The Vagueness of Sex Offender Laws in Florida

Weekly Update 2017-11-29

Dear Members and Advocates,

One problem (of many) with registration requirements for Registered Citizens is that they are vague, confusing and subject to broad interpretation.

Take, for example, the requirement to register a temporary address. Say you live in Tampa and you go to visit your relatives in Orlando for Christmas break. You plan to stay for a week.

Florida Statutes provide that registrants must “report in person at the sheriff’s office: In the county in which the offender establishes or maintains a permanent, temporary, or transient residence within 48 hours after: Establishing permanent, temporary, or transient residence in this state.”  It continues, “within 48 hours after the report required under subsection (2), a sexual offender shall report in person at a driver license office of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, unless a driver license or identification card that complies with the requirements of s. 322.141(3) was previously secured or updated under s. 944.607.”

Knowing a stay of more than 4 days constitutes a “temporary address”, you realize you must register. But where? Most (including ourselves, previously) would have thought that you go to the Sheriff’s Office in the county you are visiting and register. According to the FDLE that’s wrong! They advised to only go to the DHSMV (Driver’s license office). Strange that you would need a new license for a place you will be visiting for a week, right?

So, you go to the DHSMV but to issue a license or ID, they want two (2) items of proof that you live there, such as a lease, utility bill, vehicle registration, etc. Now how many of you have gone to visit a relative or friend and they hand you a lease when letting you stay with them, or allow you to put a utility bill in your name? A bit ridiculous, right? The DHSMV won’t issue you your new ID unless you have two of those items, so they give you a letter saying you showed up but either couldn’t pay the fee (oh, that’s another thing… it costs money) or couldn’t satisfy the proof of residence requirement. Only, the letter states that it “DOES NOT fulfil the requirements to obtain or update a Florida Driver’s license” and that failing to do so is a third-degree felony.

Even if you ask your hosts for a “lease” and put a bill in your name just to avoid a third-degree felony, all these ridiculous hoops need to be undone a week later when you return home and must get another new license with your home address again!

It is all very illogical. Plus, what about the rule that says you must “report in person at the sheriff’s office: In the county in which the offender establishes or maintains a permanent, temporary, or transient residence”? FDLE says you don’t need to, but what if your County Sheriff’s office feels you do?

For those who have been dealing with registration requirements for a while, you’ve probably realized that if you ask 3 different people, you’ll get 4 different answers and often the Sheriff’s office or the FDLE are not sure themselves. At the risk of spending 5 years in prison for relying on bad information or guessing incorrectly, many of us simply would avoid the family vacation entirely. Besides, you’d spend hours waiting in line at the DHSMV or jumping through a bunch of other hoops… so why bother?

As the holidays approach and some of you may be making plans to travel and spend time with loved ones, it is important to be extremely vigilant in researching the registration requirements, not only of the state, but of the County and City in which you are going to be staying. You will find that each have their own set of requirements and restrictions. Also, since the rules are quite confusing and change often without any advanced notice, it is important you ensure the versions of Statute or Municipal Code you are reading are the most current versions.  Then pray the FDLE or Sheriff’s office understand them the same way you do!

You can find county and city ordinance at www.municode.com.  We encourage you to document the date, time, and person(s) that you speak to along the way as you plan your travels.

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK

When a Sex Offender Comes to Visit

Information for Sex Offenders A new study by Shawn M. Rolfe, Doctoral candidate at the University of Louisville, helps identify some of the requirements each individual state has when a registered sex offender travels there. A chart contained in the study provides a…

With more sex offenders, probation officers want more money

Florida Sex Offender News With an increase in some of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders living outside of prisons and on probation, some of the state officers assigned to watch them have asked the Legislature for a raise to keep the most experienced on board….

Dr. William Samek in Miami Herald on Why Men Misbehave

South Florida Psychologist William Samek’s op-ed; “Why Do Men Sexually Misbehave? It Feels So Good” was featured in yesterday’s Miami Herald. Samek is well recognized in the treatment community. It’s worth a read ____ People see sexual misbehavior as binary: a person…

FDLE offers guidance on reporting address changes to DHSMV

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote to the FDLE for clarification of what rules must be followed when someone establishes a new permanent or transient address. We were contacted by a member, already on the Florida Registry, who went to visit family in another county….