R.G. writing from Texas
“Since I was discharged in 2008, I have been back to prison three times for not registering...[I] was asked why I did not want to register. The answer I gave them was I will not register to something I am not.”
Location
Tarrant County, Texas
Crime of Conviction
Sexual assault of a minor under 17 years old; failure to register as a sex offender
Year of Conviction
1998
Legal claims
R.G. writes that he was wrongly convicted of raping a 15-year-old white woman 23 years ago. He says that the medical examiner's report showed no physical evidence of sexual assault, but that he made a coerced confession under custodial interrogation without his attorney present. His attorney told him to take a plea since he's Mexican and the victim is White. The attorney has since been barred from practice due to ineffective assistance of counsel. R.G. been incarcerated several times since release for failing to register as a sex offender.
Procedural issues
None known. R.G. says his case is being re-opened and he is filing a habeas petition challenging the constitutionality of the state statute he was convicted under.
Counsel
R.G. is interested in also making a broader constitutional challenge against the Sex Offender Registry Act. He is not currently represented by counsel.