He’s labeled a sex offender — for sleeping with his own wife

I’m sure this story is repeated on a near daily basis. He was 19, and she was 15. They fell in love and started having sex. Mom of 15 didn’t approve and went to the police to “scare” him off, probably not realizing that once you make a complaint, you can’t take it back and the state has complete autonomy to persue the case criminally. He was arrested and charged with rape (15 denies) and plead out for probation.

Fifteen years later, 19 and 15 are happily married with four children, and he can’t get a job “with a major corporation or leave the state without notifying local law enforcement.” Some sex offender laws are good, and some are utterly indefensible. Now that the wave of heavy handed laws has subsided, it’s clearly time to reform them.