The Florida legislature passed legislation within the past week, Senate Bill 540 and House Bill 851, to establish a public database that tracks people convicted of, or who have pleaded guilty to, soliciting paid sex. While the legislation’s bipartisan authors consider it to be a step toward ending human trafficking, critics call it a means to publicly shame clients and others associated with people who do consensual sex work. The Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database will include anyone convicted of or pleading guilty to “soliciting, inducing, enticing, or procuring another…
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FL: Housing elderly sex offenders
Since 82-year-old ____ ____ hit his head in a fall eight months ago, he can’t remember to take his medicine. His ex-wife, ____, calls him 11 times a day to remind him about his appointments. At that stage of dementia, many families would consider admitting him to a nursing home, but ____ said she has a list of assisted living homes that have rejected ____. The pages lined up are as tall as ____’s grandson – whom ____ has never seen. Full Article
Read MoreVA: A look at why Gov. Northam vetoed a bill related to sex offenders in emergency shelters
[wjla.com – 4/30/19] Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has vetoed legislation that would allow officials to temporarily block convicted sex offenders from using emergency shelters. Northam said Tuesday it is “unconscionable” that people could be turned away from shelters during hurricanes, flash floods or other emergencies. The legislation would have allowed shelter officials to deny entrance for convicted sex offenders for however long was “necessary to ensure the safety of other individuals” admitted to the shelter. The legislation would have also required convicted sex offenders to declare they are registered offenders…
Read MoreFL: Do Central Florida theme parks screen for sex offenders?
[wesh.com – 4/25/19] Could sex offenders be sitting next to your child on a ride, or standing in line behind them at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando? In February, a registered sex offender was arrested after Orange County deputies said he exposed himself to a child at Aquatica. The accused, 52-year-old Gerald Youmans, was convicted in 2004 of exposing himself to a child in Palm Beach. He was designated a sexual predator, but according to an arrest affidavit, he held an annual pass to the theme park. The incident…
Read MoreFL: Oppose HB 987: Public Lodging Establishments
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 4/17/19] On April 10th, The Florida House of Representatives amended House Bill 987: Public Lodging Establishments, to require Persons required to register as sex offenders report to the Sheriff’s office where they will be staying, 48 hours before an intended stay at a Public Lodging Establishment, regardless of how long they will stay at the location! In addition, operators of a Public Lodging Establishment who have a Person required to register as a sex offender staying at or within 1000 feet of their establishment, must notify all…
Read MoreFL: Cops Re-Arrest 26 Sex Offenders in ‘Operation Karma.’ Their Crime? Not Updating Their Car Info.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department in Florida is touting its successful completion of “Operation Karma,” a three-day sting in which cops arrested 26 registered sex offenders for violating various legal obligations imposed on them. “They are apparently up to no good and we are going to hold them accountable,” Sheriff Grady Judd promises The Miami Herald. Full Article Related ‘Karma’ caught up with these sex offenders and predators, Florida cops say
Read MoreFL: Bill to ban child sex dolls advances in Florida legislature
A Florida bill to ban childlike sex dolls passed its third Senate committee on Wednesday and is headed to the Senate floor. Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, sponsored SB 160 amid an international conversation surrounding child sex dolls and their link to increased sexual preying on children. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable
It was the kind of headline guaranteed to generate clicks even over the winter holidays and amid a federal government shutdown: “Number of Sex Offenders Living in Florida Is Growing,” warned the Associated Press. In December, the Florida legislative auditor’s office released a report noting that the number of people on the state’s sex offender registry had expanded 53 percent since 2005, to about 73,000. But the report also contains this detail: 60 percent of those on the list live out of state, are in prison, or have been deported—up…
Read MoreFL: Powerful lobbyist Ron Book arrested on DUI charges
[tallahassee.com – 2/25/19] Ron Book, one of Florida’s most influential lobbyists who also represents the city of Tallahassee, has been arrested on DUI-related charges in Broward County, several South Florida news outlets have reported. Book, 66, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol Sunday after crashing his Lamborghini near his house, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He was charged with a first-time DUI, refusing to submit to a DUI test and DUI with damage to a person or property, the paper reported. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Book was released…
Read MoreFL: Florida detective kills self after he’s accused of owning child porn
[orlandosentinel.com – 2/21/19] JACKSONVILLE — Authorities say a decorated Florida police detective killed himself just before he was to be arrested on charges that he possessed child pornography. The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville sheriff’s Detective Vernon Richardson killed himself Tuesday, shortly after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest. The neighboring St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in December after receiving a tip he had child porn on his computer. Detectives found an image of two adolescent boys having sex. Read more
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Sex Offenders ‘Forced to be Homeless’
[thecrimereport.org – 2/19/19] Since he was released from prison almost five years ago, John has never had a place he can call home. Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he spends nights outside in remote areas of Miami-Dade County—sleeping outside on a mat or in the front seat of his son’s truck. John (not his real name) was convicted in 1994 of a sex offense involving a minor. His homelessness is a direct result of the Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance, enacted in Miami-Dade County in 2010, which bans individuals convicted of…
Read MoreFL: Comprehensive ‘Florida First Step Act’ Excludes Registrants
Sen. Jeff Brandes is spearheading the state’s criminal justice reform initiative. SB 642 is his 10th justice reform-related bill pre-filed for the upcoming Florida session. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Man Sentenced to Death for Killing another Inmate
[mypanhandle.com – 1/29/19] JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. – On Monday, Rocky Ali Beamon was sentenced to death in Jackson County, Florida, for First Degree Premeditated Murder. The conviction and sentence come from the 2012 murder of Bruce Hunsicker at the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Sneads, Florida. Reports said Beamon and Hunsicker were both inmates at the prison, and subsequent confessions by Beamon revealed that the motive for the murder was primarily Hunsicker’s status as a sex offender. Reports also said that Hunsicker also owed Beamon money. After watching the victim for…
Read MoreFlorida State Senator Lauren Book introduced Senate Bill 540 that includes the establishment of a “Soliciting for Prostitution Registry”
[flsenate.gov – 1/25/19] SB 540: Human Trafficking GENERAL BILL by Book Human Trafficking; Requiring the owner or operator of a public lodging establishment to train certain employees and create certain policies relating to human trafficking by a specified date; requiring the Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement and the Attorney General, to establish a certain direct-support organization; requiring that the criminal history record of a person who is convicted of, or enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, soliciting, inducing, enticing,…
Read MoreFL: Women Against Registry Call to Action – Video visits replacing in-person visits.
Seminole County Jail inmates can no longer handle letters or pictures mailed by family and friends as a new system requires those incarcerated to view digital copies of their messages. Under an agreement between the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Smart Communications Holding Inc., a Tampa-based company, the jail also plans to replace all in-person visits at the jail with a video-visitation system. SEE: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ne-seminole-county-jail-mail-20190111-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3YhVlYIZa2oPyeq6XJzEep-Z7F44kPdZrbhkocnQxM0UyQWjwPEZrJI5o If you are in Seminole County please call your state senator and representative to express your concern about the rights of the families who have…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Herald: FAC Opinion Published
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 1/4/19. Not available on miamiherald.com] An opinion piece in response to a recent article in the Miami Herald was published today. The text of the response and an image of the article as it appeared are below. Your December 31, 2018 article, “Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing.” correctly points out that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) does not include any explanation for the rise in the number of sex offenders in our State. However, the reason is obvious.…
Read MoreFL: Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing
[miamiherald.com – 12/31/18] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The number of sex offenders and predators living in Florida has been rising steadily for more than a decade, according to a new report put together by legislative auditors. The report issued late last week stated that nearly 29,000 registered sex offenders and predators now reside in the state. That’s an increase of 53 percent since 2005, when state legislators first ordered their auditors to review the state’s efforts to keep an up-to-date registry of sex offenders. The report by the Office of Program Policy…
Read MoreRonald L. Book: I thought sexual abuse only happened to other people’s children. Then I woke up.
[usatoday.com – 12/10/18] Nearly 17 years ago, I woke up from a nightmare I didn’t realize I was in. If you’re a parent whose child has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of someone you know and trust, you will understand what I mean. Sitting in a family counselor’s office, the world as I knew it came crashing down as I learned that my eldest daughter, Lauren, had been sexually, emotionally and physically abused nearly every day from the ages of 12 to 16. I worked hard to provide my…
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