FAC Weekly Update 2025-09-09–Beware of Highlands County Detective

Weekly update for September 9, 2025. This is recording number 327.

Dear Members and Advocates,

Florida Action Committee does not typically involve itself in individual criminal cases. But sometimes, a case so clearly exposes the cruelty of the system that it demands our attention. This is one of those times.

In November of 2022, we sent a weekly update about a Detective in Highlands County who has taken it upon himself to be overly aggressive in pursuing registrants. This detective is so aggressive, in fact, that he reviews registration histories of people who so much as establish a temporary residence in Highlands, going back years and scouring registration history from other counties in Florida, just to see if he can come up with any excuse to arrest the person.

In August of 2023, a man we’ll call “Roger”, was arrested and charged with failure to re-register or provide required information in Highlands County. Roger didn’t live in Highlands. He merely registered his sister’s address in Highlands as a temporary address, as was required, because he had visited with her and planned to visit there, from time to time. At all times he kept his permanent address at his permanent home where he lived without issue in a different county.  Because of that temporary address, this detective decided that Highlands County had the jurisdiction to investigate other “potential” (using the term loosely) violations in other counties. He learned that Roger had owned an 8 foot canoe trailer that he gave to his daughter. He kept it registered because he still had access to use it (as it’s his daughter’s). The detective nevertheless saw that Roger had registered 19 times with the trailer and added 19 counts to his criminal charges.

The detective didn’t stop there. In 2020, Roger bought a vehicle on December 23^rd but didn’t register it until December 28^th. The 24^th was Christmas Eve, the 25^th was Christmas, the 26^th and 27^th were the weekend, so the first opportunity he had to register, he did. But since the statute doesn’t say “business hours” or “hours when the registration office is closed are excluded”, the detective tacked on a failure to register the vehicle within 48 hours to the list of now 21 counts! Mind you; Roger’s original offense was in 1998 – nearly 30 years ago – he’s had no other arrests since. Roger has not re-offended in nearly three decades. He’s built a business, provided for his family and should be an example of success. Instead, he’s the target.

In Florida, a third degree felony is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. The State could seek a consecutive sentence so that each count could be added together for a maximum of 105 years (21 × 5 years). Roger genuinely believed he did nothing wrong. If anything, he was over-inclusive in an abundance of caution. His sister’s address was registered for when he stayed there or, when in the event of a hurricane, he was forced to evacuate. The canoe trailer was still in the family and he had access to it, so there was no reason to remove it. And if the registration office wasn’t open during the holiday and weekend and he went to register his car on the first opportunity he could, what did he do wrong?!? Roger decided to fight his case.

Last month, Roger’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that Highlands county lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him for alleged registration violations that took place in another county. After nearly two years with the dark cloud of this prosecution hanging over him, he was looking forward to his day in court… Then thunder struck… According to an arrest affidavit, “On 8/25/2025… after learning of a Notice of Hearing for a Motion to Dismiss filed in [Roger’s original case]” the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office dug up 8 additional counts (not sexual offenses, just petty alleged registration violations), and re-arrested Roger. Not to protect the public, but as retaliation for fighting his charges. He’s now being held without bond in the Highlands County Jail and facing a potential 145 years in prison.

This is not regulation. This is punishment. It is persecution dressed up as public safety. It is a tripwire system designed to entrap people who are doing their best to comply. And it exposes the lie that the registry is somehow “non-punitive.”

The first step to ending the registry’s harm is exposing the truth: it is punishment, not protection. FAC members, it’s time to make your voices heard. Call, email, or write your state representatives and senators. Share your stories, demand reform, accountability, and an end to this draconian registry. Silence allows this injustice to continue. Action is the only way to protect your families and restore fairness. Contact your lawmakers today.

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee

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