The registered sex offender who was banned last week from coaching in a Gloucester youth softball league called the move unfair and said he should be allowed to coach.

Robert Marshall Jr. said Judge Richard Mori's order that he not help coach his 13-year-old daughter's softball team only hurts the girls on the team. He said he plans to appeal his status with the state in time for his daughter's last eligible year next season.

"I'm not a predator. I'm a father," Marshall said this week in an interview with the Times.

However, league officials say neither Marshall, nor any other registered sex offender coach, will coach in the league, citing a new policy.

"We put in the bylaws that we're not going to allow any sex offenders as coaches for kids," said Louis McGrath, commissioner of the Cape Ann Girls Softball League.

McGrath said the league changed its rules when it instituted the new mandatory background checks to completely exclude all sex offenders from coaching following the discovery that Marshall was helping coach his daughter's team.

Many of the independent leagues on Cape Ann have loose background check policies, while those associated with organizations, such as the Cape Ann YMCA, already have CORI (criminal offender record information) check policies in place.

Policies differ for local leagues

Joseph Billante, an employee of the Cape Ann YMCA who is involved with its youth sports programs, said all coaches and volunteers must undergo background checks.

"Everyone brought in here is CORI-checked," he said. "Coaches and volunteers."

Brian Salah, who works with the East Gloucester Vikings Cape Ann Pee-Wee football system, said his organization is considering instituting background checks and should soon vote on the matter. They are just beginning the process and have not decided who will be checked.

Gloucester Little League baseball has a mandatory CORI policy set by Little League International, said Dean Murray, president of the Gloucester Little League.

"That's really a Little League policy and we certainly follow it," he said.

Carl Ellis, who runs the Young Legends Street Hockey league, said the only people who coach and volunteer with the players are his close family, people he has known all his life.

"Parents don't help out, but if someone came in who I didn't know, I'd do it," Ellis said.

Marshall, 38, pleaded guilty in 1988 to rape of a child. Then 18, Marshall was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl. The charge then was called statutory rape. He received a two-year suspended sentence and probation.

As a result, he was categorized as a level 2 sex offender, which means the state determined his risk of reoffending is "moderate." It also means his information is made public when someone goes to the police department and requests it. There are three levels, 3 indicating the risk for another offense is high.

Former coach will appeal

Marshall had helped coach the West Gloucester Chargers A team, a group of 12- to 14-year-olds, on which his daughter plays. Some parents who know Marshall through softball said he could continue to help the team based on their experience with him.

"I don't think there's a problem," said David Keon, whose daughter also plays for the Chargers. "We have a really good view of his behavior."

On May 28, Marshall pleaded guilty to failing to reregister as a level 2 sex offender. Marshall said his son arrived at his home last summer from a home for troubled children, with all the attendant paperwork. His registration papers got mixed in with his son's and he could not register by June 2006, as he was required to. Marshall said he registered in August.

Shortly before that, police contacted McGrath, the commissioner, and told him Marshall was helping coach third base for his daughter's team, the West Gloucester Chargers.

After Marshall's plea, Mori ordered he not coach softball but said he could still attend the games.

Police Lt. Joseph Aiello said unless a judge orders someone convicted of a sex crime to avoid certain situations, the police cannot change his daily life or behavior.

"It's up to organizations to check its volunteers and helpers," he said.

Once the softball league discovered Marshall's status, organizers immediately made him stop coaching and instituted a mandatory criminal background check for all helpers and coaches. Previously, only the head coaches had to be checked.

Marshall agrees that all volunteers should be screened.

"It should have been done from day one," he said.

He said he intends to challenge his status as a level 2 sex offender with the state Sex Offender Registry Board, as he is entitled to do every three years, to either have the designation terminated or to be reclassified.

According to the state sex offender statute, a convicted offender must continue to register with the police and the state board for 20 years after all jail time and probation are finished.

Appeals process for sex offenders

Sex offenders can appeal their status and apply for early termination of registration requirements. A person who must register applies for a judicial hearing, held in Superior Court, and can have an attorney appointed if he or she cannot afford one. Following the hearing, the court has 60 days to render a decision.

Source: Massachusetts sex offender statute, Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 6, sections 178c to 178q.

Definitions of each level

Level 1: When the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of reoffense is low and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is not such that a public safety interest is served in the public availability of personal information. Name, pictures, date of birth, address, employer and conviction are not available to the public.

Level 2: When the board determines that the risk of reoffense is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information. A sheet is kept in the police department with personal information, such as name, date of birth, address, employer and conviction, and is available upon request.

Level 3: When the board determines that the risk of reoffense is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination. The same kind of sheet as for level 2 offenders is kept and posted in public. Those sheets are sometimes distributed in neighborhoods when a level 3 offender moves in.

Source: Sex Offender Registry Board