WILMER, Texas — A registered sex offender arrested in a police sting for trying to arrange sex with a 15-year-old girl on the Internet is running for mayor of his small town.
James Brian Sliter, 42, said he's sorry and needs to prove he can be an asset to his suburban Dallas community. The incident occurred in 2004, when Sliter went to a home where police, and not a teenager, waited for him.
"People need to realize that people make mistakes, and they need to look past those mistakes and forgive and move on," Sliter told Dallas television station KTVT. "I'm not asking anybody to condone what I did."
No one answered the door at his home Friday afternoon. A note taped to the door said he would speak with reporters Friday evening.
Sliter was charged with attempting to commit sexual assault of a child and placed on 10 years probation, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He is eligible to run for office because he was never convicted, instead receiving deferred adjudication.
Sliter said friends encouraged him to seek office in this town of about 3,400, located just south of Dallas.
"He is a concerned citizen who wants to help this town," said family friend Lynne Thompson, a waitress at a homestyle restaurant in Wilmer. "That's what counts.
"He's a nice, quiet, energetic and smart man," she said.
Kara Martos, a part-owner in the restaurant, said people can't lump all registered sex offenders together. "He's not someone going to schools looking for kids to molest," Martos said.
Sliter's neighbor Lonnie Walden agreed.
"They set him up," Walden said, referring to the police sting. "I'd never go see a 15-year-old girl but it's still wrong how they set people up ... . I think there's going to be a bunch of stink over it."
Wilmer Mayor Don Hudson, one of two people running against Sliter, said Sliter's candidacy is embarrassing.
"Will a sex offender serving as mayor put a stigma on this city? You bet it will," Hudson told KTVT.
The election in Wilmer is May 10.
James Brian Sliter, 42, said he's sorry and needs to prove he can be an asset to his suburban Dallas community. The incident occurred in 2004, when Sliter went to a home where police, and not a teenager, waited for him.
"People need to realize that people make mistakes, and they need to look past those mistakes and forgive and move on," Sliter told Dallas television station KTVT. "I'm not asking anybody to condone what I did."
No one answered the door at his home Friday afternoon. A note taped to the door said he would speak with reporters Friday evening.
Sliter was charged with attempting to commit sexual assault of a child and placed on 10 years probation, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He is eligible to run for office because he was never convicted, instead receiving deferred adjudication.
Sliter said friends encouraged him to seek office in this town of about 3,400, located just south of Dallas.
"He is a concerned citizen who wants to help this town," said family friend Lynne Thompson, a waitress at a homestyle restaurant in Wilmer. "That's what counts.
"He's a nice, quiet, energetic and smart man," she said.
Kara Martos, a part-owner in the restaurant, said people can't lump all registered sex offenders together. "He's not someone going to schools looking for kids to molest," Martos said.
Sliter's neighbor Lonnie Walden agreed.
"They set him up," Walden said, referring to the police sting. "I'd never go see a 15-year-old girl but it's still wrong how they set people up ... . I think there's going to be a bunch of stink over it."
Wilmer Mayor Don Hudson, one of two people running against Sliter, said Sliter's candidacy is embarrassing.
"Will a sex offender serving as mayor put a stigma on this city? You bet it will," Hudson told KTVT.
The election in Wilmer is May 10.
