Frank Rodriguez is a proud father of four who wants nothing more than to coach his daughter’s soccer team, but there’s one thing stopping him from doing so — he’s a registered sex offender.

Frank Rodriguez met his wife Nikki Rodriguez when he was an 18-year-old senior in high school, and she just a 15-year-old freshman. The charming football jock began to court the envied cheerleader in a stereotypical high school romance based in Caldwell, TX. However, this fairytale doesn’t have a happy ending — Nikki’s mom, Melissa Ostman, overreacted when she found out her 16-year-old daughter was having sex with a 19-year-old, and called the police.  Now, Frank has been living the past 15 years as a registered sex offender and father-of-four. 

At 19, Frank was charged with statutory rape of a minor for having sex with 16-year-old Nikki, because the legal age of consent in Texas is 17.  The day she turned 17, she moved in with Frank who had been living alone after being forced out of his house by the law since a 12-year-old girl lived there too — his own sister.  Two years later, the couple welcomed the first of their four daughters – but his probation prohibited him from living in the same house as a minor, so he lived there illegally until 2003.

Appearing on The Today Show, Nikki reveals that the greatest impact of Frank’s criminal status is “[having to] explain yourself to everyone that you meet, everyone that you come in contact with…[and people] talking about you behind your back.”

However, former sex crimes prosecutor Robin Sax believes this punishment is not right. “This is a mom trying to use the legal system to parent instead of having a conversation…it’s a tool that we as parents use to protect our kids and it’s supposed to specify this person is a danger to our society, ‘watch out.’” But Frank, she believes, is no danger. “When someone is looking at that list they are not expecting Mr. Rodriguez to be there.”

Though now, hope lies ahead for Frank and his family. Texas Governor Rick Perry passed a bill that will go into affect in September that will allow accused offenders to file a petition if he was within four years of age of his sexual partner, and if his partner was at least 15 at the time of the conviction — key aspects of Frank’s case that will help him get his name off the registry.

– Michael Emer

Frank Rodriguez wishes nothing more in the world than to take his daughters to school, watch them play soccer, and raise them as a normal father — but the law restricts him from doing so.

Frank Rodriguez from Caldwell, TX has lived a fairy-tale life: he graduated high-school as a leading football star, married his high-school sweetheart, and has four beautiful daughters.  But there’s one thing that has kept him from succeeding in any arena in life: he’s a registered sex offender. 

Frank, 34, met his wife, Nikki Rodriguez, 30, during high-school when he was 18-years-old and she was 15.  He was the stereotypical star football jock and she was the beautiful cheerleader.  “Frank was different.  He would pick flowers for me at the bus stop and bring them to school.  At lunch, he came and sat with my friends and me, not with the guys,” Nikki tells Marie Claire.  After about a year of dating, the two had sex.

After revealing to her conservative mother, Melissa Ostman, that the couple were involved physically, Melissa told Nikki that she had to stop. “I liked Frank from day one, but I wanted them to cool of,” she admits.  But one night after the passionate pair left Nikki’s younger sister at a fair to have sex, Melissa had had enough.  She drove to the police station and reported Frank for having sex with a minor.  Although a serious crime, she was not looking to punish him — just scare him off.  “If I had known the implications, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Frank, who had enjoyed life working on local ranches as a teenager, found himself a criminal sex offender at the age of 19.  From there, his world was turned upside down.  “I couldn’t talk to Nikki.  I couldn’t go to restaurants, public swimming pools, football games — any places where there might be kids.  I couldn’t vote.  I couldn’t leave the country without permission.”

Life would only become tougher for Frank.  He had to perform 350 hours of community service, attend weekly counseling courses with other convicted pedophiles and sex offenders, complete serve seven years probation, and had to move out of his family home because a 12-year-old — his sister — lived there.  For two years, Frank lived alone as he slumped deeper into depression.  “My life stopped,” he reveals.  Though, he still hoped for a better future.

The day Nikki turned 17, she moved in with Frank.  “We didn’t have anything — but we didn’t need anything.”  Two years later, the couple welcomed their first of four daughters — but Frank’s probation restricted him from living in the same home as his young baby.  So he was forced to live in his own home illegally, until he completed his probation in 2003.

Despite strict sex offender laws in each state, grassroots groups have sought to change such laws at the expense of those accused at a young age — like Frank Rodriguez.  This past spring, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a new bill to lift convictions on sex-offenders.  The bill — which goes into effect in September — will allow accused offenders to file a petition if he was within four years of age of his sexual partner, and if his partner was at least 15 at the time of the conviction — key assets that would allow Frank to lift his conviction and become a free man.

Do you think Frank’s conviction should be lifted, HollyMoms?  Tell us how you feel!

– Michael Emer

More on HollyBaby:

1. Jaycee Dugard Reveals: I Was SO Lonely Imprisoned In Soundproof Shed
2. Anthony Weiner’s Website Warns About The Dangers Of Sexual Predators! Wait, What?
3. Politician’s Wife Jailed For Mother-Daughter Sex Triangle With A 13-Yr-Old Boy

TV networks are bidding for the first interview with Jaycee, who was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years, and it could make her millions of dollars.

It’s certain to be an emotional occasion — Jaycee Dugard, 31, was held hostage in a backyard shelter and forced to bear two children by her kidnapper, convicted sex offender Philip Garrido. Is she right to cash in on her story?

Jaycee’s astonishing story captured the hearts of America, first when she disappeared, at the age of 11, and again when she was reunited with her family in 2009.

A home video showing Jaycee playing with her mother and daughter, shortly after she returned home in 2009 was sold to ABC for $200,000 — and network bosses are clamoring again to air her first words.

Diane Sawyer, Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric are all in the running to land the interview, depending on which network wins the race, and it will air in July, shortly before the release of her memoir A Stolen Life.

Publicist Nancy Selzer claims Jaycee will get to choose who interviews her and reveals there will be two very important absentees from the sit-down — Jaycee’s daughters Angel, 16, and Starlit, 12. “The kids are minors and are off limits,” she insists.

We’re glad the children are being shielded from the limelight, but how do you feel about her speaking out? And will you watch?

Share your views with us below.

– Ian Garland

GET MORE:

1. Kidnap Victim Jaycee Dugard Will Reveal Intimate Details of Her 18 Years Of Imprisonment In Her Book
2. Can You Believe The Woman Who Helped Keep Jaycee Dugard Prisoner For 18 Years Is Crying Because Jaycee Hasn’t Visited Her In Jail?
3. Jaycee’s Story Gives Hope to Mom of Missing Boy