I'm Greg Kendall, owner and builder of this website. I work with computers for a living. In 2002, I was accused and convicted of a child pornography offense after digital images were found on a computer workstation shared by many people, at my place of business. Being sole owner of that business made for an indefensible case regarding possession. Ohio law at that time only cared about possession, not taking into account that computers are often "infected" by unwanted programs and files. That law was later revised, then declared unconstitutional by Ohio's Supreme Court.

I was unaware of the images on that machine, but I still suffer the fallout from this offense.

I served 11 months in Ohio prison. After serving my time, I was forced (with no lawful basis) to register as a sex offender in the State of North Carolina. Ohio never required me to register, nor intended that I ought to register. Ohio Appellate courts have underscored the fact that my possession charge was NOT a sexually-oriented offense by definition. And the Ohio Supreme Court has issued The Hernandez Decision, saying it's unconstitutional for the Executive branch of government to impose new restrictions not named by the Judicial branch at sentencing.

Ignoring all of this background, NC authorities went on to hit me with 3 new felonies: Two of them concern "Failure to Register". These charges were created while I visited China to marry my fiancιe, and could not meet local Sheriffs upon demand. My immediate responses through Federal authority did not satisfy their purpose. Also, due to China's censorship policy I was unable to either access or delete my Facebook account, which invited the 3rd charge for "Use of a Social Network". None of these issues could have arisen, if not for the initial error of my sex offender registration.

Currently I am battling to have the original case overturned. Wish me luck! Full documentation follows here below.

2002-Mar-13 In anticipation of a large capital investment from New York, my business partners Emanuel Sylvia and Bret Conard created a parent entity to claim ownership of Synaptic Data Systems for themselves.
        • Later, someone evidently devised another way to kill my career and capture my business without assuming any debt.
        • This entry presents a $42000 motive. (Or greater... as there were additional debts not named here.)

2002-Apr-23 Due to the expected investment and growth, company president Bret Conard issued a valuation of our company in excess of $5 Million. Too bad, he was fraudulently inflating the value for purposes of a credit application. The company remained in a debt position; but one can see the prevailing greed which skewed my partners' decisions. While desperate, they sensed a potential in Synaptic's intellectual property and its business plan.

2002-May-14 Partnership in Synaptic Data Systems is formally dissolved. Full ownership of the company (and its debt burden) reverts back to me, the original founder.

2002-Jun-10 Ex- business partner Emanuel Jerome Sylvia, a.k.a. "Manny" or "Jerry", sets up a company which would directly compete with Synaptic Data Systems, using the same business address and a very similar name Synaptic Technologies.
        • His father-in-law owned the office building.
        • He had continuing access to my office space.
        • It appears he intended to take over my client base.
        • This is an additional motive, to gain ongoing revenue.

2002-Sep-01 Move-out date from Hess Street house which had been shared with my ex- business partner and his girlfriend
        • We had been friends before we went into business together.
        • Outstanding debts were owed; everyone was broke.
        • I remained unable to pay anything until November, then negotiated a reduced amount.

2002-September Manny and Jennifer come forward with their accusations against me
        • Their statements make it clear that they had ample access to my office, the computers, and even the passwords for my system and files.
        • They admit anger as a motive. This adds to existing financial motives.
        • None of their statements were substantiated, beyond pure hearsay and slander.
        • Chat logs were not mine. They came from a disk that Manny handed to investigators, not from an office computer. Anyone who knew me could have described me.
        • The occasion when I had a houseguest, he was allergic to Manny and Jennifer's dog, and could not sleep on the couch. He slept on the far side of a King-size bed, with myself in the middle, my daughter on the opposite side. He only slept over because we required transportation. He had offered to deliver my daughter back home and myself to the airport, the following morning at 5:00 AM. All of us remained fully clothed, and we purposely left the door open to avoid people making stupid assumptions.
        • The text about "young sexuality" could have been borrowed from a pedophile newsgroup or bulletin board. Cursory internet searches have not matched any passages. I am afraid to perform in-depth searches. The results themselves might incriminate the person who does such research.
        • Rachel was 27 years old when my investigation was launched, not childish in any way. She was curvy and womanly, actually a size 2 but not a stick figure. Think "Lucy Liu" for example. We never had a baby. She did settle down to live with me for more than a year, in spite of these horrible accusations. And she posted bond for me when I was jailed! That's dedication.
        • When Jennifer and Manny claim I was married and dating around, they fail to mention that I'd been separated from my wife for about a year.
        • I cannot say whether evidence was planted, but there was ample means, motive, and opportunity for them to do so.

2002-Sep-26 Investigation was launched with concurrent searches in 3 locations
        • Warrants issued the previous day. Inventory documents show date of search as the 26th.
        • My office at 18 W 5th street contained workstations for all four partners who were previously joined in business. It also had a network server and database server, where all vital business files were held. Curiously, from that location authorities only took a single computer; the one where my former partner had directed their attention. Even more curiously, this was the sole device where any incriminating evidence was found. Stranger still, authorities accepted from their informant a floppy disk claimed to hold evidence from a "network drive", but did not take the source drive for forensic examination.

2002-Nov-06 Landlord opts to keep the furnishings of the Synaptic office space intact for his son-in-law

2003-Jan-17 Indictment for O.R.C. 2907.323(A)(3) "Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity-oriented Material or Performance"
        • Small number of images is not consistent with a porn collection
        • Subjects not engaging in sexual activity
        • Found on a shared computer at my place of business
        • With corresponding "Possession of Criminal Tools" charge (the computer)
        • Each charge is a felony of the 5th degree (F5)

2003-Aug-19 Entered plea agreement; impossible to deny owning computer where evidence was found
        • Guilty plea involves just 3 counts == 3 illegal photos
        • 1 count of "Possession of Criminal Tools" (the computer)
        • ZERO percent acquittal rate nationally, on these charges
          (cited from a MissingKids.com publication, page 20, table 6)
        • Where most people see zero acquittals as a great victory for justice, I read this as a total absence of discernment, on a national scale

[No Date] The same MissingKids.com publication referenced above, also indicates that 91% of internet child-porn possessors utilized a computer at home, where they could operate in secrecy (page 8). It also states:

"Law enforcement must be sensitive to civil-liberties issues arising in CP possession cases. Law-enforcement activity in this area is vulnerable to criticism on civil-liberties grounds; particularly in regard to targeting or entrapping innocent individuals."   "...given the easy availability and large trade in legal pornography on the Internet, individuals may unknowingly or unwittingly access and download child pornography."   "...it is important for the various forms of civil liberties infringements to be anticipated in advance and proactively avoided as law-enforcement practice develops in this area." (page 37 to 38)

        • WARNING!! WARNING!! How huge must the civil-liberties problem be, in order to overcome the natural bias of an agency like "missingkids.com", and cause them to issue this statement on behalf of the wrongfully accused?

2003-November Publication of "Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement"
        • Finds that among the child-porn images recovered during investigations, 80% depicted penetration, and 71% depicted adult/minor sexual contact. "This suggests that offenders are not being arrested for possessing marginal or ambiguous sexual images of minors such as images where it is hard to ascertain whether the subject is a minor or where the context was casual nudity without sexual abuse to the child." (pages 9 to 10)
        • My case described images found on an office computer, with no graphic sexual content or touching of any person, and having no identifiable victims. It simply doesn't fit the standard profile at all.

2003-Nov-04 Sentenced to 5 years Community Control / Probation (with 2 year suspended sentence), Montgomery Co. Ohio
        • Improperly flagged as sexually-oriented offender
        • The passage about registration was ignored. Since O.R.C. 2950 does not define my offense as registerable, I NEVER was placed on the registry in Ohio.

2004-Jan-01 O.R.C. § 2907.35 revised, paragraph (D)(1) saying "Sections ..., 2907.323 ,... of the Revised Code do not apply to a person solely because the person provided access or connection to or from an electronic method of remotely transferring information not under that person's control..."
        • This passage might have helped me to build a legal defense, but too late to help me now

2004-May-14 Probation Violated due to search executed against housemate
        • Someone had reported his car stolen; though legally it was his property
        • No charges were ever brought against the housemate based upon the FBI's search

2004-May-21 Bond set at $10,000. Officials accuse me of having:
        • Keys to the car (which was not actually stolen property)
        • Photocopied images of nude children (in the official "discovery" packet of evidence from my case)
        • Over 200 board games collected by my housemate

2004-Jul-09 Revocation Hearing
        • All alleged violations were set aside, except the board games for which my probation was revoked
        • Sentenced to spend 11 months in Ohio Prisons CRC - Madison - Chillicothe
        • Immediately taken into custody

2005-May-13 Released from prison to North Carolina parole, with (improper) instruction to register as sex offender

2005-May-16 First registered as Sex Offender, in Bladen Co. North Carolina
        • Mismatched NC law exaggerates offense
        • My entry displays as: SEX EXPLOIT MINOR 3RD DEGREE (F3)

2005-Sep-01 Letter to Special Agent Wendy Brinkley, of the NC State Bureau of Investigation, which manages listings on the NC Sex Offender Registry
        • RESULT: No response.

2006-Jan-06 Moved to Fayetteville, NC and registered in Cumberland County

2006-Jan-12 Ohio Supreme Court decides "Hernandez v. Kelly, 2006-Ohio-126"
        • Saying in the bottom portion of {Ά31}:

"...Confidence in and respect for the criminal-justice system flow from a belief that courts and officers of the courts perform their duties pursuant to established law. In this case, neither the trial judge, the prosecutor, nor the defense counsel advised the defendant at the hearing, or in a journal entry, that his liberty would continue to be restrained after he served his sentence. That omission violated not only the statute, but the spirit of the changes in criminal sentencing underlying Senate Bill 2."

2006-Jun-21 Judge G. Jack Davis revises my sentencing entry MORE THAN ONE YEAR AFTER MY TIME WAS ALREADY SERVED; to reflect my actual situation, instead of releasing me from supervision and registration requirements which had been unlawfully imposed without any authority.
        • His action is in total defiance of the Hernandez Decision made by the Ohio Supreme Court, and referenced directly above.
        • This is absolutely unconstitutional.

2006-Sep-23 Letter to NC Attorney General regarding an unreasonable obligation to inform prospective clients of my sex offender status.
        • Dad wrote and sent this letter, on my behalf.
        • File is a first-draft and may contain errors. Final copy is lost, to me.
        • RESULT: 2006-Oct-2 response from NC Atty General indicates that parole officer may set any rules or guidelines they wish, upon an offender.

2006-Nov-28 Letter to Wayne Marshburn, Judicial District Manager for NC Parole, requesting safe-house visitation with my daughter
        • RESULT: Visitation privilege granted after such a delay that my daughter was no longer available to see me.

2006-Nov-29 Letter to Judge G. Jack Davis, requesting release from parole supervision
        • RESULT: He claims to have no jurisdiction over my case, after he had amended my sentence on 2006-Jun-21.
        • He also referred me to the "executive branch of government". ...Very #$#*&^@ helpful.

2007-Jan-17 Letter to Ronnell Jones, Ohio Interstate Compact Office
        • Followed by another reminder on 2007-Feb-26, pleading for mercy. From this letter I learned that he had misplaced my original file.
        • After a phone conversation with Ronnell, I re-sent my whole first mailing under this cover letter on 2007-Mar-20.
        • RESULT: Initially nothing, then a FINAL RELEASE from parole on 2007-Apr-16. YAY!

2007-Feb-16 Ohio Supreme Court decides "State v. Jessee, 2007-Ohio-670", saying in {Ά9} "violations of R.C.2907.322(A)(5) and 2907.323(A)(3) are not sexually oriented offenses".
        • This is not a change of law; it is an affirmation of a longstanding law, O.R.C. 2950.01(D)(1)(b)(iv) which defines:

"Sexually oriented offense" means ... (iv) A violation of division (A)(1) or (2) of section 2907.323 [2907.32.3] of the Revised Code;

        • This definition excludes section 2907.323(A)(3).
        • This law remained in effect from July 1, 1997 through December 31, 2007 -- encompassing my 2002 case, 2004 revocation, and the initial registration upon my 2005 release.
        • Everything related to sex offenses for my case, is totally void.
        •  Legally it is my right to be removed from all sex offender registries, effective retroactively to April of 2005. 

2007-Mar-04 Judge G. Jack Davis dies of colon cancer

2007-Apr-16 FINAL RELEASE FROM PAROLE on basis of Hernandez (above)
        • Ohio Interstate Compact office instructs NC:
          "Please cease supervision AND CLOSE YOUR STATE'S INTEREST ASAP" (emphasis supplied).
        • NC terminated my parole supervision the next day
        • NC did NOT discontinue my sex offender registration requirements

2007-May-04 Moved to Surf City, NC and registered in Pender County

2008-Oct-21 Relocated to El Segundo, California and was compliant with registration requirements there
        • The Offense Tab thoughtfully says:  "OOS Registration Requirement" [OOS = Out of State]
        • Note that California has attempted verification and flagged me as IN VIOLATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS since 2009-Oct-03. This is because:
        • Pender County officials neglected to inform CA that I had returned to NC on 2009-May-18
        • They also failed to update their own registry database (see immediately below). California cannot take my word as confirmation of these facts. Authoritative verification is required.

2009-May-01 New law forbids registered sex offenders to have a profile on any social networking website which is accessible to minors (i.e. Facebook, MySpace)
        • I did not receive any notification, and did not learn of this law until my [2010-Jan-20] arrest on the new warrant which included a charge for having a Facebook page.
        • Effective date is displayed on subsequent page of N.C.G.S.

2009-May-18 Returned to Surf City, NC and registered in Pender County again
        • Violations: None Reported

2009-Sep-11 Landed in Shanghai China, intending to marry my fiancee

2009-Sep-18 Attempted registration with US Consulate in Shanghai
        • Also informed Pender County NC Sheriffs of overseas temporary address

2009-Oct-13 ARREST WARRANT ISSUED
        • If the registration law is ambiguous regarding registration while overseas, this warrant is more so.

2009-Oct-14 Pender County Detective Scott Lawson advises of ARREST WARRANT via email
        • Warrant is for felony "Failure to Register" as a sex offender
        • Warrant is based upon my "move" to China
        • No mechanism exists for sex offender registration, outside the USA
        • I never had moved. I entered China on a Tourist visa.  Surf City was still my legal home,  until I was forced to move on April 8, 2010.
        • My father had remained in my Surf City apartment, where I still was paying the rent
        • It is not possible to immigrate into China, even after marriage

2009-Oct-20 Request that Officer Lawson cancel the warrant
        • Date on Travel Registration document reads 10/19. It was scanned and attached to this email the next day.
        • No written response from Lawson
        • Got phone call from Lawson

2009-Nov-10 My request that Ronnell Jones clarify his instruction "close your state's interest ASAP" by commanding NC officials to remove me from registry.
        • RESULT: Speaking with me on the phone, he refused to get involved. He said that the sex offender registry is not under his authority.

2009-Nov-12 NOTICE TO APPEAR IN PERSON for sex offender address verification
        • Pender County Sheriffs knew when they sent this, that I was in China
        • Failure to respond IN PERSON within 3 business days creates a new, separate "Failure to Register" charge.

2009-Nov-13 Request that Lawson's boss Captain Jamie Ezzell cancel the warrant
        • No response from Ezzell
        • Got phone call from Lawson

2009-Nov-16 Request that the elected Sheriff, Carson Smith, cancel the warrant
        • No response from Smith
        • Got phone call from Lawson

2009-Nov-17 Attempted to APPEAR IN PERSON by proxy, in response to notice (above)
        • Went to US Consulate in Shanghai again
        • Created my own form to duplicate the registration requirements
        • Got the form notarized by Vice Consul Paul Guertin, of the US State Dept
        • Emailed scan of notarized document, to Pender County Sheriffs
        • *** Passport held by the US Consulate's office, due to outstanding NC warrant ***

2009-Nov-23 Request that District Attorney Ben David cancel the warrant
        • Ben David delegates response to Assistant D.A., Todd Fennell
        • Todd assures me "You do not have to come back to Pender County to handle this matter" via email, 2:53 PM

2009-Nov-24 I reiterate to Todd Fennell, "I am being forced to return quite soon":
        • Without passport, Chinese visa cannot be renewed and I cannot be married with my fiancee
        • I am placed in danger of Fines, Imprisonment, and Deportation

2009-Nov-30 I send Todd Fennell a reminder email, that I am awaiting his response
        • Todd responds: "I SENT YOU A MESSAGE LAST WEEK. THE ANSWER IS THE SAME. WE WILL NOT BE CHANGING YOUR STATUS UNTIL YOU RETURN TO PENDER COUNTY."
        • (That's not quite the same.)
        • Got voicemail from Scott Lawson. He misses my emails.

2009-Dec-01 Asked for his position, District Attorney Ben David states "I agree with my ADA Todd Fennell."

2009-Dec-04 Letter to Judge Cobb, 5th District Superior Court Judge in NC
        • This letter was revised for public consumption, and appears as "/docs/e_summary_official.php" on my website.
        • RESULT: The administrative assistant to the judge, when finally reached for comment on 2009-Dec-15, stated that the judge could not consider any "ex-parte" communications.
        • In fact, cases like mine carry exactly the urgency and the possibility of "irreparable harm" for which ex-parte orders were created. <http://www.answers.com/topic/ex-parte>

2009-Dec-16 [no link] - My father goes to Burgaw and visits Todd Fennell, in person
        • Dad reviewed some of the details of this case, particularly the ones I learned through current research, which Todd may not have seen in our email exchanges.
        • Dad reports: "His message was that my son has a warrant outstanding for him and that it will remain outstanding until my son turns himself in, is served, and handles the charges. He was unwilling to tell me a date when the matter could be handled expeditiously by a Superior Court Judge. He stated that there would no quick handling of the case. My son would be arrested and held for a trial at some later time."
        • Before this date, another friend had also called the District Attorney to discuss my case, but was unable to reach a decisionmaker.

2009-Dec-17 I rebuild http://gregkendall.com/ to tell my complicated story in the clearest way possible
        • Hoping to draw attention to this crisis and reach a favorable resolution SOON

2009-Dec-17 I write a letter to the WORLD
        • RESULT: About 155 visitors to my website in the first 2 days. Subsequently, traffic tapered off. Now traffic is slowly building again.

2009-Dec-23 "Application for Executive Clemency" sent to Ohio Governor's office and the Adult Parole Authority in Ohio.
        • RESULT: Nothing good, yet. Was later contacted by an employee of the Governor's office who'd received my website submission of the same correspondence. Here is his unhelpful response. This stuff was sent by Email, FAX, and Courier service. I remain hopeful that some of the documents sent by other methods, or to another recipient (the Adult Parole Authority) may receive proper consideration.
        • I did speak with a woman in the Governor's office named "Artisha" who was very kind, and said that they would be looking into the matter I'd submitted.
        • The clemency process is estimated to take between 6-8 months, and is typically meant for prisoners on death row; the sort of candidates who have no other hope in the world. This effort is clearly a "hail mary" attempt at salvation.

2009-Dec-23 Submission of my case to the ACLU of North Carolina
        • RESULT: They politely declined my case, as shown in this letter.

2009-Dec-29 [no link] - This is the date I had planned to be married with my fiancee, if all had gone according to our design.

2009-Dec-30 Emergency travel document (temporary passport) issued. I depart China. I never reach the connecting flight to Los Angeles.

2009-Dec-30 Held in San Francisco, for extradition to NC.
        • Fallback plan to be married at a wedding chapel in Los Angeles, on 2010-Jan-01 at 6:00 PM, is ruined
        • Luggage separated from me, placed in Lost & Found

2009-Dec-31 Designated a "Felony Fugitive" in San Mateo County California, based upon outstanding NC Warrant

2010-Jan-11 Released from San Mateo jail. Extradited to NC by ground transportation, in shackles.

2010-Jan-16 Intake at Pender County jail. Bond set at 10,000 dollars. First Appearance court date set for Jan 20.

2010-Jan-18 Released on Bond.

2010-Jan-19 Required to re-register at same address which hadn't changed since 2009-May-18.

2010-Jan-20 NEW ARREST WARRANT created on same day as my First Appearance in court.
        • New warrant shows 2009-Nov-19 as Date of Offense
        • These charges could have been issued anytime since November, and combined with my first outstanding warrant
        • In response to my release on bond, Detective Scott Lawson issued this new warrant to have me re-arrested so that I must either remain in jail or exhaust my resources on recurring bond fees

2010-Jan-20 [no link] - Attended First Appearance and announced my representation by a private attorney. New court date scheduled for Probable Cause Hearing on 2010-Feb-10.

2010-Jan-21 [no link] - Pender County Sheriff's officer arrives to my home in an unmarked cruiser, establishing my presence at the registered address.

2010-Jan-21 Wrote a personal account of the events from 2009-Dec-26 through 2010-Jan-21.

2010-Jan-25 Request to San Mateo County California, for their intake paperwork when I was arrested at San Francisco Int'l Airport by Customs & Border Patrol, then held for extradition.
        • RESULT: They returned my letter, refusing to provide any documentation.
        • Their refusal is contrary to the Federal Freedom of Information Act.

2010-Feb-05 [no link] - My laptop and luggage are finally delivered to me, from the SFPD Airport Bureau in San Mateo County, California.

2010-Feb-10 7:30 AM - Pender County Sheriffs awakened me to serve a new arrest warrant, taking me to jail on the morning of my Probable Cause Hearing in court.
        • They picked me up at this same home address, my residence since before the travel to China
        • This *new* warrant indicates failure to respond in person to an Address Verification letter, a violation back-dated to 2009-Nov-19
        • Such failure is an impossibility I had named in my letter to Capt Jamie Ezzell on 2009-Nov-13 and had specifically requested the Sheriff Department's assistance to resolve
        • New warrant also cites my account on Facebook, which became illegal for sex offenders SO RECENTLY that the offense could not be found in either of the county's two criminal booking systems, upon my intake and fingerprinting by Sgt. Chastain
        • As of 2010-Jan-21 when this news article was published, only 18 people statewide had been charged with this crime
        • My arrival to the courthouse (from jail) was much delayed
        • Nothing was accomplished for my case in court, this day
        • If sex offender registrations and restrictions are not intended to be punitive, nobody made this distinction clear to Pender County officials

2010-Feb-11 - First Appearance on new charges
        • My account on Facebook has now been removed
        • Probable Cause Hearing for all charges was reset to 2010-Mar-10, costing me one month of precious time

2010-Feb-12 Letter to Jewell Smith, Sex offender registration clerk at Bladen County Sheriff's office
        • I decided that it might be wisest for me to approach these matters from the first point of entry into the system, rather than continuing to go up, up, up to higher ranking individuals who didn't seem to have time or inclination to help me. The higher elected offices appeared to be more politically-motivated, less concerned with any incidental harm done to an outcast like me.
        • RESULT: Jewell did forward my letter to higher authority as requested. I received two calls from a Ms. Joy Strickland in the NC Attorney General's office at (919) 716-6725, but she was artfully ducking. She said that (a.) according to a North Carolina statute, sex offenders may be placed on the registry due to an out-of-state conviction which is substantially similar to a registerable offense, independent from any authority from the other state; and that (b.) the A.G. did not owe any response to Jewell who was not in the county with current jurisdiction over my case, nor to myself because I am not a state official. The A.G. would only provide advice in response to the State of Ohio, or to a request from Pender County officials.
        • I answered that North Carolina would not have reached ANY conclusions about a "substantially similar" offense, if the conversation hadn't been initiated by a faulty requirement to register, originating from the State of Ohio. Ms. Strickland had no comment to this, but held firm to her tenuous position.

2010-Feb-25 Letter to Amanda Chaney, Supervisor of my former Case Manager Kathryn Lovely, at Chillicothe Correctional Institution of Ohio
        • This is the office which issued the faulty instruction that I must register myself with North Carolina authorities upon my release from Ohio prison
        • RESULT: Amanda Cheney had consulted with the prison's Legal Dept., and with the Atty General for the State of Ohio before speaking with me on the phone 2010-Mar-04. She stated that because the judge in my case had made a sentencing entry indicating that I was a sexually-oriented offender, it was binding upon her office to handle me in that manner. Although I had cited an Ohio Supreme Court case demonstrating that the lower courts were in error on this point of law, she said that I could only revisit this error by hiring an attorney and pursuing it at the appellate court level in Ohio. Her office would not admit an error, nor intervene on my behalf in any way.

2010-Feb-27 Letter to Amnesty International
        • I am on a mailing list of theirs, and when I received their letter targeted toward political activists, it gave me the idea to submit my own case for their consideration.

2010-Mar-08 - Asked to move out from my apartment, after nearly 3 years of leasing here
        • Leasing agent indicates no complaint, thanks me for being a responsible renter. ...But wants me out. Strange!
        • Any other place will be more expensive, and further from the beach.
        • Relocating will cost all of the up-front expenses incurred to secure the new place (first/last months rent + deposit) plus the time and expense of the move itself, before I can be refunded the security deposit on my current place. This ties up significant resources while I am already struggling to survive.

2010-Mar-10 - Date of Probable Cause hearing
        • My father accompanied me
        • A neighbor from Surf City met me in the courthouse lobby that day
        • I answered when the calendar was called at 9:00 AM
        • ADA Todd Fennell made us wait until after 4:00 PM, then called me forward to the railing in the courtroom and informed me that my case would not be heard this day
        • It is the prosecutor's option to waive the Probable Cause hearing
        • The case would proceed directly to the Grand Jury for a "True Bill of Indictment" (or "No Bill" response)
        • I asked for my next court date
        • Todd Fennell told me that a defendant is never informed of the date when the Grand Jury meets, but that I would receive notice of my subsequent court date

2010-Mar-10 [no link] - Brought a copy of the letter to Jewell Smith to Lisa Walker, the sex offender registration clerk in the Pender County Sheriffs office
        • Asked her to submit these documents to the NC Attorney General on my behalf.
        • RESULT: Initially she agreed to do so, but then on 2010-Mar-18 she told me that Detective Scott Lawson had instructed her not to submit them. So she didn't.

2010-Mar-31 [no link] - Visit at the office of Detective Harold Pendergrass, counterpart to Detective Scott Lawson, except in my new county of residence.
        • He promised to review my case file in its entirety

2010-Mar-26 Letter to Mike East, Supervisor at the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Criminal Information and Identification Section, Sex Offender Coordination Unit
        • RESPONSE: My case has been assigned to one of their agents.

2010-Apr-08 [no link] - I am now resident in Carteret County, NC

2010-Apr-23 [no link] - I have republished the homepage of my website with substantial revisions, to reflect emerging events and current research

2010-Apr-26 [no link] - My case was transferred from District Court to the Superior Court level, and assigned to a different Assistant D.A.

2010-May-03 [no link] - Having completed the move from a one-month rental to a long-term rental (likewise located in Carteret County) I go in person to report my change of address to Detective Harold Pendergrass
        • While there, I ask whether he knows of my next court date, or any response from the Grand Jury. He can find nothing in his system.

2010-May-12 [no link] - I write to my attorney, asking him whether I should anticipate making an appearance before the Grand Jury, and whether we should make a "speedy trial" motion to the court? It appears that my case is not being scheduled.
        • RESULT: No response.

2010-May-14 [no link] - Unknown to me, this day was a scheduled court date: Neither I nor my attorney nor my bail bondsman received any advance notice of this date. It did not appear on computer systems accessible to Detective Pendergrass.
        • On this afternoon I had traveled to my attorney's office in person, brought him a small gift from my fiancee in China, and inquired about my court proceedings. The attorney was in a conference with another client and did not speak to me. His secretary searched her system and found no record of any court date for me.

2010-May-14 - Back at home, I find that a new Address Verification letter was sent to me on 12-May-2010 by certified mail, and has arrived today
        • I have three business days to respond

2010-May-17 - My research finds that Pender County has issued warrants for "Failure to Register" against 20%-30% of its sex offender population; whereas only about 2% of sex offenders nationally have violated or shirked these registration procedures.

2010-May-17 [no link] - I return to the office of Carteret County Sheriff's Detective Harold Pendergrass, and confirm my address
        • Importantly, I ask AGAIN whether he knows of my next court date, or any response from the Grand Jury. He still finds nothing in his system.

2010-May-18 - I get a response from the SBI Special Agent who I wrote on 2010-Mar-26. He is thoughtful, professional, but unable to offer any direct help. I am instructed to get a court order from a judge.

2010-May-18 - An arrest warrant is created by a Superior Court judge in Pender County, on the basis that I have missed a court date
        • This is called a "Failure to Appear", or FTA.
        • The court date this document indicates I've missed, was the 2010-Mar-10 date when I was present in court all day long. (This is an error.)
        • Had I actually failed to appear on that date, that judge would have issued a bench warrant and it would have been processed within a couple of days; not two months and eight days later, and not by a different judge in a different venue.
        • 2010-May-14 was the actual date that I missed, because I was never made aware of my scheduled appearance.

2010-May-21 [no link] - Bail bondsman learns of my failure to appear, the subsequent arrest warrant and forfeiture of bond. In an effort to reach me, he calls my father. Instead of running from justice, I stand my ground to confront this new crisis.
        • My bail bondsman reported that there was a court date on 2010-May-14 for which nobody was notified until after it had passed.

2010-May-24 - I am arrested and taken to Carteret County Jail
        • My 2 previous bonds are forfeit, in the amount of 20,000 dollars which I am now expected to repay to my bondsman
        • A new bond of 40,000 dollars is set, such that I would need to have another 4000 dollars to pay the 10% fee

2010-May-25 8:40pm - I am attacked by an inmate while in the Carteret County Jail
        • Somebody had read my charges on the face of the 2010-May-24 intake document above, and spread the word that I was a sex offender.
        • The attacker said he figured I was a rapist.

2010-May-26 - A Superior Court judge set aside the bond forfeiture, restoring my original bond and terms, so that I could be released from jail
        • As the judge was signing this order, I was being transported from Carteret County to Pender County jail
        • My release was accomplished in the early afternoon of this same day

2010-May-26 [no link] - I learn that my attorney has not been responding to my voicemail and email, because he insists that I pay a 10,000 dollar retainer before he will proceed with my defense.
        • I feel quite fortunate, that he made a motion to the Superior Court judge to help me get out of jail.

2010-May-30 - I begin inviting my supporters to

via PayPal.

2010-Jun-18 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2010-Aug-13 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2010-Sep-17 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2010-Oct-04 [no link] - Attorney's offices moved, partially accounting for delays of my case

2010-Oct-15 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2010-Nov-12 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2010-Nov-29 [no link] - Semi-annual Address Verification is completed through the offices of the Carteret Co. Sheriff:
I nearly missed this verification step, because it had been mailed to my Surf City PO Box instead of my home. Being broke and preoccupied with Thanksgiving plans, I had not driven those 50 miles to check my PO Box in several days. It caused a really big scare for me. Failure to respond to this verification letter promptly, in person, would have resulted in ANOTHER felony charge of Failure to Register. It's not enough to have a valid address on file. One must devoutly check his mail every 3 days or so. Failing that, one is likely to commit a felony purely by inattention. Mechanisms such as this create ulcers.

2010-Dec-17 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2011-Jan-14 [no link] - Administrative session of court in Pender County - Case continued.

2011-Jan-29 - GOT MARRIED! Of course I had to wait an extra year and suffer through being jailed a few times, but finally... GOT MARRIED! Of course she had to abandon her career in China, and come to America at great expense, and live with me in a situation full of worry and shame, where I am barely able to pay for daily essentials of life because registered sex offenders are nearly incapable of securing employment. But still, we GOT MARRIED! This woman is absolutely a miracle. I can't believe she willingly joined my life during such a bleak time. No one can ever doubt that this love will endure.

2011-Feb-11 [no link] - Department of Homeland Security placed notices on 84000 websites, indicating each had been seized due to child pornography. Only 10 (ten) of the eighty-four thousand sites contained any illegal content. Ooooooooops! Government agencies are fallible after all, and innocents may be falsely incriminated and punished. In large numbers. Publicly and prominently. Without due process.
        • Article at www.lockergnome.com
        • Article at www.thinq.co.uk
        • Article at torrentfreak.com
        • Article at www.infowars.com

2011-Feb-14 [no link] - My attorney's legal assistant informs that I have been placed on Pender County's "exceptional" calendar; a distinction which means I am locked into an indefinite holding pattern and the Court will not expect me to appear in person, although my case may be slated for periodic review during their ongoing Superior Court Administrative Sessions. This was relayed to me, upon the advice of Ms. Judy Hicks from the Pender County District Attorney's office.

.   .   .

Long-term "continuances" of the case might eventually work in my favor, with regard to the final outcome. However, they are very harmful to my present-day existence because every day that this process wears on, I remain improperly listed as a sex offender, and subject to the widespread stigma and discrimination which follows from such a status.

2011-Apr-20 - Suddenly I am a fan of Corey Rayburn Yung. He has written the two articles listed here below, and several other worthwhile commentaries about legal issues in contemporary America.

1. BEST... ARTICLE... EVER... Details an emerging "War on Sex Crimes" in America; with its inherent risks, costs, and collateral damage.
2. One of These Laws is not Like the Others discusses why SORNA laws continue to raise thorny constitutional questions.

2011-Aug-24 - Learned that my government intends to take my wife away, just because I was improperly listed as a sex offender.
        • We have until November 18 of 2011 to compose our response.
        • Their official position requires two great leaps of faulty logic: First one must assume (based upon illegal photos of children being found on a computer located at my business in the year 2002) that I pose ANY kind of threat to anyone in this world... Then more specifically, one must conclude that I am therefore a threat to my lovely and very much responsible, independent, mature, adult, wife.
        • The fact that my bride is Chinese does not mean that she has been naive or lacking in comprehension: She agreed to marry me AFTER knowing my whole story and reviewing this website, and AFTER having lived together with me for a few months in Shanghai China, so one could hardly say that I had concealed any of my faults. In fact she has been so fiercely loyal that she published two "iReports" to the CNN news website, one on January 7th of 2010 and another on June 7th of 2010. She went on to painstakingly defend our relationship against all sorts of negative advice and ignorant attacks which emerged from public discussions in the wake of those two articles.
        • If my wife faces any actual threat, it is not from a husband who would mistreat her; but from a government which has mistreated her husband and caused her to suffer the collateral damage from their blatant and willful abuses of power. The resulting unemployment, poverty, separation, inability to travel, and general prejudice, destroy the quality of life for all my family members.

2011-Nov-15 - Two motions filed with the Montgomery Co. Ohio district court which originally handled my case.
        • One motion seeks to correct the illegal sentencing entries created by Judge G. Jack Davis
        • The other would withdraw my guilty plea, reopening the case for consideration by the court

2011-Nov-15 - I send my own response to USCIS, along with a few hundred pages of evidence. Don't worry, only the cover letter is linked here. You may also review my wife's cover letter here.

2011-Nov-30 - I beg the Human Rights Foundation for help.

2012-Feb-14 - Happy Valentine's Day!  We attempt to save our romance by writing NC Representative Mike McIntyre.
        • The following were attached:
2012-Mar-22 - MOTION GRANTED!
        • Montgomery Co Ohio Court has declared my Registration requirement void "ab initio" (from the beginning)

2012-Jun-14 - An email notice arrives from my attorney, who only yesterday was notified by Pender County, that WAAAAY back on the 3rd day of APRIL they actually dismissed all my charges. [Thanks.]  The county's failure to provide timely notice, remains true to form.

2012-Aug-24 - Local tabloid "Busted Locals" publishes me in the first & foremost on their highlighted Sex Offender page.

2012-Sep-10 - Created this petition on Change.org, hoping to convince lawmakers that the State of Origin should have the last word regarding who gets placed on the Sex Offender Registry. (This would help me out, since Ohio has clearly declared that my ownership of that computer in 2002 is not a sexually oriented offense.)

2012-Sep-28 - Having waited longer than one year, we write a followup letter to USCIS to ask that they reach a favorable decision for our case.
        • The following were attached:
2012-Sep-30 - AN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS

2012-Oct-06 - OPEN LETTER Reiterated on YouTube

2012-Oct-07 - OPEN LETTER Reiterated as CNN iReport

2012-Oct-07 - Submission to ACLU office handling national legislative issues

2013-Jan-11 - USCIS finally grants our I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of my very deserving wife. Her Green Card was approved this same day, and arrived to our home shortly after.

2013-Feb-07 - California *REMOVES* me from their Sex Offender Registry.

2013-Feb-08 - ACLU politely declines to help (again).

2013-Feb-18 - I decide to double-check with the Parole Board in Ohio which has fallen silent since 15-Jul-2010 concerning my request for Executive Clemency (a pardon). Yes the date on top says 30-Jan, but I didn't get all the supporting documents organized and put it into the mail until 18-Feb.

2013-Mar-12 [no link] - My home received unwelcome visitors early this morning; a Carteret County Sheriff's detective, a Parole Officer, and a U.S. Marshall. This threesome said they are making the rounds to verify that local offenders are in compliance.  ...Yes I am still here...  Thanks for scaring my wife.