Yep, that's the guy

I did a short interview last weekend with a visiting player from a semipro football team that was in town. Turns out, he grew up around here and had a few interesting things to say about why he plays the game, etc. Made a decent peg for a follo on the home team hitting the road this weekend.

For some reason, just to check my notes, I googled this guy ... and there he is, mug shot and all, on the Louisiana sex offenders registry.

Ouch.

 

Did that kill your story? I think a strong argument could be made either way.

 

See if you can whimsically weave into your lede.

 

Wasn't relevant to the point I was trying to make, he's not from our area besides, so I pressed on. It was a back-of-the-book story anyway.

But ... a few years back we had a front page "Neighbors" section story about a guy who built model trains and it turned out he was major former sex offender. Howdy, neighbor!

 

"Hey kiddies...come see my choo-choo..."

 

Him being listed as a sex offender could mean something as insignificant as public urination...But it's better fodder for jokes if we assume worse

 

"....but these days, the only tight ends he's looking for are his teammates."

 

Fixed...

 

It's hard finding tight ends with such good hands, these days.

 

Tight ends, wide receivers, whatever it takes. Any port in a storm.

 

In point of fact, he was on the list for violating Louisiana's "Indecent Behavior with Juveniles" when he was 20. He's now 27.

Here's that law, which takes in quite a bit – including inappropriate communications.

http://www.babcockpartners.com/resources/statutes/louisiana-indecent-behavior-juveniles-law