User:Almightytora/Statement
After being trolled on Fur Affinity by someone who knew what I did back in 2001, and subsequently being banned by the FA administration, I have decided to describe what happened to me and how to explain the poor decisions I made back then.
In 2000, I was talking to someone who was really interested in me and my ex, to the point that he wanted to play with both of us. I continually told the person that he was underage and I would not play with him. Conversations continued through 2001, until about March 2001 when my ex and I actually met him. (That was a mistake due to me being too passive.) I refused to do anything with the person. It was getting late that day, and I started to make some stupid decisions. One, I should have refused to let the person stay in the hotel room my ex and I were staying at. Two, after my ex insisting that he should stay with us, I should have refused, gone home by myself and not stayed in the hotel room. Sadly, I was too naive (yes, at 24) to do anything. I was in an unknown town and no idea how to get out of it. I found out later that during the times I was asleep, my ex had sex with the person (twice over the span of three months).
I didn't know what happened until June 2001, when the county sheriff's department visited my parents' house to arrest me. I didn't know what was going on. The sheriffs started to list all the charges (most of which I did not do at all). After going to the preliminary hearing, I was given the full sheet of over ten charges (my ex had over 15 charges against him). I immediately pled "not guilty" to all of them, as did my ex.
It was an excruciating four months, going back and forth between the jail and the courthouse, trying to strike a deal with the District Attorney to the one count I wasn't contesting (I sent a nude picture of myself to the person, which in legal terms was called "sending harmful matter", which was not a registrable offense).
Until this point, the case was a joint case (two defendants) - my ex and myself. However, my lawyer advised me that the DA gave my ex a similar plea bargain, and he pled "guilty" to one charge, while the other charges were dropped. The DA had to ask the judge to make the case two separate cases now, since my ex took the plea bargain but I wasn't budging. The DA was unrelenting and refused multiple times from my lawyer to have me plead to the "sending harmful matter" charge, as the DA wanted to get me on a charge that required me to register as a sex offender for life. The DA gave me a time limit to take their offer or it would be withdrawn and I would have to stand trial. It was very painful to tell my lawyer that I wanted to take the plea bargain. I pled "no contest" to the one charge that the DA wanted me to get charged with. (I did not plead "guilty", as I didn't do what I was pleading to.)
My plea was accepted by the court two months later in December 2001, and I served a little over two out of a three year prison sentence. I was released in April 2004 and was told the rules of my parole and my lifetime registration requirement. It was a very tough three years of parole, but I finished it successfully in April 2007.
Since then, I have tried to get back into the furry community and show that I am not the monster which the registration site claims me to be. I have volunteered at conventions and helped people in any way possible. As you have seen on my WikiFur page, I have volunteered and/or worked a few conventions. I have served my time and tried to repay the debt to society that resulted from my poor actions (or rather, my inaction), and I want to show that I am a changed person who is still trying to be more assertive in his actions.
Yes, I do get stopped by a stranger or by someone who knows me at a convention and asks about my past. I am not afraid to tell them this story that I have just told you. I admit that I have made some mistakes (such as trusting a stranger way too much with my personal information or not making sure the person who I am talking to via instant messenger is actually how old they say they are), but I have been way more assertive in my actions recently, except for what happened that caused me to be banned from Fur Affinity.
The individual who eventually decided to rat me out and post his version of what happened in an instant message conversation is skewed to defame me, but I admit that I was wrong in trusting him. It actually gave me a wake-up call that I am being too trusting in people.
It is up to you if you want to have me as a friend and trust me, or think of me as scum and not talk to me and avoid me like the plague. All I ask is for you to be civil in your judgment, and please don't force this information on people who don't have a good reason to know.
Thank you for reading this statement.