Conviction Hurting Job Search

I was convicted back in 2001 for numerous felonies, 14 to be exact, 13 of them was non sexual related (Stealing off ebay, bomb threats, forgery etc..) Long story short, 6 months after the police raided my apartment and took my computer equipment, I was 4 days shy of taking a plea for Probation AND a hefty fine. Well then the police send a warrant out for my arrest for promoting child pornography, which was total BS. I was running an ADULT website with 9,800 ADULT pictures on my computer, but out of that number, they found 12 pictures of underage (under 18) of teenagers or children. Well I had to withdraw my plea and plead guilty of that charge, otherwise if I took it to trial and fought that, the 29 felonies of stealing and other offenses would not be dropped and would be facing 43 felonies which I WAS guilty of.. So I served 3.5 years in prison on a 10 year sentence, but obviously now I have been a registered sex offender. I am highly qualified in the Audio/Video Field.

Well finding a job is seriously impossible, no matter how qualified I am, no one will give me a chance. I started my own AV Company back in 2006 and with any business its always up and down. Been trying to get out of the business I am qualified to do and get a "stable" job that pays even just more than $10 an hour.. Even though my conviction(s) was 12 years ago and I have been 100% clean since, no one seems to care. They would much rather hire someone with 0 experience and a bad work history than hire someone like me..

Going Through the groups that I have went through while on parole, the highest paid job that I remember an offender having was $9 per hour.. There is no way I can support my family on that income, well I guess I can, but we would be on some kind of welfare forever and live in bad parts of town.. If it wasnt for my 6 year old girl, no doubt in my mind I would have no problem just going back to prison, and that is sad to say but it is so true.

So I guess its time to start applying at fast food places, oh wait been there done that, I had an interview a few months back at BURGER KING, starting pay $8/hr! I couldnt even land that job! Very sad.. The screwed up thing is the only difference between me and a lot of other people in the world is, I got caught and they didnt." I am sure a LOT of us has done something stupid in our lifetime that COULD have landed us in prison, but a LOT of us never got caught..

I can rant and rave for a long time, but I have kept track since 2010 since I have been trying to find a decent job. I have applied at 392 places, been interviewed 72 times and have landed ZERO jobs.. So I guess maybe I need to apply at 392 more places, and maybe, just maybe I might land that $8/hr dream job!

Conviction Hurting Job Search

Wow, that's quite a story. Law enforcement is really cracking down on the possession of pornographic materiel containing minors. In fact, I know of teens who have had to register as sex offenders for having nude pictures of their "friends" on their cellular phones. I tell these kids that "sexting" pictures of minors is indeed a crime in most states. I hope people pass this information on.

In your situation, unfortunately, possessing such materials is punishable under the same statutes as rape and other such sex crimes. No matter what your other convictions are, the sex offense will always attract more attention. It is also unfortunate that all are lumped together as sex crimes and therefore scrutinized by society at large the same way.

My suggestion to you is to seek employment in the video production field in the adult industry or even as a consultant. There are sites popping up everyday. I'm sure there is a market for your skills. You may also consider finding another niche. With your knowledge and experience you would be successful marketing a more mainstream product.

My only other suggestion is to contact your local United Way office. The United Way funds a long list or social service organizations. You may find an advocacy group that has experience with cases similar to yours or they may every suggest an agency that could use a person with your skills.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Registering as a sex offender has so many restrictions that finding an ordinary job may be otherwise difficult.