Attached, to the right, is a listing result via a well known search engine. Notice how simple it might have been to confuse "John Dale" with "Dale John Asarga" with some simple highlighting.
Years ago, shortly after I moved to Spearfish, I checked the South Dakota sex offender registry for our town, Spearfish, SD. I have three children, and it's my responsibility as a father to look into such things.
So, imagine my shock to find my name listed in my town.
Note: I am not a sex offender.
After doing a cursory bit of research, I found it was another person with the same name listed as a sex offender in our town. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. "People are smart enough to click the listing and verify for themselves before ruining my life and spreading a lie that this is the same person", I thought to myself.
Then, years ago, while in Flanagan's Irish Pub one evening, I was perplexed when a young man named Aaron recommended I go to another bar where sex offenders were welcome. It's not the kind of statement that has any good thing to say in response, so I ignored it. I was confused and forgot about it.
It wasn't until years later that I interviewed
Reverend Jason Goodwill. In the interview, Reverend Goodwill disclosed a dirty trick done to him in Sheboygan, WI. He was prosecuted for the crimes of someone else having the same name.
Update: The article was edited for clarity and accuracy. The attached search result was discovered and attached on/around 07/08/2023.
