SC: Deputy charged with taking money from registrants.
A former Clarendon County, South Carolina deputy has been arrested for taking money from registrants.
According to this news report, Sabrina Mellerson is accused of taking money from sex offender registrants. Apparently Sheriff’s Offices in South Carolina are allowed to collect a yearly fee from registrants. Mellerson, decided that she, personally, is allowed to collect the fee from people she was registering.
I believe the correct word is extortion. And isnt extortion a crime? Oh wait a crime committed against someone on the registry isnt a crime, its helping to keep “those” people in line.
Here in FL the RSO registry specifically states this information cannot be used for anything other than …. and those using the registry can be held in violation of the law. Maybe SC has a similar comment in their statutes. Oh wait, the viable word is CAN be, not will be. Yep, I think a slap on the wrist and a pat on the back for good works.
AL
They will have to get rid of her as now that the cat is out of the bag, they do not want the publicity that their department is corrupt. She committed a felony and if she is not convicted for it, then it proves some cops are “Above the law”. Don’t make me send Steven Seagal over there.
Take away the money they make from all this garbage and they’re ability to make headlines and sound bites and poof there would be no more sex offender epidemic they would have to focus on something else
I’m against all for they’re money grabbing scheme if you are placed on probation you have probation fees , if on a monitor (most are ) you have to pay for that you have to pay for weekly or bi- weekly therapy you have to pay for polygraphs if you have Internet access they want monitoring software on it that again you have to pay for Then make it hard for you to find houseing .and even harder to find a good job that will pay enough for you to pay all these court ORDERED Sanctions or get locked up don’t non compliance. I thing if its court ordered you shouldn’t have to pay for it ( if they are truly worried about public safety and we NEED all this or our mental health ) I’ll bet 10 to 1 if they released us from the monetary obligations they would change they’re story on all of this sp/so BS.
When the fox is guarding the hen house. I mean I did something wrong so I am no better than her. However, law enforcement treats us like a disease and then turns around and takes advantage of us because they are “Above the law”.
Hope at the very least she gets fired and barred from any future law enforcement position. At the most, hope she is charged and gets to see what it feels like to be treated badly. (Former law enforcement are not treated so great by other inmates once they find out).
Finally, this could have gotten many of the men/women who registered, violated for non payment of required fees. I do not agree with having to register and darn sure don’t agree with being forced to make payments that were not part of your sentence. Then to have the funds go to an employee for her own gain is bewildering.
Cherokeejack
Maybe she will get put in the same cell as a registered person.
Even if she gets fired, it’s very likely she will go to another agency. That is VERY common. With all the incentives being offered right now, she could very well wind up here.
I wonder how hard her slap on the wrist will be. This could potentially cause great harm as its a violation to not pay the annual fee. My local law enforcement agency only accepts cash and I think this needs to change, but I ALWAYS insist I be given a receipt fully filled out.
Disgusted
I have been registered since 1997 and never paid a dime except when I was on Probation. I hope they never go to pay system here, although they retro active the crap out of everything else so why not?
Probably the same type of piece of shit person who then sends the list of names and phone numbers of people on the registry, to their friends to try and extort them into sending gift cars to take care of a warrant. Hopefully the people on the registry of that South Carolina town can sue.