Life of a Registered Sex Offender
Life of a Registered Sex Offender March 13, 2006 - 11:19PM We always tell the stories of the victims of sex crimes, but you rarely hear from the perpetrators. Monday, a group of convicted sex offenders talked about what life is like living as a sex offender. Their crimes vary from taking pictures of minors to sexual abuse. None of these men are asking for sympathy. All of them admitted that their victims will have to live with the crimes for the rest of their lives. They say they just want their side to be told. "You never forget," says one man, whose victim is his daughter. "What therapy does, it teaches you how to cope. He is one of the people who come to mandatory treatment sessions at the House of Hope in Chattanooga each week. Doctor H. James Maginley is their therapist. He says, one of the biggest misconceptions is that sex offenders can never be rehabilitated. Maginley says it is possible for sex offenders to "maintain a lifetime of relapse prevention." No one was more vocal about the need for increased education, and differentiated categories for sex offenders than photographer and registered sex offender Rick Andrews. Four years ago Andrews was arrested for taking pictures of a 17 year old girl, he says lied about her age. Andrews was convicted of exploitation of a minor, and a judge added him the category of Sex Offender. So, just like people convicted of violent sex crimes, his name appears on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry, and he'll spend the rest of his life with his crime following his every move. Andrews says there's more than one victim in many sex crime cases. "I feel like I was victimized," Andrews says. http://www.newschannel9.com/engine.pl?station=wtvc&id=3776&template=breakout_story1.shtml