Reading this article made my blood boil! Counties which were being “flexible” about IN PERSON registration during Covid-19 shut downs are arresting people who failed to register.
On March 30th, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Sexual Predator Unit (SOPU) posted a sign outside their door telling registrants to wait in line a safe distance from one another, and when it was his or her turn to register, to approach the door and call the phone number on the sign. Registration would then be conducted through the door.
A registrant reported on both April 1st and April 2nd (his re-registration month was April), called the number, nobody answered so he left messages. Nobody called him back and he otherwise was quarantined at home.
When he showed up on May 19th to update his vehicle registration, he was arrested for failing to register!
Comments open: Marion arrests guy for trying to register on a Wednesday:
https://www.villages-news.com/2021/04/06/summerfield-sex-offender-jailed-after-showing-up-a-day-late-to-register/
Jacob
If you didn’t know by now, we cannot win. They set so many traps for us because they do not want us to make it to the point where we can petition to get off the registry. One bogus arrest, even if thrown out, still counts as an arrest when you try and petition to be removed from the registry. The lawyers for the state tell law enforcement this (My opinion) so they do not lose their precious funding.
The registry came out in 1997 so over the next decade, people like myself are becoming eligible to be removed. To me the registry is one of the biggest shams and scams for dollars the U.S has ever seen.
CherokeeJack
I can see why you quit being a cop. I couldn’t imagine going to work and seeing people that are supposed to enforce the law be the ones to break the law. When they do wrong there’s no accountability and they get shuffled around to different departments with everything swept under the rug with nothing to see here folks. Sad state of affairs when the cops aren’t on the side of the citizen anymore. Thank you for your service though and I wish you the best in your future endeavors!!
I have a great friend who at one time was a sheriff’s deputy in Brevard County…for five years. He was assigned to the jail. He told me that after five years he had to resign because he came to realize that half the people he worked with belonged behind bars. I guess crooked cops is nothing new.
Friendly reminder: if you decide to record evidence of your registration attempt over the phone or in person, I would strongly advise making the officer aware of your recording at the very beginning of the recording. I think it’s still illegal to record a phone conversation without both parties’ consent/knowledge at the beginning of the call.
I don’t think it’s illegal but I know in Florida it can’t be used as evidence in a trial. In Florida it’s both parties’ consent is needed to be used as evidence. When you leave a message on an answering machine it’s implied you know you are being recorded and consent to it. If you call someone and to them in person and record them without their knowledge then that recording can’t be used for very much.
“ Votos agreed he should have made another attempt during the month to see if the office was open, the report said.”
If this statement is true, he should not have agreed to that. Contract law. But I’m sure they’d find another way. They get The People by having them agree.
I thought the role of law enforcement was to enforce the law. However now it seems like we make up our own rules and you must comply or get arrested!! If someone comes into register and the sheriff’s office fails to do their job why aren’t they punished for not protecting the public. Marion County should be called Moron County!!
Comments still open. Just scroll down past the ads towards the bottom of the page. I know it’s easy to miss.
Submit your comment and give them a few hours.
I have my camera on every time i go in.
I sure hope these people were smart enough to document by witnesses, video, etc their attempts to register that were not accepted.
I was once told to “leave and come back tomorrow” because their internet was down. “Nope! You are being recorded and i am here to register. I have fulfilled my legal obligation. So if you do not complete my registration my lawyer will be contacting you.”
What are the requirements of the registration office to be opened? I’ve wondered because my office hours seem to be intentionally unreasonable.
830-1100, 100-500 m-f
Thats only 6.5hrs opened per day and they are largely placed around the most inconvenient times.
If i wanted to go during lunch the office is inconveniently on a (2hr) lunch break.
Most people start work around 7&8 so no registering before work.
And jobs typically end around 5pm so no registering after work. Weekends are out. 32.5 inconvenient hours a week to register does not seem reasonable, it seems like entrapment.
Ok, I realize right up front that I’m going to be beat to hell for this………. The offender really bears most of the fault in this one. He did attempt to register on the first 2 days of the month but there were 20 other days in the month that he could’ve at least attempted to contact the office.
As Registered Citizens we have to go to the fullest measure to ensure that we comply with the onerous requirements placed on us. Whether we find them absolutely asinine or not (and I know that I would use a hell of a lot stronger language to describe them) the responsibility rests on us to comply. If we do fully comply and then fight the system they cannot turn around and say “Well, you didn’t comply anyway”. If we give the State even the tiniest hole in our defense argument they’ll use it to rip our case apart. If the gentleman had made multiple attempts to at least call the registration office then he would have much better position to argue when he goes to court. As it is right now the State will merely say “Your Honor, he only attempted to contact the registration office twice in 22 days”. I don’t think that he could even make a strict liability argument because he did that.
I know I am not the only one here that’s stood on the defendant side of the courtroom. As wrong and unjust as it is we all know that we go into a courtroom where justice is ANYTHING but blind.
Let us hope the person gets a reasonable judge who will look at their history of registrations, the fact the registration was in fact closed or appeared to be and that perhaps how many years had passed without another arrest.
I do believe the judge you gets matters more than the lawyer you hire because they get the final say other than an appeal. If the judge hates those with sexual offenses like my judge did, you will get more time than a murderer gets.
Reasonable judge? I don’t think that will help; they don’t have discretion anymore. Mandatory minimum of 6 months probation with an ankle monitor for any registration violation.
I agree with Roger… Every register citizen knows what is at stake. What happen to the other 28 days and his month was April. Did he try to go to a different County to check in? Even though it is not his county He could have made a better defensive argument that he went some where else to register and they denied him I am sorry he went to jail but April has 30 days minus 8 Sat. and Sunday so 22 days he could have went Yes time and money but I rather have freedom to spend the other two without jail
As Registered Citizens we have to go to the fullest measure to ensure that we comply with the onerous requirements placed on us.
Well, that just sealed the deal on the argument that this shit is in fact punitive. 👍🏻
We could have 1000000000000000000000 pieces of evidence that the registry is punishment. However, until a judge rules otherwise, it is mute.
However, I have seen a few rulings in other states where it has in fact been ruled punishment.
I’m afraid that I’m going to have to agree with Mr. Mansfield on this one. The rules are ridiculous, but we do have to do everything we possibly can to comply. I would also like to add that the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Unit is closed every Wednesday. April 1st was a Wednesday. This office has been closed on Wednesdays for as long as I’ve been required to register.
As a side note, the first week of any month is the worst time to register. They are always busy. In fact I called the Marion County office around April 2nd to find out if they were open for registration. I was told yes, but it was suggested I wait until the second week of April as they were busy.
There were arrested by the “Sexual predator unit?” What if those people arrested are not and never were sexual predators? Lmfao. Buffoons.
I was going to say the same thing. They do that on purpose as it makes the neighbors think everyone they visit are predators. NO this is not an opinion, I asked a deputy that one time and that is what he told me.
So I guess you could say that is HIS opinion but one that I believe. Why couldn’t they just put S.O.U , short Sex offender unit? BECAUSE when they visit you, EVEN if you are not required to notify your neighbors, they make sure THEY do with their flashy bullet proof vest with that on it.
I pray each time they come by none of my neighbors are outside. Once a regular deputy checked on me and when the neighbor asked if everything was ok, I said they were following up on something, which was true without giving out too much info.
I was in the registration office when this happened. The detective told him it was his job to call again as many times as it took to complete registration as they were cuffing him and that they had no record of his phone message. Florida has open records laws so for his sake I hope there is a record of his attempts.
Where I go, there are two doors, if you go in the first door, you register, if you go in the second door, you never come back out. So far I have not seen anyone get asked into the 2nd door yet.
I keep all of my paper copies of registrations as evidence.
Marion county is a EVIL county !! It’s seems that they (Entire County Gov ) HATE anyone that “Has a past” and anyone that “Stands against them” !! I’ve been told by the Sex Offender Unit officers that, Even if the State says to stop ” The Registry Enforcement” they WONT !! . AND Hear this, During this Covid-19 Pandemic, When all Courts and Gov offices are/we’re closed, Marion County “Code Enforcment” was/is out searching for violations and continuing to HARASS people that stand against them !! They’ve been by almost WEEKLY to take pics and document the “Status” of a case !! Because they !(Code Enforcement) says that someone ” Has too many Vehicles !! And they consider people’s ” Stuff”, JUNK !! According to Code, People in Marion county aren’t allowed to own anything “USED” !?!?!?. Marion County Florida seems to be a “CountRy of its own !! I can’t wait to get outta this state !!
This crap scares me,(supposedly)Duval did everything via phone. Sure, we have phone numbers and voice mails from “detectives “, but what stops the people at JREC from arresting my husband in six months when he checks in again claiming he didn’t register six months prior? I’m so sick of it all.
@Andrea, tell your husband to do what I plan to do. Your detailed phone bill should list all outgoing and incoming calls and duration of calls. I will print/copy/bring it with me the next time I need to make any in-person changes. Also, I’m pretty sure all our calls are recorded by JSO/JREC so they already have the proof.
He’s saving all his voicemails and phone numbers, I also told him to drive by JREC and take pictures if there are signs stating they’re closed. I had also told him to call the detective that comes to.the house twice year and have her check and verify for him. I figure it’s part of her job, make her do the work.(maybe that sounds petty but I don’t give a damn)
You think there is not a camera at that door and near the phone? But who will look at it? Would prove he was there
As former Law enforcement, I can tell you, Evidence can suddenly and mysteriously disappear at will.
Maybe this is a stretch but, do you think that the cop who just killed the black man with his knee on his neck would have told the truth if NO cameras were filming the incident? I am in no way anti police but I saw my share of cops lying to cover their ass and it made me sick.
What makes you think they are going to tell the truth to stick up for a pathetic sex offender? (Assuming some think of us that way).
AND no probation officer, correction officer or police officer is going to admit they made a mistake and lose their job or be suspended over telling the truth. I saw this crap every day in the department and sent me home with nightmares of the abuse of authority going on still today.
Back around 2001, I was on probation and was at Disney with a friend. My probation officer called my cell phone and asked where I was since she was at my house. I said I was with a friend at Disney. (This friend had no idea I was convicted of a sex offense and didn’t matter).
Well my probation officer went off on a rant stating that SEX OFFENDERS CANNOT attend theme parks. I said I do not want to piss you off but there is NOTHING in my paperwork stating that and was never told that by you.
After she calmed down, she said the next day I needed to see her in her office. She also made me hand the phone to my friend who she swiftly advised I was a sex offender on probation. The rest of that day was awkward and never heard from him again.
So the next day I go into probation and got a lashing saying she could arrest me right then and there. That was one of TWO incidents I could have been arrested and sent back to prison for some silly thing I had really no control over.
The point? The point is SHE COULD have arrest me twice during my probation but never did. AND, come to find out, she never ever documented the two incidents and when I went to court to get off probation, when the judge asked about my time on probation , she NEVER brought up either incident.
She didn’t just see me as a terrible person but as a human being. Yes I got scolded like a whipped dog but hey, I will take that anytime over a violation.
And yet, here I sit being afraid because I did not let the sheriffs know that on Tuesday my neighbor 5 houses down got a new car and I didn’t register it because MAYBE I might borrow it some day?
Maybe this doesn’t all make sense but I sit here reading about someone who made every attempt to register in a time of crisis and one hand either doesn’t know what the other did or doesn’t care or both. BUT this is someone’s life they are messing with. tearing families apart but they turn around and say ” You should of thought of that before letting your urges get the best of you in the first place and you wouldn’t be in the situation”.
How many people need to be violated for BS petty crap before enough is enough? How much money will this person have to spend to fight the charges and to have their photo once again blasted in the media to again bring shame on themselves and their families? Disgusting.
Odd about making you hand the phone over: dont think thats something they can do
A probation officer seems to have broad powers that are beyond what even God Himself has. ( SARCASM ) Probation officer does NOT need a warrant to search your home, whereas police do.
My choice was comply or get violated. It all worked out. It should have been none of my probation officers business where I was as l was not on house arrest but what can you do? I complied and it worked out in the end but yeah, could have gone really wrong.
Florida has very broad public records laws. So if there was any camera used by the sheriffs office that shows this man trying to register, then he or anyone else can use public records laws to obtain the video records. The same goes for any calls to dispatch, which are recorded.
Bob
Do you not know how easy it is to either erase a video or make it just disappear. I see court cases all the time where evidence just goes missing. Sometimes this actually is a good thing for a bad guy and sometimes it is something that could be the only thing that saved your skin.
Officers are not going to show up to a trial with evidence that shows the person was telling the truth. The defense attorney will have to petition to get it, IF they can get it before it goes missing. or they can just lie and say the cameras were not working.
Dear Cherokee Jack,
Take a deep breath and reread my post. All I said was the Florida has brand public records laws and that anyone can make a request for public records. I do not discount your experience with evidence being “lossed” or “tossed” in cases. We all know this happens. I simply made a suggestion so you have no need to attack me for it. We are supposed to be here to help each other, right?
Bob
Was not meaning to sound like I was attacking you, was just making a point that law enforcement covers their *ss with whatever ammo they need. I saw it first hand so many times it made me quit and give up on my dreams.
I am not some conspiracy theorist, but when you saw first hand, a major metro police department’s officers lying, losing evidence, beating people for sleeping on the street and more, I have to speak my peace.
Was not aimed at you, just wanted you to realize how much law enforcement hates us and the extent they will go to get what they want. When I was arrested I asked 3 times for a lawyer and the detective told me, “If you ask for a lawyer, I will go to the news and destroy you”. What happened to my rights?
And, and , and Even if charges are tossed, it may still count against them when and if they try to get off registry.
This is why NO MATTER what, you get proof. Film if you have too. When I read some places were not giving receipts, I knew it was a set up.
Of course they will count as the law says ARRESTED for ANY criminal offense not convicted. That means that you could be denied because you were arrested for a certain type of littering. I’m still wondering if ANYONE has ever been taken off the registry in Florida as we have only recently gotten to the point in time where someone might be eligible.
Re registry removal, I see this often on this forum— that an arrest for “any criminal offense not convicted” automatically makes someone ineligible for registry removal.
But that’s not what the statute says. It says an arrest for “any felony or misdemeanor.” If that arrest resulted in dismissal or acquittal, then it wasn’t for an ACTUAL felony or misdemeanor, was it?
Attorney Ron Kleiner seems to have handled more FL registry removals than most. In his conference call with us, I think he indicated that not all those who successfully petitioned out, had perfect histories.
There are other counties in Florida that have separate registrant units in which you pick up the phone and wait for the officer. My recommendation is to video record yourself on the pick up phone. If no answer state the date, time, the name of the sheriff dept. and unit, your reason for being there, that no one answered the phone and, if a recording comes on, leave a message. Do the same the next day.
I realize the registrant was quarantined and was not able to go back the following week. But for those that can, repeat the same. And if still no answer I would suggest going to the main sheriff department, speaking with an officer at the desk and informing them of the situation..I would record that as well.
We know law enforcement doesn’t care nor will they call you back.
Stay safe and be well.
I see Florida newspapers love to post anything with the “sex offender” label. Why is this even news? Just another opportunity to post someone’s picture and charge I guess.
This dispute could have been handled administratively, but since they went and arrested him, I hope his case (if his version of the details are correct) will find its way to a sympathetic judge that may dismantle some the lunacy in the legislative code going on down there.
I agree. There is nothing news worthy about this story, unless it helps to educate the public in some way about how absurd the registry and its laws are. This arrest is costing taxpayers money and is in no way making society safer.
I noticed there was not a comment section. Someone at the paper must know this is not news.
For the newspaper’s comment section for this article, scroll all the way down. And try not to spell out “sex” explicitly (the only reason in can think of why comments like mine were not published).
Correction: comment DID publish, it just took a few hours to appear.
Here is a man who has registered 10 times since he was sentenced 5 years ago. Has never missed a single time. They arrested him anyway. If there is a hell, there will be a special place in it for people like this.
Is there any law on the books (sunshine laws perhaps) in Florida that states messages left on government phones and answering machines have to be saved or documented. That would be useful to have.
The other is for him to submit a copy of his cell phone records showing the judge he indeed did call the number on the sign those two days and should show how long the connection lasted.
Maybe some of the arrestees will have a better defense in light of the revent precedent from the 2nd DCA of Florida holding that there is no registration violation when a defendant has not been fully release from the sanction of conviction that landed them on the registry.
Welcome to Florida!
Anyone arrested should fight,, fight,, fight their cases and upon victory Sue, Sue, Sue, the crap out of LE!!!
We must realize that these law enforcement vigilantes make up their own rules. I hate to say this…as a supporter of law enforcement for many years…but many cannot be trusted and do whatever, whenever they want with a feeling of impunity. It is what our society is degrading to and it is just a matter of time before anarchy becomes the norm. I hope I will be ‘home’ with my wife by then.
Why should registration offices ever be open at all? It’s the offender who’s strictly liable!
I am grateful that at least the Federal 6th Circuit had the sense to hold strict liability unconstitutional. With luck and persistence, our ex post facto plus challenge will help us get there in the 11th.
Comments on the news site are open, it appears.
went to article. Did not see anywhere to comment nor anyone’s previous comments.
To comment, scroll down past all the ads almost to the very bottom.
I’m not at all surprised by the tyranny in Florida. Even if law enforcement doesn’t give a rat about a registered citizen I would think they care about their employees. Hypocrisy knows no bounds in the state that looks like part of the male anatomy. I say Florida should be banned from Americans because looking at Florida on a map is a threat to children. Look mommy it’s the state of Florida peeing on Cuba!!
Punishment! Punishment! Punishment! From the start till the end!!. There is soooo much to back that up!!.
I wish there was a “like” button on this site. 😁