A registered sexual predator is speaking out about what it's like to live with the label.  Brandon Keppler is a on the sex offender registry for having sex with a 14 year old girl while he was 19.  He'll be labeled a sexual predator on the registry for the rest of his life. 

  "With underage drinking comes stupid things and that's no excuse for what I did," Keppler said.

  Keppler explained that while he was at a party in Clay County he met a girl and had sex with her that night, but never asked her age.  He is now 29 years old, and married with stepchildren.  He runs a tree business and breeds dogs.  He says he donates some of them to police departments.  Still, the label of "sexual predator" presents challenges.  Keppler said, "I have to live with it and it's very hard."  Macon County Probation Supervisor Shelly Pinkston agrees.  "For one, it is a stigma that is attached to the family.  They may have difficulties residing in their neighborhood, the sex offender's children may encounter difficulties residing in the neighborhood," Pinkston said.

  There are more than 20,000 registered sex offenders living in Illinois.  According to a 2003 study, the recidivism rate for sex offenders is low.  A report from the United States Office of Justice shows that less than five percent of sex offenders were arrested again for a sex crime after their prison release.  The Illinois State Police say today, on average, 93% of registered sex offenders follow the rules. 

  Last March, the Romeo and Juliet law failed to pass in Illinois.  It's goal:  to keep teens having sex with teens from being labeled criminals if there is a four year age difference or less and it's non-violent consensual sex.  For now, victim advocates and police say it's important to educate teens about laws.