Greeting Folks,
I come to you today in a good way, to thank you and The Creator for supporting me and my wife through the trials and tribulations since April 19, 2004. That was the day I was released from a five-year civil commitment at Atascadero State Hospital as a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), after having spent 13 years in prison for a crime to which I and my co-defendants were forced to plead guilty.
To recap, in 2004 my “victims” recanted their original testimony from 1985 and 1987 to detectives from the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, who were trying to mount a campaign to keep me from being released from Atascadero State Hospital. Brothers Eddie and Randy had not seen one another for years when they were asked about me prior to my release in April of 2004. Both stated the sexual abuse had been made up and had never happened.
I returned to my reservation in San Diego County and was required to register every 90 days as a high-risk sex offender with the county Sheriff. I was also surveilled by the S.A.F.E. (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement) task force, which included the Department of Justice. Unbeknownst to me, a tracking device was placed under my truck. When I discovered it, I burned it in a firepit. In 2005 I was arrested and charged with arson (destroying state property) and failing to register a second address (I never registered Beth’s address as a residence because I never lived with her).
I am grateful to Judge Bernard Revak (Ret.), who instead of granting the District Attorney’s request to lock me up for the rest of my life, gave me 17 months in prison. I was placed on parole until 2010.
Every 90 days and also on my birthday I must re-register as a Sexually Violent Predator with San Diego County. Every now and then the S.A.F.E. Task force comes to check that I reside here. I will never be able to remove the Sex Offender label from my name.
My wife, my best friend, has published a memoir, titled
“Please Don’t Feed the Animals: A Psychologist’s Memoir."
It’s the story of her experience as a clinical psychologist at
Atascadero State Hospital, and how we met and eventually
fell in love (a crazy story!). It is available on Amazon for Kindle,
so check it out.
Thank you for supporting me throughout the years.
I hope life is treating you well.
Remember, God is good!
James Rodriguez