Posted on 04/04/2013 7:47:09 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
RIVERSIDE: RCC student body president is registered sex offender
It was no April Fools’ joke.
On Monday, April 1, anonymous black-and-white fliers were found pinned to billboards at Riverside City College saying the student body president is a registered sex offender.
Students at first thought it was a cruel prank, but once it was confirmed, the revelation left them asking whether RCC administrators, who acknowledge they knew about it before the election, should have disclosed the information to the campus community.
Doug Robert Figueroa, 40, of Riverside, was sentenced to five years in prison for admitting that in 2005 he kidnapped a boy under the age of 14 and then committed lewd and lascivious acts on him.
Court documents do not reveal any other details of the crimes.
The prison term was suspended at the 2006 sentencing, and he was placed on 10 years’ probation, which ends in April 2016.
In an email reply sent the evening of Wednesday, March 3, Figueroa said, “Many students have been aware of my status and we believe in rehabilitation. … I dedicate my life to change the stigmas on these types of offenses. Don't get me wrong, there are some offenders that truly need to be on high supervision.”
He also attached a letter that he submitted to the campus newspaper.
“In holding a public student office, I understand that there will always be those that are malicious and try to prevent good from happening,” the letter read in part. “But I am a strong person, a strong leader and through the support of many friends and colleagues, I will continue fighting for the good of every student at Riverside City College.”
Figueroa was elected president of RCC’s Associated Students in May 2012 and his one-year term as president ends with the conclusion of the spring semester June 6.
Information on Figueroa is publicly available on California’s Megan’s Law website, and it’s available in a binder at the campus Police Department that contains the names of self-reporting sex offenders attending the school. Students, staff and faculty can inspect the binder.
STUDENTS ‘FLABBERGASTED’
But Figueroa’s status was unknown among most of the approximately 19,000 students on campus until the fliers appeared. They featured his picture and the block-letter words “Molester of Children! Also known as Doug Robert Figueroa.”
Amanda Waring, a theater arts major, said she noticed the flier as she scoured campus billboards for auditions. “I was flabbergasted. At first people thought it was a joke, because it was on April Fools’ Day,” said Waring, 20, of Riverside.
Waring, who also works at the campus newspaper Viewpoints, said she used the newsroom’s computers and found Figueroa on several websites listing sex offenders registered under Megan’s Law.
The fliers were quickly removed from bulletin boards and other posting areas. They had not received approval, which comes from the Associated Students office.
“Everyone is going crazy now about this story,” Waring said in a telephone interview. “It was definitely not generally known” about Figueroa’s sex offender status, she said.
The flier questioned why there was no background check on candidates and why the campus hadn’t been informed.
COLLEGE KNEW
The college released a statement late Tuesday that Figueroa had told RCC administrators about his legal status before he ran for student body president.
“At that time, the administration reviewed the District policies, the law and the constitution of the Associated Students and determined that there was no policy, statute or ordinance that could prohibit this student from seeking office as student body president.” S chool spokesman Jim Parsons said in an email Wednesday that “there were legal considerations the college and district had to consider related to any announcement; Mr. Figueroa had complied with legal requirements by notifying the college of his status.”
The flier questioned whether Figueroa had been present at two community events on the RCC campus in which the Associated Students of Riverside City College is heavily involved.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to inform the parents of thousands of children that participate in Halloween Town/Bunny Hop?” the flier asked.
The RCC statement said Figueroa had been instructed by the college’s student services administrator not to engage in activities that violate the terms of his probation. Officials said he was not present at the Halloween event or the Bunny Hop.
PROBATION TERMS
Court records indicate Figueroa was a Phoenix resident at the time of the crime, which took place in Riverside County. The case was filed in the Blythe courthouse.
In pleading for probation only, his defense attorney wrote, “Mr. Figueroa can expec to suffer life-long disabilities associated with having to register as a sex offender … he will have to continue the rest of his life to adjust himself accordingly as myriad adverse collateral consequences from his conviction are revealed to him.”
The attorney also noted Figueroa’s career in real estate was done, and that he was selling his home and moving to another state.
The plea for probation also contained letters from friends and family members in support of Figueroa. A psychological evaluation concluded he was not a risk for re-offending, that he was remorseful and had been attending a 12-step treatment program for alcoholism.
One counselor wrote that Figueroa struggled with low self-esteem “and he has over-compensated by becoming very driven to be successful.”
Among the terms of probation is not to accept or work in any position where there are minors present, not to volunteer time or be employed by an organization whose primary function is to serve the needs of minors; and not to attend social activities or functions in which the primary function is activity with minors.
Waring, the RCC student, said Figueroa’s record as a child molester should have been more generally available.
“I think they should have told us,” she said. “If they knew this was happening they should have made it common knowledge. If he is going to have a job like that and be president and interact with everybody on campus. Now it’s a scandal. They should have told everyone.”
Oh sorry...He’s working or is a student at a government facility and he’s another kinky drooling freak...My mistake.
Thanks!
I just want to say for the record, I trust government to do the right thing to help America.
Is that the same dude who used to be POTUS? Wondered
what happened to him. Name was Bill wasn’t it?
I don't, and neither do you. But that's not the real issue here, is it?
I have no idea what you’re talking about...?
You overreacted to my original ping. I just try to do the best I can. That’s all.
You’re precisely right!
A 20-year-old should be allowed to determine whether she wants to date someone older. She is an adult. She may make stupid choices, but adults have the right to make stupid choices.
I’m going to take a guess here: he is a Democrat and the college administrators who knew about his past and allowed him to run are Democrats as well.
There are most likely minors on campus taking classes. I knew a girl that started college right after she turned 17 (graduated HS at 16)
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