Man convicted of consensual gay sex in the ’90s doesn’t have to register as sex offender: judge

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A man convicted of consensual gay sex in the ’90s doesn’t have to register as a sex offender in Montana, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

Randall Menges was arrested as a teenager in 1993 and did seven years behind bars in Idaho for violating the state’s “crimes against nature” law.

Today, Menges couldn’t be arrested for his sexual activity but was still required to register as a sex offender in Montana.

“None of the governmental interests in maintaining a sexual offender registry are served by Menges’ inclusion,” US District Judge Dana Christensen wrote.

Menges must now be removed from the registry by May 21, and the judge ordered to clear records that say he was ever subject to registration.

“I guess I’m just grateful, honestly, that the judge actually listened and was fair because for the last few years of my life … I don’t feel like anything’s been fair,” Menges said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court found that sodomy laws, which typically ban oral and anal sex, are unconstitutional.

Menges, 45, sued in December and said the registration requirement was affecting his job and housing prospects.

“This case involves the lingering effects of centuries of homophobic ‘sodomy’ prohibitions,” his attorney Matthew Strugar wrote in the original complaint.

Menges was 18 when he was charged in Idaho for having sex with two 16-year-olds, which was consensual and within the state’s age of consent, NBC News reported.

With Post wires

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