Man Sues Over Mistaken Sex Offender ID

Tort Law

Posted Jul 14, 2008, 03:42 pm CST
By Martha Neil

Richard Bryan Smith happens to share the same name and date of birth as a convicted sex offender. And that has led to several cases of mistaken identity, despite the fact that there is a reported three-inch height difference between the two men, their eye colors are different from each other's, as well as other distinctions.

After his neighbors in Sweet Home, Ore., Ray and Tracy Kelly, not only mistook him for the sex offender but, he believes, publicized this information around town, Smith sued in Linn County Circuit Court for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, reports the Albany Democrat-Herald. "Smith is accusing the Kellys of, among other things, distributing the actual offender’s photograph and sex offender registration information, telling people they refer to him," the newspaper writes

Local police say they have investigated and confirmed that there are actually two different men with the same name, same birth date and a superficial resemblance living in different states at this time. One, who is living in Reno, Nev., is a convicted sex offender, and the other, who is the plaintiff in the lawsuit, is not.

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Posted by kay sieverding - 4 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours, 53 minutes ago

I read a blog on the Steamboat Pilot about a convicted sex offender who got a job as a truck driver in a rural area. People were actually talking about killing him.

Someone told me that their neighbor came to warn them about a sex offender living in their neighborhood. It turned out to be some 35 year old guy who had sex with a 16 year old when he was 20.

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