8.24.2007

Sex Offender Registration

I posted a couple of times of the recent trial involving Racehorse Haynes who represented the 40 something lady charged with having consensual sex with a 16 year old boy. Saw this today:

The Austin woman who was sentenced last week to 23 years in prison for having sex with an underage neighbor turned down a plea deal before the trial that could have spared her decades of prison time.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said Phill Raije Rian, 41, did not want the plea agreement of 7 years of deferred adjudication.

Richard Haynes, her attorney, said after the three-week trial that Rian did not want to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life, so she chose a jury trial.

She was sentenced to 23 years in prison and then must serve 10 years of probation.

The sex offender registration requirement can really screw up plea negotiations. It can't be waived by the judge or the prosecutor. And to a regular Joe, having to register is the equivalent of a death sentency. But I suspect that Ms. Rian would take the deal now.