Source: tampabay.com 1/26/23 Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a tough-on-crime agenda ahead of the upcoming legislative session, including proposals to expand the death penalty to certain types of sex crimes and mandating life sentences for people convicted of selling fentanyl that looks like candy to children. “We want to make sure that we cement our reputation as being a law-and-order state and take actions as necessary to help further protect the people of the state of Florida,” he said during a news conference Thursday at the Miami Police Benevolent Association hall.…
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FL: Gainesville commissioners vote to allow sex offenders to live closer to schools, day cares and parks
Source: wuft.org 12/5/22 The Gainesville City Commission passed an amendment Tuesday that allows people convicted of sexual offenses involving children under age 16 to live closer to schools, day care centers and parks, reducing the prohibited radius from 2,500 feet to 1,000 feet. The amendment also establishes a cut-off date that was previously not recognized by the City of Gainesville, meaning people convicted of this offense before the ordinance was first adopted in 2005 no longer have this restriction on where they live. With these changes, the ordinance now matches…
Read MoreFL: 10-year-old student may face battery charge after hugging school counselor
Source: nbcnews.com 11/9/22 A 10-year-old boy was suspended from his Florida elementary school and faces a charge of misdemeanor battery after he was accused of inappropriately touching a school counselor during a hug, an allegation his family denies. The counselor at Holly Hill School in Volusia County alleged that she was visiting a classroom on Oct. 24 to discuss something when the fourth-grader approached her for a hug, according to a police report and a copy of his suspension letter provided by the boy’s family’s attorneys. She said she “turned…
Read MoreFL: Sheriff posts large red metal signs on Halloween in front of registrants’ residences
Source: msn.com for WXLTV.com 10/28/22 Vigilante sheriff posts signs in front of the homes of registrants Watch the video
Read MoreFL: Florida sheriff’s deputy arrested for sex with teen in youth cadet program
Source: nypost.com 10/19/22 A Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested Tuesday for having sex with a teen he supervised in the department’s youth cadet program, including several trysts while on duty, officials said. Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew _____, 21, admitted to sexual relations with the 17-year-old a total of seven times. The agency said _____ acknowledged having illicit contact with the victim while on active police duty. “The Bay County Jr. Deputy and Explorer Program is a program for youth that are interested in law enforcement,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy…
Read MoreFL: Jacksonville won’t require sex offenders to post ‘no candy’ signs outside home for Halloween
Source: news.yahoo.com 10/19/22 A warning to parents planning trick-or-treating routes: The City of Jacksonville will not require registered sex offenders or predators to post a sign outside their home indicating no trick-or-treaters allowed. Typically, on Halloween, registered sex offenders and predators have to post a sign saying “no candy.” The requirement is being challenged by two registered sex offenders who filed a lawsuit against the city, saying the ordinance violates their constitutional rights. Some neighbors Action News Jax spoke with said, they agree. “I think the sign — it’d be…
Read MoreFL: Police cameras show confusion, anger over DeSantis’ voter fraud arrests
Source: tampabay.com 10/18/22 TALLAHASSEE — When police went to arrest Tony Patterson outside his Tampa home in August, he couldn’t believe the reason. “What is wrong with this state, man?” Patterson protested as he was being escorted to a police car in handcuffs. “Voter fraud? Y’all said anybody with a felony could vote, man.” Body-worn camera footage recorded by local police captured the confusion and outrage of Hillsborough County residents who found themselves in handcuffs for casting a ballot following investigations by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new Office of Election Crimes…
Read MoreFL: ‘Nationally-recognized’ teacher arrested in Fort Lauderdale for sex assault on minor after Tinder meet
Source: local10.com 10/10/22 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A teacher who has worked in schools in Miami-Dade and Broward and who received a presidential award is facing charges in Broward County Court for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy who went on to write a college entry essay about it in school, police said. Fort Lauderdale police officers arrested Carlos _____, 46, on Oct. 3, Broward Sheriff’s Office corrections records show. The case started in Connecticut after a school counselor’s report, police said. Faced with the evidence, _____ surrendered to FLPD,…
Read MoreGerman Court Grants Protection to former Florida Sex Offense Registrant on Human Rights Grounds
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 10/7/22 Taken from the FAC article: SOURCE: Steven Whitsett, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Sending registrants back to prison for mere administrative violations of Florida’s sex offender registry violates human rights law. How’s that for a bit of good news? After paying my “debt to society” by completing a lengthy prison term in Florida and two years of supervision, I decided that I didn’t owe anything further and was not going to be persecuted in my own country for the rest of my life. So, I packed my bags and boarded…
Read MoreFL: Gainesville city commissioners consider changes to city’s sexual offender ordinance
Source: mycbs4.com 10/6/22 Gainesville, FL — Gainesville City Commissioners passed a motion to craft a proposed amendment to the current Sexual Offender and Sexual Predator Ordinance in place to mirror the state statute. “I think it just makes a consistency and so it’s legally defensible. You know, that we’re not sort of afield of what is already accepted through the courts and through the upheld state practices and just creates that predictability and consistency,” City Mayor Lauren Poe said. The City of Gainesville’s ordinance adopted in 2005 is similar to…
Read MoreFL: He Served 18 Months for a Sex Offense. He’s Re-Imprisoned Anyway, Possibly for Life.
Source: flaglerlive.com 9/21/22 Under Florida law, imprisonment does not depend only on proven guilt of a crime. It can also result from the possibility of a future crime. The imprisonment can be up to life. The offender has few avenues of appeal. The case is not even public. The documents on which it is based are sealed from public view. It is a little known but disquieting side of Florida law, permissible under the so-called Jimmy Ryce Act, which allows the “involuntary civil commitment” of sexually violent and dangerous predators…
Read MoreFL: What do you think about Jacksonville not enforcing the sign requirement for sex offenders on Halloween?
Source: news4jax.com 9/22/22 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two registered sex offenders filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville because they want to decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays. Thursday, the offenders asked the judge to pause the city sign requirement outside their home because they believe it’s unconstitutional. Sex offenders in Jacksonville are required to have signs posted outside their home that read “no candy or treats here” so that children don’t trick-or-treat at their homes on Halloween. Because of the lawsuit, the city of Jacksonville has…
Read MoreFL: Florida sex-offender registry challenge rejected
Source: cbsnews.com 9/14/22 TALLAHASSEE – In at least the third similar case filed by out-of-state residents, a federal appeals court Wednesday rejected an Oklahoma man’s constitutional challenge to being kept on a Florida sex offender registry. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by Douglas Lindsey, who was convicted in 1999 of statutory rape, sodomy, and lewd molestation in Oklahoma and was required to register in Oklahoma as a sex offender. In 2009, he successfully requested to be removed from the Oklahoma registry. Lindsey moved to…
Read MoreFL: FAC sends letters to Sheriffs asking them to warn scam targets
Source: Florida Action Committee 9/1/22 FAC has sent letters to the Sheriffs of all 67 Counties in Florida, asking them to warn registrants of the scam targeting registrants across Florida and all states. FAC also calls on the affiliate organizations in each State, encouraging them to send a similar request to the registration offices in their States. Scams targeting people on the registry have been taking place for years. Law enforcement has done very little to pursue the scammers or warn registrants about the existence of these scams. For that…
Read MoreFL: Brevard County sticks by tough ordinance restricting sex offenders
Source: floridatoday.com 8/8/22 Brevard County commissioners reaffirmed their tough stance toward registered sex offenders by making only making minor changes to a regulation limiting where they can go — even as the measure is being challenged in court. The commission updated section 74 of the county code on Tuesday to allow businesses to register as a park so long as the business is used for recreation and is a place that children regularly visit. That will enable the owner to create a 1,000-foot buffer zone prohibiting any individual on the sex offender registry from visiting…
Read MoreFL: FDLE beginning investigation into death of Blackwater Corrections inmate
Source: yahoo.com 8/3/22 The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating an inmate’s death at the Blackwater River Correctional Facility. FDLE’s Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams told the News Journal the agency is investigating the death of 35-year-old Andrew Thompson, but could not provide further information. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Thompson died on July 27. Thompson was arrested in March 2021 and was sentenced to 45 years in prison on April 4, 2022, after pleading no contest to 12 counts of possessing child pornography and one…
Read MoreFL: WESH 2 Investigates allegations of sex offenders being allowed to vote
Source: wesh.com 8/1/22 Morris ___ lives in Poinciana. Elections office records indicate he’s “eligible to vote in Osceola County.” His status is “active,” meaning he can vote next month and this November in Osceola County and in the 2020 general election, he did vote. Morris is also a registered sex offender. Because of this, he should be ineligible to vote under Florida law. WESH 2 checked online with the executive office of clemency, under Morris’s name and prison ID number. It confirms his civil rights have not been restored. By…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender kills himself after conviction
Source: mypanhandle.com 7/29/22 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WMBB) — An Alabama man who was convicted of trying to have sex with a teenager in Marianna is dead. Authorities said he killed himself Wednesday night while awaiting his sentencing. Prison officials said he was discovered dead in his cell around 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Read the full article
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