I understand that my situation is more on the unique side but isn’t what the ex post facto lawsuits are not only about not adding things retroactively but also not to take away things in the same way? I was told if your good for 10 years you can petition to have this removed but before I got that far they moved the goal post to life. There is one thing that would make a difference in regards to SORR rules that I know of. If you are moving into a new address and you are a predator the police HAVE to notify the neighborhood but if you are an offender it’s up to the discretion of the police department. Plus as sad as it is labels matter. If you move somewhere new, get a new job, take classes at a college telling them, or having them find out you are designated a predator is far worse than offender. The problem is they automatically think of the worst situation possible. In American people are grouped into classes and labeled and yes an offender label is bad but predator is worse to a degree. I mean look at the driver’s licenses. I had for years a license with just the predator statute number in the corner. Now that I had to renew it I have a SEXUAL PREDATOR label in the corner. When I had to use my license before no one noticed it. Now I show my license and people look at me like I’m going to rob them or something.

I didn’t post your comment because the situation is a bit uncommon since it’s unique to the predator designation. You are referring to downgrading the predator status, but not removing the requirement to register.
Candidly, it’s not an area that we’ve come across to share anecdotal information on. You might want to ask one of the attorneys on our referral list and while I’m sure they would not file the petition on your behalf for free, they would also not take your money to do something that was not possible (at least the attorneys we refer to).
The other unfortunate thing is there is no distinction between predator/offender with respect to municipal SORRs (that we know of). Some municipal residency restrictions exclude people whose offenses are against someone above a certain age or before a certain year, but I’ve personally not seen one that says “Predators” are excluded but “Offenders” are OK. You might find you’re in the same boat being an offender.

I had posted a reply to your comment but I don’t know why it didn’t make it to the thread. I was simply stating that I was given the sexual predator designation due to a previous 1995 conviction and that in early 1998 I was told by my lawyer and the prosecution at the time of sentencing that I was before the 10-year change to 20-years. My question is is there a way I can still have this looked at? I am going to have to move in a few months and having this designation as a predator instead of an offender really makes a big difference especially moving into a new neighborhood. I have been living in my current home for the past 15 years without too many problems and I’m not sure how to find somewhere to live that has the 2,500-foot buffer rule.

Yes – for predators, there was an opportunity to downgrade the predator designation.

Actually, it’s 10 years for me. It’s after October 1, 1998 is when it became 20 years. My crime was committed in March of 98 and my adjudication date was September 10th. Here is how it’s worded and here is a link to that source info:

https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OGC/Documents/Legal-Bulletins/98-02-Guidelines-to-Florida-Sex-Offender-Laws.aspx

A sexual predator who was designated a sexual predator by
a court before October 1, 1998 and who has been lawfully
released from confinement, supervision or sanction for 10
years and has not been arrested for any felony or
misdemeanor since release, may petition the court for
removal of the designation. A sexual predator or sexual
offender who was designated by a court on or after October
1, 1998, and released from supervision or confinement for
at least 20 years and has not been arrested for any felony
or misdemeanor offense since release, may petition the
court for removal of the sexual offender/predator
designation.

You can consult with an attorney, but from what we’ve seen, in another 6 years, when you’ve done 20 without arrest, you can petition for removal. in 1998 when you became subject to the law it was 20 years.

I was charged and sentenced in early 1998 and finished all sanctions in 2006. Previously back in ’98, I was told that once I finished everything for at least 10 years I could petition to have my designation removed. I had fallen under the 10-year rule before it changed on October 1, 1998. Of course, years later that had all been changed to life which removed my chances to petition for the change in my designation even though I’ve been done from any probation or parole for the past 14 years. Is there anything that I can do to try to change my destination now?

We will cover it in our weekly update but don’t want to speculate while the case is still open and these comments are public.