Meet Robert
Sunday, November 11, 2007 - 3:29 pm
Robert talks about his past in TYC and his future on the outside.
Robert
Robert was arrested when he was thirteen for sexual contact with his younger stepsister. He was released from TYC for the first time at 20. With no support system and few skills for surviving in the free world, Robert lived on the streets and sold drugs for weeks after his release, until he turned himself in to his parole officer and was re-sentenced to TYC. He was released again at 21.
A Christian missionary couple took Robert into their home last year, but not before he was arrested in downtown Houston with several hits of ecstasy. At a hearing in May, he received deferred adjudication; if he meets the requirements of his parole for the next six months, charges against him will be dropped.
Robert delivers pizzas for a living and is currently enrolled in online college courses through the University of Phoenix, where he is studying psychology. He is ambitious and looking for other jobs, but his felony record, registered sex offender status, and the many time-constraints of his deferred adjudication make it difficult to find work.
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Robert back in jail
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 12:02 pm
On May 20, just one month after his wedding to long-time girlfriend Darcey, Robert was summoned back to court and given 30 days in county jail for violating the terms of his parole. Violations included missing some sex offender treatment classes and falling behind on court fees.
It is worth noting that there was no sex offense in the charge that put Robert on parole last year. The original charge that took him to TYC was a sex offense, but the charge he was picked up on in 2006 after his release from TYC was a drug possession charge.
It has been frequently noted by critics of the Texas parole system that terms of parole are often so restrictive and demanding that they seemed designed more to catch violations and send parolees back to prison than to assist them in rejoining society. In Robert’s case, he found it difficult to attend drug education classes and sex offender treatment classes, complete community service requirements, and attend weekly check-ins while keeping the job he needed in order to be able to pay his court fees.
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