to him even though I told him everything about my arrest and subsequent sentencing.

So you see, we have the media, the cops and unknown forces preventing ourselves from ever again retaining respect and a dignity of ourselves because we are hated by our once Best Friends and most importantly our Family.

Three years after my sentencing, a former Client told all my closest Friends that I was seen on Local TV in a mug-shot for a Sex Crime. I called the Sheriff of my County and he told me that they would never do that! Then one by one, my friends wanted a explanation of my Crime. I decided to group them all together and tell them all at once what happened. It was the most difficult thing I had ever done. Some just glared, some thanked me with reservation and some just left the room never to be seen again. Talk about a sobering experience… lest to say, in a few years they were all gone!

And the rumors, oh the rumors.. my crime has been enhanced and interpreted wrongly so many times and even a e-mail was sent through a University system that warned to never hire my services. Of course my Therapist would say; “Don’t worry JEV, those were not your true friends anyway and of course my Mom says.. just move on, its over! I do have to say I have taken Mom’s advise and have created a different surrounding for myself.

“We have to reinvent who we are just so we can live out the rest of our lives”

As mention in a prior story, my County Probation Department had instructions to tell me to keep a low profile and don’t tell anyone about your crime. And then my Therapist says the best thing for me to get it off my chest and to be honest with people. Being caught in the middle of a battle just to live is insane because of these unjust laws that are supposed to be based on protection of the public whilst completely disregarding our rehabilitation.

Living without Friends and Family support is a lonely World but it must be expected. For myself and thanks to a great Therapist I was able to reason all of this out but I did have my moments about ending it all. But now thanks to National and Regional Organizations created for SO Reform such as FAC, we can turn to when we have these thoughts. You can safely say, there are no friends of the RSO in the media and all the cops want is Compliance so its up to us all to regain our Freedom to have a decent life by looking inside ourselves and understanding that once was will never be the same.

Comments can be made to: info@floridaactioncommittee.org