Wrongfully Identified Sex Offender?

[BioCatholic]

So the old IT guy at the University where I did my Masters was a good friend of mine. We both loved computer gaming, and we both really loved reverse engineering software and encryption. We used to hack apart alot of software for fun ect.

Well, some of the tools you use to decompile software come from not-so-nice circles, and can often be infected with Trojans or really nasty spyware. In short, he got his identity stolen, and didn’t know it for almost 2 years.

It wasn’t a “money” scheme, rather it looks like his identity was sold to a 3rd party, who then assumed it, and committed a laundry list of felonies and other identity thefts. Whoever did this was also a sex offender, and was convicted in abstentia for 2 other sexual offenses.

My friend was arrested in New Jersey about 8 months ago, and after a big hooplah, the Police figured out he couldn’t have done any of the crimes because they were all committed on the West Coast. He got a letter from the local Prosecutor releasing him from all active warrants on the false identity. HOWEVER, New Jersey’s sex offender registry updated their list with his name and his picture, but this other person’s criminal record. They refuse to take him off of it because:

1. there is no actual means within the statutes to remove a person once they are on there
2. The State still considers a conviction a conviction, even though the people are not the same person.

His wife is about 7 months pregnant, and DYFS of NJ has filed court papers to take custody of the baby when it is born. It is absolutely ridiculous that State agencies can’t seem to figure out that he himself has never been convicted of a crime. From what he tells me, all they say is “You are listed as a violent sex offender, we have the right to intervene”.

I know I can help him out. I have a TON of experience in Law Enforcement, and I can make him and his wife disappear for years in another State. It’s all quite possible to legally do. I am just wondering what any of you might think or do? Getting him out of NJ effectively nullifies the custody order, but that will royally tick off DYFS, and opens me to being subpoenaed to NJ court. I can take care of myself with idiot judges. But they can’t. The other option is to move them to another state with very different laws, and contest the custody order. But that lets EVERYONE know where they are living, and the new State could also take the baby.

One choice, and they are off the radar for years until the NJ legislature can fix the problem, and the other is not as shady, but much more risky.

It’s not illegal at all to move out of state to circumvent a custody order BEFORE the birth, it just opens me up to being forced to testify under oath WHERE they are. And in NJ, I can do up to 90 days in the county jail for civil contempt.

 

[didymus]

One choice, and they are off the radar for years until the NJ legislature can fix the problem, and the other is not as shady, but much more risky.

It’s not illegal at all to move out of state to circumvent a custody order BEFORE the birth, it just opens me up to being forced to testify under oath WHERE they are. And in NJ, I can do up to 90 days in the county jail for civil contempt.

How would they know you know where your friends are?
Anyway, forget your friends moving, they need to get a lawyer and fight this. He’ll have to move out, she may even have to file for a separation to forestall having the baby removed. Yeah, I know, it sucks.

If they can’t afford a lawyer they need to go to the Innocence Project, ACLU, anybody they have to & get that conviction vacated. I do NOT believe there is no way to remove a name from the register. You can bet that if some State Senator’s name wound up there by mistake it would be off by lunch.

Also, see if you can get the media interested, but leave out that he got his identity stolen while he was hacking .

And pray to St Thomas More!

 

[leonie]

Can’t he get a barracuda lawyer to fight this? Call his congressman? Get the media involved?

 

[kevstar31]

Did you try filing a defamation suit against the state?

 

[Ray_Scheel]

His wife is about 7 months pregnant, and DYFS of NJ has filed court papers to take custody of the baby when it is born. It is absolutely ridiculous that State agencies can’t seem to figure out that he himself has never been convicted of a crime.

Making him disappear is not the answer, rather he needs to retain an attorney specializing in Family Law immediately. He might also try one of the local “consumer affairs” advocates with the local news stations after showing up in person to talk to the liaisons of the state representatives for his district to see what they can get done without having such serious flaws in the system brought to public attention.

 

[Alphonsus_John]

With all due respect, I fail to see how a 29 year old paramedic has “a TON of law enforcement experience”.

These people need to talk to a lawyer, and quickly. Disappearing may be an option, but a last resort one.

 

[BioCatholic]

With all due respect, I fail to see how a 29 year old paramedic has “a TON of law enforcement experience”.

Uhhh, after I moved to FL, and challenged the Paramedic test, I volunteered for the SWAT team as a tactical medic, and subsequently got my BLET certification transfered to FL, and then joined the reserve police. There was a shortage of police in my county, so I went full sworn officer status and worked two full-time jobs on both ends for quite a while, until the county gave me a “choice” to be one or the other.

I don’t think people realize the nature of Family law. My buddy can get a lawyer and fight this, but the court nearly always sides with child protective services at first. And once the baby is in their custody, it then becomes a true living nightmare to regain full custody of the child.

The whole key is to get the child out of NJ before it is considered “viable”, in which case the court filing by DYFS becomes enforceable. Before that point, the filing is considered preparatory, and cannot be enforced by either the court, nor law enforcement outside the State.

Basically, they have to go out West somewhere, to a fairly Liberal Federal circuit, where the Courts will simply laugh at the filing, and deny jurisdiction to NJ. You know, 9th Circuit territory. I also have an option of getting them to be able to rent a house on an Indian reservation, where no State court order is enforceable without Tribal consent.

 

[Joannm]

Uhhh, after I moved to FL, and challenged the Paramedic test, I volunteered for the SWAT team as a tactical medic, and subsequently got my BLET certification transfered to FL, and then joined the reserve police. There was a shortage of police in my county, so I went full sworn officer status and worked two full-time jobs on both ends for quite a while, until the county gave me a “choice” to be one or the other.

I don’t think people realize the nature of Family law. My buddy can get a lawyer and fight this, but the court nearly always sides with child protective services at first. And once the baby is in their custody, it then becomes a true living nightmare to regain full custody of the child.

The whole key is to get the child out of NJ before it is considered “viable”, in which case the court filing by DYFS becomes enforceable. Before that point, the filing is considered preparatory, and cannot be enforced by either the court, nor law enforcement outside the State.

Basically, they have to go out West somewhere, to a fairly Liberal Federal circuit, where the Courts will simply laugh at the filing, and deny jurisdiction to NJ. You know, 9th Circuit territory. I also have an option of getting them to be able to rent a house on an Indian reservation, where no State court order is enforceable without Tribal consent.

I find this whole story difficult to believe.

 

[Alphonsus_John]

Uhhh, after I moved to FL, and challenged the Paramedic test, I volunteered for the SWAT team as a tactical medic, and subsequently got my BLET certification transfered to FL, and then joined the reserve police. There was a shortage of police in my county, so I went full sworn officer status and worked two full-time jobs on both ends for quite a while, until the county gave me a “choice” to be one or the other.

I don’t think people realize the nature of Family law. My buddy can get a lawyer and fight this, but the court nearly always sides with child protective services at first. And once the baby is in their custody, it then becomes a true living nightmare to regain full custody of the child.

The whole key is to get the child out of NJ before it is considered “viable”, in which case the court filing by DYFS becomes enforceable. Before that point, the filing is considered preparatory, and cannot be enforced by either the court, nor law enforcement outside the State.

Basically, they have to go out West somewhere, to a fairly Liberal Federal circuit, where the Courts will simply laugh at the filing, and deny jurisdiction to NJ. You know, 9th Circuit territory. I also have an option of getting them to be able to rent a house on an Indian reservation, where no State court order is enforceable without Tribal consent.

Pardon my bluntness; I’m not challenging your points to be a jerk. I’m in the reserves and I know a fair amount of cops through my unit and I would bet money that few, if any, would agree that being a SWAT medic and/or a reserve officer in FL would qualify as a “TON of law enforcement of experience”. You undoubtedly just misspoke, but it hurts your perceived credibility.

Also, you shouldn’t make legal suppositions like you mentioned above. You seem to be supposing that the 9th Circuit Federal Appellate Court being a liberal institution would have some sort of bearing on a custody extradition hearing at the state level.

If the man has a letter from the prosecutor clearing him, he can perhaps have the prepatory filing withdrawn. He needs to talk to a lawyer. If he can get a politician or someone with some political muscle to put the squeeze on DYFS, so much the better. “Vanishing” in the way you specify will make the powers-that-be suppose he truly is a child molester and he could have a kidnapping warrant issued for him. There may be criminal penalties incurred by vanishing. I have some awareness on how screwed up DYFS is in NJ so, yes, disappearing may be some sort of last resort option for your friend. However, it means TRULY vanishing and living a cash-based lifestyle far from friends and family with little to no contact. (e.g. mailing letters w/ no return address from a different state). Your friend will be a fugitive in every sense of the word.

Unless someone on these boards specializes in family law in NJ, we’re really the wrong people to be asking.

 

[pnewton]

I would find this whole story difficult to believe if it were anywhere else except Yankee Land. Even then, I find it difficult to believe that anyone can be convicted in abstentia. Such a procedure would violate two clear-cut constitutional rights, the right to counsel and the right to confront accusers. Trials can not proceed without the accused.

Second, I do not buy that there is no way to correct a mistake. If there were no provision for that, then such a law would have been struck down by the first ACLU type to come along. I have actually had this exact same scenario happen, where a stolen identity was used. I was able to get all criminal records erased and a note entered into TCIC and NCIC in case anyone ever ran across this identity again. No judges or motions were involved. The man’s lawyer called. I did the research and documented the facts with some criminal identification gurus. I then contacted our state DPS, who in Texas is responsible for maintaining all these records. I also contacted our local clerks and straigtened out our records. I took less than half a day, during which I performed all my regular duties.

 

[daeve]

I’m not commenting on the likeliness of the story, your legal knowledge and experience or anything else but this one thing: stay out of this fella’s business. He needs a real lawyer to sort out this mess, not your and not us.

 

[Ray_Scheel]

The whole key is to get the child out of NJ before it is considered “viable”, in which case the court filing by DYFS becomes enforceable. Before that point, the filing is considered preparatory, and cannot be enforced by either the court, nor law enforcement outside the State.

Then in that case, he needs to get legal counsel long enough before the child is viable to have the preparatory filing to be nullified before it becomes an issue instead of fiddle-farting around and uprooting his life without knowing that was necessary. Most court actions involving DCFS are initiated by DCSF, not the accused; your friend filing at this point puts the shoe on the other foot, with him making the first impression on the judge and obliging DCF to prove him wrong, which is going to be a tough thing to do if he has the local prosecutor backing him up. If this man really is a friend, you are doing him a grave disservice by not encouraging him to seek legal counsel immediately.