JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Travis Russ says his decision to come to the tiny town of Pahokee draws a common response from natives. “Why would you come to Pahokee? Who comes to Pahokee?” It’s a legitimate question. And the answer is: mostly sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Florida
FL: 40 people have no place to go after homeless camp vacated
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — After it was discovered a handful of sex offenders were among about 40 people living in tents on a piece of property in Kissimmee, the property owner told them they had to leave. Most of the homeless people evicted from the property along Old Vineland Road have no place to go, and the city of Kissimmee and Osceola County have no help to offer. Full Article
Read MoreFL: FATSA Recommendations on the Florida Registry
The Florida Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers submitted a report to the Florida Legislatures Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) making several evidence-based recommendations for Florida’s Sex Offender Registry System. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Unsuccessfully Challenged
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently challenged the constitutionality of a Miami-Dade County, Florida ordinance that, according to the organization, forces sex offenders on probation into homelessness by imposing residency restrictions so harsh there is literally no place where they are legally permitted to live. … While that may indeed be outrageous, the federal district court hearing the challenge to the Miami-Dade ordinance did not find it unconstitutional. The court dismissed the suit in April 2015, finding the ordinance was not punitive in nature and advanced a legitimate governmental…
Read MoreFL: Palm Beach billionaire victims “complicit” so not truly victims, government says
A routine status check Monday on a 2008 federal lawsuit tied to sex offender ____ ____’s plea deal ended with a new allegation from the government. The two victims who filed the lawsuit — Jane Doe No. 1 and Jane Doe No. 2 — aren’t actually victims because they procured other girls for ____ and received money for it, Assistant United States Attorney Dexter Lee said in West Palm Beach federal court. If someone “is complicit in the offenses,” they can’t be considered victims under the federal Crime Victims’ Rights…
Read MoreFL: Eighth Grader Disciplined For Giving Hug To Friend At School
____ ____, 14, is now an eighth grader with a record. ____ was given suspension by Jackson Heights principal Sarah Mansur-Blythe (left) for a hug. That’s right. She hugged a friend who was having a bad day and was immediately reported for discipline under a hopelessly undefined prohibition on “inappropriate or obscene acts.” Full Article
Read MoreFL: Man arrested in child sex sting sues Orange County Sheriff Office
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man arrested in a child sex sting is suing the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on claims of entrapment. ____ ____’s attorney said deputies tried to entrap his client, who he said never had any intentions of meeting a 14-year-old girl. Full Article Related http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-11-01/news/os-sex-sting-child-predators-arrests-20111101_1_youth-pastor-disney-worker-disney-employee
Read MoreFL: Unmanned Drones and Sex Offenders
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — A state lawmaker from Central Florida has filed a bill that would make it a crime for registered sex offenders to use a remote control drone to spy on kids or take their pictures. Senator Dorothy Hukill of Port Orange says predators are required to stay away from schools, playgrounds and other places where children gather… but there’s nothing in the law about drones. “What they can’t do personally, they can do with a drone,” she said. “They can do it pretty unobtrusively without people being aware or knowing…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Homeless Sex Offender Encampment Surpasses 200 People
The torture started in 2006. The cities of Miami-Beach and Miami got into a war of sex offenders because Miami Beach’s ordinance drove registrants without anyplace to live over to the mainland. Miami countered by passing their own ordinance to drive them back. The result, sex offenders couldn’t find anyplace to live and were living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway; the bridge that connects Miami Beach to Miami. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules
An organization that works to reform sex-offender laws in Florida is suing Seminole County and Sheriff Don Eslinger, alleging that a decade-old county ordinance is so restrictive that it prevents registered sex offenders from traveling to a grocery store, eating out at a restaurant or, in some cases, even leaving their homes. According to Seminole’s ordinance, sexual offenders or predators in most cases are not allowed to “travel through or remain within” 1,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers or playgrounds. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Halifax Health launches visitor ID system
… The process will take less than a minute and the system will screen visitors to see if they are on the sexual offender list, said David Hall, director of education and volunteer services. “We don’t want to build a wall and moat around the hospital,” Hall said. “We want to decrease our potential risk.” Sex offenders will be denied access. Sex offenders and those without a photo ID could be granted an exception to visit dying relatives, Hall said. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Woman Filmed Having Sex on the Beach in Front of Kids: ‘I’m Not a Sex Offender!’
Elissa Alvarez is paying a high price after she was filmed having sex on a crowded public beach. She told INSIDE EDITION: “I am a sex offender right now.” The 21-year-old and her bodybuilder boyfriend, Jose Caballero, are now on the national sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreFL: FAC Sues Seminole County, Florida over Sex Offender Exclusion Zones Ordinance
The Florida Action Committee (FAC) has sued Seminole County and its Sheriff over the County’s proximity ordinance, which prohibits certain registered sexual offenders and predators from traveling through or being present within “exclusion zones” that encompass most of the County. The problem is that the zones are so broad and so vague that law abiding registered citizens cannot comply with the ordinance. Full Article
Read MoreCollateral damage: Harsh sex offender laws may put whole families at risk
Research says that registries and residency bans leave children of sex offenders vulnerable to bullying, homelessness. When ____ ____, 38, bolts from his desk around 5:30 most weeknights, he’s up against his most important deadline of the day. ____ is an audiovisual editor and social media manager at a Christian television studio in St. Petersburg, Florida. By the time he gets home, he and ____ , his wife of nine years, have just over three hours to make dinner for their three children, squeeze in a half-hour of playtime, get…
Read MoreFL: Court backs sex offender ordinance in Palm Bay
PALM BAY, Fla. – There is a major victory for a Central Florida city looking to impose tougher restrictions on sex offenders. Palm Bay’s sex offender ordinance has been debated many times at city hall. Some say it puts too many restrictions on sex offenders, but Friday an appellate court released a ruling saying the ordinance does not violate offenders’ constitutional rights. Full Article
Read MoreFL: New security system will keep sex offenders out of Palm Beach County schools
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) – School will soon be back in session in Palm Beach County, and this year, new technology is offering an added layer of security. Ashley Frost is a parent and a teacher in Greenacres and says “I feel responsible to keep them safe so having one more security system in place can’t hurt.” Full Article
Read MoreThe Hunt for Child Sex Abusers Is Happening in the Wrong Places
It’s late March when Lauren Book and I head into the bowels of the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), armed with loose-leaf paper, pencils and the knowledge that we are about to sit face to face with three of the most dangerous sexually violent predators in the state. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Polk sheriff, lawmakers push for employee polygraphs in businesses dealing with kids
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference on Monday to discuss a bill that would allow private employers whose businesses interact with children to polygraph test potential employees during the hiring process. The Protecting Our Children Act would amend the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, which prohibits the use of polygraph tests during hiring, with the exception of law enforcement fields. According to a release from PCSO, the polygraph testing would help identify child sex predators during the hiring process and allow companies dealing with…
Read More