Man sues to get his name off list of sex offenders

A Los Alamos man who was forced last fall to register as a sex offender in New Mexico for an offense committed in Florida now wants his name scratched from the list.

To that end, Thomas Edward Vives, 40, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in District Court in Santa Fe asking that he not have to register and that all sexoffender information about him be removed from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety documents and a Web site detailing such offenders, according to court documents.

To have him continue to register and be displayed on the Web site “will irreparably harm him by exposing him to ridicule, public infamy, possible loss of employment, extreme emotional distress, and interfere with his relationships and employment,” according to the suit filed by Santa Fe attorney Dan Cron. The suit names Los Alamos County Sheriff William Verzino, DPS and DPS Secretary John Denko as defendants.

Vives pleaded no contest in 1992 to engaging in sexual acts with a child under 18 in Florida, according to the DPS Web site. He moved to Los Alamos in 2000, court records state.

In January 2004, Verzino issued a notice to Vives to register as a sex offender or he would be charged with failing to do so, a fourth-degree felony, according to court documents. In May 2004, Deputy District Attorney Shari Weinstein told Cron that Vives would be charged within 10 days if he didn’t register, the documents state.

Cron then filed motions for a restraining order to seal court documents in the case, close any hearings, prohibit Vives’ name from being released and temporarily allow him to not register as a sex offender. District Judge James Hall denied the motions in June, saying the records were public documents and Vives had the option of defending himself in criminal court if he chose not to register.

Vives registered for the site May 21, 2004, and was still featured on the site Wednesday . The charge of failing to register as sex offender carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Cron said Wednesday that he and his client decided to file the lawsuit now because the statute governing sex offenders was amended by the 2005 Legislature and went into effect last Friday.

Cron maintains that Vives’ Florida plea is akin to a conditional discharge in New Mexico , which is not considered a conviction. The amended statute now states that sex offenders who plead to a conditional discharge do not have to register, Cron said. Vives was required to register as a sex offender in Florida, he said.

However, DPS attorney John Wheeler said Wednesday that he believes Vives’ Florida conviction is more similar to a deferred sentence in New Mexico, which is a registerable offense.

“We intend to prove that Mr. Vives has to register as a sex offender,” Wheeler said. “I think Mr. Vives should have to register.”

Cron questioned the motivation behind New Mexico officials’ fighting to keep his client — who he said was determined not be a predator in a Florida psychological exam — on the list.

“I think there is an element of political appearance that makes it easy politically to beat their breast and talk about how tough they are on sex crimes,” Cron said.

The case, which has been assigned to Judge Hall, has not yet been scheduled for a hearing date.