Lake County commissioners take action against sex-offender village plan as protesters gather

9-27-2011 Florida:

TAVARES — Spurred by outrage over a proposed "sex-offender village" near Sorrento, Lake commissioners took steps today to push offenders further away from schools, day-care centers and playgrounds.

"I think we need to be very proactive here," Commissioner Leslie Campione said. "I think this is a relatively new concept and a really, really bad idea to lump together a group of people that are considered to be very dangerous."

Commissioners reacted swiftly to a sketchy plan by Barbara Farris, who heads a for-profit venture, Sex Offender Solutions, and wants to develop a remote neighborhood populated exclusively by convicted sex offenders. She has not provided exact locations for her proposed village but named Sorrento as a possible site.

Farris, a Tampa resident who formerly lived in Orlando and tried to oust sex offenders living near a school bus stop there, said her concept aims to protect children by moving offenders to a common monitored neighborhood that is located miles from schools, parks and other areas where children gather.

Christine Thompson, who owns Building Blocks, a child-care center on State Road 46, said the Sorrento area would be the wrong place to cluster sexual predators as the rural community has three primary schools nearby — Round Lake, Seminole Springs and Sorrento elementaries.

Thompson said the idea of bringing sex offenders to Sorrento is "like bringing children to a candy store."

A small group of Sorrento moms, incensed by the concept, protested outside the round courthouse Tuesday, carrying signs and petitions aimed at blocking Farris' plan from taking root.

The group launched a Facebook page, "Protest sex offender village in Lake County." One post on the social-media site suggested that sex offenders should be restricted to "the Villages where all the old people live" and another recommended "the Everglades so the alligators can eat them for supper!"

Commissioners directed County Attorney Sandy Minkoff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of areas where children congregate, including schools, day-care centers and public parks. Lake statutes currently mirror state law, prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of the same areas, but many cities in Central Florida have adopted the 2,500-foot setback.

In addition, commissioners want Minkoff to study tighter restrictions that could prevent a "sex-offender village" from rising inside Lake borders. Campione suggested the county investigate an ordinance to require a "conditional use" permit for someone who wanted to congregate sex offenders in common housing.

Commissioner Jimmy Conner suggested a countywide ban on sex offenders, which is illegal. "If we can't do that, then I'm for the strictest restrictions we can legally impose across the whole county because this issue will come up in another community," he said. "I've got two grandchildren and, I'll tell you, I've got no sympathy for child predators."

Lake has 425 registered sex offenders. ..Source.. by Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel