Fort Lauderdale opening more neighborhoods to sex offenders with change in strict law
There are no homes at 2700 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Although the only buildings standing are a McDonald’s and a Chick-fil-A, 110 people have registered it as an address.
All of them are convicted sex offenders.
This hotspot for sexual criminals is one of several along Federal Highway in northeast Fort Lauderdale, one of the few slivers in the city where a registered sex offender or sexual predator — rapists, molesters, child porn addicts — can legally reside.
That will change soon. The city tentatively has agreed to relax its restrictive sex offender laws, opening up more of the city for offenders to legally reside.
One wouldn’t know, from reading this, that 95% of reported sex offenses are perpetrated by those who have never been convicted or had to register, nor that residency restrictions have been proven irrelevant in protecting the safer of children.
I realize that sun sentinel enjoys wide readership, though. Who here is good at letters to the editor?
You are great, Jacob. Informed and eloquent.
Letters to the editor can be sent to: letters@sun-sentinel.com
On second and further reading of the article, I do see some semblance of balance. The council member representing the affected district seems well familiar with the issues. Best of all, I am grateful that FAC is getting out there as a resource for reporters, and at least a little of what this reporter learned is being included.
At the risk of redundancy, following is what I have sent to the editor and the reporter.
. . .
Thank you so much for your article shedding light on such an issue that for some of us often is too uncomfortable to discuss.
I do, though, have bad news for Fort Lauderdale: the ENTIRE CITY is already de facto open to sex offenders!
I realize that that’s a counter-intuitive statement, and I only say that because we know that approximately 95.8% of reported sex offenses are perpetrated by someone who has never been convicted of a sex offense and has never been required to register. Further, we know that those who HAVE been convicted, once they have remained offense-free in the community for 10-15 years, statistically have the same risk of harming someone as do you or I, no matter what we continue to label them.
That’s why Florida’s sex offender registry does a particularly poor job of predicting who is at risk of committing the next sexual offense. And even where we do know who is a risk, residency restrictions such as those of Fort Lauderdale, restricting where such individuals may dwell between the hours of 10pm and 6am, have been shown to have no significant benefit of any kind when it comes to the safety of children.
One wouldn’t necessarily know this from reading this otherwise informative article, but they are important considerations to keep in mind. Overall, though, I hope you will continue reporting on this unpleasant but important issue,
Jacob that was excellent. Short and sweet with facts and heart while being respectful. Great job. Thank you.
Appreciate the feedback, makes me less scared to speak out and more motivated to get out there.
Please do send the letter to the editors Jacob. Change needs to happen. I am the mother of an SO, I pray everyday that these unconstitutional restrictions/laws change very soon. How can anyone start over again with these absurd laws and ordinances in place..
Done. Hang in there, SO parent! These change take time, patience, persistence, as we are dealing with the courts, legislature, public opinion. This bloated system took a long time to build up and hopefully won’t take as long to reform/abolish.
SO Parent – I know it is crazy isn’t it?! I am shocked each day when I learn more. You are a mother of a registered citizen and thus a registered family. The sex offense is done and over. I will keep praying with you for change.
I like the use of the term “Registered Family” may start using that.
I have bad news for Fort Lauderdale: the ENTIRE CITY already is open to sex offenders. That’s because 95.8% of reported sex offenses are perpetrated by someone who has never been convicted of a sex offense and has never been required to register. Further, we know that those who HAVE been convicted, once they have been offense free in the community 10-15 following release, statistically have the same risk of harming someone as you or I do. That’s why the sex offender registry does a particularly poor job of predicting who is at risk of committing the next sex offense. And even if we know who is at risk of committing a sexual offense, restricting where such individuals live between the hours of 10pm and 6am, has been shown to have no benefit of any kind when it comes to the protection of children.
This would be great to share with the author of the article, Jacob.
Speaking with the journalist yesterday, we made a lot of points that were not included (I’m sure not maliciously, but the piece needs to be balanced). The more people that offer feedback supporting the facts, the more likely we will get a favorable article.
I stopped and talked with some representatives that were running for state office in my district. I introduced myself and explained that I’d love to vote for them and why I could not. As we talked I was really shocked at just how little they knew about the registry and what it does to people and families. I made a couple of friends that day and informed them as well as I could. Telling people this kind of I information who have the ability to make changes for the better and spread the truth is really the best thing we can do with our voices.
Steve – please, please connect with us. We need more members willing to speak with legislators!
Excellent way of putting it.
Nit wit Danger on the drunken road Ron Book will appeal.
This wasn’t a court case.
I think someone should be ready to mention his own crime to shut him up
An interesting study would be how reduction in laws/ordinances affecting sex offenders and sex predators helps them find liveable areas or jobs and decreases recidivism.
About time,to lower restrictions on us….👏👏👏👏👏
Florida government is riddled with parasites milking the tax payers and the Golden Ticket is fear. Using fake stats and praying on human’s inmate instincts to protect children, those like Senator Lauren Book have found an easy way to milk the already dysfunctional system.
Attacking those forced to wear the label of “sex offender” and lumping everyone together as a faceless monster to fear and HATE!
Unfortunately while these sociopaths are making the laws based on ZERO science and no accountability things will only continue to the downward spiral in Florida.
Nothing will change until the US Constitution is actually followed and individual’s who have paid their debt to society (even for the victimless “crimes” that can get you labeled as a RSO) are allowed their rights!
There is no logic or justice in this and years of life are being stolen from tens of thousands while corrupt politicians such as Book milk the situation for personal gain.
https://fox5sandiego.com/2019/05/17/man-pleads-guilty-to-sexually-assaulting-neighbors-3-year-old-in-oak-park/
This man was on the registry and yet he still raped and tried to abduct his neighbor’s 3-year-old daughter. Where was all the protection those who support the registry insist is there? Can’t prove the registry increases safety any in the least by this tragic incident. Talk to the pro-registry crowd and they’ll swear up and down the registry makes them safer. I say to them in view of this, “PROVE IT!”
For the record, even though I am a registrant myself with charges involving a minor under 12, I truly think he deserved every day of the 85 years in prison he was sentenced to.
Every time someone re-offends, especially in a horrific manner such as this, it makes advocacy efforts all the harder. It hurts innocent people and it hurts your fellow registrants who meticulously follow their rules and work in treatment not to become a bad statistic.
It had to be pointed out that this is tragic proof that the registry does not do anything to protect the public. This man was listed and yet he still re-offended.
Recidivism is determined by ONE THING: The individual’s offender’s decisions. Am I going to stop or am I not? Do I want to stop? Do I want to keep doing what turns me on? It’s as simple as that. We as registered citizens have choices regarding our sexually deviant and criminal behavior and it’s incumbent upon each and every one of us to make the right choice and by dang stick to it.