US legal system primer: how someone is labelled a “registered sex offender.”

I’m seeing an appalling number of people who are either just woefully ignorant of how our justice system works, or are deliberately being willfully stupid, when it comes to this case of Michael Makai / Charles Michael Segaloff.

1. You cannot just get slapped with a “sex offender” label. To become a registered sex offender, you must have been TRIED, ADJUDICATED GUILTY, and SENTENCED in a US court of law.
2. Just because a sex offender’s registration period has expired DOES NOT MEAN he is no longer guilty. HE was STILL CONVICTED of the offense. Some sexual offenses have different registration periods depending on the crime and the jurisdiction and the sentencing requirements. Think about jail sentences versus probation. Kind of like that, for a quick corollary. Some sexual offenses have certain sentencing requirements that require life-long registration, some don’t.
3. IT IS A FACT that Michael Makai / Charles Michael Segaloff was convicted of a crime that led to him having to register for a period of time as a sexual offender. It is not a “wait and see for the facts to come out.” IT ALREADY HAPPENED. IT IS PUBLIC RECORD.
4. The criminal complaint that has been filed in federal court currently against Michael Makai / Charles Michael Segaloff is a SWORN AFFIDAVIT by an investigating officer. It is EVIDENCE. It is PUBLIC RECORD. YOU CAN READ IT YOURSELF. The officer affirms that statements were made to him by the defendant, victim, and other witnesses in this case. READ THE DAMN THING.
5. Even though the current legal proceedings are still up in the air, YOU CANNOT REVISE HISTORY. He is STILL A CONVICTED SEXUAL OFFENDER in the previous case against him.

I actually had someone say to me something along the terms of, “Well someone could put anyone on a sex offenders list.” Uh, no, they CANNOT. It’s not a fucking popularity contest where they hand out biggest loser awards as labels. IT MEANS HE WAS TRIED, CONVICTED, AND SENTENCED to register as a sexual offender.

I GET it. There are a LOT of people who were betrayed by this guy, who were taken in by him. Your trust is damaged. I GET it. It HURTS. But hello, valuable lesson here, you CANNOT take anyone at face value on the Internet. Just because you THINK you know someone, or you met them once or twice and had a good impression, that does NOT make you closer to them than you really are.

There are FACTS that cannot be disputed: the man has a previous conviction for a sexual offense and had to register for a period of time as a sex offender. PERIOD. FULL STOP. He didn’t piss someone off and they handed him a label (here’s yer sign!) and he said golly gee, okay. NO. He was TRIED AND CONVICTED. He was ADJUDICATED GUILTY. He was SENTENCED.

I am seeing a LOT of people making REALLY stupid statements on the Internet trying to defend this guy. Just stop it. If you want to take a wait and see attitude with this current case, that’s fine, knock yourself out. But I have ZERO sympathy for someone who is a PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED and REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER who then appoints himself as a guru in a lifestyle WHERE CONSENT IS A PRIMARY FACTOR.

No. Just no.

You can also check current registered sex offenders in the US against the DOJ database: https://www.nsopw.gov/