NC sex offender's lawsuit: satellite tracking unconstitutional

FAYETTEVILLE (AP) -- A convicted sex offender says in a federal lawsuit that it's unconstitutional for authorities to use satellites to keep track of his movements. The lawsuit filed by 30-year-old Jay Usategui of Hope Mills challenges a state law enacted last year. His lawsuit says the monitoring unlawfully restricts his movements and subjects him to public ridicule. The program monitors 114 offenders carry 2-pound satellite tracking devices that sound an alarm if an offender goes to an off-limits location. The lawsuit says the device sends false alerts. Authorities charged Usategui in 2003 with statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child, communicating a threat and false imprisonment. His lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)