[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/7/19] I guess someone didn’t let Ron Book’s “Homeless Trust” know about the reprieve, because according to Local10 news, “workers from Miami-Dade’s Homeless Trust arrived Sunday night with police to give the offenders their eighth and final warning.” In fact, the Deputy Mayor had given assurance to Attorney Jeffrey Hearne from Legal Services of Greater Miami, who had prepared to file an immediate legal challenge to the (now 4th) forced eviction of sex offenders, that enforcement action would not begin until AFTER the 10th, which gives the County some…
Read MoreTag: Florida
FL: Man accused of trying to kill sex offenders in Kissimmee
[UPDATED LINKS 5/7/18] [wesh.com 5/4/18] OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Police said a man was locked up after he was accused of trying to kill sex offenders. Officers said he tried to set the men on fire. Jorge Porto-Sierra has been formally charged with four counts of attempted premeditated murder. Osceola County detectives said the 50-year-old confessed to deputies he tried to kill multiple people at the Friendly Village Inn on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. After his March 7 arrest, Porto-Sierra said he arrived at the motel to “barbecue all the…
Read MoreFL: Under threat of lawsuit, Miami-Dade grants reprieve to eviction of sex offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/4/18] Facing an imminent lawsuit to be brought by Legal Services of Greater Miami on behalf of the homeless sex offenders living alongside railroad tracks in Miami-Dade, the Deputy Mayor has granted a temporary reprieve to the forced eviction scheduled for Sunday, May 6, 2018. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, had sent a memo on March 21st, announcing plans to shut down the encampment of sex offenders living outdoors, legislated into homelessness by the County’s 2500 foot exclusion zone. Included in that plan was a deadline of May 6th for…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Will Close Sex Offender Camp by May 6, Threatens Jail Time for Stragglers
Since 2014, a colony of homeless sex offenders has been rapidly growing by the railroad tracks near Hialeah. Nobody wants them there, including the dozens who call the ramshackle camp home. Everyone, from the Homeless Trust to the ACLU to the county commission, agrees the encampment is a public health and safety hazard. But for years, the sex offenders have said that restrictive county laws mean they have nowhere else to legally live and that county officials have failed to solve the problem. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Video Shows City Workers Destroying Property of Homeless Miamians
[miaminewtimes.com 4/25/18] The morning of April 17, Wilbur Cauley left all of his belongings in their usual place: stacked by a fence under the I-395 overpass at NW First Court and 13th Street. It was in the middle of a four-block area where about 30 homeless Miamians live. That morning, Cauley, an Army veteran in his late 50s who served three years in Germany, went to a nearby store for a soda. When he returned, he says, a man in a dark-green shirt was kicking bags that contained Cauley’s birth…
Read MoreFL: At schools, sexual predator monitoring should start inside the classroom
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] Within the past three weeks two teachers from Lake Howell High School were arrested, as usual this was picked up in the news cycle. What stands out to me is how the news reports these arrests, it is reported as just a matter of fact simply to state that it happened. Every October almost every news station has a segment on Halloween and how parents must check the SOR to make sure their kids are safe during trick or treating. Lets put this in perspective for a moment,…
Read MoreFL: As Deadline Approaches for Homeless Ex-Offenders, County Threatens to Jail Them
A few miles from Miami International Airport, outside of Hialeah, sits a tent camp of about 280 homeless people. There’s no electricity or running water and no bathrooms. News reports describe the stench of human waste and garbage, tents that flood when it rains, and flies, mosquitoes, and rats infesting the area. “Animals live better than this,” one resident told a reporter. He and the others there are on the state sex offender registry. Miami-Dade County laws make it almost impossible for them to find places to live and bar…
Read MoreFL: Florida registry gets a new look
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The FDLE sex offender database has gotten a new look. The homepage of its sex offender search has a nautical feel, with a lighthouse logo and a ship-wheel icon. Aside from the design change, the ability to search by status (absconded, deceased, deported, etc.) appears to be gone from the new search query, though the results still appear. Another notable change is that vehicle and vessel information is no longer on a separate page, but appears below the registrant listing. The vehicle information, which is supplied by the DMV…
Read MoreFL: Jackson County Proposes 2500 feet Sex Offender Residency Restriction
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Jackson County, Florida is considering enacting a Sex Offender Residency Restriction (SORR). According to this article, the county currently has a 1000 foot ordinance, which they are looking to increase to 2500 feet. “Our whole goal is not to punish anyone, it’s just to make our community safer,” Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Quinton Hollis said. In fact, studies have shown that residency restrictions DO NOT make the communities safer and may even increase recidivism by destabilizing former offenders. SORRs were just declared to be punitive in the City…
Read MoreFL: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Sex Offender Residency Restriction Declared Unconstitutional
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The Ft Lauderdale Sex Offender Residency Restriction was declared unconstitutional. Wait… what?!?! A Florida SORR was declared unconstitutional? YES! The municipal ordinance in the City of Ft. Lauderdale that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 1400 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, school bus stops, etc. was found to violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution! Hold on… what? Are you serious? YES! We’ve known for a while (since February 16th) but have been waiting to make the official announcement until we had an order back from…
Read MoreFL: Gov. Rick Scott Signs Two Sex Offender Bills Into Law
[UPDATED LINKS 3/26/18] [flsenate.gov, spacecoastdaily.com] As reported on spacecoastdaily.com State website links: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/01301 CS/HB 1301: Sexual Offenders and Predators. GENERAL BILL by Justice Appropriations Subcommittee ; Fitzenhagen ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Hager ; Spano Sexual Offenders and Predators; Reducing aggregate & consecutive number of days used to determine residency for purposes of sexual predator or sexual offender registration; provides for mandatory sentence of community control with electronic monitoring for certain offenses committed by sexual predators & sexual offenders if court does not impose prison sentence. Related links for CS/HB 1301: Governor Scott…
Read MoreFL: Orange Beach homicide victim identified as registered sex offender
[weartv.com] The Orange Beach Police Department has identified a homicide victim as a registered sex offender. Police said 53-year-old Raymond Curtis Dudley has been identified as the body found Thursday near Cypress Street and Wolf Bay. Investigators say Dudley is originally from Massachusetts and a registered sex offender. Police are asking anyone who may have been in contact with Dudley on March 21 to contact them at (251) 981-9777. See original article
Read MoreFL: A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back
[injusticetoday.com] Voters in Florida may soon get to decide whether to give victims of crime a bigger say in the criminal justice system. A proposed amendment to the state constitution known as Marsy’s Law for Florida would enshrine specific rights for crime victims, such as the right to privacy and the “right to be reasonably protected from the accused.” It would also give victims legal standing to testify during hearings to determine a defendant’s bail, sentencing, plea deals and parole. “The pain a victim suffers in the aftermath of a…
Read MoreFL: Junk science leads to father’s wrongful arrest, false accusation of raping his son
[washingtonpost.com] During the ritual-sex-abuse panic of the 1980s and 1990s, children undergoing recovered memory therapy and other dubious psychological treatment recounted crimes so horrific and depraved, they’re hard to even think about. They described bizarre satanic-themed sex abuse where children were penetrated with knives. They described orgies with adults and children who could barely walk. They described animal and human sacrifice. A big reason why these kids were believed despite the complete lack of physical evidence — if children were murdered, there should have been children in the area who…
Read MoreFL: Ordinance would keep sex offenders from living in Vernon
[UPDATED links 3/7/18] [wjhg.com] VERNON, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – The Vernon City Council is in the process of adopting an ordinance that would prohibit sex offenders and predators from living in the city limits. Both Bonifay and Chipley have adopted a similar ordinance, causing more offenders to move into Vernon. “It was actually recommended by our attorney because she has been working with other communities who are adopting the ordinances and so she said it would be a good idea for us to address the issue,” Vernon mayor Tina Sloan said.…
Read MoreFL: Urgent call to action – Stop Senate Bill 1226 and House Bill 1301
[UPDATED 3/10/18] H1301/SB1226 Passes by Florida Action Committee Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Florida Legislature passed another stupid, punitive and unnecessary sex offender bill that will only enrich those in private prisons, the GPS vendors and the Books. Read more [floridaactioncommittee.org] THE TIME IS NOW! ITS OUR LAST SHOT AT TRYING TO STOP THIS! WE NEED 100’s of calls to each of these legislators! There are 120 Representatives in the House and 40 Senators in the Senate!! WE MUST CALL THEM ALL! GET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO CALL…
Read MoreFL: Florida bill would effectively ban sex offenders from vacation rentals
[UPDATED links 2/26/18] [floridaactioncommittee.org] A new bill concerning vacation rentals, HB 773, sponsored by Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, is making it’s way through the Florida House of Representatives. (https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=768073.docx&DocumentType=Amendments&BillNumber=0773&Session=2018) The bill, among other things, would require vacation rental owners to give 24-hour notice to residents who live within 1,000 feet of the properties that sex offenders will be staying at the rentals. While it does not expressly ban sex offenders from vacation rentals in Florida, its effect would be that it would require vacation rental owners to inquire…
Read MoreFL: Registrant Denied Access to Hospital For Son’s Surgery
[floridaactioncommittee.org] A member contacted us this week. He’s on the registry for an offense that took place over 15 years ago. He brought his son to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando for surgery and was denied access at the door because of his status on the registry. These policies that prevent former offenders from ever parenting their children are ridiculous! When someone looks back on their childhood and reflects on the meaningful events when a parent was there for them, they think of sporting events, graduations, illnesses. Laws that banish…
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