22 arrested in Fort Lauderdale crackdown on sex offenders
Some sex offenders have been living illegally in off-limit areas of Fort Lauderdale. But Operation Here Not There has swept up 22 suspects in six weeks, authorities said Tuesday.
The city prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,400 feet of a school, school bus stop or park.
The arrests were announced by Fort Lauderdale Police, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Some suspects were found in nearby cities like Lauderhill, Pompano Beach and Oakland Park, and two were found in New York and Colorado.
Both out-of-state suspects face federal charges for crossing state lines without notifying authorities.
Data from the Florida Council on Homelessness shows that in 2011 Broward County had 103 transient sex offenders.
In 2017, the number jumped to nearly 400 in Broward County, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In 2014, the Florida legislature created a law focused on transient sex offenders or offenders who are homeless or don’t have a permanent address. It requires them to register with the local sheriff’s office to register their address, whether it be an intersection or some other area, every 30 days. Those who don’t face a third-degree felony.
U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden wants other agencies across the state to take note of what Fort Lauderdale Police are doing in their crackdown of transient sex offenders.
“I’ve been to other parts of Florida,” he said. “These detectives are doing something that I don’t know of any sheriff’s department or police department that are doing this in the state of Florida. They are getting out ahead of this.”
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said he’s glad to hear that no one else was victimized by the suspected transient sex offenders before detectives tracked them down.
“Everyone is so quick to criticize law enforcement, but when you see three law enforcement agencies working this well together, resulting in a safer community, it needs to be recognized. It needs to be commended,” Seiler said.
The operation might be over but Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said the arrests are expected to continue.
U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida Amos Rojas Jr. said it’s dangerous to have transient sex offenders not register their address.
He adds that the information is crucial for both law enforcement and citizens who want to go on the FDLE website to see whether any sex offenders live in their community.
“I’m extremely happy that we were able to partner with FDLE and Fort Lauderdale to make the streets a little bit safer,” Rojas said.
This whole article just makes me sick.
I agree – turns my stomach!
Your tax dollars at work. Glad to hear that they have a sufficient number of US Marshalls that they can assign some to roust homeless people.
The fact that there are hundreds of homeless registrants in Broward would indicate to me that the operation should have been called “Operation Neither Here, There or Anywhere.”
F-U Florida and there laws. I can’t believe there more worried about sex offenders over murderers and drug rings!!
The can do so because they have turned it into a propaganda war with such bullshit slogans as “if it save one child” and “leave no child behind” which are designed to resonate emotionally with parents on a subconscious level.
Humans are animals with an innate need to reproduce and protect the young of the species. We are labelled and marketed as a threat to children!
Nevermind that the vast majority on the registry did nothing to a child and never will and not because they are on a government list! Keep the bogeyman out there in Jane and Joe Public’s mind…the protective mode is automatic and strong. This is manipulated by politicians to their advantage over and over again. Not based on facts of any kind but rather on junk science and in most cases absolute total lies!
Politicians do not have a problem lying and in fact, without it they are powerless.
Depends on the county in Florida. My county doesn’t care about permanent residence or even having a address as long as you show up in your reporting requirements. When I rereg I regularly sit next to homeless folks living in the woods illegally. When you are considered by society a monster that can never be rehabilitated, nobody cares where you live or where you die. @JEV1A
What county do you live in
So, lets get this straight. 2011, 103 transient offenders. 2017 the number jumps to nearly 400… in that 6 year period, no one had been accosted.
Three agencies got together, rounded up a bunch of people, logged a whole lot of man hours and clogged the court system a little more. I ask this, ” what did this cost the tax payers?” and, “what was truly gained from this?”
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE MONEY!
More importantly it is about the “value” that sex offenders are to the political machine as a source of fear mongering not unlike the “war on drugs” and the “war on terror” – we are used as a valuable political tool to manipulate and control the population with FEAR.
This registry has NEVER been about protecting kids or anyone at all. It is used to 1) declare and dictate moral behaviours with the harsh and ever harsher punishments for those caught breaking these moral taboos. 2) to create an “unwinnable” war that appears to be real but is not. How is this done? By lumping so many “crimes” into a broad category and then labelling ALL those caught up in the trap as Sex Offenders. A meaningless term synonymous in the general public’s mind with a child molestor even when the vast majority of those with the label did NOT do that and in fact, in most cases they are are guilty of totally victimless crimes!
This is nothing more than an easy way for the state to violate sex offenders who cannot find a place to live even if they could find a job! THIS harassing the homeless sex offenders (made that way by the state) adds new “violations” raising the reoffense rate artificially to make it appear that these added punishments are needed! Bullshit on a mind blowing level that only politicians could possible come up with! A self sustainable neverending and unwinnable (by design) “war” that works just like those on drugs and terror to manipulate the general voting public with fear!
Only from the twisted mind of a politician can come such utter logic defying crap!
I agree totally! Well said! I hope and pray that things begin to change. How much longer can this go on?
OH wow…the big bad LE feels like they have big balls because they could charge more poor souls with more “crimes” because they are homeless thanks to these insane abuse “laws” that are pretty much impossible to not violate (especially when they have made you homeless)!
Talk about going after the low hanging fruit! Geez what a well done job these nutless law enforcement agencies have done. So brave harassing homeless people made that way but not allowing them to legally work or even to live near the “good” people!
The best day of my life was when I drove across the state line as I left the state of Florida. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the ability to move out of that repressive backwater state.
I have NOT returned and never will. It has been well over a decade since that time and yet I still remain listed on their damn website. You know…so the good citizens of Florida that I live near can watch out for me.
Oh wait…if that is the case then their registry is not doing what the claim is the intent. Do the good people of Florida know that OR do the believe the lies told to them by their so-called “leaders”?
When will this inhuman, unjust, and anti-American abuse and punishment be stopped? What will it take to force Florida to make the changes?
It will NOT be voluntary we already know that. It can ONLY be done with nonstop fighting the corrupt leadership in power who are profiting from another’s misery. Good Christian values indeed.
Ahh so nice to see the United States Prison Machine alive and well. Adolf Hitler would be proud of what the Police State has accomplished. These morons in blue locking people up should really reevaluate their purpose in this world, find a REAL JOB, there’s clearly too damn many of you that’s why you do things like this instead of fighting crime. Oh wait, your job isn’t to fight crime, but to “Protect and Serve the State”.
I thought the 11th circuit USCA already decided on the residency restrictions in So. Florida and found them unconstitutional? Or is that just for Miami-Dade?
the 11th remanded it to the lower court, reversing the dismissal
Sooo…..because someone is transient it AUTOMATICALLY makes them “dangerous”…?? And when these poor souls are arrested for not having a place to live, because it is almost impossible to do that, then everyone is “safer” and this type of garbage “should be commended”????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
I hate everything about the place I was born because of idiots like these.
Yea, the statements made by the mayor we’re ridiculous. He is glad that the homeless sex offenders didn’t hurt anyone in the process of this operation before they rounded them up ??? They are not zombies Mr. Mayor and we’re not living in a zombie apokalypse. They are human beings trying to survive the streets and live decently and humanely because of these laws the government itself enacted. Calling them suspect. Suspect of what ? Of trying to survive?. Geez. If I was homeless, food, water, shelter, clothing, health, safety and overall survival would be constantly on my mind 24/7.
I was convicted in 2001 and it was in the state of TN. I have took lie detector test and even a test to see what age and sex I get aroused by. I past both test, and was also dropped as a sex offender in TN. I move here and they tell me I have to register. I asked what for and I was told because I was a sex offender. I replied by saying I’m not anymore and showed them the paperwork from Tennessee, releasing me. However they are making me register because the charge in TN that I don’t register for there, is similar to a charge here and because of that. They say I have to register
Again, Florida has to show why they need that Yearly Budget from the Government !!. All these other States are (finally) starting to see how WRONG these laws are, And Florida is worried about loosing a SHITLOAD of Federal Money !. So, They all get together and TRUMP(NO PUN INTENDED)UP a issue !!. Arresting those 22 EX-Offenders LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER !!. . I can’t wait for the Day that someone (an EX-Offender) with a little money gets enough and says, THAT’S IT, And ponies up the Money(that we ALL desperately need) to challenge all these ILLEGAL LAW’S in Florida. I sure wish I had the money !! But I spent every penny I had just fighting to keep my butt out of Prison (like most of us) And since I can’t get a job now, I can forget about EVER having the money to Fight !! So Florida has me (and most all of you) Right Where They Want Us !!!. Broke, Without our Guns to protect ourselves, And us reporting our every move !!!. Welcome to the Police States Of America !!.
Man, I’m so glad to see that someone sees things the same way that I do. This is EXACTLY what the goal is for Florida and most of the US government. Make us one big police state and us, their slaves. It just boggles my mind. 241 years ago, if our forefathers knew what was going on, they would’ve picked up their rifles and bayonets YEARS AGO and stormed Tallahassee and broke up the first legislative session and drove all of those scumbag good ole boys out of there! But yet, if you so much as hint of violence against government now a days, you get ostracized and investigated and you just “disappear.” Oh well my friend, one of these days everyone is going to wake up. But by then, it will be beyond too late! Until then, happy serfdom my fellow SO.
WTF- What the Florida!
I thought the Registery wasn’t supposed to be punitive !!!!??????. It sure seems like EVERYONE is being PUNISHED for not obeying some aspect of the Registery !!!!!. And now Wyoming is charging an EX-Offender to Register, And Re-Register !! That’s sure punitive !!!, It’s the same as being FINED for Everytime they MUST report ANY life change !!. And if they don’t pay, They do 6 months in jail AND and a FINE !!. I’ve said it from the beginning, The Registery was invented for 2 reasons only !!! #1. To have Control over the public, And #2. Another form of INCOME for the Government. Any time someone has to fork out cash AGAINST THEIR WILL, That’s 100% PUNITIVE,I.E The Registery !!! This UNCONSTITUTIONAL List of Citizens that have already PAID THEIR DEBT TO SOCIETY must END NOW !!!!.
Don’t think this is just limited to transients… What’s to keep them from knocking on the doors of permanent registrants. What happens if you’re not home?
Hang in there guys an gals, I’m an O.G. I’ve been fighting the fight up here from the great state of Ken-tuck, since I was a member of so hopeful. The 6th circuit ruling, an the Pennsylvania Supreme court ruling, is an will be the first solid chink in the SORNA/MEGANS law armor, that’s gone our way in 20 yrs! I haven’t posted under this name in over 10 yrs now. I can fill some wind in the sail finally!
Just saw on the news that a man was arrested in Florida for murdering his girlfriend. The worse part is that this is the third time he has murdered someone. He murdered someone in Mass. He also killed his wife in NH in 2000. Is this man on a registry to warn the public. Does he have to tell everyone what he has done in his past. The simple answer is NO! Talk about recidivism.