DAYTONA BEACH — A nationally recognized child abuse survivor — and abuse prevention advocate — is hailing a Volusia County children’s park as a great tool to keep child sex predators away from neighborhoods.
Lauren Book is walking from Key West to Tallahassee as part of her fifth-annual Walk In My Shoes campaign aimed at raising awareness about prevention and pushing for change in Florida law to protect children from abuse. Her bus stopped at the Bayberry Lakes neighborhood park, located in Daytona Beach.
The park, which is the first of its kind, legally keeps sex offenders from moving into the community. Full Article
Whatever happened to the mini park that they were building in the Torrance area last year?
Janice effectively killed it single-handedly by threatening litigation. Pure and simple. Peace through strength!
This article is very disturbing. It actually PROMOTES, with the state’s adamant encouragement via the state attorney’s office (Florida equivalent to CA Attorney General office), the idea that proactively building parks for the SPECIFIC purpose of excluding sex offenders is to be conducted. What would now stop a statewide program in which such parks are build everywhere to ensure that no registrant can live in virtually every neighborhood in the state?
Obviously, the federal court system in Florida may be a bit harder to crack, but even they should be able to see that, by proactively building parks, they are not just inconveniencing registrants, but forcing them to live in less than 1% of residences in the state…a VERY INTENDED consequence.
We need to start seeing how we can clone Janice…specifically, by documenting her strategies and teaching other legal professionals in other states to follow the successful blueprint. If a similar organization like CA RSOL, along with Janice were in Florida, I seriously doubt the 2500 limit would be enforced as it is now, and this pocket park strategy would be thrown out for its blatant disregard of Smith v. Doe.
Ryan Will is not the Attorney General. he is not even the State Attorney of a circuit…he is only an assistant state attorney of a circuit court. every circuit ( 20 circuits in Florida – which are trial courts – which is equivalent to district trial courts in your CA)has a State Attorney, 20 state attorneys for every circuit court in Florida…Florida has an attorney general in the capital which governs the 20 state attorneys for each circuit….this guy is just an assistant state attorney belonging to one circuit. I’m just glad the state attorney in the circuit i live in and her prosecutors are fair and reasonable. Can’t speak for the rest of Florida.
OK, I stand corrected, but only in degree of level. The fact is that a representative of the state is actively promoting this act is encouraging such action should be chilling, and the needed legal pushback challenges through federal courts must remain.
people at all levels are going to have their opinions. But that is all they are – opinions. All they can do is influence and that is good enough to move things here in FL against registered citizens. The many organizations that are involved in all this are shocking enough as it is. They are increasing in numbers. Although I can tell you there are people who politically started against us and now they want to change that and advocate smarter policies. The only problem is that they or we are in the minority. I just wish we can at least even the playing field down here. And wish we had our own version of Janice. The work she has done in California is unbelievable. If there is a state that needs her caliber of defense right now it is Florida. Hope a hero like her turns up for us soon. Goodness only knows what the political mafia in Florida are planning next and it is getting scarier every legislative year.
Lauren Book MAKES ME SICK! Yes, what happened to her was a tragedy. However, the perpetrator WAS NOT convicted of a sex crime. So, what the hell good would any of this crap have done for her??? This FEMALE abuser was hired and screened by the family. The only thing that could have prevented this would have been the DUE DILIGENCE of her parents and not a registry or a patchwork of unconstitutional laws.
I must agree that this girl shouldn’t be advising anyone about anything.
Instead she needs to come to terms with her role as a purported victim who is now victimizing others unable to defend themselves.
Another classic example of figuring out a way to take someones rights away and call it ‘closing a loophole.’ Tragic and disgusting way to consider yourself a champion of child advocacy!
Florida has so many child advocacy groups that I lost count of…and they all work together. I just don’t know why the Federal courts don’t do anything to stop this. This state needs the most help in litigation for sex offenders then any other right now. It is really scary down here.
Love the way they describe her as – “A nationally recognized child abuse survivor — and abuse prevention advocate” as if that makes her an actual expert in anything related except being a “professional victim”!
So nice to see that she can “survive” such an event and then move on with with her life and put it behind her…oh wait…actually she relives it each day in order to make those who didn’t do anything to her personally keep paying for their “crime” over and over and over.
Way to turn the other cheek and forgive. Bet your therapist must be so happy with your progress!
I was a victim of sexual and emotional abuse. Therefore, I too am an expert. But I don’t feel a need to wreck the lives of people who had nothing to do with what happened to me. It’s called getting out of the cycle of revenge.