Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 4/30/2009

Question
Sir,  my son has a felony as a juvenile. if we get thi espunged does he have a change to get in...  he wa 16 the girl was 15  they had sex and her parents charged him with child molestation   he was just a kid himself

Answer
Rob,
Expungement is a different story.  If you can successfully get his record expunged, then he will have a chance because basically his record is wiped clean.  There are some attorneys who specialize in getting the records of minors sealed or expunged.  They may be somewhat expensive but it's usually worth the price because they know the process and have experience with what works, etc.

Different Branches of the Services differ in what they are willing to waiver, although they all have the same initial qualification requirements.  According to Army regulations he must admit to the Recruiter that he has an expunged record.  The Recruiter doesn't necessarily need or want all the details.  The Army WILL accept a person with an expunged record if they apply for and receive a waiver.  The recruiter will help him through the waiver process and submit it for him.

The expunged record may not come up on a regular police and court records check, but it will come up in an FBI  background check for security if his job in the military requires a security clearance of SECRET or above so it's important he admits to it now and obtains a waiver.

The Army is his best bet right now.  Some of the other Services have already reached their quotas and are not accepting ANY waivers for whatever reason.

I hope you're successful in getting his record expunged.
Good luck,
Colonel H