The comments on a Go Fund Me page tell a completely different story about a man than the article in the Miami Herald.
Clarence Collins had worked as a Janitor at the Pride Center in Wilton Manors, Florida, an LGBTQ community center that has been around for 25 years, this year. Clarence had worked for them for fifteen of those years.
The Herald story paints a picture of the center “hiding a dark secret”, their janitor was a registered sexual predator for a crime that took place 21 years ago. But, in reality, the CEO knew of Collins’ past and even confirmed with probation that it would be OK with him to work there. Only after a parent found out about the janitor’s past did the center fire him.
The Go Fund Me page tells a completely different story. One of a beloved longtime employee (a good employee, at that) who was giving back to the community. One who is now jobless and homeless. How often do you see anyone rallying around a fired janitor? Let alone one with a criminal past? It’s clearly a testament to the character of the man today.
It makes you wonder exactly how much repentance will ever satisfy the public, where a man can’t keep his job as a janitor in a community center that preaches inclusiveness and tolerance.
So does anyone else find it ironic that this man was fired because the Pride Center built a children’s playground when a scant 40 years ago, people in South Florida like Anita Bryant were proposing things like the “Save Our Children” ordinance designed to keep those kiddie fiddling homosexuals away from our precious youth? How quickly some forget.
Insert FAC approved sarcasm label here for those who missed it.
Just curious – the FAC Weekly Update for 2018-04-12 says that CC is in jail? what happened?
failure to report where he was living
Oh geez is it because of getting fired?
Good. Another dangerous horrible criminal off the streets. Nice job browards finest!! Arrest a hard working law abiding citizen trying to get his life together, but not the deputy that refused to go into one of your schools to stop a school shooter. Makes perfect sense. **please note my enormous sarcasm in the first part of my comment lol
“Boo told the Miami Herald in an email that he found out about Collins’ status as a registered sex predator in 2006, but that he was unaware state law bans Collins from working or loitering near a playground.”
(from the Miami Herald Story)
Somebody help me out here. I don’t believe that there is a state law here that applies to Mr. Collins, as his offense was in 1995. In fact, as his offense occurred in 1995, he doesn’t fall under any of the state residency restrictions. Am I mistaken here?
The sad fact is that with registrants no amount will ever be enough, especially in Florida. This man paid his debt, he had worked at this place for 15 years, without any incidents, I would assume. He was a good employee, so because a person has bought into the entire all sex offenders are bad, and we have to have a registry, bull sh## this man is now paying, again. Florida aka Scott-land is ridiculous, it is out of control. Everything from the rights of ex felons to vote, to the ridiculous registry that does more harm that it has ever done good. It protects nobody, if it did we would see a decrease in crimes not a 44% growth. Each year we add more people, more crimes, more unemployable persons, and more homeless, it is time to say ENOUGH. Not just in Florida but nation wide, people need to do their own research not just listen to news headlines or politicians. Because they really don’t care if you’re safe, they want to sell papers, and get votes. I believe once there was a case where a man was imprisoned for over 20 years for a crime he was later proven not to have committed. When he was granted a new trial and there was overwhelming evidence he was innocent his attorney was asked why he had been convicted to begin with? His attorney replied due to the overzealous headline grabbing of the press, the attorney was F. Lee Bailey. As we know news papers helped lead to the homeless situation in Miami-Dade, along with wealthy lobbyist Ron Book. It is well known in Florida if you want to get into office push the FALSE statistic of dangerously high recidivism for sex offenders, and you’re in. Please stop the madness, stop destroying peoples lives. Do we need a registry that is for the public, no we do not. If we had a true risk assessment system, and only put the truly dangerous individuals on a law enforcement only list then I could live with that, but we don’t, we just make them all pay for life. This is wrong, people do change, and isn’t that what they are supposed to do after they have paid their debt?
It is ridiculous what is happening
Here in Martin county Fl the sheriffs office just last Friday decided to post only the sexual predators on their face book page . I have lived here 15 years and they have never gone out of their way to exploit any of its citizens . Now I cannot speak for the rest ,but I myself am not getting in trouble have had a great job as a manager ,over 80 people under me
My employer does know of my past and has stood behind me
I own properties ,I go to church and help with duties their they are also aware
When law enforcement forgets their job is to protect ALL CITIZENS their to violate their own oath
It does not state to protect as serve the ones you like best or chose
Shame on Sheriff Snyder for allowing his Dept to pick and choose who they defend. So much for his Christian thinking If any news media outlet could ever grow a set and they to look for all
The success stories and tell the truth about their own news stories. NEW OFFENDERS not on the registry , that would be a start
I hope all that read this respond we must put our shame aside and figure out a legal way to stop this behavior
To all have a great and blessed day
Something extremely sinister afoot if one can be exploited, yet can’t sue, over the word sex.
HYPOCRITES! You Pride Center leaders and members conveniently forget that if you had been outed years ago before gay rights were hard-fought for, EACH OF YOU could have been the target of IRRATIONAL ANTI-GAY HATRED. Yet, you sit comfortably in this time of acceptance as you SHOW IRRATIONAL HATRED to Clarence! HYPOCRITES! Your short memories make me ashamed of you!
It is very sad to see the gay community’s lack of support for a registrant…..again. If only members of that community could remember how it feels to be treated like an outcast. We are trying to bridge the gap between our community and they gay community in our annual conference in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 16 at Southwestern Law School. More information online at http://www.all4consolaws.org. Please join us if you can.
I happen to be a card caring member of BOTH the gay community and the price club. I can tell you that the government has done a banner job of making the term “sex offender” mean a faceless evil force lurking everywhere and someone who is beyond redemption and doesn’t deserve a second chance.
Queers are just as judgmental as everyone else and I dare say even more so actually. Most of the younger generation has no clue about how it used to be with their smartphones and hookup apps…they really don’t care.
I do live in Los Angeles and I will certainly make an effort to attend.
Dear You Can’t Handle The Truth,
Why do you say that the younger generation really doesn’t care? Are you saying that they don’t feel the “sting” of the past generations of the gay community being the victims of hate, but they see RSO’s as being important to hate because, in part, they have no frame of reference?
KayT
Kayt – I am not sure why YOU is specifically calling out the youth but that is neither here nor there. I believe what YOU is saying is that the gays should see through the lies about sex offenders and realize they are being victimized as gays have been in the past. But it would seem that many do not.
Karen, I was asking the question because someone else said that young people think differently with their cell phones and apps. It seems that they don’t remember when the LBGTQ people were victims like sex-offenders are now. Seems once out of jail, life should begin. But the registry destroys and too many people are afraid. So now everybody is afraid. I was asking if the young are in such a different world. I am wondering what happens when they grow up. What do you think?
15 years working there ( more than half the time the center has existed ) and without incident for a past crime that is 21 years old. God himself can come down and give his blessings and reassurance that it is ok for him to work there and people will still be unsatisfied. The paranoia and ignorance in people as it seems, is much more powerful and has the greater influence. All that this this resulted in, was to make a man homeless and jobless and for what ? Nothing!
No.
Unbelievable!
Comments on go fund me are very telling of this person character! I think the Pride Center should be ashamed and should have stood up for this man! !!
Disclaimer: I did not read the story in the paper
Why wasn’t the parent told that the center wouldn’t put his/her opinion of the janitor (whose history he/she did NOT know) over the opinion of the CEO (who DID know the history?) Why must the uninformed (misinformed?) always have their paranoia placated???
The tolerance Nazis are quick to demand tolerance for their selected protected group but extremely intolerant to anyone outside that group. Liberal used to mean that people accepted things they weren’t comfortable with. Now liberal means be what I demand you be or I’ll do everything in my power to scorch the earth under your feet.
Lovely…so the man works at whatever job he can find and now they fire him … guess he will be homeless now so they can put plan two into effect – arrest him.
Welcome to Florida!
only our great government who is running for office now can look no into our lives for all who makes a mistake of their life in the past and for so long and never get into trouble now needs to get off the registry computer 🖥 cause it’s not really all of us humans are bad so what happened to us humans also can happen to him too I’m sure he is no different from us other humans who have to keep Registering like say we don’t have any thing better to do with our life some of us humans have paid off ourselves to Society so it’s just time now for us humans to come together and be free at last cause our humans money 💴 can’t seems to help us if a woman comes up and said our Florida head of state Touch them in a way that they don’t like and now he became one of us humans who is on our humans registering for life it’s now needs to look 👀 into before he think 🤔 he will win for the next big office that is the Senate
Some people just need bigotry to make themselves feel bigger.