Convicted of soliciting a minor with the intent to perform sexual acts, 25-year-old Edgar Griss found himself enrolled at Long Beach City College, intending to only stay for one semester, but his involvement with the Justice Scholars Initiative offered a new path.
Griss, at the age of 22, engaged in an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl he claimed he thought was 18 years old. He and the 13-year-old exchanged sexually charged material and messages online through Instagram for six months before they agreed to meet.
When Griss showed up to his planned date, he was met by Orange County Police.
According to Griss and his attorney, his entire relationship with this girl was a sting operation set up by Orange County authorities to entrap potential offenders online.
Griss was charged on September 22, 2020, with making contact with a minor with intent to commit a sex offense as well as possession of illicit material depicting a minor.
After six months in Orange County jail, Griss was released with probation and sent to counseling where he received counseling for his A.D.H.D.
Within a year of his release, Griss is facing a second legal case that could potentially put him in state prison for up to eight years.
In 2021, Griss once again went online looking for a relationship, this time meeting a woman from Louisiana he claimed was 19 years old, but was, in reality, a 14-year-old girl. The two were flirtatious, but according to Griss it never developed into a legitimate relationship.
The pair ceased communication after four months, Griss said, but one day in December 2021, Griss was taken in by LA County authorities.
Griss was then informed that the girl in Louisiana had called the national suicide prevention hotline and talked about her and Griss’ online relationship, her emotional distress and her suicidal ideations.
With one conviction already in his past and his parole not yet over, this potential second offense would carry a much harsher punishment, regardless of the explicit level of their online exchanges.
The hotline notified LA County authorities, who activated a warrant for his arrest, according to Griss. He then spent four days in LA County jail before his father posted his bail.
Griss claims that he and the 14-year-old never met in person, and their communication occurred only through Instagram direct messages.
“That’s what’s saving me right now,” Griss said.
Griss’ information, just like any other registered sex offender, can easily be found online when googling his name.
“We automatically feel pressure from society, because our information is public,” Griss said.
“I am guilty for what I did, but I will fight for my education and for other people who have fallen in the justice system,” said Griss.
His registration in the national sex offender database has made it difficult for Griss to find work, as employers use background checks to analyze potential employees.
“I just got off an interview yesterday, and I spoke to (the employer) about my narrative and I told him ‘Hey you’re going to see some really messed up stuff on that background check, let me tell you what it’s about,’” Griss said.
“There are two types of employers, the one type of employers are narrow-minded who say, ‘this guy is (a sex offender) and we don’t want to hire him’ and there are employers like yesterday who feel like their hands are tied. Like ‘Hey we think you’d be a good candidate for us, but we have to go with the background check and unfortunately, that background check is not going to pass you.’”
Griss’ openness about his conviction and the circumstances that led to his offense does not make the decision any easier for potential employers to hire him, despite his best efforts.
“I told him, ‘I have nothing against the background check, you follow your policies and I follow mine.’ But these kinds of jobs that I’m applying to, I’m not going to apply to a job where I know I’m not going to make it, where I know it’s going to be a risk to me or the customers,” said Griss.
After his release, Griss decided he would return to college to study communications, as one of his cellmates in prison had suggested.
Griss admitted that he had never been a good student in high school or at his previous college, Cerritos College.
The first time Griss told his parole office his plans to return to college, the officer smirked and asked him if he was sure.
“That encouraged me to move forward,” Griss said.
“He looked at me and smirked, and laughed at me for going to school. I’m not mad at him for that,” Griss said.
“He was concerned. He asked me, ‘If you told me school was not for you, you’re not a good student, you’re not going to put in the effort, you have a ‘too cool for school’ mentality. What makes you think right now would be a better opportunity?’”
“I said, ‘Watch me’, and fast forward three years and I’m graduating,” Griss said.
Griss ultimately decided to attend Long Beach City College, only planning to stay for a semester to continue his academic progress at Cerritos College.
Griss found Justice Scholars, which made him decide to seek more support to fight for his case.
“It became a snowball effect of positivity and circumstances. It went from bad events to being able to come on campus, become a voice, guest speak on campus and so many things to now an enrollment offer from Cal State Long Beach.”
His success, he claimed, was due to the support and advice he received from the Justice Scholars Initiative.
“All the pieces of the puzzle of who I am as a student, merged together, and I’ve been having the best of time,” Griss said.
Originally started as a club for formerly incarcerated students to find community on campus, the Justice Scholars eventually evolved into a program that aimed to fix some of the societal, financial and legal barriers that formerly incarcerated people may face while trying to seek a higher education.
“I was very skeptical of Justice Scholars at first. I thought that it was just for them to receive a badge, like ‘Hey I’m helping an ex-convict become a contributing member of society’, but that was not the case,” Griss said.
Sharon Griss, Griss’ younger sister was happy to support her brother when he finally accomplished what he set out to do.
His conviction, she said, has not really had an impact on their bond.
“He will always be my brother, ” Sharon Griss said.
She also noted a change in him once he found a space at LBCC where he could be open about his past, while still receiving the support he needed to get through college.
The reason Griss has been able to attend, interact and be involved in campus activities, according to Superintendent-President Mike Munoz, is due to public college guidelines that prohibit colleges like LBCC from being selective in their admission.
“We are an open access institution that allows any student to enroll who meets the criteria. The criteria does not say, ‘without a criminal record or without any offenses,’” said Munoz. “Unless what they are doing outside relates directly to what happens on campus, it’s very difficult to take action,” he added.
But even with its open enrollment policy that allows everyone, including those with criminal histories, the chance to pursue higher education does not let victims of assault go unnoticed.
After contacting Stacey Toda, an associate director on campus, she was able to provide information about resources that are available online and on campus.
Support on and off campus is available, including the student health office, which can direct students to off-campus support programs for times when LBCC cannot provide assistance.
It is encouraged for an individual who has been sexually assaulted to keep away from the attacker and to contact the police right away or the crisis center or a hotline. A hotline to contact is the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1 (800)-656-HOPE (4673).
Phone numbers for hotlines in cases of emergency are also easy to reach and available 24 hours for Domestic Violence victims at 1 (800) 799-SAFE (7233).