State Sen. Lauren Book seeks restraining order to silence protester
As Broward State Sen. Lauren Book prepares for her annual walk to raise awareness about child sex abuse, she wants to make sure one of her harshest critics is nowhere near her.
On July 26, Sen. Book filed a petition in Broward Circuit Court seeking a restraining order against Derek Logue, a 40-year-old Ohio man convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2001. Logue today is an advocate for registered sex offenders.
You won’t find Sen. Book’s petition at the county courthouse. A clerk in the Broward court’s domestic violence division told a reporter it is confidential. The reason: Florida Statute 119 says that any documents that reveal the identity, address or phone numbers of a potential crime victim are exempt from Florida’s liberal public records law.
Florida Bulldog obtained a copy of her petition from Logue.
Sen. Book claims she fears for her and her family’s safety following physical threats Logue allegedly made against her online and in person during two public events in 2015 and 2016. In addition to seeking to bar Logue from showing up at her annual walk events, she wants to keep him from coming within 500 feet of her home and her offices.
But Broward Circuit Court Judge Michael G. Kaplan rejected Sen. Book’s request for a temporary restraining order on Aug. 9, noting there was insufficient evidence showing she was in immediate danger. A hearing on her request for a permanent restraining order is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Sen. Book declined comment, but her father, prominent Tallahassee lobbyist Ron Book, told Florida Bulldog Logue has been harassing him and his daughter for roughly four years. “We had ignored his harassment because we don’t believe he is terribly relevant,” Book said. “He has little credibility.”
However, Book said the last straw occurred on July 8, when Logue tweeted “I think I found the official Laura Ahearn/ Lauren Book theme song” next to a link to a YouTube video for a song titled, “You Are A C—,” by Australian singer and comedian Kat McSnatch. Ahearn is executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law, a New York-based advocacy group for victims of sex crimes.
Ugly lyrics
Among its provocative lyrics is this ugly line: “Why don’t you shut that scabby c— mouth before I f— up your face.” The crude video also features an image of a tombstone that reads, “R.I.P. Annoying C—.”
According to Ron Book and Sen. Book’s petition, officials from several New York law enforcement agencies advised that Logue’s tweet was a credible death threat. “We were advised to contact local law enforcement and take steps to make sure that the encounters we’ve had with Mr. Logue don’t happen again. When you cross the line and threaten to f—k up someone’s face followed by ‘R.I.P.,’ that is a credible threat,” said Ron Book.
Logue dismissed the Books’ accusations as “a load of hogwash.” He claims the petition is an attempt to stop him from exercising his First Amendment right to speak out against their lifelong campaign against registered sex offenders.
“It is easy to make me look like the bad guy because I am a registered citizen,” Logue told Florida Bulldog. “You may not like my choice of words. I do cuss and I do call people the C word. She is offended by it, but I don’t care. It’s protected free speech.”
He added, “She is simply trying to prevent me from raining on her little parade.”
Sen. Book is the founder and $135,000-a-year chief executive officer of Lauren’s Kids, a non-profit agency that has collected more than $10 million in grants from the Florida Legislature to fund an array of educational programs to convince victims and children advocates to report child sex crimes. However, the effectiveness of the programs have come under fire as Sen. Book has used Lauren’s Kids to elevate her public profile.
The Plantation Democrat, who was sexually abused as a teen by her former nanny, also makes an annual trek on foot from Key West to Tallahassee to raise awareness for child sex victims. This year’s walk is scheduled to begin on Sept. 9.
In her petition, Sen. Book claims that in 2015 Logue traveled to Tallahassee and organized a group of sex offenders in an attempt to disrupt the final mile of her annual walk. “The workers were warned in advance and they were able to keep the walk peaceful with the help of the Capitol Police, the Tallahassee Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” the petition says.
A year later, Logue traveled to New York City to attend a screening of the documentary Untouchable at the Tribeca Film Festival to harass Sen. Book during a question and answer session, the petition alleges. The Books are prominently featured in the movie about the impact of sex offender laws on individuals convicted of sex crimes.
“During the question and answer segment, he became unruly enough that his microphone was cut off and petitioner was surrounded by New York Police Department officers to protect her,” the petition states. Sen. Book claims she learned of Logue’s July 8 tweet after being contacted by an advocate for Parents of Megan’s Law who saw it and who filed a report with the New York field office of the FBI.
A rally planned for Miami
The petition also noted that Logue’s website OnceFallen.com and a Facebook page he is affiliated with is promoting a rally planned for Miami in September: “The coincidence is palpable.”
In his response to the petition and during an interview with Florida Bulldog, Logue said he has participated in and helped organize demonstrations across the country against sex offender registry laws and other legislation he believes discriminate against sex offenders who have done their time. He has also been interviewed on the topic by CNN, HLN and Russia Today, as well as local and regional news outlets, Logue said.
He said the 2015 demonstration in Tallahassee was peaceful even though Lauren’s Kids officials tried to report him for not registering with the state of Florida for the event. “I am free to travel anywhere in the United States of America,” Logue’s response states. “In fact, I made it a point to contact the Leon County Sheriff’s office to confirm that I would not need to register as a sex offender to visit for less than 48 hours to engage in a peaceful demonstration.”
Logue said he attended the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival because he had been interviewed for Untouchable, but the footage did not make into the documentary. He did make a brief appearance halfway through the film during scenes of the demonstration in Tallahassee. He said he only learned the Books were also in attendance when he arrived for the screening.
Logue said the documentary’s director David Feige asked him not to be too nasty to the Book family and he obliged. He denies disrupting the question and answer session. “I asked her why she preaches that sex offenders don’t deserve second chances when her father is also a convicted criminal that got second and third chances,” Logue said. “She made a snarky remark, I laughed and sat back down.”
On Sept. 21, 1995, Ron Book pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges and was fined $2,000 following a criminal investigation that found he violated state law by funneling more than $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions to at least a dozen county and state politicians.
Logue, who isn’t shy about owning up to his sex crime conviction, claims when he went to register in his home state in July, his registration officer told him someone claiming to be a state senator called to complain that he called her a c— and that she was offended by it. “I call a lot of people c—s,” Logue said. “I understand not everyone appreciates crude language. Yet, we elected a president that uses crude language and what not.”
Logue’s lawyer, Jamie Benjamin, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment. Sen. Book’s lawyer, Fort Lauderdale’s David Bogenschutz, said her role as a public official makes her a vulnerable target to threats of a violent nature.
“She and several law enforcement agencies believe [Logue’s behavior] crosses the line between what is protected by the First Amendment and threats that cause individuals to have legitimate concerns for themselves and their family members,” Bogenschutz said. “If it continues, and it has continued, we need the court’s intervention to draw the line for us.”
I found the comment about Mr. Book doing this to assuage his guilt for irresponsibly outsourcing his child rearing duties interesting. With that said the fact that his daughter was molested over along period of time by a domestic servant aka “not a stranger” doesn’t make for a terribly convincing argument as to the inherent danger of most of these folks he is going after. It pretty much confirms what everyone already knows but conveniently ignores. Most offenses against children are perpetrate by people close to them or, at a minimum, known to them.
Great point! I wonder how the pant-pissing panderers would feel about a law mandating registry for all family members of a victim within the confines of a family relationship? Perhaps we could have a law passed for folks like Mr. BOOK The Parental Accountability Act. Same registry requirements and public notification? Perhaps Lauren should have to register as a victim since as one abused she is far more likely to victimize another? Not punishing victims here. Just a civil requirement to ensure the safety of children?
Demoralization, Destabilization, Insurgency, Normalization
The above is from an amazing 1985 interview with a “former KGB agent who was trained in subversion techniques. He explains the 4 basic steps to socially engineering entire generations into thinking and behaving the way those in power want them to. It’s shocking because our nation has been transformed in the exact same way, and followed the exact same steps.”
As for Florida registrants, these 4 steps have likewise been taken, by Florida Legislature and the ‘Books’, to ensure that this population stays “demoralized”, “destabilized”, and “insurgency” deserved while bringing “normalized” punishment.
I’m sorry. But I wholeheartedly agree with Derek. If George Washington and the colonists sailed to Britain and tried to peacefully resolve their differences and express their grievances and win their battles in the halls of Parliament, they all would’ve been arrested on the spot, and hung from the rafters of Big Ben. We’re trying to win a battle by playing the other person’s game (manipulating politics and laws based on hysteria) and using their rules (laws they’ve created) to try and win battles and the war for ourselves based on Constitutional law which is ultimately based on a judge’s opinion and interpretation of it. And it takes lots of money to play their game, of which none of us have enough of. Are we winning battles here and there? Sure. Are we going to win the war?? Yet to be seen. If we do, it might take years, decades, or even centuries. Who knows. What I do know is that it only took the colonists 7 years to win their war with their methods (armed resistance after being fed up with putting up with Britain’s tyrrany). How long will it take you and I to get fed up with Florida, and the Feds tyranny over us???? But hey, if we can play their game and win, more power to us. Just my thoughts.
Wow, what a comment section!
Derek: would I want to hang out with you on the weekend? No. I think you are a boor, crass and obnoxious.
Am I glad you are fighting for the “movement,” as you call it? Absolutely. For all the same reasons I would not want to spend my free time chatting with you, you draw attention to something that folks would rather not pay attention to, garner discussion in mainstream media for something that benefits everybody (and I really don’t believe that’s hyperbole) and will not shut up or be ignored.
Keep it up, dude. Don’t reoffend, don’t shut up, and please don’t call me.
Ha! That’s a funny, yet spot-on comment, Scott!
I moderate this forum to ensure that nothing obnoxious or hateful posts publicly (you’d be surprised how much spam and vigilantism we get), but also because it’s a reflection of our organization and I want to ensure it remains a useful resource for our community and presents our perspective in a comprehensible and professional way.
As much as I love that our readers are engaging so deeply (and, candidly the fact that so much original content improves our SEO ranking and exposure), at some point we need to break up the fighting and name calling and refocus on something productive.
I think both Mary and Derek’s posts clearly reflect the frustration that they are feeling (and we are all feeling) with the registry and having fought so hard for so long. We cannot allow each other to become the outlets of that frustration. Keep your eyes on the target and focus that energy there.
What Scott said about being glad Derek is fighting for the movement is right on. Often I’ll read the same old rhetoric and myths regurgitated in some news story and say, “why isn’t someone saying something?” I’ll check back to the post later and there’s a comment from Derek. You have to appreciate that!
LOL. Derek is not quite that bad. You should read up on some of the people that he has “gone after.” I have a problem with people who not only come after folks like me, but particularly ones who are a taxpayer funded “state actor” and try and use the legal system to silence someone like Derek.
That, Joe, is a point very well made. Go ahead and keep the gloves off Derek.
It feels at this point like we are fighting a war with bb guns against politicians lobbing nukes. Best of luck to all effected.
Mary Devoy has bashed me for man things in the past 24 hours;
1. You called me a bigot and racist for my opposition to BLM because many of their protests are indeed violent and many of them chant racist remarks and pro-violent remarks. I happen to believe all lives matter, especially everyone who contacts me for assistance or support. I believe in helping ALL registered citizens, not just a select few. Mary, you aren’t advocating for everybody on the registry; you discriminate against some of us.
2. You called me a “narcissist” because I promote OnceFallen.com, well, every organization self-promotes. How else will people on the registry find the help they need? I do prison outreach, answer inquiries, research and create reports used by people, but no one in this movement does this for the props. This is often a thankless job; after all, people come to us to get help, but they often envision us as a magical place they’ll give them a job, house, and a legal dream team. Sadly, the best I can offer is an ear, some info off my site and referrals to people in their state if there’s a fellow activist/ support effort in that state. That’s not “narcissism,” but doing everything I can to make people aware there is help. That means I’m willing to do things many folks would reject doing, like daring to go on the Ashleigh Banfield show.
3. You complain I moderate my blogs. Really? You don’t even have a comment section. Besides, Blogspot has a spambot issue. I don’t want ads for boner pills or camgirls or diploma mills filling my comment sections. And yes, I do ferret out troll posts. No one wants to read the death threats I get on a regular basis, at any rate. We’ll save how you tried to get my Twitter account deleted for a different time, but suffice to say, you’re being hypocritical.
4. In regards to me language, well, I’ve never said I speak for anyone, not FAC, not you, not anyone in this movement, and thus I don’t feel I have to walk on eggshells like the groups that have resources to lose. But our movement is way too skittish. FAC, RSOL, and Cali RSOL denounced my protest two years ago, and even among those of us planning the event there was division over what to say. Whereas WAR brought an olive branch to extend… heck, an entire olive tree sapling, I brought a homeless person tent, commode chair and sign reminding passersby that the Books of the JTC camp. I didn’t like the olive branch and WAR hated the commode chair. And we obviously didn’t stand united. But did Lauren accept WAR’s gift? Nope. I’ve been called far worse than “the C word” even by fellow activists, so suck it up. The world isn’t going to change as a result of your microaggressions.
What i’m sick of is when certain people in this movement actively try to sabotage one’s work because you disagree with them, as you have tried to do. I’m not the one going down the other’s Twitter page demanding followers stop following a page, I simply don’t follow who I don’t like. But I’ve seen this play out over the years to way more folks than just me.
I tell everyone who calls me that there are many schools of thought and I offer them options. If you don’t like me, there’s other options. My support has rarely, IF EVER, come from within this “movement.” It comes from those who I’ve taken the time to help, finding information that some folks don’t bother to share with others. No one in their right mind joins an unpopular cause for trophies and statutes in their honor; maybe if we were players for the Book team, maybe we’d have a pothole-filled highway named after us too. This is about helping people, and yes, I’ve done it for longer than most. I’ve earned my stripes, as have many of those who’ve been here a while.
The bottom line is if you don’t like it, deal with it. This cause has survived far worse offenses than hurt feelings over semantics and language. I’ll continue to fight for abolishing the registry for ALL registered citizens and helping as many as I can in the process.
Yo, Derek
Did the “New York law enforcement agencies” that said that you were making “credible threats” happen to be located in Suffolk County? 😉
Why yes, and you can pretty much guess which agency was the one who made the claim.
I don’t think that I really need to guess. 😀
Also, while I find some of Logue’s in your face crassness shocking sometimes I also admire him for being outspoken. The Book’s have used a bad time in their lives to profit in a big way. When they started becoming rich from their endeavors it stopped being about helping children. If they truly wanted to help children being abused they would offer education based on the truth – but they do not. They still spread the same old tired stranger danger myth. Laurens abuser was not a stranger and was not on the registry. So, the stranger danger education nor the registry would have prevented the abuse. Furthermore, over the top living restrictions would not have helped her – the abuser lived in Lauren’s home. I also have a not so popular take on what people say is Derek’s refusal to take responsibility for his crime. Here is my take on that – I do not know the facts of his crime but he has served his sentence and as far as I know has not re-offended. To continually apologize for what he did would serve no purpose. It does not change what happened and in my opinion only serves to continually serve the idea that one must atone for a mistake for the rest of their lives. For what? Does it help the victim? Probably not…does it elevate Derek in the public’s eyes? Perhaps some but his record of not re-offending should do that. I just think prefacing everything he speaks out about with atonement serves no purpose. I also respect FAC stance on the issues – I trust them and I know they have our best interest at heart.
To be absolutely clear, NOBODY within the FAC condones sexual abuse and we believe abusers, like anyone committing a crime, should receive appropriate punishment. We have to believe that Derek received just punishment for what he did and now, given the fact that he needs to function and live in the community, he should be given the opportunity to do so.
Nobody reading this has never done wrong. We have to accept that as human beings we are not infallible. However, after proper punishment, we need to be given the opportunity to redeem ourselves and function.
If laws are set up to make that impossible, laws that fail the goal of public safety and only serve as traps to re-incarcerate you, laws that make it impossible to find housing, employment, support your family, parent your children, worship or access the basic necessities of life, like running water or an outhouse along the railroad tracks where you are forced to live for eternity, what’s the point?
Derek’s crime cannot be thrown back in his face as a rebuttal to every valid point he makes. That’s not a debate on the merits of an argument. That would be like saying, “Karen, you can offer no valuable input in this discussion because you are a woman”
Our Member Code of Conduct, states;
” Dealing with Others – Members are required to treat other FAC Members, politicians, police, probation officers, treatment providers, members of the media as well as all third parties with whom FAC interacts, with respect, dignity, honesty and fairness.
Threatening, insubordinate, violent or obscene behavior by any Member will not be tolerated. Any conduct that encourages or permits an offensive or hostile environment will not be tolerated. Members are expected to communicate with candor, courtesy and respect.
Members must realize that Registered Citizens are already perceived in an unfavorable light and for that reason we must conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects the highest ethical standards and most professional conduct in order to strengthen the public’s perception.”
If Derek were a member of FAC or were representing FAC (which he is not), he’d likely be violating our Code of Conduct.
As an individual, he’s entitled to free speech and the right to assemble and while we might disagree with his tone or not participate in his rally, to not support his First Amendment rights would undermine everything we are fighting for.
Was my post misunderstood? I hope I did not offend…I was actually saying that I do not think Derek should have to constantly atone for his mistake (kind of like what FAC said?)
nope – sometimes a reply to one comment is intended to be read by all
I’ll give a politician as much respect as they give me…..which is “none”!!!!
Especially the Books. I woukd bet that the funds for her little charity aren’t quite being appropriated properly – they rarely are… So if complaints were lodged to just the right people, such affairs would have to be audited, I’m sure.
I’m writing this not as a reply but as an extensionas to what Karen ha stated.
The only people who argue that someone in this movement isn’t “accepting responsibility for one’s offense” are the Antis. If Valigator was still alive would be proud of anyone who believes that. God ol’ Val, you may find this hard to believe but she was a supporter of my efforts for years… well, until I offered support to FAC, that is. So long as I wasn’t in her back yard I was OK. But I digress.
What does that phrase really mean? The Antis meant that saying anything less than, “Oh yes, master, you’re right, I’m an uncontrollable pedophile and that we deserve to be registered/ homeless/ in prison/ beaten/dead” is not accepting responsibility. EVERY ONE OF YOU who advocate for reforming the registry is “not taking responsibility.” After all, the registry is punishment.
I don’t talk about my past because to discuss it is to be bound by it. You know why so many victim advocates become lifelong “victims”? Because they revisit it every time they choose to revisit the past. They choose to stay bound to it, and the groups encourage them to relive it. No one heals that way. Why open up a resolved issue? Should I go back and revisit my miserable childhood and be forced to relive every instance of abuse by my stepfather, or being mercilessly bullied at school, or abandoned by my mother in a hotel room and placed in foster care and abused there? I acknowledge these things happened but to what avail is it to relive all that, hm?
To discuss our offense constantly is to be bound by it. It also closes minds even more quickly than the words I say that offend you. You know why Jake Goldenflame was on Oprah? Because he was that guy willing to play patsy and say he was a “pedophile” and that he would reoffend. That’s what Oprah wants to hear. That’s not what we offer. We all get called idiots in message boards no matter how much evidence is on our side and how respectful you try to be. My life is getting too short to care. As far as I’m concerned, the issue of my victim isn’t a matter for society to intervene, but an issue between me and her. The state already rendered their verdict.
It is far worse when this movement will try to use this as an attack point on a fellow activist. That’s the kind of trash talk reserved for the Valigators of this world.
I’m on the registry and never committed a crime, so there is nothing for me to own up to. That said, if Derek Logue is going to be a face for this fight, maybe he should tone it down a bit. Do I believe Lauren Book is a CU Next Tuesday? Possibly. If she’s acting like one, she certainly deserves every word she gets, like it or not. However, maybe this movement of ours has come to the point of tact in that a PR firm may be needed, speechwriters, and some coaching. Derek seems to be on the right side of things, but being rough around the edges, he could use a little polish. And there is nothing wrong with that. A communications course, some coaching, some refinements and fine tuning, and Derek could be more dangerous to the established stonewalling position than he already is. Derek, with the right words and careful planning and attention to detail, You could shut this woman down without the negative attention of restraining orders and the like.
Ben – a PR firm would be lovely if we could afford one.
Consider this excerpt from FloridaWatchdog, “The payments by Lauren’s Kids to Sachs Media Group accounted for 28 percent of the charity’s $10.8 million in expenses,” “Millions of taxpayer dollars flowed through the nonprofit to Sachs Media as it both promoted Lauren’s Kids and cultivated Sen. Book’s public persona as a survivor of child sex abuse”
To match resources in a public relations war against someone that invests close to three million dollars a year into her PR isn’t going to happen, realistically, anytime soon.
We need to put our collective boots on the ground and do the work ourselves.
There should still be an air of professionalism from all fronts in this fight. Constant refinement is necessary so as to appear neither weak nor incompetent. I love the fact that so many are stepping up on this front, but our words need to be professional and concise without resorting to foul language or violence.
And Derek is being the PR voice. Realistically, He makes the noise our movement needs. He speaks his mind AND speaks out against the unconstitutionality of these laws. I give a rats A$$ if the Books (or any politician for that matter) are offended by what or how he says it. It’s said…….and that’s the point.
I may not like what another activist says or how they say it, but someone needs to speak out and Derek IS doing it.