Sex Offender Runs for Wilmer Mayor
Submitted by Allen Gwinn on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 22:10.
Update: Sliter drops out of mayor's race
Just when you think you've heard it all, 42-year old registered sex offender James Brian Sliter (his criminal mugshot on the right) has decided to "make up his debt to society" by running for mayor of the town of Wilmer--a suburb just South of Dallas.
According to Dallas County court records, Sliter was arrested for a felony charge of sexual assault of a minor on August 27, 2004.
The State's sex offender registry lists his victim as a 15 year old girl.
But Sliter's intended victim wasn't who he thought it was. In actuality, Sliter was chatting with a police officer posing as a 15-year old child.
When Sliter went to meet who he thought was a child for sex, he was met by police and arrested.
On March 31, 2006, Sliter pled guilty to the charge and accepted a $5,000 fine and 10 years of "deferred adjudication" probation.
Deferred adjudication is a special arrangement with a court which allows some criminals to avoid jail time by pleading guilty to a charge, paying a fine and staying out of trouble for 10 years. If Sliter completes probation without any other brushes with the law, his record will not reflect a conviction.
However, State law may still require Sliter to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life--given that his intended victim was a child.
Sliter's Sex Offender Information Inconsistent
There may be a developing situation involving inconsistencies with Sliter's sex offender registration. State law requires offenders to provide a valid, accurate address.
Sliter lists his as 1113 East Pleasant Run Road.
However, the Dallas County Appraisal District shows Sliter's house to be located at 1113 West Pleasant Run Road--over 2 miles away from where he is supposedly registered.
The discrepancy has been reported to the Wilmer Police Department, and we'll keep you abreast of developments.
March 30 - Sliter Drops Out of Race
Hinting at concerns for his safety, sex offender James Sliter dropped his bid for mayor of Wilmer. Very few other details other than he was advised to do so by police and probation officers.
Problem with Kiddie Sex and Registries
I have a problem with an adult wanting to have sex with a 15 yr-old, no matter the age of the adult. However, having said that, I also have a major problem with these sex offender registries.
The State of Texas felt this guy was such a threat to society that he never served any jail time. In fact, if he doesn't do any other crime for the duration of his adjudication period, his record can be expunged. So, what is accomplished by making him register? Does anyone actually feel safer that he has to tell the police where he lives? Exactly how does that keep your 15yr-old daughters safer?
The registry serves no purpose other than to make people FEEL safe. I think the law is a bad law to fix another bad law.
It's a catch-22. Either the offender IS a danger to society, and therefore needs to be locked up for the rest of their natural lives, or they are not a danger to society and should be left alone. I think it is just a matter of time before a successful challenge is made to the law on the basis of either a 4th or 14th Amendment challenge.
Either way, the sex offender registry takes the responsibility for knowing who your children a associating with away from the parent and puts it back on the state, a dangerous idea, indeed.
[Ed Note: I don't think the record of a child sex offender is eligible for "sealing" (the term used for deferred adjudication offenders). Some things are exempt, and I think sex offenses are in this category.
Remember that in order to be eligible for deferred adjudication, one must plead "guilty." So you must admit to the crime and do probation. When you come back to the court after the probation period, however, the court in essence refuses to enter a verdict. But you have still plead "guilty."]
Property History at DallasCAD
If you click on the History link at the bottom of the DCAD website, you will see the address for the last ten years of owners. All of the former owners were listed as East Pleasant Run. The DCAD website has the wrong property address as West. However, the DCAD website lists the owner address as 4014 Warrington in Dallas. This address is near Buckner and I-30. Now I think we have a real problem rather than just a DCAD typo. Not only is he possibly out of compliance with the Sex Offender registration, but also he might be ineligible to run for office in Wilmer.
[Ed Note: Interesting...]
Admitting Mistakes
I am glad to see that somebody has the courage to admit their mistakes and move on with their life. There is nothing I hate more than a person who will not get their life on the road to success and engage those who disagree with them if necessary.
The sex offender registries are full of people caught up in this American witch hunt. The only winners in the sex offender laws are the politicians and the news media.
Tom
[Ed Note: There is a difference with "getting on with life" and associating one's image with the public trust. This guy was adjudicated about 2 years ago. He's still on probation. If this was a guy who made a tragic mistake 20 years ago, that would be one thing. But this is a guy who *recently* was openly willing to have sex with a 15-year old child.
Unless, of course, you're saying it is OK for a 44-year old man to have sex with a 15 year old?]
Sliter Facts in Error
There is no problem with Sliter's registration records. I have personally seen his sex offender registration card signed by the Wilmer PD and his drivers license both of which specify West Pleasant Run. If you would care to check facts, the post office is responsible for the relabeling of that section of Pleasant Run. The East or West designation depends upon what municipality or not lists the address. East Pleasant Run in Lancaster is West of West Pleasant Run in Wilmer - portions of Pleasant Run in incorporated areas of the county have entirely different designations.
I have no respect for opinions or "truths" misrepresented as facts. The fact is that the online records were not updated when the address designation was changed.
(Note to Ed - Sliter was 38 not 44 at the time of the "incident". Today. in South Carolina it is perfectly legal for a 44 year old man to have sex with a 15 year old girl - the age of consent is 14. At the time of Sliter's offense, this was not a crime anywhere in Canada. Morality is a personal value, it has no place in the legal system.)
[Ed Note: Thanks for clearing up the issue with the address. It is still being investigated by the State and I'm sure they'll probably confirm what you say.
As far as having sex with 15-year olds in South Carolina, if that's what you want to do then by-all-means move there and have at it!
It's illegal in Texas. If you do it, you're breaking the law--as did your friend here.]
Kiddie Rape and Threats
OK I am reading this very early in the morning. I might have to read this again later, but did I just see a pro-raping kids argument? I hope I am wrong. Thank you editor for reminding everyone that this is Texas. It should also be noted that the poster stated that "at the time of Sliter's offense" that this was not illegal in Canada. I assume that this means that it is now illegal in Canada.
I see this morning that he has dropped out of the race, but from this post I draw three conclusions. 1. He is moving to Myrtle Beach to run for mayor 2. He is building a time machine and moving to Canada or 3. He will use the Dallas address listed on DCAD and will run for Dallas mayor (in response to news that the Dallas mayor gets high school interns)
Sorry for the humor - however I feel that it was necessary to negate the horror from the pro-raping kids point of view.
Mr. Editor - Have we learned anything about the Dallas address that I pointed out in my earlier post?
We need to remember that friendship with someone does not legalize their actions.
[Ed Note: Yes, and it might be important to underscore that there are some who feel that sex by a 40-something with a 15-year-old is wrong--whether it's legal or not. Put another way: some of us who are parents might have a problem with a 40-year old making decisions to have sex with our 15-year-old daughter regardless of where we (or he) live.
That being said, I am sorry that folks seem to have resorted to (as claimed in the Dallas Morning News) threatening Sliter. His status with the criminal justice system notwithstanding, he does have the right to run for any office for which he's qualified.
There are many legal/legitimate ways to deal with a disagreement such as this. One such way is to simply get the word out and vote against the guy!
Threats only lower one to that level and, from a criminal perspective, make one no better than the one being threatened. I hope this activity ceases.
As far as the address, there seems to be some confusion over which East is East and which East is West from the perspective of the cities. It's still being looked into.]