'Cheater' wants to reunite with boyfriend

Sunday, September 20, 2009 1:30 AM EDT

Sandusky Register

PERKINS TWP.

_{Register photo/ANNIE ZELM Jess Duttry, 19, holds a sign saying "I cheated. Honk if I deserve a second chance," along Perkins Avenue in front of the Kroger parking lot on Wednesday evening. Duttry held the sign out for every passer-by to read as a way to admit her mistake and show her regret about having cheated on her fiance earlier this summer.}

It's the modern-day equivalent of the scarlet letter -- a young woman standing on the street corner with her mistake scrawled in black permanent marker.

"I cheated," her sign said in bold letters. "Honk if I deserve a second chance."

On the back, it read, "I honestly love him."

The woman stood on the curb of Perkins Avenue, in front of the Kroger parking lot, on a Wednesday evening with her plea.

Passing drivers beeped their support.

"I've gotten 57 honks in the last hour and a half," said Jess Duttry, 19, as her long black ponytail fluttered in the wind. "I've had people come out of their cars and hug me, tell me 'Good luck.'"

The Sandusky High School graduate said Wednesday was her one-year anniversary with her fiance, and he took back the ring that same day after she confessed to having cheated earlier this summer. She said she got the idea for her act of repentance online.

"I just want a chance to redeem myself," she said. "I honestly feel bad. If I have to stand out here in the rain for him to take me back, I will."