Judges reverse sex offender's exemption.
Those found guilty must stay on registry even if judgment is withheld. The ruling reversed now-retired 4th District Judge Robert Newhouse's order exempting James Douglas Perkins from the sex offender reporting requirement and removing his record from the registry. After pleading guilty he received a withheld judgment and was placed on probation for five years. But prosecutors moved to have the charge against him dismissed in 1994 when Perkins agreed to enlist in the Army. After returning from an overseas assignment in 1998, Perkins' commanding officer informed him he would be discharged from the Army if he was required to register as a sex offender.