Member Submission: My First Experience Traveling as a Sex Offender
Part 1 Volusia County Florida
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This is a recollection of my first travel outside of my state (Florida) to Chicago suburbs for a family event.
I went to the VCSO in Volusia county and asked them what I needed to do to travel to another state. The Response from the woman behind the glass said. Come in at least 48 hours in advance, tell us where you are going and when you will return. [FAC NOTE: THE LAW SAYS ‘WITHIN 48 HOURS’ NOT ‘AT LEAST 48 HOURS’ THERE’S A DIFFERENCE]
I made all my reservations and went back in before my travel.This time they wanted way more information than they had specified in my first visit.
In addition to where and when I was traveling and when I would return they wanted exact address of where I would be staying, mode of travel (plane), flight numbers and flight times. Luckily I had a ll the paperwork with me. The required a complete Iteniary of my travel.
Flights, airline, depart and return dates and times
Hotel address
The only thing that was never asked for was info about the rental car. [FAC NOTE: THE LAW SAYS ‘“Vehicles owned” means any motor vehicle as defined in s. 320.01, which is registered, coregistered, leased, titled, or rented by a sexual predator or sexual offender; a rented vehicle that a sexual predator or sexual offender is authorized to drive; or a vehicle for which a sexual predator or sexual offender is insured as a driver. The term also includes any motor vehicle as defined in s. 320.01, which is registered, coregistered, leased, titled, or rented by a person or persons residing at a sexual predator’s or sexual offender’s permanent residence for 5 or more consecutive days.”]
I gave the the name of the county in Illinois that I would be staying in and the name of the town as well, Dupage County, Village of Itasca. They said when I get there I should register with the local Sheriff.
I asked the Woman behind the glass what I needed to do when I returned to Florida. I asked “do I need to check in to the VCSO office when I Return”, she said no, and subsequently gave me a business card with and 386-248-1788 number and stated, just call this number and let us know.
When I Returned to Florida, I did call that number, got a voice message and left my name and stated that I had returned from travel. That was on Friday after 5pm. I never did receive any kind of verification that they had receivd the info that I had returned. That issue kind of dwelled on me during the next week, so I decided to go into the VCSO office to make sure it was recorded that I had returned. The Woman behind the glass stated that there was no mention in my record that I had returned. She then summoned an officer “Lee” and asked him about it. I could not see him but he said “sometimes when the voice messages are cleared they are just deleted”. I asked him what I should do in the future, he stated that “I was doing exactly the right thing”. But noted that he is retiring in a few months.
He gave me the names of two officers who would be handling this activity in the future.
Part 2 Itasca Village in DuPage County Illinois.
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I arrived at the Chicago airport on Friday and checked into my hotel. It was snowing, it was 4 degrees outside and traffic had slowed to less than 10 mph, and the temps were in the single digits. I decided to travel to the DuPage SO early the next morning (Saturday). I was not sure that they would be open but went there, about 25 miles from where I was staying in Itasca. When I got there, there was a red phone in the main office and I stated that I wanted to register. The Woman behind the glass slid a form to me and stated that they wee closed on Saturday and that I wold have to come back on Monday. I went back on Monday and the officer I spoke with barraged me with questions like “who told you to come here”, and who were you in touch with and the big reveal, he stated since I am staying in Itasca, I should register there with the Itasca Police Department.
I then went to the Itasca Police station on Monday evening and told them I was a traveling registered offender an I was there to register. The officer didn’t really know what to do and took me to an area to be fingerprinted and found a form to be filled out. The form said nothing about travelers and it seemed to be just a regular registration form, nothing about traveling from another state, so he checked “initial Registration”. In the stuff I had previously found online it said that traveling to Illinois for more than 5 days I would need to register. By this time I had 4 days left to be there. I filled out the form and I did get a copy. I returned to my Hotel and withing 60 minutes the same officer knocked on my door and when I opened the door, he stated that he was checking to see if I was at the address given on the form. That was my last contact with the County of DuPage or the Village of Itasca.
Summary
My Travel dates were Jan 17 2010 to Jan 24 2020.
Why is it that I feel that the Sheriffs office and the Police department as well only give you enough information to say that they answered my question. The documentation that they, VCSO, had attached to the form regarding regarding the regular check in visits is tremendously confusing, perhaps that is on purpose. This was my first experience traveling out of state in the 5 years that I was eligible to travel. Not only from the local office but in the web information of what is required at the traveling “TO” location.
I also asked about what about if I do a road trip in a car or on motorcycle, she stated that I would have to list each stopping place before I leave.
I would love to travel more, I am retired. It is untrue if anyone states that the registration is NOT punishment.
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Let me get this straight, as a person required to register in Florida but living in another state, once I am off the other state’s registry (10 years total), I will still be a “sex offender” on the state of Florida’s registry.
So, does that force me to have to adhere to every single state’s law concerning “establishing temporary residences” when I travel because I am on the Florida’s forever registry? For example, traveling to a state (other than Florida) that requires registration after visiting for “x” amount of days.
Or as far as other states are concerned, I would “no longer be a person required to register” (as in an active registration with a home state). Is this correct?
This is a question that has been unclear from the beginning. Don’t even make me throw international travel in the mix!
Yes, you will still be on Florida’s registry.
Many states require registration if you are required to register in any jurisdiction.
And no he will no longer be required to register anything in Florida or otherwise be required to follow any registration laws, if he does not establish or maintain a residence here. Florida will simply list him.
So to be clear, when removed from the current residence state registry and still being on the Florida For-Life registry, I travel to TN to visit family and their law says:
2010 Tennessee Code 40-39-203. Offender registration Registration forms Contents:
(c) An offender from another state, jurisdiction or country who has established a primary or secondary residence within this state or has established a physical presence at a particular location shall, within forty-eight (48) hours of establishing residency or a physical presence, register or report in person with the designated law enforcement agency, completing and signing a TBI registration form, under penalty of perjury, pursuant to § 39-16-702(b)(3).
I STILL must register within 48 hours or be in violation of TN state law? This is new and disheartening information to me.
How is there any relief to anyone that is on the Florida For-Life registry? Funny, the how the registry isn’t punitive.
And to add, why we’re not funding the out of state registry challenge any quicker is beyond me…
FAC, thank you for the confirmation. I could not believe that someone living in another state had to return to Florida twice a year to re-register just because they had visited Florida.
So even though im gone for three months i need to fly back to florida to register for my second registration? This caused a bit of a stir at the office But they were firm At the vcso That i need to come back to florida from neW england.
As im there more than 30 days id have to get the local driver license and register the car locally.
So i fly back to florida: get a new driver license again Go register: file my travel plans again come back to the travel state. This makes sense? The people at the desk were hesitant but they were firm that i need to fly back and have a florida driver license. I am in my state a week Per month at least but this is the first time it overlaps my bianual dates.
The second question they couldnt be clear on comes from traveling out of the travel state: they tell me I have to report to florida but cant call it in. E.g. i go to vermont for a few days while im up here And then drive to Massachusetts for a few more during my 3 months i need to tell them somehow but cant be on phone. Seems a brick wall. I have homes in both states the only reason i hang here more is that damn for life thing but they dropped the failure to register because of those circumstances. I have been in a purgatory limbo that cant get straight answers from the vcso
For a clearer answer contact the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or better yet an attorney since the FDLE makes up rules as they go along.
I took FDLE to court ( With a lawyer ) and won to have some wrong info corrected )
However, when they corrected it they changed me from registry from 2 times a year to 4 which the lawyer also says is wrong but I do not have another $1000 to fight it and further piss off the FDLE. For a 1000 dollars I will give up two extra days of my life to go register again.
You can ask a lawyer, a judge, the sheriff’s office and the FDLE all the same registry question and you might just get 4 different answers. If you follow a wrong answer and end up in jail, you will be told by judge “It is YOUR responsibility to know the law”. Well EXCUSE me, write the damn laws, rules and ordinances in plain English spelled out in a simple way and maybe, just maybe we could obey them. They throw the Ignorance of the law is no excuse at us AS AN EXCUSE, to arrest us. Prison is a HUGE profit maker for states. Any win for us is a loss for them and they cannot stand that even if they have to LIE to keep you down.
Doesn’t matter if it makes sense, it’s a political bludgeoning tool, a way for them to gather up nearly 1 million Americans at any time on any technical violation they can dream up and no one will care. Maybe their immediate family and maybe some friends but they won’t do anything drastic to stop them.
They want as many people unarmed and able to be imprisoned without much of a stink as possible.
Divide and conquere it’s the Hitlarian way.
I was right.
A registrant who resides in Florida does not have to report interstate (or intrastate) travel unless they plan on establishing residency.
Residency means 3 or more days (in the aggregate) during the course of one year.
(See this clarification letter from the FDLE):
https://floridaactioncommittee.org/fdle-responds-to-interstate-travel-inquiry/
Furthermore, I have nor been able to find any federal statute that bars interstate or intrastate travel. Federal law simply states (as far as I can glean) that if you fail to register, then it is also a federal crime. Please see https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-sex-offender-registration
If I am wrong about the federal statute, please let me know. But I am 100% confident in the state statute as I have explained above.
Thank You.
I thought scimilar things in Texas. I found out the hard way (1.2 years in solitary confinement surrounded by Mexican Mafia and murderers) that your wording is always wrong.
I even had the wording of Texas law on my side but the Federal “Defender” said that the Jury will be made up of nothing but law enforcment officers and border patrol so I will never win.
If it even SOUNDS like you need to do it, and even if you do it, it is impossible to not violate in some way.
HOW IN THE HELL is that an impartial jury? Did you even have a lawyer that went to school? Good Lord was there even a jury pick process?
That sounds like a black man being convicted by 12 KKK members. In what World is that allowed. Oh yeah in America’s Kangaroo courts.
Funny when we are a victim, law enforcement does nothing. We just had a major vandalism incident here and when the officer showed up, he told me to go online and do a report there and he wouldn’t even give me his card.
Move to New York. They tell you only toreport if you ste going to be gone for more than 30 days! Of course you need to research each local jurisdiction as to where you will be traveling, but even if you miss it by a few days, a call will suffice! NYS is not looking to railroad anyone, nor ruin anyone’s life! They also don’t allow you to report moving or traveling out of the country until 2 days before your flight. I tried to go in early and they refused me and told me to come back two days before my flight. I videoed my return just in case the Feds gave me problems! That was March 3rd of last year, and I have not been back to the States!
From the Ill-Noise SO registry FAQ page:
If an offender is visiting from another state, are they required to register?
A sex offender visiting the State of Illinois for more than 3 days in a calendar year will be required to register with the local law enforcement jurisdiction where the sex offender is staying. This means cumulative days; it does not necessarily have to be 3 consecutive days.
So if you visit ANYWHERE in ILL-noise any time in a 365 day period, being there more than 3 days trigger registration. So I won’t visit again until after July if anything comes up because I stayed 2 nights there.
This is exactly why I left the country and will, hopefully, never return, even for my Mom’s Funeral!
My only advice to everyone out there is to move to New York State! I was a level one, there, and will only return to formally remove my self from being a RSO in 10 Years, when my 20 years are up!
If you are looking to travel, Hong Kong, All of Schengen Europe and their far flung Member Territories, Nepal, Isra’EL, and Guatamala are WELCOMING with OPEN ARMS! IF you are a tad more adventurous, take a offshore sailing course and learn to sail. Then, no country can refuse you when you claim mandatory life threatening repairs – you probably won’t ever need to, though! Almost everyone will accept a donation for some cause or another! Just never think of it as a bribe! They are humans, and don’t earn much!
Isn’t the local agency supposed to remove you from the registry if you send notice that you’re living outside of the country?
If you come back to the USA in the future to another state, why would you have to register in that state if you aren’t registered in another state anymore?
Food for thought.
No. Florida keeps you on
You can’t even die to get off the Florida registry. That is why we must keep the pressure on until common sense penetrates the Florida political/legal system.
Actually you can . I am pretty sure a friend of my church died but no one will tell me. He is no longer on the registry and was in BAD BAD health.
NO Way he just got off the registry as he was a lifer with no chance to ever be removed and yet he is removed.
He is still showing is past history on FLDOC website but he has not been in prison in over 20 years.
I googled him thinking something would come up on another state’s registry even though he had no family to move to but nada. In fact when you google him, even his DOC record doesn’t come up, unless you go on their site.
99% sure he passed away. The person I know who was helping him said he just disappeared and his phone was out of service.
The rule in Florida is supposed to be that, after you die, you must remain on the registry for at least a year. After that year, a family member can request your removal – but I’ll bet that some never do.
That is almost laughable, like they are giving you a year to be resurrected by the Lord Himself. So they play it safe for a year in case you somehow do a Houdini and come back from the dead.
What purpose would it serve to keep a dead person on the registry longer than 30 to 45 days ( giving enough time to process paperwork etc. )
The state of Florida should legally change its name to the state of confusion. I will be the first to cast my vote for name change. OH wait, we can’t vote. Or go near a school, playground, church, park etc. without being arrested.
Proud to be an American as long as you do not have a criminal record.
The extra year gives Florida an extra years to collect registry maintenance fees from the Feds.
I call it “Trickle Down Persecution”.
You are correct. I was completely removed from New York State’s Registry, per my attorney’s inquiry after I left the U.S. from JFK, but the FEDS still have a tether on you until you satisfy an applicable state’s requirement to be fully removed from the FEDS!
For New York State, Level Ones are the only tier that can be removed from the FEDS’ Tether, and that is after 20 years after release from prison. The Feds will send you a letter within two weeks after receiving the notice from the State that let you go notifying you to apply for an unmarked Passport! Then you can travel to anywhere that does not blanket ban all felons!
Make damn sure that you don’t travel to any state that could force you to register with them for life, before or after being released from the FEDS! Some have been released, and then traveled to another state that had a lifetime registry requirement and they were zapped back to where they started! My advise to everyone I have talked to is ー LEAVE THE COUNTRY, NOW! Then go back for a month when you can be forever removed from your State’s Registry, and then leave the States permanently!
BUT MY POST WAS MEANT TO ENCOURAGE LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX THE FEDS THREW US ALL INTO! DON’T WAIT ‘TIL YOU CAN BE REMOVED FROM YOUR STATE’S REGISTRY, IF YOU EVEN CAN! LEAVE NOW! ALL OF EUROPE AND THEIR FAR FLUNG TERRITORIES WILL ALLOW YOU TO APPLY TO LIVE AND WORK THERE IF YOU HAVE CLEARED 10 YEARS SINCE YOUR OFFENSE, NOT YOUR INCARCERATION! I WAS ARRESTED 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS RAN OUT ON MY OFFENSE!
Thanks for replying to my original comment. However, I hope you can clarify a few points:
You said the Feds put a tether on you even after you leave the US and ask state for removal from registry. What does this mean?
You mention that one must still wait 20 years in their state if they are a level 1 to be removed, but then you next mention not to travel to any state that forces people to register for life, after mentioning that the original state removes you when you are oversees.
I’m frankly confused by what you wrote as it’s jumping around a bit.
If you moved out of the USA as level 1, removed from registry, and then at some point in the future you come back to the states, then what happens next? That’s still not clear to me. Why would you have to register anywhere if you were removed from state registry? The laws are written about state registries not some higher federal registry.
If you’re a level 1 then why would you be on the Feds registry system? Even if you are, why would they need to remove you after your time expires if only the state has to do that? Why wouldn’t the Feds remove you as well (assuming they are supposed to at all) as well as the original stage has done if you live outside of the US and the state registry removed you already?
If the new state says you must register with their state if you’re registered in another state, but you’re not registered with any state, then why would you have to register in the new state you moved back into from being on overseas?
Hopefully this will clarify it for you! ^_^
New York State indeed removes ANYONE who either moves to another State, or who gives THEIR 2 to 4 day warning that they are leaving the country! New York State will not allow you to give notice until those last few days before you leave! I videoed everything on my phone when I gave notice in NYC’s SOMU! In New York, Superior Court Judges give you your level, and Level One’s are the only ones who will be removed from the State, and subsequently Federal, Registries after 20 years! Since I am not registered in any State, yet still fall under Federal Requirements, I have to return to New York State for one to three months to register, and then wait to be completely removed by the State, and then the Feds! It takes a week to receive the State’s letter of permanent removal, and about a month to receive the letter from the Feds! I still would have to register in another state if I established residency there, but I won’t ever let that happen! I did not grow up in the States, and have lived overseas for more than half of my life! Europe has a law that applies to all member countries that states that Registered Sex Offenders are to be released from all monitoring ten years from the offense date! That also applies for residency applicants from other countries! I will probably use that to establish residency in Sweden or the Netherlands at some point after I have gotten tired of Sailing around this Rock! That law also applies to ALL non-UK Schengen European Caribbean, Northern Atlantic, South Pacific, Oceanic, and South American Territories!