Having sexual relations with someone who is underaged can jeopardize your career and social life. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do.
A former deputy in Brevard County, FL was arrested this past Thursday because he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenager. The relationship was discovered back in September, when he engaged in this relationship with a 16-year-old girl who was a member of the sheriff’s office explorer unit. To make matters worse, the teen girl was a friend of the deputy’s family.
According to the arrest report, the girl told the commander of the explorer program about her sexual encounter, but said she did not want the deputy to get in trouble. The deputy resigned from his position with the sheriff’s office last year and then served as a corrections deputy at the Brevard County Jail. He was fired from there as a result of the investigation.
There is a very strong possibility that when the dust settles, if he is found guilty, he will have to register as a sex offender. That is a stain that never goes away. It’s basically a life sentence without the jail time. Even if the sexual act is considered consensual, a sex offender registration is often mandated by the court. There are levels of severity involving sex crimes, but even a low level one doesn’t make it disappear. Being on the list will impact your job, future earnings or even your academic pursuits. Sex offender registration limits opportunities for a lifetime and is never easy to explain. Anyone in this same situation will need an experienced defense lawyer to soften this legal blow.