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Found out front guy is a registered sex offender.......need advice

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#121
OP, in light of some of the opinions and assumptions made here, at the end of the day my opinion means nothing; I am and not you and vice versa.

You mention this guy has fronted a previous band with a "good following". Was this years ago, or recently? If the latter, plenty of folks could have googled his name and found the exact same thing. Was it an issue?

This IS your business. It's the band you are in (doing business soon) so you have the right, if you choose, to look into someone's background. Also, this is public information. Period. You are fully allowed to access such information. In my day job, an individuals' past is a BIG consideration when hiring. Will his past be an issue if it blows up? How would it affect you, the band, or even the venues you play, should something happen - even if the 'happen' is the word is spread publicly? Much like this thread, the court of public opinion might mean more than any level of reality. This is why I would proceed cautiously. Bow out, or ask him directly and express your concerns politely. I don't think you have much choice knowing what you know.

But again, this is my opinion.
 
#122
GreatScott91 said:
OP, in light of some of the opinions and assumptions made here, at the end of the day my opinion means nothing; I am and not you and vice versa.

You mention this guy has fronted a previous band with a "good following". Was this years ago, or recently? If the latter, plenty of folks could have googled his name and found the exact same thing. Was it an issue?

This IS your business. It's the band you are in (doing business soon) so you have the right, if you choose, to look into someone's background. Also, this is public information. Period. You are fully allowed to access such information. In my day job, an individuals' past is a BIG consideration when hiring. Will his past be an issue if it blows up? How would it affect you, the band, or even the venues you play, should something happen - even if the 'happen' is the word is spread publicly? Much like this thread, the court of public opinion might mean more than any level of reality. This is why I would proceed cautiously. Bow out, or ask him directly and express your concerns politely. I don't think you have much choice knowing what you know.

But again, this is my opinion.
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He fronted a band recently. Ended in 2102. They wanted (and did) to hit the road. Career and family kept him from the road. That's his story.
 
#123
Hmm. That's tough, my friend.

Again, my day job is risk managment - I'm naturally skeptical! :) I'd have a hard time continuing regardless of the severity of his crime, which I'll admit could be a wide range of violations. Public opinion can be a very fickle thing...
 
#124
g4string said:
No sir, it is not. I am not a convicted felon accused of a sex crime involving a child. The problem is not with me.
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A person does not need to be a felon to be a registered sex offender. In some jurisdictions you can be required to regiser as a sex offender becaused you urinated in public. So, your front man has to file and served probabtion. If that's all you know then why are you jumping to conclusions? Hence the problem is with you. Sounds like you're considering some sort of praise/worship band with him. Well WWJD and are you following in his footsteps?
 
#126
sowilson said:
A person does not need to be a felon to be a registered sex offender. In some jurisdictions you can be required to regiser as a sex offender becaused you urinated in public. So, your front man has to file and served probabtion. If that's all you know then why are you jumping to conclusions? Hence the problem is with you. Sounds like you're considering some sort of praise/worship band with him. Well WWJD and are you following in his footsteps?
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TX statute dictaes this crime be tried as a class 2 felony. No lenancey with such matters. TX is not a state where you want to be accused of such crimes.....espc if it's one of the "grey area" situation.

My main obstacle is WWJD -vs- WWJD.....what would Jason (me) do -vs- what would Jesus do. It's a hard thing to do.
 
#127
dmusic148 said:
Yes but as stated in the OP the guy was in fact caught with child porn of some kind.
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I never said he was caught with child porn. I said he was convicted of (plead guilty to) possession of child pornography. I do not know if he was caught with kiddie porn. A confession and conviction does not necessarily mean a person commited that crime. People can be coerced into a confession, or people can commit superior offenses and plead down to a lesser offense.
 
#128
Tough situation!

I'm a teacher, so I signed a declaration of professional responsibility regarding the safeguarding of young people. Therefore I would have no choice but to quit the band, as I would lose my career if I was knowingly associated with a registered sex offender, who had been in posession of underaged porn.

However it is a difficult situation, as like others have said underaged pornography is a vast and grey area.

Ask yourself if you are comfortable confronting him about what his offence actually entails. Is it child pornography, is it possession of porn that he didn't know was of a minor? If you are not comfortable with confronting this situation, you need to assume the worst and walk away.
 
#129
There is now a 900 lbs gorilla in the room. You either need to acknowledge it, get more facts and then see if it is something you can work around/deal with, or you need to just get out of the room as fast as you can. Ignoring it will do no good in the long run.
 
#130
g4string, what's your gut telling you? If you still don't know, then sit with it till you do. You've obviously received conflicting advice here. IMO, some people are blowing this out of proportion. Even if you assume the worst about the guy (which sounds like a big assumption given the facts you've presented), the suggestion that your association with him will forever doom your reputation is just chicken-little hysteria; some people wanna be "experts" and warn you of something you needn't fear just so they can feel like, well, experts.

Think about how most people behave. Are people who see your band really gonna investigate the histories of the band members? If so, do you honestly believe that your front guy's supposed scarlet letter will get stamped onto you? I just don't see the majority of people behaving that way. If you guys all make good music, then do it till you don't wanna do it anymore.

But, hey, all our opinions don't mean much. Opinions/a**holes, ya know? Good luck, whatever you decide. Something tells me this will become a spec on the map of your life several years from now.
 
#134
sowilson said:
A person does not need to be a felon to be a registered sex offender. In some jurisdictions you can be required to regiser as a sex offender becaused you urinated in public. So, your front man has to file and served probabtion. If that's all you know then why are you jumping to conclusions? Hence the problem is with you. Sounds like you're considering some sort of praise/worship band with him. Well WWJD and are you following in his footsteps?
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Perhaps considering that some behaviors that until recently would get an individual burned at the stack are not socially acceptable might offer a bit of a different view. We now are more tolerant.

And until recently illegitimate mothers were heavily sanctioned in western society. Now they are treated much better.

However severe in some societies they still suffer sanctioning.
 
#135
sowilson said:
.....So, your front man has to file and served probabtion. If that's all you know then why are you jumping to conclusions? Hence the problem is with you.
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I know more than that. Yes, I know he's on the list and has served 10yrs probation. Additionally, I know he's a felon -AND- he was found guilty of possession of child pornagraphy. You're leaving out some pretty big details when claiming jumping to conclusions. And yes, I know where you're going with this. This is part of my struggle. I don't know the circumstances or details. However, given the seriousness if the crime....this is one condition where I think you almost have to assume the worst until proven otherwise.
 
#136
We're supposed to rehearse Tuesday. I'm prob gonna make up an excuse to not rehearse. I need some time with this. More than likely (still undecided though), I'll draft an email requesting some clarification. I hate confrontation and really don't have the nerve to bring this up in person or on the phone. Email can be an emotionless tool that might actually be a better form of communicaton for a situation like this. Plus it offers the accused some ananimity during the course of discussion.
 
#137
Reading along and figured I would weigh in... If you are thinking up of making an excuse to not practice, you've pretty much made up your mind. The weight or dilemma if you will is draining the fun out of what is to be a fun activity. Move along and find fun elsewhere. As an earlier member said, there seems to be a plethora of talent in your area, and it is not as though there was a contract, tour, pr recording scheduled. Move on, breathe the sigh of relief and put The GG Alin Experience behind you.

g4string said:
We're supposed to rehearse Tuesday. I'm prob gonna make up an excuse to not rehearse. I need some time with this. More than likely (still undecided though), I'll draft an email requesting some clarification. I hate confrontation and really don't have the nerve to bring this up in person or on the phone. Email can be an emotionless tool that might actually be a better form of communicaton for a situation like this. Plus it offers the accused some ananimity during the course of discussion.
Click to expand...
 
#138
No one knows what this guy did or didn't do. Everybody is a Judge. How about judging based on what kind of man he is now. Pete Townshend is a registered sex offender and im sure no one would mind playing with him. The OP was talking about a faith based project. What would Jesus do if he was a bass player? Im not a religous guy im just saying.
 
#140
My two cents: I would talk to the guy about it. Man to man, one on one, no email. I hate confrontation, too, but email isn't the way to go. In person, you can better gauge his truthfulness, and he can see that you want to be fair to him but have concerns. Only after learning the specifics can you make an informed decision, unless you feel so strongly about it that you just want to walk without explanation.
BTW, I once cut ties, without explanation, with a bandmate who'd recently done time for counterfeiting. I didn't want to be associated with a dishonest person like that. This situation seems to have more gray areas: It happened a long while ago, there is some question about the nature of the pornography, etc.
In the end, only you can decide this one. Good luck.
 
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