(Headline USA) A registered sex offender sent a picture of his penis to a Vice News producer who ran a glowing profile about his supposed rehabilitation.
Vice published a story about a number of convicted sex offenders, including “Aishef,” who served additional time in prison, or “dead time,” because of the restrictive housing laws that prohibit sex offenders from living in certain areas.
Aishef served six years of “dead time” in prison on top of his initial sentence of nine years behind bars, Vice reported. He was convicted for forcing oral sex on a woman and “penetrating her with my fingers” when he was 15-years-old.
Convicted sex offenders like Aishef are required to put their names on a registry, and are often banned from obtaining housing near schools, daycares and playgrounds.
Vice’s interview with Aishef ended with news that he reportedly sent an inappropriate picture to one of the publication’s producers after the interview was conducted. When confronted about the incident, Aishef claimed through a lawyer that he had sent the photo by mistake.
Vice tried to make a sympathy piece about reintegrating sex offenders into society and it ended with this lol pic.twitter.com/5ZDJSXzbSQ
— fullmetal (@jenbrained) September 28, 2022
“[The label of sex offender] makes me feel misunderstood,” he told Vice. “It doesn’t represent who I am, but it don’t change who I am.”
Aishef said he was eventually able to find work as a dishwasher in Chicago nine months after his release. He also managed to find housing at a residential complex run by a non-profit agency.