Foster’s Self-Defense Academy teaches martial arts to adults and to children as young as 3.
The 61-year-old operator, Archie Foster, is a registered sex offender who spent nearly 13 years in a Florida prison after pleading guilty to 29 counts of child pornography. He was released from prison last year.
Foster told the Clarion Ledger that he has never abused a child. “I’m trying to support my family. I’m trying to make a living,” he said. “I spent 13 years in prison for looking at dirty pictures on the internet. I’ve never victimized anybody.”
His wife, Hope, teaches all of the children’s classes, and Foster informs parents of students through a student application form that notes he “has been convicted of a sex offense.”
Like many states, Mississippi restricts where registered sex offenders can live and work with regard to schools, day care facilities and volunteer organizations. But the law doesn’t address sex offenders running businesses that cater to minors.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Attorney General Jim Hood, likely opponents in next year's gubernatorial race, both support a review of existing laws to keep children safe.
Sex offenders can cater to kids under Mississippi law
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