Tag: Florida

FL: Orange County sergeant accused of abuse of power terminated

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Source: msn.com 10/7/21 A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop. … An internal investigation into a traffic stop found Vidler purposely targeted Jeremy Dewitte, a registered sex offender who has a history of arrests for impersonating a police officer. Initially, Vidler said he was pulling the convicted felon over for carrying a firearm, but it turned out to be a pepper ball gun. A sheriff’s office internal investigation found the pepper ball weapon was in plain view and…

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FL: Citrus County judge says being on the sex offense registry for life is punishment

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Source: chronicleonline.com (found by Florida Action Committee) Howard decided on Monday a lifelong label as a sex offender was a suitable punishment for Ashlee _____, the Dunnellon 21-year-old who sexually coerced and molested a teenage boy. After Ashlee _____pleaded no contest to her fate, Howard adjudicated her guilty of soliciting a child for sexual conduct, two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 16 years old and three counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor. For the first six years of registering as a…

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FL: Florida Faces Challenges On Sex Offender Registry

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Source: miami.cbslocal.com 9/28/21 TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — Florida is facing two constitutional challenges from men who live in other states and contend they have been improperly kept on public sex-offender registry lists in Florida. Oregon resident Moji Momeni filed a lawsuit Friday in Leon County circuit court alleging that his constitutional privacy and due-process rights have been violated because Florida continues to list him as a registered sex offender, though he stopped being required to register in Oregon last year. Momeni, who was convicted in 2006 on sexual-abuse charges in Oregon,…

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FL: DOJ Now Investigating Florida Sheriff’s Office For Using A Federal Grant To Fund Its ‘Predictive Policing’ Harassment Programs

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Source: techdirt.com 9/21/21 The Pasco County (FL) Sheriff’s Office believes in “intelligence-led policing.” This is its formal slang for harassing residents until (in the office’s own words) “they sue or move.” The Sheriff’s Office turns anyone with a criminal background into a suspect-for-life. Deputies visit residences and residents on the “intelligence-led” shit list multiple times a month, demanding answers to questions they have no business asking. When residents fail to comply, nuisance (in every sense of the word) citations are issued for things like uncut grass or missing mailbox numbers.…

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FL: Letter to the Editor: Sex offender registry issue needs to be addressed

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Source: nwfdailynews.com 9/2/21 As a counselor in the state of Florida, I think it’s time to address challenges concerning social media and illegal sex with minors, and the growing number of designated sex offenders in our state (356/100K – total 76,000 in Florida – 800K nationally). All sex offenders are not child molesters. Pedophiles and rapists are. The US Bureau of Justice reports the average age of a sex offender is 14! Policemen, prosecutors, and judges need to stand up against this bad law. It’s the only law that allows continued punishment after sentencing…

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FL: FBI Agent, Army Reserves Col. charged with sex crimes against children in Florida

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Source: cbs42.com 8/27/21 FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — An FBI agent who investigated sex crimes against children has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against children across several states, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said Supervisory Special Agent David ____ was tasked with investigating crimes against children, including child pornography. But in February of this year, he was accused of exposing himself to a 14-year-old girl in a “lewd and lascivious manner,” while on vacation in St. George Island. The investigation began in Franklin County…

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FL: Police Arrest Teen Accused of Helping GOP Strategist’s Underage Sex Trafficking

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Source: thedailybeast.com 8/14/21 Shortly after arresting GOP strategist Anton Lazzaro for underage sex trafficking, police say they’ve caught up with his 19-year-old associate, who now faces the same charges. Jose Pagliery Political Investigations Reporter Law enforcement in Florida has arrested Gisela Castro Medina, a 19-year-old accused of helping a wealthy, young Republican strategist in Minnesota prey on girls and recruit them for paid sex. She faces the same criminal charges as her alleged pal, GOP operative Anton Lazzaro: sex trafficking of a minor, attempt to commit sex trafficking, and obstruction…

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FL: Missing sex offender with dementia found after forgetting address while checking in for registry

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Source: fox35orlando.com 8/5/21 A sex offender who suffers from dementia was missing after forgetting his address while checking in with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. By Thursday morning, officials said he was found and is OK. Deputies say Dale ____, who does not have a permanent address, went to the sheriff’s office Tuesday to conduct his mandatory check-in for the sex offender registry, however, when he got there, he couldn’t remember the address where he has been staying. Deputies say they let him leave so he could find and write…

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FL: Federal judge rejects sheriff’s office’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit challenging ‘predictive policing’ program

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Source: wtsp.com 3/5/21 A federal judge rejected the Pasco County Sheriff’s motion to dismiss a case against Sheriff Chris Nocco’s Orwellian “predictive policing” program, the Institute of Justice said in a release Wednesday. In a lawsuit filed by Pasco County families back in March, Nocco was accused of punishing people “for crimes they have not committed and may never commit” – in a practice called predictive policing. Judge Steven D. Merryday issued an order denying the Pasco County sheriff’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. “Today’s decision is an important step…

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VA: Officials address East Stone Gap residents about reported trailer park residence for people listed on the registry

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Source: timesnews.net 7/21/21 EAST STONE GAP — Wise County and state law enforcement officials told a community gathering Tuesday that state law does not have a provision for sanctuaries for people listed on the registry. The meeting of more than 100 local residents at the East Stone Gap Baptist Church’s community center brought Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp III, Sheriff Grant Kilgore, Virginia State Police investigators and other county officials to discuss reports of a residence for people listed on the registry being located at the Imby Lane Mobile…

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Florida Lawsuit Challenges Continued Registration of Non-Residents and Deceased Persons

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Source: ACSOL A lawsuit was filed in a Florida federal district court today that challenges the continued registration of non-residents and deceased persons convicted of a sex offense.  According to the lawsuit, the Florida registry currently includes more than 28,000 people who do not live in that state as well as more than 1,300 people who are dead. The plaintiff in this lawsuit was convicted of having sex with a minor (17-year-old woman) who he later married and together they had a child.  After the couple divorced, the plaintiff was…

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FL: Martin County deputies arrest multiple people listed on the registry for altering their driver’s licenses

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[Source: wptv.com – 6/9/21] STUART, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is warning business owners to be on the lookout for doctored driver’s licenses when hiring potential employees. “So, on his license, apparently there is supposed to be something that states that he’s a “sexual predator” or something on his license and his has like a cigarette burn there,” said Hillary Hughes. Hughes said she recently unknowingly hired a new employee who was convicted of a sexual offense. The employee had altered his driver’s license to cover the “sexual…

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FL: Palm Coast man kills self outside courthouse before he was to be sentenced for CP

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[Source: news-journalonline.com – 6/9/21] A Palm Coast man drove to the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell on Tuesday morning to be sentenced to 3½ years in prison on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. But instead of walking into the courthouse, Mario ___, 47, remained in his truck and apparently shot himself to death outside the courthouse, according to a release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Mario had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possession of child porn, which is punishable by up to 150 years in…

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FL: Flagler County adds new restrictions on where people listed on the registry can reside

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[palmcoastobserver.com – 6/8/21] The Flagler County Commission has enacted new restrictions on where people listed on the sexual offense registry may reside, increasing safety buffers around places where children are known to gather. The commission voted 5-0 in favor of the new regulations during its June 7 meeting after Sheriff Rick Staly spoke in favor of the additional limits. The county’s existing ordinance had barred people listed on the registry from residing within 1,000 feet of schools, daycare centers, parks or playgrounds. The commission’s June 7 vote adds school bus…

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FL: Civilian sex stings aim at ‘street justice’

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[yoursun.com – 6/1/21] For about as long as there have been children, … … Now some civilian groups are taking matters into their own hands. Sarasota resident Lee Bassett runs a Facebook page called Southwest Florida Exposures. … That was the first of Bassett’s online stings that resulted in an arrest. Law enforcement disapproves Despite Bassett contributing to the arrest of Allen, law enforcement generally discourages undercover civilian operations. Officers say it can detract from real justice with real consequences. … Because of a lack of legal consequences, the civilian…

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FL: DoC is Planning to Charge people in prison to Receive Mail

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Orlando Sentinel, May 29 FDC will hold a public hearing June 11 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Officials with the Florida Department of Corrections plan to almost completely digitize mail sent to state prisons by photocopying every card, letter or picture and providing it instead electronically to incarcerated people — a change that families and prison reform advocates argue could create more hurdles for maintaining connections with people in prison, as well as add additional burdens and costs to them and their loved ones. The plan, which was announced this…

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FL: Bipartisan support is closing Florida’s sexual offender loophole

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[tampabay.com – 4/12/21] The case of a Tampa man who molested two young girls at a community pool but has not had to register as a sex offender has exposed a loophole in Florida’s law that is a concern among parents, law enforcement groups and child advocates. The Tampa Bay Times covered the story of Ray La Vel James, who was convicted of molesting the girls in 2002. James served 15 years in prison and was given a $10,000 fine. It was expected that upon his release, James would have…

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