[tampabay.com – 11/21/19] A 63-year-old man facing charges of lewd and lascivious molestation and possession of child pornography could go free after a judge found that Pinellas sheriff’s detectives and Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors lied to obtain a search warrant in the case. The Tampa Bay Times obtained a Nov. 1 order written by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge William Burgess III in which he found law enforcement officials engaged in a “ruse” to obtain a search warrant for one crime that they used to obtain evidence to prosecute other crimes. “Had it not…
Read MoreTag: Florida
FL: Miami-Dade County closing down homeless camp while promoting homeless awareness week
[local10.com – 11/18/19] MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A group of people living in a Miami homeless camp is being told to leave. This is happening in the middle of Homeless Awareness Week. … It’s now so large that the county is deeming it a sanitary nuisance and a safety issue, sending cease and desist notices to dozens who call the street home. The order comes into effect as the county is promoting its hunger and homelessness awareness week, asking the public to be more considerate of residents without roofs over…
Read MoreFL: Inmate gets wish, sentenced to death for third Florida murder
[newsherald.com – 11/18/19] Rocky Ali Beamon, a three-time killer who publicly professed his hatred for sex offenders, had his wish granted Friday when he was sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of 27-year-old Nicholas Anderson. Beamon had been previously sentenced to die on Jan. 28 for killing a fellow inmate in 2012 at Apalachee Correctional Institution in Jackson County. He had pleaded guilty to the crime and waived his right to trial. … In May of 2018, Beamon wrote a letter to 14th District Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson…
Read MoreFL: Florida Sheriff’s Association says Halloween initiative targeting sex offenders was a success
[wtsp.com – 11/12/19] LARGO, Fla. — The Florida Sheriff’s Association is happy with the Halloween initiative to keep kids safe during trick or treating and related events. The operation involved 18 counties that targeted sexual offenders and predators to ensure that they followed the law. This involved a three-day operation that included physical checks on every sexual offender/predator to ensure they are properly registered and in compliance. … Hours dedicated to this operation: 774 hours Read how they were successful [in huge overtime pay]
Read MoreFL: Bringing Sense to Sex Offender Laws [Audio recording]
[Miami Law Explainer on soundcloud.com – 10/28/19] In the decade since the national shame of a colony of sex offenders made homeless by draconian residency restrictions, how far has the city and nation moved in finding humane and successful rehabilitation? Miami Law’s director of Tenants’ Rights Jeffrey Hearne parses the depressing lack of progress. Recorded October 28, 2019. Listen to the recording
Read MoreFL: Florida Cops Went to Absurd Lengths to Entrap Man Who Showed No Interest in Underage Sex
[reason.com – 10/21/19] How do you catch a predator in Sarasota, Florida? You create one. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is going to “outrageous lengths” to make law-abiding lonely guys into sex offenders. That’s according to Noah Pransky, a fearless journalist who has been covering Florida’s addiction to entrapment for years. In September, SCSO arrested 23 men for allegedly soliciting underage girls for sex. Pransky’s most recent piece in Florida Politics chronicles the elaborate back and forth between one of those men and a police officer pretending to be a…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender jailed after not moving to Georgia
A convicted sex offender who notified authorities he was moving to Georgia last month but never made the trip was charged with failing to report he was still in Ocala. Full Article
Read MoreFL: People on Sex Offender Registry Should Shelter from Dorian in Jail
For some people convicted of sex crimes in Florida, the only shelter open to them during Hurricane Dorian was the county jail. In some counties, people on the registry were barred from shelters set up for those evacuating, and told to go to separate locations, away from children and other community members. If they attempted to stay with friends or relatives, they faced daunting residency and registration requirements, according to the Florida Action Committee, which advocates for reform of sex offender registry laws. Failure to comply can mean a felony conviction and…
Read MoreFL: A look inside Florida Civil Commitment Center life: Pesci v. Budz
[law.justia.com – 8/21/19] James Pesci is a detainee at the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), a for-profit facility that houses sex offenders involuntarily committed under Florida’s Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act. Pesci is not a prisoner; like the other roughly 600 residents of FCCC, he has already served out his prison sentence. Instead, he is involuntarily committed because the State has determined that he is a “sexually violent predator” likely to engage in future “acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility for long-term…
Read MoreFL: More sex offenders arrive so NSB wants to make rules more strict
There are more sex offenders moving to New Smyrna Beach and that has prompted city leaders to consider shrinking the locations where both sexual offenders and sexual predators can legally live. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Congratulations Derek!!! Appellate Court Voids Lauren Book’s Injunction
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 8/14/19] The order was issued by the 4th District Court of Appeals today so it’s being posted prior to our adding commentary in an effort to share this as quickly as possible. The court voided Senator Lauren Book’s restraining order against Once Fallen’s Derek Logue. We all knew it was bogus, now the court’s agree! Logue v. Book UPDATE: All the credit MUST go to attorney Gary Edinger, of Benjamin, Aaronson, Edinger & Patanzo for writing an incredible appellate brief. Lots of appreciation to Gary, Jamie Benjamin and…
Read MoreFL: Convicted sex offender drowned in Duval County jail cell toilet after beating
[firstcoastnews.com – 8/1/19] JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The inmate killed inside his Duval County Jail cell Tuesday was drowned in his jail cell toilet in addition to being beaten by his cellmate, First Coast News learned Wednesday. Paul Dixon, 43, was charged with 2nd-degree murder after police say he killed cellmate _, 56, on the fifth floor of the Duval County jail. Multiple sources tell First Coast News that ____, a convicted sex offender, was beaten by Dixon who then drowned him in his jail cell toilet. The official cause of…
Read MoreFL: Court Rules Against Sex Offender On Internet Use
[usf.edu – 7/25/19] Rejecting First Amendment arguments, a state appeals court Wednesday upheld restrictions on internet use by a sex offender. The ruling by the 2nd District Court of Appeal came in a Hillsborough County case in which Quinton Alford was sentenced to 10 years of sex-offender probation for kidnapping and three years of sex-offender probation for sexual battery. The terms of probation included barring Alford from using social media and prevented internet use except for work or shopping. Alford argued that the restrictions were overly broad and violated First…
Read MoreFL: DeBary ordinance expands sex offender regulations
DeBary’s City Council passed an ordinance expanding regulations over registered sex offenders. The ordinance bans registered sex offenders from community pools, water parks, school bus stops, and other private and public areas. The ordinance also increases the distance sex offenders can live from these places. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Fort Lauderdale relaxes restrictions on where sex offenders can live
[sun-sentinel.com – 6/18/19] Fort Lauderdale city commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to relax the city’s residency restrictions on sex offenders. Offenders will now be allowed to live close to bus stops but they are still barred from living within 1,400 feet of a school, daycare and other places children gather. The change will expand the available housing for convicted offenders from 1.4% of the city to 15.3%. It also brings Fort Lauderdale more in line with Florida state law. Dr. Amy Miller praised the ordinance as “an absolutely phenomenal step,” to…
Read MoreFL: Homeless Sex Offenders Must Move Again
Ever since the Julia Tuttle Causeway became an encampment for sex offenders more than a decade ago, officials have been trying to shoo the group away from the rest of civilization. Thanks to stringent requirements mandating that child predators live 2,500 feet from schools, parks, and daycare centers, the offenders have struggled to find legal housing, leaving many effectively homeless. For years, the roving offenders have been shuffled from one place to another, angering unlucky neighbors and nearby business owners. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Fort Lauderdale opening more neighborhoods to sex offenders with change in strict law
[sun-sentinel.com – 6/7/19] There are no homes at 2700 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Although the only buildings standing are a McDonald’s and a Chick-fil-A, 110 people have registered it as an address. All of them are convicted sex offenders. This hot spot for sexual criminals is one of several along Federal Highway in northeast Fort Lauderdale, one of the few slivers in the city where a registered sex offender or sexual predator — rapists, molesters, child porn addicts — can legally reside. That will change soon. The city…
Read MoreFL: Homeless sex offender listed intersection near middle school as his address
[wftv.com – 5/22/19] The sexual offender registry is designed to help residents know where sexual offenders live. Channel 9 found out that within a 1-mile radius of Lake Eola Park, there are twice as many homeless sexual offenders as there are sexual offenders living in permanent residences. Related Headlines In dense downtown Orlando, there are 11 sexual offenders and sexual predators with real addresses (homes or apartments). Twice that number — 22 sex offenders or predators — live on the street or list homeless shelters as their residence. “It seems…
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