Inside the isolated US community dubbed the ‘Miracle Village’ where HALF the population are sex offenders – and strict laws mean they will NEVER return to normal society
From the outside it looks like any sleepy suburb, but the so-called ‘Miracle Village’ contains a much darker secret.
Indeed, half of the population in the Florida community are registered sex offenders, who are forced to live away from the rest of society.
The so-called village, located outside of Pahokee, features in a new BBC documentary presented by Stacey Dooley looking at laws in the state that punish paedophiles and other sex offenders for life.
One Miracle Village resident, Chris Dawson, tells the host how he was convicted for having sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend when he was 18 – after she allegedly lied about her age.
According to the Mirror, Chris, who once played drums in a band, says of his offence: ‘She lied to me about her age and had fake ID.
‘I had no idea. All her friends believed her so I believed she was 18 too.’
He believes that he deserves another chance to live a full life – something which the community is helping him to achieve.
Since moving to Miracle Village, Chris has found himself a new girlfriend – Lexi, 25 – who he met in the local church, and who knew he was a sex offender when they began their relationship.
But, she says, although it ‘made her think twice’ before they started dating, she was won over after getting to know him better and being able to ‘see past the label’.
The Mirror reported that the community is now getting so popular that it is running out of room, meaning some residents have to be housed in the nearby town of Pahokee, with the help of a local ministry.
Lewis, 33, who was arrested for trying to have sex with a nine-year-old at age 18, is one of these residents; he wanted to move to Miracle Village in order to get a ‘second chance’ in life.
However this is not something that is readily offered to sex offenders in the state of Florida because of its incredibly strict laws relating to sex crimes.
In particular, state law prevents child sex offenders from living within 1,000ft of a school, park, day care center or a playground.
That’s why in 2009 pastor Dick Witherow began making housing available to sex offenders at Miracle Village, which covers an area of 175,000 sq ft and was built in the 1960s to house sugar cane workers.
There are roughly 200 people residents in the village, with around 100 of these having been convicted of sexually abusing minors, viewing child pornography or even molesting their own children.
The Christian ministry that offers the housing to offenders is now run by Pat Powers, who is himself a former sex offender, and served 12 years after being convicted of getting involved in relationships with students when he was ‘one of the top racquet ball coaches in the world’.
In his biography on the Miracle Village Ministries website, he describes himself as a ‘born-again Christian and advocate for registered sex offenders who have paid their debt to society and would like to become productive citizens again’.
He added in a 2015 interview with GQ that it took him time to come to terms with what he had done – and to forgive himself for causing such ‘hurt’ to others.
‘I thought I should have been killed at the time, okay? But then, after a while, you say, “Wait a second, hold it. People have done things as bad if not worse and they’re not being punished anymore. Okay. Why?”
‘I did twelve years. We’ve paid our debt to society, so now let us live our life. You know? Let me tell you, if I screw up again, hang me.’
Indeed, despite the taboo surrounding sex crimes, many of those who have visited Miracle Village admit that it has changed their views on registered offenders as a whole.
For example, back in December 2014, photographer Sofia Valiente spent six weeks living in Miracle Village in order to document its residents and learn more about their day-to-day lives.
Speaking to Vice about the project, she admitted that she had, at first, ‘feared the worst’, but that ‘after speaking with some of the residents, I saw that they weren’t monsters’ – indeed, she went on to add that most were ‘no different’ than people living in an ordinary community.
But Miracle Village is not the only Florida community where registered sex offenders seek respite from the strict laws that govern their lives after they are released from jail.
On the show, host Stacey also spends time with convicted sex offenders living in a homeless camp in Miami, where they are forced to live in tents.
She also meets with Senator Lauren Book, along with her father, lawyer and lobbyist Ron Book, who have campaigned to push through more than 20 pieces of sex offender-focused legislation – including the 2,500ft residency restrictions in Miami.
During the programme, she discovers that Lauren herself was abused for six years as a child by the family’s live-in nanny.
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Second Chance Sex Offenders airs on BBC Three on January 24.
Has anyone figured out a way to watch this documentary? The BBC channel in my area is not showing it , and can only view it on the BBC website if inside the UK (royalty rights).
Working on it NOW
I paid my dept to society 25 yrs ago, (1993 – 2000) then two yrs parole after getting out. I had never been in any kind of law enforcement trouble before this with perfect military record. But I was convicted of attempt rape on my wife (now ex – naturally). We were divorcing and I had temp custody of our 2 yr old little boy during the legal process. everything was in my favor it seemed but just 3 months into it she called me up sobbing she wanted to restore the marriage and “fix things” said she didnt want to see our son grow up in a broken home!. Well, I agreed and she moved back from ST Louis to Virginia. 4 days after she was back i tried ( what I thought ) to make love to her, instead she threw a fit, cursing, telling me “who the f33k did I think i was to touch her without her permission!!! The rest is why im here writing this. so, after release and Parole, moved to florida in 06, newly remarried we bought a house in Brevard CO , Soon after got a neglected sailboat on the cheap , took it to Patrick Air Base and started restoring it. now 11 yrs later i was sitting at the end of the pier talking to some friends, and base police pulls up and arrests me for Brevard. they initially said it was because i didnt register the boat as a temp address, well i argued because of course for the past 11 yrs i did, even talked to the registering officers bout sailing. well turns out I was right , but the reason was because i didnt register it with DMV. I AM CURRENTLY 13,000+ IN DEP Lawyer fees, bail fees, ankle monitoring fees, court fees , and now, house arrest/probation fees- yeah , I Thought I paid my dept!!!
P.S. Virginia has since 2011 restored my civil rights lest firearms, but Florida has taken them away again.
Until something like this can air on primetime ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc… here in America, it won’t make that much of a difference. But hopefully, it will get some exposure. Do I even have BBC Three?? I’ll have to look.
If more news agencies can “high lite” the situation of ex-offenders especially in the states that offer no respite then perhaps changes will come. People instead of jumping to the conclusion that everybody on the list is dangerous needs to look at everything that puts you on the list. Instead of saying the list protects them they need to look at the actual data that proves it does nothing at all for protection.