Dustin Campo

Entrepreneur/Activist

My name is Dustin Campo. I heard about you from my mother Vicky Campo. I would be happy to discuss my story with you. I was released from prison in 2015 after serving 5 years for having an inappropriate relationship with a young high school girl when I was in college. My release conditions include lifetime probation, computer use restrictions, the sex offender addendum, the sex offender registry, treatment and therapy, annual polygraph testing, travel restrictions, total prohibition of minor contact (including my own child), and others. I have experienced permanent severance of my parental rights, housing instability, employment discrimination, and several ongoing violations of my civil rights.
Employment is the hardest challenge during re-entry. I had 3 companies offer me a promotion, then fire me instead when HR reviewed my criminal history, despite having informed them during the initial interview. To overcome this employment discrimination, I started Justice Java: Cold Brew with a Cause. I operated for 2 years. The business failed when the food trailer I built was totaled.
After my release in 2015, I began attending meetings with a few non-profit organizations. I came to understand my civic duty was to blow the whistle on the false promises and wasted resources in our systems of incarceration. I’ve been volunteering on the ACLU of Arizona’s Smart Justice Campaign Planning Committee for over 6 years. In that capacity I have been presenting the ACLU’s material regarding the Maricopa County Attorney’s race and candidates to diverse groups from Sun City to Mesa and everywhere in between. I am now the Education Coordinator for Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws (AzRSOL). I have presented content on sex offenses to ASU’s Human Sex Trafficking class as a guest lecturer, at the Arizona Public Defenders Conference as a breakout session speaker, and as part of the ACLU’s In Our Shoes series. Lately I’ve been spending time volunteering for victims’ rights groups also.
I have both the boots on the ground and the 30,000 ft perspectives on incarceration and its ancillary systems. I would be happy to discuss any of this with you further.