11-5-2011 Florida:
Where did all the sex offenders go after their eviction last year from under the Julia Tuttle Causeway? Reporter Robert Lyle’s WLRN radio series tracked down several former residents of this unlamented monument to the law of unintended consequences, and we want to add further information.
The causeway colony, the subject of lurid international headlines and a recent novel by Russell Banks, resulted from local laws that restrict sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet — one-half mile — from places that children gather, like schools, parks and school bus stops. In a dense urban county like ours, there is almost no affordable housing outside these boundaries. The inevitable consequence of these laws was to force sex offenders into homelessness.
The state had already passed a carefully-considered 1,000-foot law that would have allowed shelter for most of the county’s offenders. Furthermore, a geo-mapping survey proved there were far more registered sex offenders in the county than affordable housing units outside the 2,500-foot zone. Finally, social scientists have achieved rare unanimity about two issues: (1) housing instability increases the risk of recidivism among all offenders, and (2) residing near a school or park does not increase the already-low recidivism rate by the vast majority of sex offenders.
But lobbyist Ron Book, driven by his daughter’s widely-reported abuse by the family nanny, championed the residency restrictions. He insisted they were necessary to protect children, and that there was adequate housing outside the banishment zone. He derided those who disagreed as advocates for predators; he called their studies “suspect.”
The link between Book’s campaign and the causeway colony was so direct that those who lived there came to call it “Bookville.”
Once Bookville became an international embarrassment, it paradoxically fell to Book, as chairman of the Homeless Trust, to find shelter for its occupants. After boarding up the camp, Book used federal stimulus money to buy short-term stays (6-12 months) in housing, costing up to $1,000 a month for offenders who, without Book’s laws, could have lived for free with friends and family.
These arrangements were controversial for reasons other than funding source, duration and cost. Book placed 13 predators (“real bad guys,” he said) within a half-square mile in the quiet family neighborhood of Shorecrest. “We ran the Shorecrest ZIP code and it just popped up as an eligible site. So I drove it and determined that it would be a good fit to relocate the sexual predators,” Book explained. Shorecrest’s residents do not agree with Book’s assessment of “fit.” He placed another 43 in a cramped trailer park “teeming” with children.
Whatever the merits of Book’s resettlement efforts, he cautioned they were temporary: “I can’t pay rent for these people forever. It runs for a period of time and runs out.” Indeed, soon afterwards, Book declared an end to the Trust’s aid for the Bookville exiles: “As far as we’re concerned, our help for people under the bridge is done.” He acknowledged, however, that without this aid, many would “end up back somewhere on the streets,” adding ominously “We just don’t know where.”
How right Book was. Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s registry (the numbers change monthly) reveals that of 1,960 sex offenders/predators in Miami-Dade County, 256 — about one out of seven — have absconded. Absconders are those sex offenders who have stopped reporting their whereabouts, or cut off their ankle monitors, or otherwise escaped supervision. Of those who have not yet absconded, 191 are homeless. They sleep under bridges, or in lots and fields throughout the county. Somewhere between this rainy season and the end of winter, some of these homeless offenders may also abscond.
Boarding up Bookville hasn’t solved the problem of these laws. It has merely created another set of problems. ..Source.. by Valerie Jonas who is a South Florida attorney specializing in criminal defense appeals. Dr. Walter G. Bradley is professor and chairman emeritus of the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami medical school.
November 5, 2011
The end of ‘Bookville’ homeless camp under the Tuttle?
April 22, 2010
HOmeless advocates seek to relocate sex offenders evicted from the hotel
I think folks should be very concerned by the Homeless Trust's attorney's alleged comment "They didn't have grounds to evict them" because anyone knows, if you own the property you decide who can and cannot live there. Hopefully the Homeless Trust is looking for another attorney with better legal skills. I wonder does the hotel get to KEEP the money they received from the Homeless Trust?4-22-2010 Florida:
More than a dozen sex offenders who had once lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway remained in limbo Monday, days after being evicted from the hotel they had been placed in by homeless advocates.
In all, 16 offenders, currently on probation, were kicked out of the Homestead Studio Suites hotel, 6605 NW 7th St., on Saturday, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.
An unknown number of other offenders -- no longer on probation -- were also evicted, said Plessinger, whose office tracks those on probation.
Some of those evicted spent the weekend with other offenders, while the rest slept in the parking lot at the probation offices at Northwest 27th Avenue and 79th Street.
It is not the department's responsibility to find housing for the offenders, said Plessinger, who urged all those on probation to contact the office and added that the department will help in any way it can.
One of those displaced, who asked only to be identified as ``Wilson'' out of fear for his safety, admitted Monday he had been living with his sister in the southern part of the county since his eviction.
FRUSTRATED
To Wilson, the situation felt like a bait-and-switch.
``This seems like some sort of scam to clean the bridge out,'' he said, adding he wishes they would be allowed to return the Tuttle. ``I need a place to stay.''
Ron Book, head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, which had helped to find the men housing, said staff had been working all weekend to find other arrangements.
He said one had been placed, while others were pending.
Book said his attorney told him that the hotel did not have grounds to evict them.
Regardless of what happens next, this much is clear: The men will not be returning to the area under the bridge.
``That is not an option,'' Book said. ``If they go back to the bridge they will be trespassers and subject to arrest.''
Some of the offenders had lived at the Homestead Studio Suites since late February, signing a month-to-month lease for $1,000 a month. The contract stipulated that 30 days written notice was necessary for either side to terminate the agreement.
According to an eviction notice provided to The Miami Herald, the Homestead Suites ordered them out within two hours, pursuant to Florida law.
The law allows immediate eviction under certain circumstances, including those who indulge ``in any language or conduct which disturbs the peace and comfort of other guests or which injures the reputation, dignity, or standing of the establishment.''
No further explanation was given, and the notice threatened those that stayed with a misdemeanor.
Katherine Martinez, Miami's homeless housing supervisor, said the offenders were evicted because the hotel manager, who agreed to the arrangement, had not notified his corporate office, which was against them staying there.
ARREST
Corrections department officials said some of the offenders told them the arrest of Yat Wing Chang, an offender placed in the hotel, had prompted the evictions.
Chang was arrested for lewd and lascivious molestation on a minor at a nearby shopping center and remains behind bars at the Dade County jail.
Multiple telephone calls from The Miami Herald to the Homestead Studio Suites corporate office were not returned. ..Source.. JENNIFER LEBOVICH AND ADAM H. BEASLEY
April 18, 2010
February 26, 2010
Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender enclave being dismantled
Ron Book and his Trust could be in serious trouble, if, the source of his funding is FEDERAL HUD money. Federal HUD funding is not allowed to be used for most sex offenders: SEE HERE.2-26-2010 Florida:
The make-shift shantytown under the Julia Tuttle Causeway -- once home to more than 100 sex offenders -- is finally being dismantled.
The people living under the bridge have been a major source of controversy for years, stirring up political debate over where sex offenders should be allowed to live after their release from prison.
On Friday, a handful of residents -- not all of them sex offenders -- wandered amid the piles of wood, mattresses, empty tin cans and shredded tents that was once home to the excommunicated community.
In recent days, the shacks have been torn down, as officials with the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust slowly relocate the offenders to apartments, motels and trailer parks with promises that their rent will be paid for up to six months.
``They are moving people out of here left and right,'' said Terry Morton, a sex offender who has lived in a camper parked in the bushes for about a year.
He said they are talking about relocating him to a campground, and others have been moved into local apartments and motels.
Still, as homeless people are moved out, others move in.
Liza, a homeless woman for the past six years, arrived a couple of weeks ago, hoping that she, like the others, could get more stable housing offered by Miami-Dade officials. She filed her paperwork earlier in the week.
``I'm ecstatic,'' said Liza, who is not a sex offender.
But she and others also worry about how they are going to pay the rent after the six-month grant period is over.
The homeless enclave grew as local municipalities approved strict residency requirements that leave sex offenders with few, if any, places to live.
Under state law, sex offenders can't live within 1,000 feet of schools, child-care centers, parks or other areas where kids congregate. Miami-Dade has stricter requirements -- a 2,500-foot ban.
Miami Beach's law, for example, prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, bus stop, park, playground ``and other places where children can congregate.''
In January, Miami-Dade commissioners passed a sex offender ordinance that repeals more than 24 different sex offender laws enacted by municipalities within the county's borders. The new law creates one standard that commissioners hope will balance the need to protect children while still giving housing options to sex offenders and predators.
The ordinance also creates a new provision that supporters say is a more workable and realistic solution to protecting children: child-safety zones.
Under the child-safety zones, sex offenders are prohibited from loitering within 300 feet of where children congregate. In other words, it restricts sex offenders from being near children, but doesn't leave them homeless.
Currently, about 30 sexual offenders still live under the causeway, mostly in thin tents and cardboard boxes. In most cases, the sex offenders were placed under the bridge upon their release from prison by the state Department of Corrections. ..Source.. JULIE BROWN
February 4, 2010
Freed inmate must go back to Tuttle hell
2-4-2010 Florida:
Vindication gets Eduardo Galego out of prison and back into the netherworld where Miami-Dade sequesters sex offenders.
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed Galego's 2008 probation revocation last week. The three-judge panel decided that a sick diabetic checking himself into a hospital emergency room was not the same as a convict willfully jumping probation.
The decision saved Galego from 18 more years of hard time. He figures to be released Thursday morning.
But out of prison into what?
``It's a peculiar feeling,'' admitted Valerie Jonas, the assistant Miami-Dade public defender who convinced the appeal court to undo the 2008 revocation. The appeal court victory essentially forces Galego back into the bowels of the Julia Tuttle Causeway, back into the same conditions -- without electricity, water or toilets -- that Jonas had argued were ``deleterious to diabetics' health.''
NO ALTERNATIVE
Jonas said Wednesday that Galego, desite his prescribed regime of medicines, including insulin that requires refrigeration, has no money for rent, no relatives outside the restricted areas and no legal alternative to the squalid camp under the Tuttle.
What Jonas called her ``Pyrrhic victory'' came just as Miami-Dade County's new sex offender ordinance took effect on Monday, preempting the Draconian residency restrictions passed by many Miami-Dade cities that essentially banned sex offenders from most of the county's affordable housing. But it is unclear that a new ordinance maintaining a 2,500-foot residency restriction around schools will provide enough affordable housing to fix what has become an international embarrassment along the Tuttle Causeway.
The Miami-Dade Housing Trust has found housing for a number of Tuttle residents, but other offenders just out of prison are still finding their way to the bridge settlement.
Gretl Plessinger of the Florida Department of Corrections said Wednesday that the agency's probation officers no longer direct sex offenders to the Tuttle. ``We don't tell them to go there, but if they tell us that's where they want to go, that's what we do,'' she said. ``It really should be a last resort.''
PLEA DEAL
For Galego, it's the only resort. Galego, 43, had spent five years in prison awaiting trial on charges he had sexually assaulted a 17-year-old. In 2006, he took a plea deal -- time served with seven years probation.
But probation meant he was consigned to the Tuttle, one of the few areas in urban Miami-Dade County outside the sex-offender restriction zones.
On Jan. 24, 2008, Galego missed his 10 p.m. curfew. He claimed to have been in the throes of a diabetic episode.
``Substantial uncontroverted lay, medical and documentary evidence established that he missed curfew because he had become sick that day with acute complications of diabetes mellitus, leading to emergency intervention at the hospital,'' Jonas argued in an appeal that included supporting testimony from Dr. Joe Greer, chief of gastroenterology at Mercy Hospital and assistant dean of academic affairs at the College of Medicine at Florida International University.
His probation officer, however, acted on the assumption that Galego was drunk and partying, not sick.
With no more evidence than the officer's claim that he had heard music in the background when Galego had called in earlier that afternoon, the probation was revoked.
Such tough treatment did nothing to disprove allegations around the courthouse that prosecutors offer lenient sentences attached to long probationary periods to accused sex offenders with difficult-to-try cases -- with the tacit understanding that probation officers will use any excuse to bounce the defendants back to prison.
But in this case, the appeal panel insisted that ``it is the state's burden to prove, by the greater weight of the evidence, that a probation violation is a willful and substantial one. However, rather than provide substantial and competent evidence to prove its case, here the state relied on sheer conjecture.''
The decision gave Galego, a Cuban immigrant with no money, no job, no work permit, no home, an improbable legal victory.
And his ticket back to the Tuttle. ..Source.. FRED GRIMM
February 1, 2010
A law for sex offenders under the a Miami bridge
2-1-2010 Florida:
The Julia Tuttle Causeway is one of Miami's most beautiful bridge spans, connecting the city to Miami Beach through palm-tree-filled islands fringed with red mangroves. But beneath the tranquil expanse sits one of South Florida's most contentious social problems: a large colony of convicted sex offenders, thrown into homelessness in recent years by draconian residency restrictions that leave them scant available or affordable housing. They live in tents and shacks built from cast-off supplies, clinging to pylons and embankments, with no running water, electricity or bathrooms. Not even during a recent cold spell, when nighttime temperatures dropped into the 30s, could they move into temporary lodging.
Miami is hardly the only place in the U.S. where registered sex offenders can't find shelter. In Georgia, a group living in tents in the woods near Atlanta was recently ordered out of even that refuge. But the Miami shantytown, with as many as 70 residents, is the largest of its kind, thanks to a frenzied wave of local laws passed in Florida after the grisly 2005 rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford by a convicted sex offender. The state had already been the first to enact residency rules for convicted predators, barring them in 1995 from living within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and other children's sites. Municipalities, with questionable authority, then adopted even tougher ordinances — there are 156 of them so far. Miami Beach, for example, bars offenders from living within 2,500 feet of all school-bus stops, effectively precluding them from living anywhere in the city.
But with the disturbing bridge colony putting Miami under increased national scrutiny — it has managed the improbable feat of arousing sympathy for pedophiles — Miami-Dade County hopes to return some sanity to the issue. A new law takes effect on Monday that supersedes the county's 24 municipal ordinances, many of which make it all but impossible for offenders to find housing. It keeps the 2,500-feet restriction, but applies it only to schools. It also sets a 300-foot restriction to keep offenders from loitering near anyplace where children gather, which many experts call a more practical solution than harsh residency restrictions. ..For the remainder of the story.. Catharine Skipp / Miami
January 28, 2010
Close the camp
1-28-2010 Florida:
OUR OPINION: Revamped rules will end squalor under causeway
The convicted sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway now have a better chance of finding decent living quarters, thanks to the Miami-Dade County Commission. Commissioners unanimously repealed 24 different laws enacted by cities in favor of a single countywide ordinance.
The vote comes many long months after embarrassing national news coverage about the shantytown under the causeway and the squalid living conditions under the bridge that leads to South Florida's most glamorous city. Why it took so long to deal with this dangerous situation is a puzzle, but at last commissioners showed pragmatic leadership.
The ultimate solution to put an end to the current hodgepodge of city and county laws, however, is for the state Legislature to establish a uniform standard for where sex offenders can live.
The camp was created after dozens of cities in Miami-Dade passed sex offender laws that prohibited them from living close to not just schools, but -- depending on the city -- also day care centers, playgrounds, parks, bus stops and other places where children congregate. The protection zone was cast so wide that it made it virtually impossible for many offenders to find places where they could legally live. The state Department of Corrections abetted the situation by releasing offenders and placing them under the bridge.
Granted, convicted sexual offenders are unlikely candidates for sympathy, but Florida's law is so broad that all types of offenders have been lumped together to be treated like dangerous pedophiles. If offenders have served their time and are keeping out of trouble they should not be dumped under a bridge.
The new county ordinance prohibits offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school and applies the state's 1,000-foot protection zone around other places where children gather. Commissioners also created child-safety zones banning sex offenders from loitering within 300 feet of where children congregate. Safety zones are a more effective and realistic tool for protecting children from molesters. As it is, many of the people under the bridge also work, so the loitering provision is a plus.
About 35-50 offenders are living under the bridge, down from 100-plus when the camp was in the national spotlight. Ron Book, head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, has used his position on the Trust and his influence as a powerful lobbyist to marshal resources to find many offenders legal residences in recent months.
The irony is that it was Mr. Book who urged lawmakers to write tough sexual-predator laws after learning that his daughter, Lauren, had been sexually molested. They went on a campaign for tougher state and local laws. But the well-intentioned effort backfired, leaving Mr. Book, as head of the Trust, in the hot seat.
The County Commission has greatly improved local offenders' chances of finding decent housing, and public safety demands closing the disgraceful causeway camp. Now state lawmakers must adopt a statewide standard that is both protective of children and practical enough that offenders can have a roof over their heads that's not a bridge. ..Source..
September 23, 2009
FL- Court: Miami's Julia Tuttle sex-offender suit to be heard in Tallahassee
9-23-2009 Florida:
In the battle between Miami and Tallahassee over the colony of sex offenders living under Miami's Julie Tuttle Causeway, round one goes to the state.
A three-judge panel of a Miami appeals court ruled Wednesday that the dispute over the sex offenders' makeshift living quarters should be held in Tallahassee, where the state Department of Transportation -- the defendant in the lawsuit -- is headquartered. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Victoria Sigler had ruled otherwise and was reversed.
The lawsuit at the center of the dispute blames state transportation administrators for placing dozens of convicted sex offenders and predators under the Julia Tuttle Causeway -- a strip of land where about 45 sex offenders live in tents, rusted automobiles and cardboard shelters.
The city contends the ``shantytown,'' which lacks electricity, sanitation and permanent housing, has become a public health hazard.
City leaders also argue that the colony is within 2,500 feet of a city park -- which violates a city law banning sex offenders from living within that distance from anywhere children gather.
The city is asking the courts to grant a temporary and permanent injunction requiring the sex offenders to be moved from under the bridge and no longer be issued identification listing the Julia Tuttle Causeway as their permanent address.
The appeals court panel -- which included Chief Judge Juan Ramirez Jr. and judges Barbara Lagoa and Vance E. Salter -- said the state is protected by its ``home venue'' privilege, which allows state goverment to litigate where agencies are based. ..Source.. by CAROL MARBIN MILLER
September 18, 2009
FL- Strict Miami-Dade sex-offender law to remain in place (Says local judge)
9-18-2009 Florida:
A judge ruled that Miami-Dade's strict sex-offender residency law is valid and is not superseded by state law.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida failed to persuade a Miami-Dade judge to undo strict local ordinances that forced a group of convicted sex offenders to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
In the suit, filed against Miami-Dade County, the ACLU argued Thursday that the county's ordinance banning sex predators from living within 2,500 feet of schools conflicts with a 1,000-feet state statute.
The ACLU claimed there was an ``implied preemption'' by the Legislature that local municipalities' ordinances would fall in line with the state's law.
But Miami-Dade Attorney Tom Logue countered that, if true, the Legislature would have clearly inserted the preemption language into the statute. He pointed out that lawmakers have tried and failed over the years to agree on whether local ordinances should follow state law.
That effort -- and its repeated failure to pass the Legislature -- demonstrates there was nothing in the original statute that would prohibit municipalities from drawing up their own restrictions.
The ACLU, however, implored Judge Pedro P. Echarte Jr. to consider that the law was designed to protect children from convicted sex offenders and predators.
They and others have long claimed that the stricter ordinance makes it impossible for the predators to find a decent place to live. As a result, it fails to protect children because it forces molesters to disappear and abscond, leaving the public and police unable to keep tabs on them.
``This is a terrible policy and cannot be what the Legislature intended,'' said Maria Kayanan, who argued the ACLU case on behalf of two residents who lived under the bridge.
The ACLU said they would appeal the judge's decision.
The law, while perhaps created with good intentions, has obviously failed, said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. ``This is a classic story of unintended consequences,'' he said.
Ron Book, a state lobbyist who fought for the stringent local ordinances, applauded the judge's decision. ``There is no provision in the law that prohibits local municipalities from enacting their own ordinances,'' he said.
In a related matter, the city of Miami and state this week slugged it out over where another lawsuit affecting the bridge dwellers should be heard. City officials want the case heard locally, where local residents have a vested interest in the outcome. But the state wants it tried in Tallahassee.
As the multipronged legal battle winds its way through the courts, Book is fighting to fence off the underpass and clear out the shanties, tents and cardboard abodes -- as well as the 40 or so vagrants who still live there. Some have returned, while a few have moved in -- and many just don't want to leave.
Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, has been using federal stimulus funds to help the ex-convicts get started in their new homes by paying the first and last months' rent, as well as other necessities. He is working with the state departments of corrections and transportation, which owns the property, to close down the village. ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN
September 17, 2009
FL- Judge rules Miami-Dade sex-offender residency law is valid
No shock here, tourism is income for the area, income controls what decisions are made by LOCAL courts and LOCAL judges. The ACLU is pressuring the wrong people here, as I have mentioned before.
9-17-2009 Florida:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida failed to persuade a Miami-Dade circuit court judge to undo strict local ordinances that forced a group of convicted sex offenders to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
In the suit, filed against Miami-Dade County, the ACLU argued Thursday the county's ordinance banning sex predators from living within 2,500 feet of schools conflicts with a state statute that sets the boundary at 1,000 feet.
Essentially, the ACLU claimed there was an ``implied preemption'' by the Legislature that local municipalities' ordinances would fall in line with the state's law.
But Miami-Dade Attorney Tom Logue countered that, if that were true, the Legislature would have clearly inserted the preemption into the statute.
In fact, Logue pointed out, over the past few years, various lawmakers have tried and failed to change the sex offender residency restrictions to make local ordinances more consistent with state law.
That effort -- and its repeated failure to pass snuff in the Legislature -- demonstrates there was nothing in the original statute -- even intended -- that would prohibit municipalities from drawing up their own restrictions.
The ACLU, however, implored Judge Pedro P. Encharte Jr. to consider one intent expressed in the statute: that the law was designed to protect children from convicted sex offenders and predators.
They and others have long claimed that by forcing the molesters to abide by the 2,500-foot rule -- which has been passed across South Florida -- it makes it impossible for the predators to find a decent place to live. By doing so, it fails to protect children because it forces the molesters to disappear and abscond so law enforcement and the public can't track them at all.
``This is a terrible policy and cannot be what the Legislature intended,'' said Maria Kayanan, who argued the ACLU case on behalf of two residents who lived under the bridge.
She said the recent efforts by state lawmakers shows they realize the state's 2005 statue needs to be fixed.
``The statute could not have intended to push sex offenders under a bridge,'' she told the judge.
Logue, in turn, told the judge the ACLU's arguments rely upon a lot of ``mind reading.'' In the end, Encharte agreed.
``The county's ordinance is a valid exercise of its local power,'' he said.
The ACLU, which already anticipated an appeal, said they would take their case to a higher court.
``This is a classic story of unintended consequences,'' said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
Ron Book, a state lobbyist who fought for the stringent local ordinances, applauded the judge's decision, saying the ACLU's argument was fundamentally flawed.
``There is no provision in the law that prohibits local municipalities from enacting their own ordinances,'' he said. ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN
September 16, 2009
FL- Miami battles state over venue for lawsuit over causeway dwellers
Maybe I don't understand the issues here, Miami is fighting to have LOCAL judges hear the court case? This writer wonders IF, I say IF, Miami is really afraid that NON LOCAL judges may just address the real issues rather than the wishes of local politicians? Or something like that, not being from the area I may have that wrong...
9-16-2009 Florida:
The city of Miami and the state are slugging it out over where to hear a lawsuit affecting the sex offenders who live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
In the latest court battle over the future of the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex-offenders saga, Miami and state officials are at odds over where a civil trial should be held.
Miami wants it to be in Miami-Dade County; state officials are fighting for Tallahassee.
The lawsuit, heard Tuesday by the state's Third District Court of Appeal in West Miami-Dade, blames the state for placing dozens of sex offenders under the Julia Tuttle Causeway -- a strip of land where about 45 live in tents, rusted automobiles and cardboard shelters.
The state appealed a judge's order in August that the case should be heard in Miami-Dade County.
City officials want the case to be heard locally, where a jury would hold a vested interest in their own municipality.
A Miami ordinance requires sex offenders to live at least 2,500 feet from parks and schools. The county has a similar ordinance affecting areas near schools.
The city argues that actions by several state agencies -- such as transporting offenders to the bridge upon their release from prison -- cause a public nuisance. They say living under the bridge also violates the ordinance because it is too close to a tiny island park known as Picnic Island No. 4.
Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who was elected after the ordinance's approval, said the situation is dangerous for outsiders and offenders. Poor living conditions also pose health and environmental risks, he said, citing the dumping of human waste into Biscayne Bay.
``Does the water get polluted in Tallahassee? No,'' he said. ``It affects our tourism industry. It's a uniquely Miami problem.''
And it continues. According to the state's sexual-predator database, 69 people still list the bridge as their permanent address, which appears on their state-issued licenses as ``Julia Tuttle Causeway Bridge.''
Two offenders registered the bridge as their permanent address as recently as Monday.
Also receiving attention is a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the county that argues that the state's 1,000-foot rule supersedes the county's 2,500-foot ordinance. ..Source.. by JOSE PAGLIERY
September 15, 2009
FL- Arguments for appeal in sex offender bridge case
9-15-2009 Florida:
MIAMI -- A South Florida appeals court is scheduled to hold oral arguments on the state of Florida's request to transfer a lawsuit over a sex offender camp under a Miami bridge to Tallahassee.
A Miami circuit judge ruled last month that the lawsuit should stay in Miami and not be transferred to Tallahassee, as lawyers for the state had argued.
The camp for offenders has grown over the past three years with offenders having a hard time finding affordable housing that doesn't violate Miami-Dade County laws about how close offenders can live to schools and parks. Miami officials say the camp is too close to a small island park accessible only by boat. ..Source.. by AP
September 4, 2009
FL- Sex Offender Arrested At Park
A few points, and I have no idea whether he is guilty of any crime, the officers comments leave something to be desired. Is there a bus stop there? Is there a store there? There are dozens of reasons why this man could be in a area such as that. Now just yesterday this paper reported that there is NO LOITERING law, so where does the trespassing come from? How does one "circle" and "trespass" at the same time? We need more facts before convicting this or any other person.
UPDATE: A second story -also below- confirms my comments and it appears we have a case of police harassment (see second news article below).
9-4-2009 Florida:
Bryan Exile Had Joined ACLU In Fight Against Julia Tuttle Camp
MIAMI -- A convicted sex offender who joined the ACLU in a lawsuit trying to close a camp for sex offenders under the Julia Tuttle Causeway has been arrested.
Miami Police arrested 22-year-old Bryan Anthony Exile on Thursday after he allegedly went to a Miami park where children congregate.
According to the arrest affidavit, an officer was patrolling near Rainbow Village Park in the 2100 block of Northwest Avenue after receiving reports that people were selling drugs and carrying weapons in the area. The officer reported seeing Exile circling the park, where several children were playing.
In the affidavit, the officer reported seeing Exile in the area before and warning him not to return or he would be arrested.
The officer arrested Exile on trespassing charges. Police said that when the officer found out Exile was already on probation on sex-related charges, he contacted the probation officer, who said to hold Exile until he could go before a judge, according to the affidavit.
Exile remains at the Miami-Dade County Jail.
Exile was one of dozens of sex offenders who live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Corrections officials have argued that they have very little choice when it comes to placing sex offenders. Local laws in Miami-Dade County require them to live at least 2,500 feet from places where children congregate. That is more than twice the state-required buffer zone of 1,000 feet. ..Source.. by JustNews.com
ACLU's plaintiff gets arrested
9-4-2009 Florida:
A sex offender living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway was arrested for trespassing near a Miami park. The defendant is part of a lawsuit challenging Miami-Dade County.
One of the lead plaintiffs in a suit challenging Miami-Dade County's restrictive ordinance against sex offenders was arrested by police on Thursday for trespassing near a Miami park and violating his probation.
Miami police said they arrested Bryan Exile after warning him to stay out of the area, which has posted signs prohibiting trespassing. The 22-year-old is one of several homeless sex offenders who live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
Exile's lawyer, Bruce Alter, criticized police, saying his client frequently visits family members who live in Rainbow Village, a public housing project in the 2100 block of Northwest Third Avenue.
``His wife dropped him off at her relative's home and he had a perfectly legitimate reason to be in this complex, and any suggestion that he was anywhere in the neighborhood of the park to prey upon kids is patently absurd,'' Alter said.
Exile has been on probation since 2007 after being convicted for lewd and lascivious battery on a child.
This summer, Exile was named as one of two plaintiffs in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against Miami-Dade.
The ACLU contends that the state's rule that sex offenders must live at least 1,000 feet from where children congregate supersedes the county's stricter 2,500-foot ordinance. It is unclear if Exile's arrest would have any affect on the suit.
``I don't know the answer yet,'' said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. ``I only hope what has happened in the last couple of days does not mean the ordinance will evade review by the courts.''
According to Miami police, which filed two reports, Exile was spotted at 2128 NW Third Ave. in Rainbow Village on Thursday afternoon.
In their reports, two Miami police officers said they had warned Exile on previous occasions that he would be arrested if he continued loitering in the area.
``There are `no trespass' signs all over the complex,'' one report said. Furthermore, police noted that he could not give officers a reason why he was there. The arrest report for the violation of probation says Exile was ``circling the park while several kids were playing.'' Exile was booked into Miami-Dade jail late Thursday for trespassing on property after warning and sex offender/predator present in a park. ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN AND JENNIFER LEBOVICH
September 3, 2009
"Nightline" Special TONIGHT: Sex Offenders Live in Village Under Miami Bridge
Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 11:35 p.m. ET.
9-3-2009 Florida:
Strict Local Ordinance Requires Offenders to Stay (sic RESIDE) 2,500 Feet Away From Schools, Leaving Few Other Affordable Options
In sunny Miami, many condos might not be worth a million dollars anymore, but the views still are. Zip across the causeways that connect the mainland to Miami Beach and it's as if you're leaving your troubles behind.
That is, unless you happen to be cruising along the Julia Tuttle Causeway and you slow down enough to look at the side of the road, where a tent community has formed along the water's edge.
No, it's not an adventurous form of urban camping or a recession-fueled shantytown. Instead, there is a distinctly permanent feeling to this scruffy encampment. And it's clear many of its residents don't want anything to do with inquisitive reporters.
That's because these residents are pariahs. They are (former) sex offenders, a makeshift colony of outcasts who have set up camp under this overpass only as a last resort. When we visited there were 71 men living under and around the bridge.
One of the few men here willing to talk is Homer Barkley, 43, whose seemingly harmless appearance is at odds with the fact that he is a convicted sex offender: In 1992, he was sent to prison for 10 years for the attempted sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl.
Barkley is no fan of his waterfront home.
"It's not a million-dollar view to me," he said. "It's a shame on Miami."
Barkley arrived at the causeway after his release from prison in January 2008.
"When I got to the probation officer, he also told me I had to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. He also told me that I had to go to the drivers license place to put it on my driver's license," Barkley said, offering as proof his state ID with the bridge listed as his official residence.
"As if this is a residence. This is not my home address," he said. "My home is in Liberty City [a Miami neighborhood.] But I can't live there based on the ordinance."
Under the bridge, you hear a lot of talk about "the ordinance."
That's a reference to the residency restrictions Miami Dade County implemented in 2005, barring registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of schools. On top of that, state law creates a 1,000-foot buffer around schools, parks and playgrounds, and for offenders on parole, school bus stops.
There are also 24 cities within the county that have their own residency restrictions for sex offenders that often overlap the state and county rules.
Sex Offenders Live Without Walls, Running Water or Electricity
In a densely-populated area like Miami Dade County, that doesn't leave too many options. As a result of the ordinances, much of the county is now covered by overlapping circles of no-go zones. About all that's left are some million-dollar neighborhoods, industrial parks and the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
Needless to say, the causeway has little to recommend it as a home, other than a waterfront view.
First, there's the noise.
"It's like bumblebees. Bumblebees and flies in your head," Barkley said as he points to the bridge over his head with the incessant of cars and trucks zipping to and from Miami Beach.
Even worse is the stench, a suffocating cocktail of sewage, urine and trash. There is no sanitation or running water here, and flies buzz over piles of accumulating garbage.
Some residents are required to wear electronic ankle bracelets at all times to monitor their whereabouts, and must return to the causeway every night. Any violation could send them back to jail. To keep their monitors charged the residents have brought in generators.
"When I got to the probation officer, they put this box on my ankle," said Barkley pointing to the black bracelet affixed to his ankle and the monitoring box he must wear whenever he leaves the bridge. "This box is like a tracking device. So they tell me that I have to be here from 6 o'clock p.m. to 7 o'clock in the morning."
Like many of the offenders, Barkley said he sees little difference between his current situation and his previous incarceration.
"I went to prison for all those years, and I'm still here. All I want is my life back. I deserve a second chance at life," he said. "People don't have a heart. They don't have a conscience."
Ron Book is a man who believes he has a heart and a conscience. The multimillionaire Florida lobbyist is the architect of Miami-Dade's harsh sexual predator laws. For Book, this has been a personal crusade.
Eight years ago, he learned that the nanny he and his wife had hired to care for their children was physically and sexually abusing their daughter. The nanny went to jail, and Book went to work pushing Florida's politicians to make pariahs of all sexual offenders.
It worked.
And while he acknowledges the problems the laws have created, he stands by them.
"I personally believe that residency restrictions have value and importance," he said. "Nobody said that someone exiting the prison system after committing a sexually deviant act on a child has a right to dictate where they live."
For Book, it is a personal crusade.
"I have a different perspective than many people," he said, tearing up as he recounted his daughter's experience at the hands of her abuser. "I sleep very comfortably at night knowing that we have made our community safer."
Although there is no conclusive evidence that the community is safer because of the harsh laws.
Miami Dade County Commissioner Pepe Diaz sleeps well at night, too, knowing that he helped his county pass some of the toughest sexual offender laws in the country.
"At no time am I going to apologize for the law that I helped to create. That law has saved, to me, in my opinion, the innocence of a lot of children," he said.
Still, Diaz will tell you he's not proud of the camp on the causeway.
"That is not a way to live for anybody. And also, in the midst of one of our bridges that goes through our main tourist areas in Miami Beach," he said.
But he has no interest in changing the law, insisting that "there are sufficient places where these men can live legally in the county."
Diaz's assertion contradicts a study of available affordable housing for sex offenders in Miami Dade County, released this week by the American Civil Liberties Union. According to the study, in the entire county, just 15 units were available to sex offenders at a rent of less than $1,000 a month. Meanwhile, not a single unit under $750 qualified.
In an ironic twist, Ron Book -- the same man who pushed for the laws that forced predators under the bridge -- is also chairman of the Miami Dade Homeless Trust, and is in charge of finding them proper homes.
During "Nightline's" visit, Book talked to Barkley about his quest to find a more suitable home, but the housing Book was hoping for won't suit Barkley, who is stymied by that ankle bracelet, which requires him to stay 1,000 feet away from any school bus stop.
When Book asked him about his time in prison, Barkley was particularly defiant.
"OK, I was sentenced to 10 years followed by five years of probation," he said. "And my question is, 17 years later, I'm still punished."
ACLU Mounts Legal Challenge
Book said he knows some people think his two roles -- the man who helped create the village under the bridge, and the man given the job of solving the problem -- are irreconcilable.
"I wear these two hats," Book said. "I wear this hat advocating for laws that I believe protect children. I wear this hat, solver of homeless problems in our community." With legal pressure mounting, the makeshift community may not be around much longer. The ACLU has filed a motion in circuit court asking that the local ordinances be invalidated and just the state 1,000-foot law be allowed to stand.
But Book and Diaz, his partner on the county commission, said they believe the ordinance should stand.
"Look, I've not been bashful about my feelings about people who commit offenses against children," Book said. "I have referred to them as monsters. Everyone under the bridge knows that."
Barkley said he, like his fellow causeway residents, has done his time and is being punished excessively.
"I am not a monster. I'm a human being," Barkley said. "I got family like you got family. ... I don't deserve this. Regardless of what a person did, everyone deserves a second chance at life. If you felt like these guys did something so gross, then you should have sentenced them to life. You don't just cast them out. It's just not right." ..Source.. by JEFFREY KOFMAN
FL- Stimulus cash may help move sex offenders from causeway
A closer review of HUD Rules, which control monies for homeless folks, including stimilus money, will reveal that ALL sex offenders are excluded from benefiting from these monies.
9-3-2009 Florida:
A slice of $7.5 million in federal stimulus money is being offered to help homeless sex offenders and predators living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway to cover rent, housing and utilities.
The money comes from federal funds designated for homeless people in Miami-Dade, but convicted sex offenders who meet income requirements are eligible, said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, who has led efforts to find housing for the bridge dwellers.
Under the program, participants can receive financial assistance for up to 18 months, but must be recertified every 90 days.
The camp, which has become a national embarrassment for Miami, is emptying.
Book estimates that from a high of about 100 a few months ago, 49 remain in cardboard boxes and rusty cars in the sandy, bug-infested underpass. Some of them are still unwilling to leave, but they are moving one by one, he said.
Lawmakers and others say the stimulus money still won't solve the larger issue: Where do sexual predators and offenders live in a state with such restrictive residency laws?
``I have reservations about how the money is being used,'' said Miami-Dade Commissioner Pepe Diaz. ``But I can appreciate what Ron is doing to help us deflate a problem that is like an black eye for all of us.''
State Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, points out that residency laws do nothing to protect children when they are most vulnerable: during the day.
Aronberg has unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation to revise the state's sexual predator and offender laws, and eliminate the hodgepodge of local ordinances. He says there are other, more effective ways to keep sex offenders away from children.
``We can solve this problem if there was some political courage to stand up for public safety,'' said Aronberg, a candidate for state attorney general.
Book agrees that a statewide rule is in order, and said he could live with a rule that keeps sex offenders 1,750 to 2,500 feet away from parks, schools and other public places.Miami-Dade and many counties and towns abide by a 2,500-foot restriction.
Ironically, Book, one of the state's most powerful lobbyists, is rethinking his position on the very laws that he aggressively pushed years ago that many say left some convicted sex offenders with limited housing options.
Book's daughter, Lauren Book, who was sexually abused by her nanny for six years, said she, too, has reconsidered the issue as a result of the Julia Tuttle fiasco.
``I don't think 2,500 feet is the best number, and I don't think anyone should live under a bridge. But do I think they should be away from children? Absolutely,'' said Lauren Book, founder and executive director of Lauren's Kids, a nonprofit foundation that helps educate and support children and families about sexual abuse.
``We've learned a lot through this ordeal,'' Diaz said. ``I am looking at what occurred, what has taken place and we will be adjusting and modifying the rules.''
However, he is adamant that the 2,500-foot boundary is solid.
Kevin Morales, who has lived under the bridge for three years, said he doesn't plan to move until the state enforces its own 1,000 foot boundary -- no matter how much money he is offered.
``Are we picky about where we want to live?'' he said. ``I guess yes. I want to find a place that's suitable for me.''
Morales, who was convicted of lewdness against a 16-year-old family member when he was 30, said he and many of his counterparts have misgivings about Book and taking the money -- for fear that when the stimulus money runs out, they will be out on the street again.
The money to help homeless people, including those living under the causeway, is being administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
After participants leave the program, they may qualify for funding or assistance from the Homeless Trust, which is funded by the county's food and beverage tax.
Book said he is already talking to the state Department of Corrections and the state Department of Transportation about fencing in the property, so bridge residents may soon be forced to leave.
``We have begun discussions . . . about a closure plan -- when do we install a guardrail, when do we begin to fence it off. That is going to come very soon.''
Still, that may not be the end of sex offender camps.
``Unless the county brings its ordinance in line with state law, another shantytown will spring up as sure as night follows day,'' said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which is suing Miami-Dade over its 2,500 foot rule. ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN
FL- Trailer park is a dumping ground of convenience
QUOTE:""We'll kill them," said Oliva. "You got to know that was the plan from the beginning."" I doubt that is the intent of those enacting residency laws, its more likely "not in my backyard." Yet there is this:
Comment of County Commissioner Randy Harris 4-23-2005:
The molester is dead and the community is divided -- over whether their condemnation killed a man that many had wished would vanish anyway. [[[snip]]] SIGNS OPPOSED Some said that Claxton had served his time and posed no threat. Some opposed the idea of signs, saying it would devalue their real estate and drum up fear. [[[snip]]]
The town is also fiercely debating how to manage its sexual offenders. Early this week, just before the Claxton fliers went up, Randy Harris, a county commissioner, urged that warning signs be posted in neighborhoods where convicted offenders live. ''I take no pleasure in hearing the report of anyone's death, even in this particular case,'' Harris said of Claxton's suicide. ``But I don't think we can go too far in providing information.''
Harris has found his strongest opponent in Marion County Sheriff Ed Dean, who believes warning signs would foster fear and violence. According to Dean, the county's 530-odd sexual predators are accounted for and have been visited by sheriff's deputies. Dean also said he plans to increase the frequency of such visits and notify people living within a mile of predators. ''I don't see what purpose signs would do, other than have an unintended consequence like this,'' said Dean. ``It creates hysteria.'' [[[snip]]]
Harris, for his part, said he would only strengthen his push to have warning signs posted in neighborhoods where sexual offenders lived. ''Real simple. There's been a suicide that occurred when we had 530 sex offenders in Marion County,'' said Harris. ``There are still 529.'' Quoted from "SEX OFFENDERS: Town torn over molester's suicide"
9-3-2009 Florida:
Mobile homes, I guess.
Though the term seems woefully inadequate for the decades-old cramped metal structures along the narrow lanes of the River Park trailer community, so decrepit and so beset with jerry-rigged repairs, sagging awnings and plywood additions, that they hardly resemble their original incarnations. A row of tiny, sad, stucco cottages that lined the southern perimeter seems no more substantial.
I'm not sure what to call the little community at 2260 NW 27th Avenue -- other than wretched.
``We're poor,'' said Johnny Tapia. ``Why else would they put them here?''
``Them'' refers to sex offenders whose housing options have been so severely limited by local residency restrictions that they were forced to find refuge under the Julia Tuttle. The big news Wednesday was that the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, using federal stimulus dollars, was finally finding some legal housing for homeless offenders.
River Park residents were a little stunned to learn that their little trailer community just outside the Miami city limits was among the solutions to the causeway conundrum. A fluke of geography left River Park as one of the few legal addresses available for sex offenders.
SO CLOSE
If the trailer park had been across the street, on the east side of NW 27th Avenue, the city of Miami's prohibitions against residency within 2,500 feet of a park would have kicked in. River Park's located about 1,500 feet from Miami River Rapids Park.
Instead, the vagaries of Miami-Dade's insane hodgepodge of residency restrictions created this little residential pocket, jammed among warehouses, way off the Tuttle. And the clustering effect has begun. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement tracking website indicated nine sex offenders were residing at 2260 NW 27th Avenue. One relocated offender told me that the Homeless Trust paid his first month's $400 rent and put up the deposit. He said the trust was helping other Tuttle dwellers find their way to River Park.
KIDS ALL OVER
``But I've got nieces and nephews living here,'' said Johnny Tapia, 24. ``Kids run all over this trailer park.''
The woman manning the park office insisted that the FDLE website was wrong.
``No. They can't put sex offenders here,'' she insisted. ``This place is full of children.''
Indeed, until a burst of rain sent them scattering, pre-school children, most of them from immigrant families, played amid the tiny trailers. In 2001, the Herald covered a county commissioner's Christmas charity visit to River Park and described more than 100 children clamoring for gifts.
``Why won't they let them live with the rich kids,'' asked Juan Oliva, 22.
``Let them live in the efficiencies behind their mansions.''
`WE'LL KILL THEM'
These poor trailer folk just can't grasp the complex logic at play here. After driving sex offenders out of Miami and Miami Beach and Coral Gables and other cities, and creating the Tuttle homeless camp, something had to be done. But instead of rescinding the ill-considered city and county ordinances, purportedly passed to protect children, local leaders would rather spend public money and herd sex offenders into a trailer park packed with children. Just not very important children.
``We'll kill them,'' said Oliva. ``You got to know that was the plan from the beginning.'' ..Source.. by FRED GRIMM
August 28, 2009
FL- New Study Reveals Lack of Access to Affordable Housing for Sex Offenders in Miami-Dade
8-28-2009 Florida:
Miami-Dade Ordinance Creates Barriers to Reintegration; Makes Community Unsafe
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida’s Greater Miami Chapter and the Miami Coalition for the Homeless announce the release of Availability and Spatial Distribution of Affordable Housing in Miami-Dade County and Implications of Residency Restriction Zones for Registered Sex Offenders, a 69-page study that sheds light on the difficulty of finding affordable housing for sex offenders under current local residency restrictions.
The study shows that only 43 units were actually available at $1,250 or less a month in Miami-Dade County in July 2009. At more truly affordable rents of $1,000 or less there were only 15 units actually available, and at $750 or less a month, there were zero units. As many as 70 sex offenders have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway at any given time, and as recently as July there were as many as 177 sex offenders registered on FDLE’s Web site as “transient” or “under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.”
The study is the first of its kind that has been done in Miami-Dade County and identifies the sex offender residency restriction zones by jurisdiction to determine the impacts of restriction zones on the availability and spatial distribution of affordable housing within Miami-Dade County. Included in the study are detailed maps created as a result of the study.
“What we found with the results of this study is that the 2,500-foot sex offender residency restriction has a dramatic effect on the availability and geographic distribution of affordable housing in Miami-Dade County, with the few actually available units concentrated heavily in unincorporated areas,” said Carlene Sawyer, President of the ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter. “It further solidifies what we have known all along -- that the County’s restrictions are not workable, as evidenced by the mounting public safety crisis we can see under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.”
Because the number of actually available units was determined using publicly available rental listings, the number is likely an overestimate since many landlords refuse to rent to sex offenders. Furthermore, of those units available, most are located in rural unincorporated areas where access to public transportation and services needed to aid in rehabilitation may be non-existent. Indeed, 32 of the 35 municipalities in Miami-Dade County had no rental units actually available in July 2009.
"We find it unacceptable for people to be legislated into homelessness in Miami with very little opportunity to reintegrate into the community," said Ben Burton, Executive Director, Miami Coalition for the Homeless. "We strongly believe that this study shows once and for all that given the current residency restrictions, there are virtually no affordable available housing units in our community for the growing population of sex offenders in Miami-Dade County."
The release of the recently completed study, prepared for the ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter by Paul A. Zandbergen of the University of New Mexico Geography Department and Timothy C. Hart of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, comes at a critical time in the ACLU of Florida’s lawsuit against Miami-Dade County to eliminate the 2,500-foot residency restriction. The ACLU’s lawsuit aims to revert to the State’s 1,000-foot restriction and comprehensive system for monitoring and tracking registered sex offenders, which the ACLU argues preempts the County’s over burdensome local ordinances.
“This study shows once and for all that the County’s ordinance has created a housing problem that won’t be solved by finding a few extra apartments. This is an ongoing problem that continues to grow as more sex offenders finish their prison sentences and are released every month. The only true solution is to revert to the State’s comprehensive system to monitor and track sex offenders, which would allow individuals to find affordable housing while keeping our community safe,” added Sawyer.
The study, Availability and Spatial Distribution of Affordable Housing in Miami-Dade County and Implications of Residency Restriction, was made possible with a grant from Miami Coalition for the Homeless.
To download a copy of the study and maps:
To download the Declaration outlining the key points of the study:
For more information about ACLU of Florida’s lawsuit against Miami-Dade County:
..Source.. by ACLU
August 25, 2009
FL- Census Taken Of Sex Offender Camp
It never ceases to amaze me how officials and other try to bamboozle everyone about these laws, so here we will hopefully allow those willing to listen to see the holes in the logic touted by these officials and others. Now watch the highlighting and comments!
8-25-2009 Florida (Bookville):
Officials Try To Find Out If Offenders Are Accounted For
MIAMI -- Miami-Dade police and parole officers joined the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Monday night to canvass the area under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
The goal was to conduct an accurate census of the population that’s sprung up in the makeshift tent city.
Local 10’s Julie Summers was on hand as agents conducted their patrol and questioned sex offenders.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Web site, even Monday, Aug. 24, one more sex offender registered his address as the “Julia Tuttle Causeway” bringing the total now to 64.
But the worry is that far fewer than that are actually there.
“If they are not there, they are somewhere where we cannot keep track of them. And that should be a scary concern for the public,” said Ron Book of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.
The concern is that any sex offender who is registered under the bridge but actually lives elsewhere is putting children at risk – because families in that neighborhood won’t know to be on alert.
“Can you imagine a community with a bundle of sex offenders and predators running loose in a community? Without anybody knowing where they are?” said Book.
Mr. Book: A census is only done at night because that is the ONLY time registrants are supposed to be there! Lets says a "NIGHT" is six hours, that means the other 18 hours registrants COULD be running loose in various communities; perfectly LEGAL! So, for 18 hours of the day, no one knows where they are. OK Mr. Book, how does your census and numbers protect communities 24 hours a day? OR, do they only protect communities for 6 hours a day? Bamboozled means what?
Which is why working by the numbers under the bridge is key, he said.
“If I’m working off bad numbers , I never get to closure!”
Closure, Book explained, would be eventually closing down the tent city and getting offenders into apartments and homes where they can be tracked and children can be safe. ..Source.. by JustNews.com
Mr Book needs to explain how, having registrants living in apartments and homes, would be any different than under the bridge, as to tracking and protecting the public as he claims. I'm all ears...and willing to learn.
August 20, 2009
FL- Creators of Tuttle problem can fix it -- now
8-20-2009 Florida:
Plenty of talk out there lately. Speeches. Promises. Threats. Sound bites on the evening news. Lots of stuff about solving the Julia Tuttle Causeway conundrum.
The Tuttle conundrum, you might have noticed, has not gone away.
Talk hasn't done a damn thing about putting sex offenders into actual housing. They're still forced to live like vagabonds in the middle of Biscayne Bay. ``I'm still here,'' Rene Mora observed from beneath the causeway Wednesday afternoon.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement classifies Rene Matamoros Mora as ``transient,'' an odd designation for someone who, at the state's insistence, has resided at the same wretched address for more than two years. ``I can't go anywhere else. It's those residency restrictions.''
Of course, you'd expect that from Mora, 55, who has been barred from the Miami housing market since he finished his 13-year prison stretch. But Attorney General Bill McCollum has joined the chorus, calling local residency ordinances that force sex offenders into homelessness ``very wrong.'' And Gov. Charlie Crist has finally offered up a tepid acknowledgement that something has gone amiss.
JUST BAD POLICY
Ron Book, the very lobbyist who originally pushed city and county commissioners to adopt the overreaching ordinances that chased sex offenders under the causeway (some have dubbed the homeless colony ``Bookville,'') now talks about ratcheting back the 2,500-foot restricted radiuses around schools, playgrounds, parks, etc.
Even Miami-Dade County commissioners have been uttering the unhappy sounds of politicians who realize their ill-conceived ordinance has created a stinking monument to bad public policy smack in the middle of Biscayne Bay.
All that, yet Rene Mora still sleeps there every night in his battered van, away from his wife and her apartment. And despite the talk, threats, promises and Ron Book's assertion that he can find legal housing for the sex offenders, there was no sign Wednesday that the Tuttle situation has improved.
Compared with six months ago, more homeless men reside there in ever worsening conditions. Trash now overwhelms the place. They still live without toilets or running water, and now the heat of a Miami summer cooks up a fetor of rotting garbage, human waste, dead fish and unwashed bodies. Tents and parked cars now line the berm on either side of the bridge -- putting the inanity of residency restrictions in plain sight for passing motorists.
WHY NO ACTION?
For two years now, this unsanitary affront to a civilized society has festered on Biscayne Bay. The Miami-Dade Commission could make it vanish instantly with a countywide ordinance pulling back the restrictions. But all we get is talk.
And lawsuits. The city of Miami has sued the state. The ACLU has sued the county. Sen. Dave Aronberg, who tried, futilely, the last two years to shepherd through legislation cutting residency restrictions to 1,500 feet while adding very tough sex-offender loitering laws, thinks certain ``cowardly'' political leaders ducked the issue and hoped, instead, that some judge will take the political heat.
So now we can wait for a judge to undo the Tuttle conundrum. Or wait until 2010, when Sen. Aronberg thinks his legislation -- and good sense -- will finally prevail.
Until then, expect a lot of talk. ..Source.. by FRED GRIMM
August 18, 2009
FL- Some sex offenders find housing
8-18-2009 Florida:
Progress is being made in relocating convicted sex offenders from the Julia Tuttle Causeway, but advocates still need more housing options.
The number of homeless convicted sex offenders who set up an encampment under the Julia Tuttle Causeway is slowly dwindling, but activists say they still need affordable housing for the many who still remain.
At its height, about 70 sexual offenders and predators -- as well as some other homeless people -- lived under the bridge, attracting unflattering national media attention for Miami. Now there are fewer than 50 people.
Two left Monday, with the help of Ron Book, chairman of Miami-Dade's Homeless Trust, who has sought to relocate residents.
It's no easy task.
Most local laws require sex offenders to live at least 2,500 feet away from where children congregate: schools, playgrounds, parks and even some libraries. The laws are being challenged on a variety of legal fronts.
The area under the bridge is controlled by the state Department of Corrections, and government officials in both Miami and Miami-Dade County have urged the state to remove the dwellers.
Some have left on their own accord, tired of the media attention. Others, however, have received help from Book and his agency, which helps provide shelter and treatment for the homeless.
In recent weeks, the agency has run several ads in local newspapers calling on all willing owners of local housing units to contact the agency.
Book said the agency will receive federal stimulus money in September to help jobless or underemployed offenders afford their own homes. The agency has agreed to pay for the first and last month's rent at every offender's newly acquired housing unit -- and, if needed, could pay for several more months.
All the offenders would have to do is comply.
But it's not that simple. Some don't want to move -- that is, with the agency's help.
For two men who call themselves Reggie and Joey, their defiance sprouts from distrust: They said they've heard these promises before. And while release from the fetters of makeshift shanties, colorful tents and cardboard boxes sounds tempting, they say it's not real.
``I should have been in an apartment three weeks ago,'' Joey said Monday.
The 36-year-old said the agency promised him a check after he found a suitable apartment. The check never came, and the landlord refused to work with the agency, causing the rental agreement to dissolve, he said.
Book acknowledges there have been setbacks, but blames the resistant offenders for not taking part in the program.
``We're serious about resettling these folks,'' he said. ``We're going to move as aggressively as possible to do what we can.''
Book points to a couple -- a sex offender husband who lived under the bridge and his nonoffender wife -- who were transported to a new location Monday morning. Days earlier, a handful of others were moved to affordable housing.
Book has explored about 95 different properties, noting he got a tremendous response from ads placed in The Miami Herald and a few other local papers.
``We received several dozen calls, so we felt it was a good investment,'' Book said. ``Our staff is pursuing locations, some of which may work, some that don't comply with the law . . . but I have different needs in different parts of the community.''
He said some of the offenders have jobs in the restaurant industry and need to have access to transportation.
The North Miami-Dade Correctional facility remains an option, but cannot be the sole solution, he said.
``We have a population that is somewhat selective where they are willing to live,'' he said. ``But there is going to come a time when we may be out of housing and they may be out of luck.'' ..Source.. by JULIE BROWN AND JOSE PAGLIERY
