Each October law enforcement officials increase their number of random checks on people forced to register as a sex offender. Then come the press releases informing the public that children will now be safer during their Halloween activities. While there is no research to back up such statements, this activity by law enforcement has increasingly become a form of harassment for registrants and their family members.
When studying the arrest reports throughout the nation around the Halloween period, one is hard pressed to find an arrest for an actual sex offense being committed by someone on the registry.
I would like to chime in a bit on these wasted resources. we all have resources. We could go with the bible but many just say they are Christians and believe and leave it at that. Well the devils believe. So whats missing in this land of true justice. The resource to make fair and honest judgement and righteously also.
So whats wasted. A failed way of life. Getting busted for drugs, being denied from some churches, getting a job, getting some type of respect back, having a place to live or following some pledge of allegiance. So is it one nation under man’s rule man’s demonic authority. Seems like America has wasted a lot of resources due to governing issues, police practices, even the unethical practice in this sex registry act that abuses and compounds one. Life is challenging enough although many on the registry are taken advantage of by this unjust government.
I can’t believe resources are wasted by this undermining ordeal called the sex registry. Should we all call it social justice or blind justice. Speaking up is one’s greatest resource & assets one has if constructs correctly.
Is there anyone else who feels that Trump in the White House will be better for us? How can anyone cry about sex offenders if there’s one in the White House?
That’s what I say. Except he hasn’t worked 47 jobs the last 28 years to support a family. I have.
Just got fired again for being on the list. Thanks Florida for retroactive, no due process, re register after being off for 17 years in Illinois. I rebuilt my career only to have it taken away. The list is punishing me again and again and again and again. It’s a nightmare to survive. Please repeal this so I can provide for my family. Thank you Mr/Mrs President. I don’t care who’s in office. If we don’t like it we can vote again in four years. Oh crap, they took away my vote to. Holy crap this is bad dream.
You’ve probably learned enough to run a business yourself. Be your own boss and start a business. I know it’s not easy, but many people have succeeded at it.
I know your question should have been posted in “off topic,” but don’t fool yourself into thinking that Trump is going to do anything “politically safe” to help us. He is seen and viewed by his followers as “one of the good ones” and anyone else with the label is fair game in their eyes.
His “enemy within” rhetoric should have everyone worried because that statement falls under all the undesirables umbrella. Don’t think for one second he wouldn’t put us all in death camps if that meant it would elevate his popularity among the extremists.
I’m still in shock. It’s been difficult. Honestly I got hammered for 10 years of registry. Got off 17 years ago. Swore to myself I’d rather jump off a bridge than be on the list. I’m guilty of making my wife happy by coming to Florida. Now I’m looking for sanity in this mess. After all, aren’t we discussing the very nature of man? Are the laws a reaction to our own ideas of morality and media? I did probation and no jail for my crimes. Served my time on list. Where is the evidence to make me guilty again? None. 28 years of evidence of model citizen. 47 jobs to survive. I’m tired of the punishment. It no longer fits the crime.
I understand. I left Florida for North Carolina. My wife just got offered a job back in Volusia County. She’d make twice the amount of money that she’s making here. Housing is our biggest concern. I don’t know where in Volusia we’d live. I refuse to be forced to go live at the Nest in Daytona, like I was first forced to ten years ago. I will sacrifice a chance to get off the registry here to be with my family. As always it’s one day at a time.
Trump was never convicted of any sex offense. He did lose as a defendant in a civil case that involved alleged sexual misconduct. But he has no conviction of any criminal sex offense.
Civil poop stains underwear just as good as criminal poop.
Crap is crap.
Bribs and back door clean up’s for poor behavior takes a lot of money to accomplish.
Meanwhile the average person gets eaten alive by the list.
Dear P, are you suggesting that nobody needs to be convicted in a criminal court to be placed on a sex offender registry? Should anybody with a civil injunction or restraining order be forced to register without a criminal conviction? Remember, the burden of proof in a civil court is much less than in a criminal court, and adjudication occurs in a criminal court at sentencing.
Not to stick up for him, but isn’t it funny the accusers (Adults) only came forward when he ran/tried to run/or ran again for president? Not blaming any victims but that could happen to any of us. There doesn’t seem to be a statute of limitations and some neighbor who doesn’t want you on their street could lie and say, “Hey 30 years ago when I was 12, that guy in that house did something to me as well”.
Who are they going to believe? They sure didn’t believe me when they interrogated me for 5 hours without a lawyer present.
I’ll stick up for his accusers with pure speculation. Perhaps if Trump actually did the assaults, the women were happy to let sleeping dogs lie (multiple word-puns there)? When they saw he was running to be the president, they may not have wanted their abuser to hold the highest office in the land. Like I said, only speculation.
As to your comment about untrue vindictive accusations, you are correct. SOs have not zero but negative credibility in that they are presumed to be lying.
No, Trump in the White House will not be good for anyone.
First, I am not aware of anything positive he did vis-a-vis the registry when he was in office before. Second, considering some of the autocratic changes that might be forthcoming in the coming months, there are many already marginalized people (some who are also registrants) who stand to be further targeted and demonized.
I fear the changes will come swiftly and catch most people by surprise.
So called reporter Michelle Meridith of WESH news recently created a news story about how Marion County Sheriff’s Office and joining agencies were keeping kids safer during Halloween by conducting checks on sex offenders and sex predators in that Florida county. She wrote about laws that prohibit us from participating in Halloween events and how we must stay inside our homes with the lights off. She made no distinction between PFRs on supervision versus those who are not and free to participate or decorate our houses if we want. She made no reference to any law because no such law exists in Florida for people not on supervision. https://www.wesh.com/article/marion-county-sheriffs-office-halloween-safety-operation/62769153
There was a relatively positive article on this subject published yesterday at The Huffington Post
I won’t name names ot the county. But I got my annual Halloween vist this year. When I answered the door I started laughing. The lady deputy said what’s so funny? I replied, it’s funny how a certain demographic of people become so dangerous evey year on Halloween and yet never seem to commit one crime. She replied. This is the dumbest *h!t I have ever done as a deputy and such a waste of money. She looked at my lincence and was gone in less than a minute. Well lady officer. I couldn’t agree with you more.
@ Its the SOS
I would have answered the door and said to the lady Deputy “Gurl, you are rocking that Halloween Sheriff’s costume” LOL
I will also not name my county, but my sheriff’s office has never come to my house for anything other than my 4 yearly check ups (More check ups than my doctor gives me)
Interesting .
It’s because society chooses to believe in GIMMICKS, PROPS and ILLUSORY solutions. Especially anything that is revenge-based. It’s pacification on a grand scale to give aid and comfort just for votes. Lawmakers spew feigned outrage to draw attention away from what they’re really supposed to be doing – creating laws that will actually benefit society.
Society wants and prefers punishment over real-world solutions. That is the sad reality in which we inhabit.
Absolutely.
I’ve been saying it forever but I really do not believe that there is a single informed, intelligent, moral person who thinks Registries should exist. They certainly don’t think Registries play any positive role with public safety. They know Registries aren’t even needed and that you can get everything that you need and more, via different, better methods. But they also know that unfortunately Registries are not just worthless, but much worse. They know Registries are counterproductive and decrease public safety. They know Registries radicalize people and cause widespread anti-social behavior. Registry are truly stupid social policy.
Registries really need good, consistent branding and to be advertised accordingly, incessantly. I’m kind of thinking one of these three:
Sex Conviction Registries: Worse than Worthless. Always and Forever.
Sex Offense Registries: Worse than Worthless. Always and Forever.
Registries: Worse than Worthless. Always and Forever.
Or maybe change the tag line to:
Worthless, But Much Worse. Always and Forever.
Unhelpful, But Worse.
I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it much. I think the “Always and Forever” part is a critical point but it feels a bit sappy to me. Maybe I’ll do a market study, lol.
There are around 1,000,000 PFRs, right? And how many family members and good Americans in general? What effect would it have if the Registries were branded and that was repeated by a million people on every single communication?
Will, from your posts, you’ve been successful in business. Perhaps you could give people in this community some advice on how to start a successful business? What fields are well suited to pursue while being stuck on this list?
I ask because of an earlier post from an individual who has had to find 47 new jobs due to the list. Wouldn’t owning a business stop this cycle for motivated individuals?
Yes, I think owning a business is the way to go.
I think I could give a pile of advice about it. I’m not up for writing a well thought out, well constructed guide or whatever, but I’ll just do a bit of a brain dump.
I was around 30 years old when I got into trouble so I had some pretty solid footing. At that time it was invaluable to know successful people and be able to network. I worked for a friend’s company and did my own work via that company. That made dealing with a probation officer very easy. My friend was no fan of theirs and just did whatever I needed.
But I’d say one of the key things that really helped me was that I got pissed off and decided that I was not going to let the Registry A**holes/Supporters/Terrorists drive my life and I’d drive theirs instead. The Registries motivated me. For sure. I was having trouble just renting an apartment. And of course finding work on my own. So I got pissed and decided I wasn’t going to put up with that any longer.
Then for maybe 10 years or so, I focused almost exclusively on working and being successful. While others were watching TV, I was working. While others were drinking and drugging, I was working. Frankly, I love drinking, but I moderate it and never let it get in the way. Instead of spending money I made, I invested it. All of that snowballs. I’ve been doing it for a number of decades now and it just builds upon itself. It is very true that it is a lot easier for a wealthy person to make money than a poor person.
But anyway, starting from scratch, I’d say start with some business that requires very little capital. Personally, I love construction. I’ve found that you can make a great living by doing nothing more than starting to work on a few people’s homes. At least where I live. You do good work and you will find yourself in heavy demand, quickly. Frankly, I think if I had focused on that, that alone would have made me a multimillionaire. There are just so many unmotivated, untrustworthy, incompetent, drugged-out people doing it. If you aren’t that, you’ll be busy.
So just create a company, perhaps an LLC. Register that company as your employer. Then do whatever you want. You don’t even have to use the company name. Again, if you are good and network, I think you’ll stay as busy as you want.
I’m not an electrician but I’ve made a lot of money doing electrical work. Residential is not hard and there are plenty of people who want to pay people who are seriously cheaper than electrical companies. You can just install ceiling fans and make a fortune.
Same thing with plumbing. So many things are easy to fix and are lucrative.
With either of those, if you want to take on a hard job or a lot of work, your company can easily hire licensed electricians or plumbers on an ad hoc basis, as needed.
If you’ve got a bit of money (and even if you don’t), you can buy construction equipment and make great money. Even just a single skid-steer or excavator. Again, at least where I live. That is surely not the case everywhere. I know a guy who owns dumpsters. Delivers them to construction sites and then dumps them when they are full. Makes a fortune. You can buy a good one for $5K. Need a strong pickup though. But those can be cheap enough. If you can buy those things without financing, it hard to not make money.
I’m also a big fan of owning homes and buildings. If you can’t rent an apartment, buy a duplex. Rent half of it while you renovate it. You can make a TON of money doing that. After you been in that one for a while, you can buy the next one and keep that one. Or sell it AND avoid capital gains taxes. I found early on that I can do that over and over again. Before you know it, you might own 20 of them or whatever.
I’ve already blabbed on a good bit. But I’d say the key thing really is just decide that is what you are going to do. Then really focus. And work. Things will happen. Networking is also super helpful. Today, I have people all the time offering me opportunities. I have a guy renting from me now who just a couple of months ago asked me if I wanted to join in on his successful business and expand it. All I have to do is put money in. Those can be great opportunities.
Lastly, I’d also say to contact any PFRs that live near you and network with them. Tell them what your skills are and what you are trying to do. See what they are up to. Exchange work and business opportunities. That works well.
Great response Will. Thanks for taking the time to help this community!
I hear you. Thank you.
Will Allen, can I edit your piece, send it to you for approval, and then post this valuable information as a stand-alone piece? You can contact me at [email protected]. Thank you.
Yes, for sure. It was pretty much a super quick brain dump and I didn’t try at all to structure it or anything. No doubt it can be greatly improved.
I don’t have to approve it but if you would like for me to do so or look it over, please just email it to the email address that I’ve used for this post.
Will do. Thanks.
Will Allen,
Are you a VIP within the Florida Action Committee? I think so. Your post is not within the guidelines. It is a whopping 488 words or 4427 characters. Excellent job getting the large post submitted.
The committee also allowed the off-topic post, which is an extra point.
I think the non-licensed skilled trade you recommend raises concerns. Also, the unrealistic ease of generating a self-employment company is a concern. Yes, start with a low-capital business plan and legally unlicensed professions. The electrical, plumbing and even painting professions require a professional license issued by Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulations. Operating as an unlicensed contractor in Florida is risky, and the outcome could be catastrophic. I operated a self-employed business for over 20 years. I held a professional license issued by the FDBPR until it was revoked in 2022 after seven years of completing the CEUs and paying for the license. The state issued an Emergency Revocation Order, citing an immediate threat to public safety. We live in an alternate state, and seemingly unimportant decisions for the rest of society can be devastating for people forced to register. The idea of networking within our particular class is stellar. Go ahead and be self-employed; it is worth the effort and can generate a good living, but do so legally.
I wasn’t talking about not using your brain. I guess that really should be the first piece of advice and it is the most critical. It isn’t super fun to ALWAYS be thinking about work and/or business, but it really helps keep it in focus and get things done. So maybe focus like that 95% of the time for the first 5 years.
Anyway, I wasn’t giving advice for Floriduh. Just in general. So the paths are definitely going to vary by state and local options and opportunities even more so.
The beauty about all these licensing problems is that I don’t have to have an actual license. All I have to do is own everything. For example, I can employ as many licensed electricians as I want. And where I live you can even do electrical work yourself as long as it is under the supervision of a licensed electrician (which isn’t a bad idea regardless). You can do a pile of work and you’ll find 20+ licensed electricians who will inspect it and sign off on it for $200 or whatever.
Owning is the key. I wouldn’t call it “self-employed”. I would call it owning. Own companies. They can employ you, if you want. Or not. You can just take profits.
Not super important – but do you really have to have a license to paint in Floriduh?! Can’t be. Talk about fascists.
A lot of people like to pretend that Floriduh is a free state, but I feel it is very opposite of that. They seem to love all the government they can get. Just my feeling though.
Government could be useful if they offered an optional licensing/certification of painters. They could test people, for example. Then offer that to the public. But why should that be required? What’s it to them if I want to hire Joe Blow to put paint on something I own? Seems insane. Same with licenses to cut hair or whatever. Offer some certifications. Beyond that, forget about it.
I don’t need big government holding my hand. I don’t need them to vet painters for me. Or hair cutters. Or keep me out of the ocean so I don’t drown. Or provide me with idiotic lists of people who supposedly did some bad SEX thing decades ago. I need government out of my family’s lives. I’m not dumb or helpless.
Will Allen,Please pardon my misunderstanding. I carelessly read, “I think I could give a pile of advice about it.” The statement was not meant for advice; as you said, it does not include Florida. There is some truth to the saying that you do not need a license to provide painting services in the Sunshine State, but if you are compensated $500.00, you will need a contractor’s license. As you said, ” I wasn’t talking about not using your brain.” A potential painter in, as you say, “Floriduh,” would need to do a lot of $499.00 paint jobs to make those millions. I am trying to understand why, where you live, there is any need for being supervised by a licensed electrician since there are so many licensed electricians willing to take a bribe to sign off on work they did not perform. I may be catching on to the concept of a “brain dump.” I understand the part about owning a business; often, a person realizes that the company owns them. Does the style of business you are speaking about file a tax return? If yes, a self-employment tax would be part of an IRS 1040SE in any state, and you can determine what SE stands for. Florida is not a free state for people forced to register. In my opinion, registrants have become a commodity. Just think about the $17.8 million in grant funds the State of Florida received to surveil the people on the list in 2016. Someone is making money.
See: OPPAGA interviews FAC board members (2018 report)
bizinsure.com/painter-license-requirements-florida/
All good thoughts. Thank you. I’ve calmed down and started over, again.
I imagine other people have it worse. I’m pouring my coffee and putting my big boy pants on again. Chin up, chest out, speak clearly and calmly. The world isn’t the same place it was 28 years ago. It’s changed.
Seems like part of your post might be facetious, but I can’t really tell, lol. No matter. I was giving advice. Plenty applies to Floriduh. But obviously things are going to vary by location.
The thing about electricians is not a “bribe”. That is how electrical work is usually done (again, where I live). If you own an electrical company, you can have 20 electricians and only 2 of them have licenses. The licensed ones can be thought of as “supervisors”. They don’t have to be, of course, but that is common. A whole bunch of licensed electricians never touch any wires. Un-licensed people do. Licensed people are designing things, supervising, inspecting, signing off.
But anyway, the “self employment” thing was more a statement about how a person can think about what they are doing. Different things surely work for different people. But I prefer the concept that I own things. I am not relying on “employing” myself. I own things that make money. Again, it is not super important, but certainly a C corporation falls under that. You can own the entire thing, not be employed by it, not do anything with it even, and get all the profits. Like if you owned all of Home Depot, for example. Just probably on a smaller basis. You can start an electrical company and never work a day there past hiring the initial management.
@Facts
What is odd, no victim ever came to my hearings. In those 34 years since my arrest, I have had no issues. I was off of probation 21 years ago. I have never had a registration violation and the registry didn’t even exist when I went to court.
Since the registry was listed as Non punishment, they can retro-actively apply it. What happen to someone getting a chance to prove themselves. I would even go so far to say if they allowed me to be removed from the registry, I would sign a paper that if I ever had another sex offense, I would volunteer for the electric chair.
I say that because that is how sure I am that there would never, ever be another offense. Maybe a judge that is retiring and doesn’t care what anyone thinks, would rule we can automatically get removed after a reasonable time period. I mean heck, even many murderers get freedom eventually.
Hi Cherokee. It would truly be great if a judge had the power to order someone removed from the registry. I’m not familiar with Florida law, but I suspect that is purely a legislative function as it is elsewhere. Only judges can order punishment and they don’t order people onto the registry. But I wish it was imposed as a part of a sentence. Then it would be judicially-applied punishment and ex post facto would apply. Now the registry is a civil regulatory measure, so it is officially not punishment.
@EdC
I was thinking, wondering if there is anything worse and then I remembered there are some who have completed their sentences but were not released due to a loophole called “Civil commitment”. So, there is always someone worse off, I get it, however, the registry shouldn’t even exist and if it did (why apply it retroactively to those who did not get to plea bargain at sentencing?)
Am I innocent of all charges? No. Did I successfully complete my sentences and be offense free for the last 34 years since my offenses? Yes. Are there those worse off than me and some better off than me? Yes. I am NOT just about me, the registry as a whole, falls into a category of the Twilight zone where it is called administrative, yet administrative things usually cannot send you to prison for life. The registry can, and often does.
And we all know, at least in Florida, if you get any arrest, even if it was thrown out, (Like so called loitering in a park) we can never apply to be removed. And I am sure most reading are thinking just like me, that was put there on purpose to get more ways to get us all back in the system.
And I love, support and stand behind all those who did/do get removed. It is kind of like when I was in prison and kept seeing guys go home on early release. Even I at that time got gain time, but many today with a sex offense have to do most of their time now.
ED
If they started registries for every felony offense, like murders (Supposedly there is a registry for that but nothing like ours), robbery, Arson, Grand theft, Con artist who steal 100s of 1000s of dollars from the elderly in scams, all those felons would be rioting.
From an article from “Prison policy”
There are 19 million adults with felony records, nearly 12 million have served their sentences in the community while on probation. The rise in felony records has been disproportionate by race and varies substantially between states.
Out of those 19 million felons, As of August 2024, there are approximately 795,066 people registered as sex offenders in the United States.
You may be on to something, Cherokee. Perhaps instead of spending so much energy trying to get the SO registry repealed–a near political impossibility–we should work to get registries imposed on all felons whose crime harmed a person physically or financially. The financial burden to states would be overwhelming, and would demonstrate the futility of registries; a little “guerrilla ontology” ala Robert Anton Wilson.