Source: nbc-2.com 11/7/23 LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) is working with county commissioners to keep convicted animal abusers from getting their hands on another animal. LCSO wants to create an animal abuser registry that would list those convicted of abuse. On Tuesday, Lee County Commissioners approved the animal registry ordinance on the consent agenda to move to a public hearing, so leaders can get the community’s thoughts. “It’s important to protect those that cannot protect themselves. I say it all the time, whether it’s the…
Read MoreTag: Florida
FL: Man accuses Polk deputy of making false child-porn arrest after asking to call lawyer
Source: clickorlando.com 10/31/23 POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd faces a lawsuit after a man was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography in 2020, according to court records filed on Tuesday. The lawsuit says that the sheriff’s office had started an investigation dubbed “Operation Guardians of Innocence V” back in October 2019, during which detectives searched for suspects in possession of child pornography. After months of investigation, deputies said that Edgardo Cancela — who lived in Davenport with his wife and two children — had been…
Read MoreFL: Accused sex offender released back into community after being found incompetent to stand trial
Source: wftv.com 10/23/23 PINE HILLS, Fla. — A community learned on Monday that an accused repeat sex offender will be released back into their community, again. Channel 9 first reported on 56-year-old Joseph ____ since 2020. ____ has recently been found incompetent to stand trial and is not currently facing time for any of his charges. In the courtroom, parents of the alleged victims were livid. They did not want him to be released anywhere near their daughters, who he’s accused of attacking in Pine Hills. Deshawn Browdy spoke in…
Read MoreFL: Residents want ‘clustered’ sex offenders out of Tampa neighborhood
Source: fox13news.com 10/20/23 TAMPA, Fla. – After more than two years of delays, Tampa city council members on Thursday finally received a report on the housing of sexual predators who are currently ‘clustered’ in the V.M. Ybor neighborhood. … “Commencing in 2009-2010, multiple properties on Nebraska Avenue underwent rapid transformations, becoming high-density hubs for newly released sex offenders, predators, and felons. This resulted in a concerning surge in V.M. Ybor’s sex offender and predator population. Despite initial opposition, the situation persists, prompting the need for critical intervention. One glaring issue is the Department of Corrections’ ongoing…
Read MoreFL: Volusia councilman seeks to strengthen sex offender ordinances
Source: youtube.com 10/16/23 On Tuesday, a Volusia County commissioner is expected to propose new rules to crack down on local sex offenders. District Three Councilman Danny Robins told News 6 that he wants to make the county safer, so he compiled data from law enforcement agencies including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Watch the video
Read MoreFAC President Speaks to UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva Switzerland
Source: Florida Action Committee 10/16/23 Today, our FAC President Gail Colletta addressed the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva Switzerland to call out the United States’ failure to address the inhumane Registry scheme and specifically the practice of allowing states to create Sex Offender Residency Restrictions (SORRs). Gail had only two-minutes to define the problem and ask the UN to hold the United States accountable for the violation of numerous human rights. While there is more that needs to be done to abolish the Registry entirely, her presence today…
Read MoreFL: County and municipal codes stricter than state’s may not be enforceable
Source: mainstreetdailynews.com 9/26/23 The Newberry City Commission is looking for… … Currently, Newberry’s code does not allow sexual offenders to reside within 1,000 feet, and predators 1,500 feet, of a state-defined “protected place,” defined to be schools, childcare facilities, parks, playgrounds and any other gathering place for children. The city of Williston limits both to live 2,500 feet away from protected places, while state statute limits both sexual offenders and predators to a minimum of 1,000 feet from protected places. Courtesy city of Newberry Newberry’s existing code-specified 1,500-foot perimeters around…
Read MoreFL: Death penalty in child rapes among new Florida laws soon to take effect
Source: orlandosentinel.com 9/26/23 A new law that could lead to imposing the death penalty on people who rape children under age 12 will take effect Sunday, along with other laws passed during the 2023 legislative session. Other measures taking effect could lead to putting local governments on the hook for attorney fees when ordinances are deemed “arbitrary or unreasonable;” increase penalties on fans who interfere with sporting events; and require teens to at least have learner’s permits to drive golf carts on public roads. The laws passed during the legislative…
Read MoreFL: City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview
Source: Florida Action Committee 9/17 23 City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview. This was done via a 1500 feet ordinance. The comment from city council member Ryan Bullard is one of the most ignorant and shocking comments we’ve ever heard in a public meeting. Watch the video
Read MoreFL: Revisions made to Hernando County Sex Offender and Sexual Predator Ordinance
Source: hernandosun.com 8/4/23 Last week, the Hernando Sun ran a story on recent changes to the Hernando County Sexual Offender and Sexual Offender Ordinance found in Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances. The story was largely based on a copy of the revised ordinance posted on the BOCC website for their July 11th meeting. We have learned that the copy of the ordinance posted did not reflect some of the final revisions. County Commissioner John Allocco spoke with us about the final revisions and why the changes were needed.…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender camp growing in Florida woods; public apparently not warned
Source: fox8.com 7/28/23 CLEARWATER, Florida (WFLA) — A Florida camp powered by solar panels and a generator is home to about a dozen sex offenders who claim they were sent there by probation officers, but there is no indication the public was alerted. Land records indicate the tents that sit under a structure made from branches are on land owned by the Florida Department of Transportation. A state spokesperson said they were “not aware of this.” Several sources, including a defense attorney, told Nexstar’s WFLA that anyone on probation is…
Read MoreFL: Man jailed after allegedly attempting to use pickup to run over sex offender
Source: villages-news.com 7/15/23 A 67-year-old Wildwood man has been jailed after allegedly attempting to use a pickup to run over a convicted sex offender. William Harold Bailey went to the sex offender’s residence on County Road 121 shortly before noon Thursday and “aggressively” confronted the sex offender, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He allegedly took a swing at the sex offender, who was not identified in the report. Bailey got into his tan pickup truck and attempted to strike the sex offender, with whom…
Read MoreFL: The liability of unreliable crime data in election season
Source: themarshallproject.org 6/20/23 In announcing his presidential bid, Florida’s governor relied on data from only half of the state’s law enforcement agencies. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his bid for the presidency on Twitter Spaces last month, he touted Florida’s low crime rate as a proud accomplishment. “Claiming that Florida is unsafe is a total farce,” DeSantis said in the announcement. “I mean, are you kidding me? You look at cities around this country, they are awash in crime. In Florida, our crime rate is at a 50-year low.”…
Read MoreACSOL Nationwide Action Alert: Oppose a 1,500 foot Residency Restriction in a Florida County
Source: Florida Action Committee Let’s all support Florida registrants in Volusia County by opposing a terrible ordinance that would make it very difficult to find a place to live! All registrants in all states should email, call, or send letters through the U.S. Mail to the Volusia County Council members to let them know that you OPPOSE the expansion of the residency restriction requirement to 1,500 feet in the unincorporated areas of the county for people required to register as a predator. Click here to read the details
Read MoreFL: Sextortion crimes continue to rise across Tampa Bay area
Source: news.yahoo.com/WFTS-Tampa 6/26/23 Sextortion crimes continue to rise across the Tampa Bay area. A St. Pete detective said it’s one of his top priorities to catch these suspects. Sextortion is when a suspect convinces a person to send inappropriate photos and then threatens to release those photos unless the victim sends money. It’s a crime targeting both children and adults in our area. Read the full article Related: St. Pete PD say sexting extortion cases more than doubled in 2023, with young people the primary targets [baynews9.com 6/6/23] Documentary…
Read MoreFL: Florida Capital-Punishment Bill Regarding Sexual Offenses Sparks Controversy
Source: discover.hubpages.com 6/4/23 1. Introduction When I moved from New York to California so many years ago, what really bewildered me was when I discovered that under their statutory-age-of-consent laws at the time, a 14-year-old boy could have been charged with statutory rape for having consensual relations with a 17-year-old girl. I had never heard of such a thing. I had thought that in those kinds of criminal cases, the perpetrator was always supposed to be older than the victim. In a situation wherein a boy that young had been…
Read MoreFL: Homeless, delusional defendant sent to prison for life shown mercy by Miami judge
Source: aol.com 6/12/23 Jared Stephens, a homeless and mentally ill man who committed an inexplicable crime, shouldn’t spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Monday. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Altfield undid a sentence handed down five years earlier by a different judge, who sentenced Stephens to a minimum of 150 years — with 120 days in jail for good measure. Stephens’ delusional behavior, before and during his trial, had stymied his defense. Read the full article
Read MoreFL: Weaponization of Florida’s Legal System Being Used Against People on the Sex Offender Registry
Source: tampabay.com 6/9/23 Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed that if he wins the presidency he will “excise political bias and end weaponization” of the U.S. Department of Justice “once and for all.” “We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday night in response to news that former President Donald Trump has been federally indicted on charges related to mishandling classified documents. The tone was consistent with DeSantis’ portrayal of himself as fighting against liberal takeovers of powerful institutions.…
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