10-10-17 Florida:
Maybe we should call it a war between sex offender advocates?
Strange lawsuit filed in a local federal court: A Texas-based service that claims to help sexual offenders get off the state registry that limits where they can live and work is suing a Boynton Beach nonprofit that wants to loosen registry rules.
“I haven’t seen the lawsuit yet and I’ve not been served, so I don’t know,” said Gail Colletta, founder of the Florida Action Committee, defendant in the court action filed last week.
FAC was created by Colletta after her son was convicted of online sex crimes, and she wants to reform the state’s sexual offenders laws and registries.
And now, the group is getting sued for defamation by the Houston-based clearmycase.com, a for-profit company that claims it can help de-register Florida’s sex offenders.
In the paperwork, clearmycase.com takes umbrage to allegedly being called “a scam” on the Florida Action Committee’s website.
In February, Florida Action Committee’s website warned: “We have been informed that a company out of Texas called CLEARMYCASE.COM has been soliciting individuals on the Florida [sex offender] Registry claiming they might be able to help them ‘deregister’ and charging a $100 “consultation fee. Please do not fall for this scam.”
“We are not [a scam],” says owner John Bordelon.
The company charges between $4,500 and $9,800 for its services if they are successful in getting a sex offender off the registry, says Bordelon says. ..Continued..
October 10, 2017
Is de-listing sex offenders even possible? Lawsuit claims it is
October 1, 2017
Sex offender sues ECSO over 'defamatory' billboard calling him sexual predator
10-1-17 Florida:
An inmate is suing the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, claiming one of its billboards mislabeled him as a sexual predator, instead of a sex offender.
The lawsuit was initially filed in Escambia County court in September 2016, but a summons was sent to both the ECSO and Sheriff David Morgan on Thursday. The suit also names Escambia County and the city of Pensacola as defendants, and according to court documents, summons were sent to both parties last month.
In his complaint, Kenneth Cobb claims the sexual predator designation, which is a higher level than sex offender, was "false and defamatory." He claims the billboard went up some time in 2014. ..Continued..
September 13, 2017
Florida Sheriff who Targeted Evacuees with Warrants at Shelters Sued for Violating Fourth Amendment
9-13-17 Florida:
A Florida sheriff who bluntly tweeted about arresting evacuees with warrants who were seeking shelter from Hurricane Irma is being sued for violating the Fourth Amendment by requiring background checks to enter hurricane shelters.
But Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd claims the lawsuit is “frivolous”.
“They filed that lawsuit for free press and it’s obviously frivolous. I have a nationwide profile and they see it as an opportunity for nationwide press,” Judd told the Orlando Sentinel.
The complaint, which was submitted on September 10 to the 10th Judicial Circuit Court electronically, was filed by Andres Borreno, who claims Sheriff Judd violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizure during a “crisis situation” after being forced to undergo a background check as he tried to seek shelter from Hurricane Irma.
Borreno claims deputies at the shelter never informed him he was suspected of a crime at the time he entered the shelter. ..Continued,,
September 11, 2017
Hurricane Irma: Florida sheriff who threatened arrests at shelters is sued
9-10-17 Florida:
A man who claims he was denied entry to a shelter unless he underwent a background check is suing Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who got national attention after saying on Twitter he would jail anyone with an outstanding warrant who tried to seek shelter from Hurricane Irma.
Judd called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said he would not change his policy.
The sheriff said his stance was to prevent registered sex offenders from entering shelters. But the suit filed by immigrant rights group Nexus Services states Florida driver’s licenses already clearly mark someone as a sex offender. They claim the policy was discriminatory and violates Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.
The suit, which attorney Cynthia Conlin said was electronically filed Sunday but hadn’t yet been processed by the 10th Judicial Circuit Court, claims Andres Borreno of Virginia was told by Polk County deputies he would have to submit to a criminal background check before he was able to enter a shelter Saturday. The suit doesn’t say if Borreno had an outstanding warrant.
“The officer … also never told Borreno that he was suspected of any crime or illegal act at that time,” the suit states. “Criminal suspicion is not raised by trying to enter an emergency shelter to save one’s life and the life of family members.”
Judd said Sunday “They filed that lawsuit for free press and it's obviously frivolous. I have a nationwide profile and they see it as an opportunity for nationwide press.”
Judd said Borreno wasn't treated differently than others seeking shelter. He was offered shelter at the jail and was offered a ride. Judd said he didn't know if Borreno went to the shelter. ..Continued..
August 8, 2017
Hundreds of Miami Sex Offenders Live in a Squalid Tent City Near Hialeah
Cradling a heavy box of Budweiser against his flour-dusted apron, Mario Medina clicks open the door and greets two waitresses behind the counter at La Cascada, a retro Cuban pizza parlor in Northwest Miami-Dade. Besides the voice of a sports commentator on the TV and sporadic blips from arcade games in the back, the restaurant is quiet, and all five tables are empty. It's 30 minutes into the lunch rush hour, but only three weary patrons in construction boots sit hunched over glasses of cold beer at the bar.
"Before, we got more than 200 customers every week," says Medina, La Cascada's husky, white-mustached 58-year-old manager. "Now it's 90 at best." Over the past few months, Medina has lost 40 percent of his regulars, including many families that are afraid to bring their children to the area or to park their cars out front, he says. Though the place used to make about $8,000 every week, it's now down to $3,000, which must be split among the restaurant's five employees.
Medina attributes the parlor's drop in customers to one problem. Less than a block away, pitched along both sides of the road, are 28 camping tents. In them live scores of registered sex offenders. ..Continued..
August 1, 2017
Family announces federal lawsuit 2 years after Orange County inmate's death
8-1-17 Florida:
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The family of a man who died while an inmate at the Orange County Jail announced Monday that they were in the process of filing a federal lawsuit against the county, almost two years after Max Gracia II's death.
The family told Channel 9 that they worked to negotiate with the county, but said they didn't see enough change in policy that would keep the same type of death from happening in the future.
Gracia died four days after he was bitten by a police dog and taken to jail in August 2015.
About three months later, his death was ruled a homicide, which raised concerns about his treatment.
In December 2015, a report claimed Gracia was so sick that other inmates had to drag him on the floor to move him from cell to cell.
"If he did anything wrong, then that was between him and the court system. But he didn't get that opportunity," the victim’s mother, Willine Gracia, said in early 2016.
While announcing the lawsuit Monday, Willine Gracia said the court action was about making a change, not about making a dollar.
"It's not about the money," she said. "It's not.
"You can't treat a human being that way. It doesn't matter about color, race, none of that matters. My son screamed and laid there in agony and pain. Dying. My God." ..Continued..
June 28, 2017
Lakeland police: Good Samaritan helping lost 2-year-old find parents attacked by girl’s father, 2 others
OK, I get it: Men NOT wearing uniforms should stand by until a uniformed officer appears?6-28-17:
LAKELAND – There were big swings and strikes Saturday at the Southwest Sports Complex, but not just on the field.
Austin Strickland, 22, of Lakeland, is accused of striking Utpal Patel, 39, before 4 p.m. Saturday after Patel tried to help Strickland’s 2-year-old daughter find her parents, according to the Lakeland Police Department. Strickland said he was just concerned for her well-being.
According to the LPD report, Patel and friends, including a Polk County deputy, had come to the complex to watch friends play softball. Patel told police that he later noticed a young girl, Kaydence Strickland, wandering lost and tried to help her locate her parents.
According to the report, Patel took the girl by the hand and asked her whether each man was “her daddy.” After telling Patel no many times, the young girl became agitated and tried to pull away. Fearing for her safety, Patel told police that he picked the girl up and began walking in the direction the young girl initially pointed, walking toward a playground, between 50 and 75 yards from where she was first located.
While walking toward the east side of the complex, Patel told police he was approached from behind by three white men. One took the girl from Patel’s arms and the other two began striking Patel in the face. Police noticed Patel’s face was swollen with a minor cut. Patel was able to identify Austin Strickland as one of the punchers, but the other two men’s identities are unknown.
According to a police report, Strickland and Kaydence’s mother, Autumn Terwilliger, told police that their daughter was not near the dugout where they had seen her last and they began searching for her. Strickland told police that another spectator told him that the girl was in the custody of an Indian man. Strickland told police that he thought Patel posed an imminent threat to his daughter. ..Continued..
June 21, 2017
New law forces websites to pull mug shots of the acquitted
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill into law Friday that will require websites that publish mug shots to take them down upon request if the person pictured is not convicted.
The new law, which takes effect July 1, also prohibits companies from collecting a fee to remove the mug shots.
But Scott declined to sign into law the most controversial portion of the bill. It would automatically have sealed nearly 3 million public records of people who were arrested but not convicted.
That provision raised eyebrows with both public records advocates and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the public has a right to know if someone has been arrested but not convicted of a crime — particularly a sex offense.
Bondi last month raised questions about the legislation, saying it’s important in sex-offender cases to know if someone has been charged previously.
“We all know how difficult it is to convict a sex offender,” Bondi said.
Kylie Mason, a spokeswoman for Bondi’s office, said Friday that “it is our understanding that arrest records involving violent offenders and sexual predators will remain public, and if that is the case, we are pleased.” ..Continued..
May 12, 2017
Florida prisoners with hepatitis are at risk for worse, lawsuit claims
See also: Lawsuit Says State Refuses to Treat Prisoners for Hepatitis C, Letting Some Die5-11-17 Florida:
Thousands of Florida prison inmates who have hepatitis C are not getting adequate medication and treatment — leaving them at risk for liver failure, liver cancer and death, according to a lawsuit filed against the Florida Department of Corrections.
The case, brought on behalf of three state prison inmates who have the disease, alleges that up to 40,000 state inmates could have some form of the disease, which can potentially be spread — not only among the prison population — but to the general public if not treated by the time an inmate is released.
The lawsuit, filed by the Florida Justice Institute, seeks an immediate injunction forcing the state prison system to start treating inmates with the disease by providing medications that have been approved and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Drug Administration since 2013.
“The FDC recognizes that hepatitis C is a serious disease that is easy to cure,” said Randall C. Berg Jr., FJI’s executive director. “Yet it routinely fails to provide lifesaving medication to people incarcerated in Florida.”
The Institute maintains that FDC’s treatment rate is among the lowest in the nation, and that as many as 40,000 of the state’s 99,000 inmates could be infected. ..Continued.. by JULIE K. BROWN
April 25, 2017
MSPIFF: ‘Untouchable’ is a challenging, but necessary documentary
There are few things in this world people have less compassion for than those whose names appear on the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR). It seems many blindly believe this list reveals the monsters who live among us, which serves the better good, but very few actually understand how the list works and what it does to those who appear on it. Untouchable, a new documentary from David Feige, takes a closer look at the registry, its purpose, and the many implications its continued existence has for those on it, as well as their families.
Untouchable is not a movie trying to downplay the seriousness of sex crimes. If anything, the film aims to recognize the many shades of sex crimes and seeks a better system for dealing with offenders at all levels. As it stands now, the National Sex Offender Public Registry includes everything from convicted pedophiles and rapists, to people who were caught urinating in public after having a few too many drinks. There are no markers or symbols to separate the various crimes committed, so everyone is lumped together and branded ‘sex offenders’ regardless of if such description actually fits the crime. Feige and the numerous talking heads he’s gathered, which cover offenders and lawmakers, argue that because of this mass generalization treatment and rehabilitation is practically non-existent despite the fact the recidivism rate for sex crimes is incredibly low.
At the center of this story is Florida lobbyist Ron Book and his daughter Lauren, who was molested and tortured by an immigrant housekeeper. It was Book’s response to learning of these horrifying events that set the laws that now dictate the treatment of sex offenders in place, and it’s not hard to understand why. Book, like any parent, wishes to protect their children. When confronted with the reality he had failed to do so, Book reacted as any parent would by taking drastic action to ensure such events never transpired again. His actions did not stop sex crimes outright, but he did forever alter the way the public treats and views those convicted of a sexual crime. ..Continued.. by James Shotwell
March 15, 2017
Florida ex-felons file class action suit over voting laws
3-15-17 Florida:
Seven convicted felons on Monday filed suit [complaint, PDF] alleging Florida's process of restoring voting rights to felons is unconstitutionally arbitrary. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida by the Fair Elections Legal Network [advocacy website] and the Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC [firmwebsite] on behalf of the seven plaintiffs, seeks to restore voting rights for ex-felons and eliminate the current process.
Florida, Kentucky, Iowa and Virginia are the only states that require former felons to petition to public officials for the restoration of their voting rights. According the the complaint, there is no timetable required under the current law for a judgment on an ex-felon's petition, and the 10,513 pending applications have created a significant backlog for the review board.
"On September 1, 2016, this figure was 10,588. The backlog has only decreased by 75 pending applications in six months, demonstrating that the current system has both caused Florida's disenfranchised population to grow to 1.68 million and is utterly unsuited to addressing the ever-worsening problem." ..Continue.. by Jurist
March 7, 2017
States Ease Restrictions on Voting by Felons
Florida proposal to lift its lifetime ban would add to a nationwide trend
Desmond Meade, homeless, addicted to drugs and suicidal, served three years in prison for gun possession before turning his life around and graduating from Florida International University Law School in 2014. But Mr. Meade couldn’t vote in last year’s elections—not even for his wife, a Florida House candidate.
That’s because Mr. Meade is among an estimated 6.1 million felons who have served their time and lost their right to vote, of whom about 1.7 million live in Florida. Virginia, Kentucky and Iowa are the only other states with lifetime voting bans, which can be lifted only through the clemency process. Other states impose waiting periods or require felons to complete parole or probation requirements.
Mr. Meade plans to be in the courtroom Monday when the Florida Supreme Court reviews a proposed constitutional amendment to allow felons, except for murderers and sex offenders, to vote after they finish their sentences, parole and probation. The court will decide whether the measure meets standards to go before voters, provided it gets enough signatures; Mr. Meade, as head of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, is leading the petition drive to put the amendment on the 2018 ballot. ..Continued.. by y Beth Reinhard Wall Street Journal
January 20, 2017
Alleged victims filed suit after $3M jackpot
1-20-17 Florida:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- (WKMG) -- A convicted sex predator who won a $3 million Florida Lottery jackpot has settled a lawsuit filed by his alleged victims.
The plaintiffs' suit against Timothy Poole, 45, was scheduled to go trial this week in Orange County Circuit Court. However, like many other civil cases, the parties were able to reach an agreement days before jury selection was expected to begin.
The terms of that settlement are confidential and have not been disclosed.
In December 2014, Poole struck it rich playing a Super Millions scratch-off ticket purchased at a Mount Dora 7-Eleven store. Lottery officials said he chose to receive his winnings in a one-time, lump-sum payment of $2,219,807.
A News 6 investigation revealed that Poole is a convicted sexual predator who is required to register his home address with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In 1996, Poole was accused of sexually molesting two boys, ages 5 and 9. He served three years in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of attempted sexual battery.
Poole insists he is innocent, despite entering a plea in the case.
"It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused," Poole told Local 6 in 2014.
Following news of Poole's big lottery jackpot, his alleged victims, now adults, filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages.
The plaintiffs claimed Poole, a family friend and babysitter, molested them multiple times in their home, his truck and at his house beginning in 1996.
The alleged victims claim Poole's actions caused "significant physical, mental, emotional and sexual harm," according to their lawsuit.
"There is no price tag for something like that," the plaintiff's attorney, Mark NeJame, said after filing the lawsuit.
"One of the concerns our clients had was that this individual does not use the power of the money he's received to victimize others," attorney Jason Recksiedler told News 6 in 2014.
The attorneys said they were prohibited from disclosing details about the settlement agreement with Poole.
Poole was not at his Mount Dora home when a News 6 reporter stopped by Friday, according to an unidentified person who answered the door. Poole did not respond to an email and phone message seeking comment on the lawsuit settlement.
Less than a month before the civil case was scheduled to go to trial, Poole's attorney filed paperwork with the court requesting to be withdrawn as the lottery winner's lawyer.
"There has come an impasse in the handling of this case," Christopher H. Morrison wrote. "It is not possible for the client and attorney to continue to work cooperatively on the case."
Shortly after winning the multi-million lottery prize, Poole moved into a 20-year-old, $85,000 mobile home located across the street from his previous house, records show.
People close to Poole tell News 6 he used some of his winnings to expand his late mother's taxi cab business.
The plaintiffs' attorneys suggested the alleged victims and their family did not immediately sue Poole since the convicted sex predator did not have many assets prior to his lottery jackpot.
In 2010, Florida lawmakers eliminated the statute of limitations dictating when a juvenile victim of sexual abuse could file a civil lawsuit.
There is now no time limit for legal action to be taken if the victim was age 16 or younger when the sex crime occurred.
"But for that law being passed, my clients would have had no opportunity for recourse," Recksiedler said.
Under state law, sex offenders and predators are allowed to play and win prizes from the Florida Lottery.
After Poole's jackpot, some Florida legislators unsuccessfully attempted to pass a law that would have required any sex offenders' lottery winnings to be placed in an escrow account for a year, giving victims an opportunity to make a claim. ..Source.. by Mike DeForest, WKMG
September 27, 2016
11th Cir. Revives Sexual Predators' Housing Claim
The 11th Circuit on Monday revived two sexual offenders' challenges to residency restrictions in Miami-Dade County.
In 2005, the county adopted the Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance, which restricts sexual offenders and sexual predators from establishing temporary or permanent residence in areas where children regularly congregate, such as schools, parks and child care facilities.
Three Doe sexual offenders and the Florida Action Committee, a non-profit that advocates on behalf of sex offenders and their families, challenged a part of the ordinance that states any person who has been convicted of a sexual offense that involves a victim under the age of 16 years old is not allowed to reside within 2,500 feet of any school.
The distance is measured in a straight line rather than by an automobile or pedestrian route.
Miami-Dade County, the state Department of Corrections, and Sunny Ukenye, circuit administrator for the Miami Circuit Office and the corrections department convinced a federal judge to dismiss the claim against them.
The plaintiffs then turned to the 11th Circuit, where they argued the residency restriction is so punitive it violates the federal and Florida constitution ex post facto clauses since it makes large strips of housing unavailable to them.
Two of the three Doe plaintiffs had qualifying sexual offenses before the enactment of the ordinance, which has now been retroactively applied to them.
They contend they are homeless because the ordinance severely limits their freedom to select or change residences.
When Doe One could no longer live with his sister due to the residency restriction, his probation officer told him to go live in a homeless encampment.
Now, he lives at that crude homeless encampment near active railroad tracks where dozens of individuals create a space for themselves by setting up tents or tarps or simply lay down mats on nearby loading docks.
Likewise, Doe Three has to sleep in his car at the same encampment because he cannot find affordable housing that meets the restrictions of the county ordinance. the court documents say.
Neither of them has access to sanitary water nor do they feel safe.
Both argued the goal of public safety, when considering sexual offenders recidivism, could be met without the excessive restrictions of the county ordinance -- purportedly one of the strictest in the nation.
They also argued the ordinance undermines the goal of public safety since it impedes them from successfully re-entering society so they can gain secure housing and obtain employment.
Noting that a sexual offender is subject to the restriction without any regard to their risk of recidivism, the contenders pointed out that research has shown that sexual offender recidivism rates are among the lowest for any offenses and continues to decline over time.
Yet, even if the sexual offender no longer has to register as a sex offender under Florida law, the county's residency restriction applies to them for life.
The 11th Circuit agreed, reversing the lower court's ruling and allowing them to proceed with discovery.
Brandon Buskey, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the plaintiffs called the circuit's ruling "an important victory."
"Our plaintiffs set out to demonstrate that Miami-Dade County's excessive residency restriction unfairly punishes those affected by forcing them into homelessness. The 11th Circuit made clear that they deserve their day in court," Buskey said in a statement provided to Courthouse News. ..Source.. by JULIE BAKER-DENNIS
September 13, 2016
Animal abusers are being registered like sex offenders in these jurisdictions
From the article: "“There are different degrees of abuse. There are offenders who intentionally kill or torture animals, or who are engaged in dogfighting. On the other end of the spectrum, there are pet owners who have an inadequate doghouse,” Shatkin said. “We wouldn’t want to paint both types of offenders with the same brush.” Hummm, animals treated better than humans!9-13-16 Florida:
Starting in November, convicted animal abusers in the county that includes Tampa will be easier to identify. Their names, photos and addresses will be published on a county-run website that is publicly searchable and similar to the online sex offender registries that have proliferated since the 1990s.
The animal abuser registry, passed last week by commissioners in Hillsborough County, is aimed at preventing people who have harmed animals from doing so again. Retailers and shelters will be required to have prospective pet adopters or purchasers sign an affidavit saying they’re not on the registry. Regular people seeking pet-sitters or new homes for their animals will be able to vet candidates. Law enforcement officials will, at least in theory, be able to keep tabs on offenders’ whereabouts.
The county is the latest in a tiny but growing group of U.S. jurisdictions to adopt such registries. A handful of New York counties have them, as does New York City, although that one isn’t accessible to the public. Cook County, Ill., whose county seat is Chicago, recently decided to create one. Tennessee started the first statewide registry in January, although it still has just three people on its list.
“Just as we place extra trust in teachers and law enforcement, so, too, should we ensure that those engaged in the handling of animals have a spotless record,” New Jersey state Rep. Troy Singleton (D) said about legislation he sponsored to make his state home to the second statewide animal abuse registry. He referred to the idea as a “first line of defense.” ..Continued: Quite an article w/many links to similar registries.. by Karin Brulliard
January 6, 2016
Convicted sex offender can stay in Merritt Island neighborhood, judge says
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. —Some angry Merritt Island residents attempted to get a sex offender kicked out of his own home, but a judge ruled that he could continue living there.
The residents did not want the man, Richard Vassallo, living in their neighborhood.
Residents argued that a private park and a school bus stop in their neighborhood meant the sex offender could not legally live there.
"I don't recall seeing a sign there. I have no idea," said Richard Vassallo, a convicted sex offender.
Vassallo insisted on the witness stand that he did not know anything about a school bus stop in his Merritt Island neighborhood, even though the stop is at the main intersection leading into the subdivision. A 13-year-old girl who uses the bus stop said Vassallo had been staring at her.
"After I got to the bus stop, he got into his car and drove up to me," said the teen.
Vassallo was convicted of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12. Under state and county law, he can't live within 1,000 feet of a park or a place where children congregate, but he bought a house, paid with cash, in the upscale Sun Ridge subdivision on Merritt Island. The neighborhood not only has a bus stop, but also a private park, both of which locations children congregate. Vassallo got the approval of probation officials before moving in.
"We don't consider a bus stop to be a place where children congregate," said Rebecca Gabor, a probation officer.
"Our big concern is that we have a sexual predator living in our neighborhood and the probation office has allowed him to live within 1,000 feet of our private park," said neighborhood resident Michael Kruse. ..Source.. by WESH.com
December 30, 2015
Lawyer challenges Pasco predator ordinance
UPDATE: Pasco asks court to dismiss sex predator’s lawsuit over residency12-30-15 Florida:
LUTZ — Instead of enjoying Christmas surrounded by his family in the Lutz home where he grew up, Earl Reyes Villagomeza passed the holidays alone in a cheap hotel room near the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Some would argue that’s exactly what a convicted child predator deserves — a lonely, isolated existence.
Tampa lawyer Patrick LeDuc, however, contends Villagomeza has paid for his crimes and deserves to go home.
He has filed a lawsuit against Pasco County, asserting the county’s sexual offender and sexual predator ordinance, passed by the county commission in April, is unconstitutional, calling the ordinance “unconstitutionally vague, overbroad and punitive.”
At the Dec. 15 Pasco County Commission meeting, the commission OK’d the county attorney’s request to defend the county against the lawsuit. Assistant County Attorney Kristi Sims will represent Pasco County.
But LeDuc believes the county is poised to spend a large hunk of taxpayer money on a defense it can’t win.
“They aren’t doing their taxpayers any favors. The Pasco County Commission is attempting to violate the constitutional rights of convicted sexual predators by making it impossible for them to live in Pasco County,” he said.
“I get it. Sex offenders are horrid people; the scum of the Earth,” said LeDuc. “But these types of laws really begin to go to a dark place. They’re trying to build a Chinese wall around Pasco County to keep these people out.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Florida’s Sexual Predator Act, passed in 1998, already prohibits convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, child-care centers, parks, playgrounds and other places where children gather.
But the Pasco County Commission, at the urging of County Commissioner Mike Moore and Sheriff Chris Nocco, unanimously passed its own ordinance, increasing the buffer to 2,500 feet, or about half a mile.
The Pasco ordinance also makes it illegal for registered sex offenders to give out candy on Halloween and establishes safety zones that make it illegal for them to be within 300 feet of school bus stops, public pools, skating rinks, Boys & Girls Clubs and other child-centered facilities.
Nocco said the new rules are needed to protect children against vicious predators.
“We’re not talking about Romeos and Juliets here,” he said. “These crimes are the worst of the worst.”
Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies arrested Villagomeza, 31, on Sept. 18, 2014, and charged him with three counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child age 12 to 15.
“He was accused of inappropriately touching over clothes,” said LeDuc.
His first offense, Villagomeza pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. Instead of receiving jail time, he was sentenced to two years of community control followed by eight years of sex offender probation.
But LeDuc said the punishment being imposed on Villagomeza by Pasco County goes way beyond community control.
“He has to wear a Scarlet A for the rest of his life,” said LeDuc, referring to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” in which a woman accused of adultery is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her dress.
Villagomeza has lived at his parents’ home on Dockside Drive in Lutz since he was 3 years old, said LeDuc. Under the state’s sexual predator law, he still would be allowed to live there.
But Villagomeza is the first registered sex offender to fall under the county’s new residency restrictions. The 907 registered sex offenders living in Pasco prior to enactment of the ordinance are subject to the state’s less-restrictive statute, said LeDuc.
However, he foresees many more civil rights complaints against the county as convicted sex offenders are released from prison and attempt to return to their lives in Pasco County.
“If I were Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, I’d be very concerned,” he said. “This ordinance is going to force registered sex offenders to relocate to surrounding counties that fall under the state’s less-restrictive residency requirements.”
❖ ❖ ❖
In his 43-page complaint against Pasco County filed Oct. 8 in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, LeDuc details how it is impossible for Villagomeza to step foot in Pasco County without violating the county ordinance.
“Pasco includes home-schools. There are 1,200 home schools in Pasco County,” said LeDuc. “Offenders have to be 300 feet from a school bus stop. There are 4,400 bus stops in Pasco County. They have a list of 27 places these offenders aren’t allowed to go, including public and private parks, libraries, zoos, public beaches, game centers, carnivals and businesses where children gather.”
LeDuc said the ordinance doesn’t specify which businesses are off limits, so it is left up to the discretion of law enforcement.
“Target and Wal-Mart stores have toy departments where kids gather,” noted LeDuc. “Are they included? Under these restrictions, the only alternative for a registered predator is to pitch a tent in the Green Swamp.”
LeDuc believes the intent of Pasco’s ordinance is clear.
“They don’t want sex offenders in Pasco County,” he said. “If any county commissioner says otherwise, I’d call him a liar.”
Moore isn’t refuting the intent of the ordinance.
“We want to make it as difficult as possible to return or relocate back to Pasco to commit what, to me, are pretty sick crimes,” said Moore when he first proposed the ordinance in December 2014. “Quite a few municipalities (in Florida) have done similar things.
Miami-Dade County passed a more restrictive ordinance in 2010, and Lake County followed suit in 2012. Both counties now face legal challenges.
The city of Jacksonville’s ordinance was struck down by a Duval County court in 2007. The court concluded the city cannot pass an ordinance that preempts a state statute.
“Every court that’s dealt with this issue has concluded these statutes are unconstitutional,” said LeDuc. “Pasco County is going to lose huge.”
In the meantime, on Tuesday LeDuc filed an emergency motion for a temporary injunction to allow Villagomeza to return home until the lawsuit is resolved. A hearing on the motion tentatively is scheduled for Jan. 6.
“Yes, these guys have done terrible things and deserve to be punished,” said LeDuc. “But at what point do they find redemption? Whatever happened to the Judeo-Christian doctrine of grace and forgiveness?”
Assistant County Attorney Kristi Sims was unavailable for comment. ..Source.. by D’ANN LAWRENCE WHITE
December 1, 2015
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.
The national ACLU and the ACLU of Florida filed suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) in federal court on October 23, 2014, seeking a permanent injunction against the ordinance, which prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of parks, bus stops, any structure the county declares to be a school or any place where children are likely to gather.
The restriction – two and-a-half times more expansive than required by the state – forced about 50 former offenders to move to a vacant parking lot on the outskirts of Miami where they sleep in tents, under tarps and in chairs surrounded by warehouses and railroad tracks, with no running water and no electricity, using a nearby field as a bathroom.
“As public policy, the Miami-Dade ordinance is a disaster,” declared Brandon Buskey, a staff attorney at the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project. “It has created a homeless population living outdoors in squalor, while doing nothing to serve public safety.”
“Disease, exposure to the elements, no drinkable water – these conditions make it extremely difficult to find and maintain stable employment and psychological treatment, which are the only two factors proven to reduce the likelihood of reoffending,” he said. “We know from decades of research that housing restrictions like Miami-Dade’s have no impact on reoffending and are more likely to increase it.”
Nancy Abudu, the ACLU of Florida’s legal director, added, “Sending someone just out of jail into homelessness makes no sense, not for the person and not for the public.”
The complaint, filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, challenged the ordinance as vague and argued that it strips sex offenders of their right to due process and, as a result, leaves them in an unsafe and vulnerable position.
“These individuals, who frequently subsist on meager incomes after being released from prison, are unable to locate stable, affordable housing in Miami-Dade County,” the lawsuit states. “This transience is primarily because the ordinance arbitrarily renders off-limits broad swaths of housing.”
However, Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, a powerful lobbyist and the man behind the controversial ordinance, countered that the ACLU is simply rehashing an issue that’s already been settled.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has said they’re entitled to live places that don’t endanger the health, safety and welfare of law-abiding citizens of the U.S.,” Book said. Of the ACLU, he added, “They’re entitled to take their $350 [filing fee] to the courthouse.”
Book spearheaded the restrictive sex offender ordinance after his daughter Lauren was sexually molested by a trusted nanny for six years, beginning when she was 11. The nanny was later convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prior to the enactment of the Lauren Book Safety Ordinance, Miami-Dade followed the state’s 1,000-foot residency restriction.
Forcing sex offenders on probation to move to the parking lot along the railroad tracks came in August 2013, after state officials were alerted that the trailer park where they had been staying was within 2,500 feet of the Miami Bridge Youth and Family Services.
“We were unaware that facility was considered a school,” said FDOC deputy communications director Misty Cash. “When we became aware, we’re going to do what the law says.”
The forced move was the fourth high-profile relocation of sex offenders since 2007. As previously reported in PLN, some 92 sex offenders were forced to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway bridge following their release from prison to comply with the “draconian” Miami-Dade ordinance. [See: PLN, Dec. 2009, p.14; July 2009, p.36; June 2008, p.1]. The offenders were displaced after embarrassed officials bulldozed the cardboard and plywood structures where they had lived for about three years and erected “No Trespassing” signs.
By 2012, a number of sex offenders had congregated on a street corner in northeast Miami, sleeping on sidewalks and a median strip. They were soon forced to leave after Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff opened Little River Pocket Park on a vacant parcel of land between some homes in the neighborhood, only a few hundred feet from where the homeless sex offenders camped.
Then in the summer of 2013, 54 sex offenders were relocated to the trailer park until officials learned about the Miami Bridge Youth and Family Services, forcing yet another move to the parking lot in the warehouse district.
“We have no power here,” said Ernesto Rodriguez, a 74-year-old cancer survivor who breathes through a hole in his throat and lives in the parking lot.
“They treat us worse than animals,” added an offender who identified himself only as Rodriguez. “If they see a dog on the street, they rescue him.”
“It is Draconian; it is counterproductive,” stated Maria Kayanan of the ACLU of Florida, referring to the sex offender residency ordinance. “It should distinguish between offenders that pose a true danger to society and those who don’t.”
ACLU of Florida executive director Howard Simon said no one should be allowed to strip anyone of their basic rights and force them to live in dangerous and squalid conditions.
“This is the second chapter of the same sad story,” he noted. “The county provoked international outrage when it forced people to live under the Julia Tuttle bridge. Now it’s forcing people to live alongside railroad tracks.”
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 interest, and rejecting the ACLU’s procedural and substantive due process, ex post facto and vagueness claims. A motion for reconsideration was denied in June 2015, and the ACLU has since appealed the dismissal to the Eleventh Circuit. See: Doe v. Miami-Dade County, U.S.D.C. (S.D. Fla.), Case No. 1:14-cv-23933-PCH. ..Source.. by David Reutter
November 6, 2015
Man arrested in child sex sting sues Orange County Sheriff Office
11-5-15 Florida:
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A man arrested in a child sex sting is suing the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on claims of entrapment.
Kenneth Hochstein’s attorney said deputies tried to entrap his client, who he said never had any intentions of meeting a 14-year-old girl.
After Hochstein’s arrest, he was not allowed to see his children and put on leave from his job as a federal corrections officer.
Sheriff’s Office video of the 2011 sex sting showed men who responded to a Craigslist ad which advertised a woman and her 14-year-old daughter for sex.
Hochstein inquired, saying he was interested only if the daughter was at least 18.
Attorney Patrick Megaro said Hochstein never intended to have sex with a minor.
“Every time the police suggested that he carry on any sort of sexual conduct with anyone under the age of 18, he specifically disavowed that,” Megaro said.
Megaro said once Hochstein showed up at the home to meet the woman, the undercover detectives told him it would be three of them and never mentioned the third was underage.
Hochstein was arrested, but a judge tossed out the charges a year later, saying the Sheriff’s Office failed to clearly communicate that there was a child involved.
“The way the police did this was using trickery and entrapping him,” Megaro said.
Hochstein was put on unpaid leave for a year during the investigation. The Department of Children and Families didn’t let him see his four children for two years.
He’s suing the Sheriff’s Office which he said severely tarnished his reputation. “No matter how much evidence that proved this man did nothing wrong, people are going to look at him as a child molester,” Megaro said.
Hochstein has no criminal history on record on central Florida. ..Source.. by WFTV.com
September 30, 2015
CBP Arrests Sex Offender Getting Off Cruise at Port Canaveral
9-29-15 Cape Canaveral, Florida:
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers working at Port Canaveral arrested a United States citizen for an outstanding warrant issued for failure to comply with sexual offender guidelines. The passenger was arriving on a cruise from Mexico on Saturday September 26th.
CBP OFO officers verified the validity of the warrant out of Volusia County, Florida. The subject was arrested by CBP and turned over to Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
“CBP is committed to intercepting sex offenders who try to circumvent the laws. Our CBP officers work extremely well with state and local law enforcement partners to protect the American public from dangerous people,” said Port Canaveral Port Director Jean Anderson.
CBP conducts inspection operations and intercepts currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture products or other illicit items, and on average arrests 22 wanted persons a day at U. S. Ports of entry nationwide. View CBP’s enforcement stats ‘On a Typical Day’ at CBP Snapshot.
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel section to learn rules, tips and advice to help quickly complete their CBP international arrivals inspection. ..Source.. by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
