…The following day, Naperville police suspected that Corey — who had no criminal history and had never been in serious trouble at school — had video on his phone of a consensual sexual encounter with a 16-year-old classmate and possibly played it for friends.
At lunchtime, he was called into the dean’s office.
There, with a police officer and campus dean, Corey was questioned about possessing and possibly sharing “child pornography,” allegedly threatened that he’d be put on the state’s sex offender registry, then was left alone to wait for his mother. Full Article
I hope someone has a collection of stories where people choose suicide over a potential of sex offender registration. It would be useful in a class action against the entire registry scheme if we could get the right team of lawyers in the right district to fight this with the best group of registrants to make the point.
This game of whack-a-mole against single portions of the laws against the registrants or just the “ex-post-facto” parts of it aren’t going to win the fight, just soothe a few wounds.
I wish I, and many others, were in a position to do more or that there was a way to get more registrants involved. We were supposed to be protected against “Bill’s of Attainder” that allow the majority to create unjust laws against the financially and politically powerless. I guess the founding fathers weren’t clear enough on that and judges prefer to differ to the legislation instead of doing their job of being a part of the 3 branches of power that keep each other in check.
My sympathies go out to this poor kids family and friends.
But, I thought the registry wasn’t a punishment. The fact that even just a threat of being on the registry brought this kid to end his own life speaks volumes. I really hope the SCOTUS takes all of these types of stories in consideration before making any further decisions regarding the registry. Unfortunately, they will turn a blind eye and say “but if it saves just one child.” Well, it didn’t save this poor kid obviously. Disgusting!
It will be a reflection on the United States as this Christian nation continues it’s war on sex and the war on normal human behavior. Here was a kid who was just being a kid and enjoying the start of his life exploring his sexuality and doing what kids do…that is until he was threatened with such a horrible punishment that he choose death.
Those who threatened this now dead young man should be the ones charged with a crime and all those who have supported this lifetime torture of punishment and social shaming which is what this hit list is…nothing more.
I hope the parents sue the school, city and state. I also hope their bullshit rhetoric line “if it saves one child” can be buried along with this poor kid so he is the last one to feel death is preferable to life in America branded as a “sex offender.”
I hope the family sues everyone in-sight and bankrupts everyone.
Oh, but if it saves just one child….even if it kills several children in the process…as long as it saves at least one child.
Makes. Me. Sick.
This kind of thing really burns my ass. I can’t for the life of me understand why we as Americans continue to allow law enforcement to target teens for consensual sexual acts. It’s utterly ridiculous to take teenage sex and make it a felony.
I have son a few years older than him and I shudder to think that he could ever be put into a position where, thinking his life is virtually over, he be better off dead.
….
Additional news: Family is suing the school and the police…
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/26/health/corey-walgren-suicide-illinois-lawsuit-trnd/
The fact that the registry is BEYOND punitive is what caused this.