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Since tighter sex offender laws sprung up across the nation in the wake of Miami-Dade's, a number of challenges have followed. In January 2006, public defenders and state prosecutors in Iowa joined forces and issued a statement calling for the repeal of the state's 2,000-foot residency restriction, which, they said, "does not provide the protection that was originally intended."

In Florida, the ground is moving under our feet. Weston, which has a 2,500-foot ordinance, settled in a suit in September brought by Thomas Lacorraza, a 23-year-old sex offender who was fined for living at his grandparents' house after being released. In the end, the city said he could stay. Lacorraza's lawyer, Chris Mancini, is currently representing another offender — 25-year-old Lee Chang, convicted of having sex (consensual, Mancini says) with a girl in her early teens — who was told he could not live with his mother, and was sent instead to live under a bridge in Miramar, where he sleeps in his car. In July, Fort Lauderdale probation officers came up with six different bridges to which they planned to assign sex offenders on a rotational basis.

"When you have bad laws, you see ridiculous outcomes," says Mancini.

At least two challenges to Miami-Dade's ordinance are already brewing. On November 7, the Public Defender's Office filed a memo in support of a motion to declare the county ordinance unconstitutional and pre-empted by state law. The ACLU is looking into challenging the law as well.

There is abundant evidence that residency restrictions do nothing to reduce sex crimes against children. For one thing, the vast majority of sex offenses are not committed by strangers: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nine of 10 victims under the age of 18 know their abusers, and 34 percent were family members. And while residency restrictions target those who have already offended, most sex offenses — 87 percent — are committed by individuals with no prior records.

On top of that, there is reason to believe that residency restrictions actually push sex offenders further underground. "We know that criminals are more likely to resume a life of crime when they have instability in their life, when they lack social and family support, and when they lack employment," points out Jill Levenson, an assistant professor of human services at Lynn University in Boca Raton.

Florida DOC statistics chart a steady increase in the number of sex offenders who have fled probation and whose whereabouts are now unknown. Statewide, the number of absconders has tripled in the past three years, but in Miami-Dade, the increase is almost tenfold since the 2,500-foot ordinance went into effect in 2005. In that year, the DOC recorded three absconders; this year so far, at least 22 sex offenders have gone missing in Miami-Dade.

At least two of the those were assigned to the Julia Tuttle. Carlos DeNacimiento, who pleaded guilty to raping a 10-year-old girl, and Humberto Danetra, convicted of exposing himself to two 13-year-old boys, were, like the others, assigned to live under the causeway upon their release from prison. Unlike the others, they declined to do so. Both offenders told their probation officers they would report to the location; neither was seen again.

"Sometimes there's a perception that those of us who oppose residency laws are advocating for sex offenders," Levenson says. "We're all on the same side — which is the side of public safety."

Around 7 p.m. on a recent Sunday, a car pulls in under the bridge and a rare thing happens: A woman steps out. Bending down and reaching across the driver's seat, she straightens up again with an armful of supplies — a small cooler, paper plates, and a package wrapped in plastic. The bundle nearly reaches her chin. It's Big Man's wife.

Since arriving a week ago, Big Man has made a place for himself under the bridge. He sleeps on a mottled white sofa that abuts Ricky Ortiz's side of the shelf. He has set up his things — a few pairs of shoes, a stack of clean clothes, some toiletries, a microwave, and a tattered Bible.

Big Man's wife smiles as he climbs down the ladder, smiling back, and takes large, bounding steps toward her. They embrace, and then his eyes move from hers to the food. "Go heat it up in the microwave," she tells him. He relieves her of the bundle and dutifully mounts the ladder again.

"He done tore up three pairs of shoes, 'cause he gotta climb up and down this wall here, and that's something he's not used to — he's a heavy man. So I had to get some rubber shoes so he can go up and down," she says, watching his clumsy ascent.

Big Man's wife (both requested that their names be withheld) is neatly dressed, with an ample frame and a soft face. One front tooth is capped in gold, and when she smiles, it flashes. As soon as Big Man vanishes into the gloom above the embankment, her smile disappears with him.

"Look at this place!" she says angrily. "There's no running water to take a shower; there's no toilets.... My husband can't work now; nobody's going to hire him. So I have to do the providing."

She drives down from her job in Boca Raton almost every night to take care of her husband. "I come down here, I do his laundry, make sure he's got a hot meal — because he can't cook. How's he gonna eat?"

Big Man emerges from the darkness and descends the ladder, paper plate in hand, gnawing on a chicken wing. His wife eyes the food disapprovingly: "Look how my baby got to eat — everything dried out from the microwave."

Later the couple climbs into her car and drives over to the water. They reappear after 15 minutes, when Big Man hops out, grabs the cooler, and vanishes with his wife back into the shadows.

"Big Man's getting cookie," someone says cheerfully.

A few weeks ago, the generator conked out. Wiese and Ortiz took it apart, piece by piece, until they had dismantled it entirely. They put it back together, and it still didn't work.

Eventually Ortiz was able to make good on the manufacturer's warranty and wrangle a new one, but on a recent night, most of the bridge is shrouded in darkness anyway; everyone has run out of money to pay for gas. The mood is glum. Wiese sports a black eye that Ortiz gave him — a money dispute, Wiese says. Big Man has finished off a decent amount of vodka, and the roar of his profanities echoes off the concrete from all directions. "I'm getting real tired of that guy," one man mumbles wearily as he sits on a crate beside his tent, staring idly at a candle and drinking a Miller High Life. "That's my last one," he says, nodding at the candle. "When that bitch goes out ..."

On top of everything, another offender arrived tonight. His parents had driven him under the bridge and spent the afternoon building him a little wooden house with a canvas roof. He's still in shock, the men say.

Write Your Comment show comments (67)

  1. i'm digusted by this. absolutely disgusted. if i were a resident of this county, i'd be so ashamed i'd leave. these guys have paid their debt to society in prison, to treat them as sub-human will not solve anything, and it won't make us safer as a society.

    Comment by Jennifer — December 12, 2007 @ 11:16PM

  2. It has become very apparent that John Walsh and Mark Lunsford are behind all of this and that the politicians should all be charged with an inhumane crime. Have they not read the constitution, the International Law that expresses Human Rights? I feel they have not and if they were ask what and where is that located these dummies would have to pay someone to find out all about Human Rights. Here Let me help them being that they are only interested in "VOTES". THEY TOOK AN OATH AND THEY NEED TO STAND BY THE UNITED STATES CONTITUTION AS WELL AS ANY OTHER HUMANE LAWS! This is so bad and I am sure like the one guy that committed his crime 23 years ago and Walsh is behind that. When he himself :ADMITTED TO HAVING A SEX ADDICTION FOR WOMEN FOR A LONG TIME ON CNN LARRY KING LIVE". This is so wrong I saw this on a blog and it is very clear these lawmakers are committing a MAJOR HUMAN RIGHTS CRIME! you can look these up on Google or any other site.

    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

    Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    Sick in the USA no wounder people in other Countries hate us! BUT LIKE GONZALES SAYS "I CAN'T RECALL"

    Comment by Belle — December 13, 2007 @ 12:51AM

  3. thank you so much for shedding light on this tragic situation...florida should be ashamed of itself...i can't believe this is what the sex offender "hysteria" has led to and people are just letting it happen...what country are we living in...where are all the rational people of florida and why is no one doing anything....merry christmas all you humanitarians out there in miami and dade county....
    i don't understand how these politicians and law enforcement people sleep at night ...i always thought california was the least compassionate state but not even arnold is this bad....

    Comment by jamie Stamford — December 13, 2007 @ 01:57AM

  4. This is absurd. It reeks of late 1930's Germany.

    The first step in imposing tyranny on a nation is to establish the precedent that some people are subhuman and have no rights. Hitler did that by imposing laws calling for the registration of homosexuals and other "deviants" -- imposing residency restrictions and other deprivations of civil rights, and forcing them to wear pink triangles -- long before the first yellow stars were issued to the Jews.

    What a shame that America in the 21st Century is now borrowing from Hitler's playbook. What an insult to the thousands of our best young men who died to defeat Nazism.

    History has shown us time and time again that the systematic deprivation of human rights by the intentional creation of a class of pariahs leads only to tyranny. The Miami-Dade legislature may as well adopt the swastika as their official seal. They are no better than Hitler's Nazis.

    LL

    Comment by Liberty Lover — December 13, 2007 @ 09:01AM

  5. Liberty Lover has it right, but the problem isn't just in Miami and Dade County. The federal government has set the tone for this whole human rights debacle by creating the pariah class, as you call it, with sex offender registration and notification laws that are retroactive.

    Furthermore, they allow people to anonymously access this information over the Internet, making the registries basically hit lists for vigilantes. It seems like every month, these days, another registered sex offender (or an innocent family member) is murdered by some vigilante who scoured the internet for a random victim, making our government (and all of us by extension) accessories to murder.

    I am a Jew, and this entire sex offender hysteria really scares me. Time and time again, my people have been attacked and persecuted; and almost always, the precedent was set by dehumanizing some other group first. That a law like this should be passed in Miami, with all the Jews living there, is mind-boggling. Will we never learn?

    Comment by Floyd Benninger — December 13, 2007 @ 09:45AM

  6. I am a retired Police officer with over 25 years in law enforcement. I can tell you first hand that most of these sex offender laws are being passed by people we have elected to office so they can make us feel good and the elected offical gets free press. The US Dept. Of Justice has done many studies. First sex offenders are one of the lowest recidivsim rates amoung all criminals. 3.5% are reconvicted within 3 years of release from prison. 90% of all sexual assaults are commited by a person well known and trusted by the victim, with over 50% done by a family member. Over 95% of all sexual assaults are commited by a person with no prior arrest record. And for residency laws they feel that those are infact making things more dangerus for your familys because those sex offenders that may be likely to re-offend are removed from suport systems that may keep them from re-offending. If those in office wanted to protect us they would require ALL sex offender to be tested to see how likly they are to re-offend and then only those who are the most likely to re-offend would be placed on a public sex offender registry. This would save law enforcement and the goverment millions of dollars and law enforcement and the public could watch those who are at the most risk to re-offend.THOSE WE ELECT TO OFFICE NEED TO STOP PLAYING GAMES WITH THESE LAWS AND START PASSING LAWS THAT PROTECT US. Tim P

    Comment by Tim P — December 13, 2007 @ 10:02AM

  7. Americans must be ashamed to have something like this happening in your country.

    Comment by canadian — December 13, 2007 @ 04:32PM

  8. WELL IVE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS PROBLEM FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS. IN APRIL I WAS ARRESTED FOR FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEXUAL PREDATOR AND FOUND OUT THAT I COULD NO LONGER LIVE WHERE I WAS, WHEN I TOLD FDLE(FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT) THAT I HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO THEY GAVE ME THREE OPTIONS, 1) GO LIVE UNDER THE BRIDGE ON TWELTH AVE, 2) MOVE TO BROWARD OR 3) GO TO JAIL UNTIL THEY FIND A PLACE FOR ME TO LIVE. WELL I DECIDED TO LIVE IN MY CAR IN AN AREA THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE IN BUT CANT AFFORD THE RENT. I HAVE TWO KIDS 5 AND 3, AND WHEN I GO PICK THEM UP ON THE WEEKENDS I HAVE NO PLACE TO TAKE THEM. WE SPEND THE WHOLE TIME WE ARE TOGETHER IN THE PARK BECAUSE I DONT AHVE A HOME TO TAKE THEM TO SO THAT WE CAN WATCH MOVIES OR WHERE I CAN HELP MY SON WITH HIS SCHOOL WORK OR HAVE THEM TAKE A NAP IF THEY NEED TO. SOMEONE HAS TO HELP PEOPLE LIKE US WHO ARE GOING THRU THESE CRAZY TIMES. I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND ANYONES FEARS OF HAVIN SEX OFFENDERS IN THEIR NIEGHBORHOODS AND NEAR THEIR KIDS BUT TO NOT ALLOW A PERSON TO LIVE IN THEIR HOMES IS OUTRAGIOUS. I DONT EXPECT ANYONE TO HAVE ANY SYMPOTHY FOR ME OR OTHERS IN THIS SITUATION BUT THIS CANNOT GO ON, PEOPLE CANT KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS. I MEAN REALLY WHAT SENSE DOES THIS LAW MAKE, 2,500 FEET AWAY FROM A SCHOOL? YES MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE WAS WITHIN THAT RANGE BUT I WASNT IN MY HOUSE DURING SCHOOL HOURS, I WORK FROM 8-5 AND I WAS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE TILL ABOUT MIDNIGHT EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, SO WHY SHOULD IT MATTER IF I LIVE WITHIN THAT RANGE? WELL THIS WAS REALLY MEANT FOR THE EDITOR, AND IF HE/SHE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR JUST HOW MESSED UP THIS WHOLE SEXUAL OFFENDER THING IS I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE MY SORY WITH NEW TIMES.

    Comment by GILBERT — December 13, 2007 @ 09:08PM

  9. I work in a home for emotionaly disturbed girls, I interact daily with 14 young rape victims. I would guess that at least half of these girls will have no chance at anything resembiling a normal life once they get out of here. While here, the conditions they live in are much worse then the conditions of any prison system in America. This article does make me sick and outraged....you pity the offenders? There is reffrence to a man convicted twice of molesting children as "a dirty old man". Physicaly disgusting. What kind of society do we live in where we worry more about the rapists then the victims?

    Comment by Dana — December 15, 2007 @ 07:15AM

  10. This is a courageous article.

    The reality is that this is a very serious social issue, and our politicians have passed an immature and useless law that does not help the survivors and victims of child sexual abuse. Politicians Manny Diaz, Bruno Barreiro, Rebecca Sosa, and Pepe Diaz obviously did not do their research about this issue. We pay these politicians with our tax dollars, and they pass laws that do nothing for the problem. If fact, it just creates more problems.

    The statistics are true. Child molestation is a trauma and crime that is most likely to occur within families or with people the child knows. What money is being put to PREVENT these crimes from occurring? The ordinances —whether 1,000 or 2,500 feet— are not going to prevent sexual crimes from occurring.

    This society needs healing from this issue, not laws that are just going to bundle up all these predators into a group and ostracize them from society.

    This is not the strategy to take. The sexual offenders need counseling and of course to serve their sentence for the humanitarian crime they have committed. But ostracizing them from society will not solve the issue.

    Also, more people need to report these crimes, as many of these crimes go unreported, a silent epidemic. The sexual predators need to take responsibility for what they've done. Survivors of child sexual abuse go through years of counseling and many forms of therapy and healing to overcome their abuse. I don't agree with ignoring this problem or putting zone boundaries.

    I think more money needs to be spent on prevention and also on helping survivors and victims report these crimes. Many people don't report because of fear or because the predator is a family member. The crime needs to be reported.

    More money needs to go to centers of counseling to help survivors of child sexual abuse, who need counseling. Why aren't my tax dollars going there? I don't like that Commissioner Sosa refuses to take responsibility for what she's done. I am going to write a letter to these commissioners and the mayor, and I invite everyone who reads this article to do so as well. I want my tax dollars to go towards healing and prevention, not silly laws that ignore and perpetuate the problem.

    Comment by Veronica — December 15, 2007 @ 05:14PM

  11. Shame on you Miami Beach, housing human beings like trash under a bridge:

    Mayor Matti H. Bower, you are sick. You allow such an abomination in your city.

    City Manager Jorge M. Gonzalez, you disgust me. Creating a concentration camp under a bridge.

    Commissioner Jerry Libbin, we live in America. People should be free to live anywhere they please.

    Commissioner Saul Gross, who is to blame when this cluster of sex offenders "explodes"? There is potential for danger. If I was forced to live there, I'd want blood.

    Commissioner Richard Steinberg, let the sex offenders live, work, and contribute to society. Do not make the mistake of isolating them under a bridge. It is counterproductive.

    Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, where is the compassion, the decency. Women, teenagers, and the elderly are among those classified as sex offenders. Would you want your mother/father/brother there?

    Commissioner Edward L. Tobin, Where is the common sense? For victims under 18, according to the Department of Justice, (NCJ 198281) in 2003, 46.5% of offenders are a FAMILY MEMBER. 46.8% are a FAMILY FRIEND (Only 6.7% are a STRANGER, 2.2% a REOFFENDER). Uncle Bob and Babysitter Susie are the ones to watch!

    Commissioner Deede Weithorn, communities and law enforcement around the country are finding that residency restrictions drive once-registered offenders underground. These restrictions will make Megan's Law unconstitutional one day.

    Please fix this problem, all your city has been doing is IGNORING it.

    Mark

    Comment by Mark — December 15, 2007 @ 11:07PM

  12. Wow! so this is the America our government wants. I think it's time to start having weapons and or shanks for self defense. Better yet all the offenders should gather together and walk around Miami beach during the day and see if it makes anyone any safer then being under a bridge in the middle of the night. How stupid can anyone be to create such a law. I think those guys would do better in an Alqueda training camp.At least they wont have to register there.

    Comment by Julio — December 16, 2007 @ 03:19AM

  13. Why punish yet again, those who long ago paid their debt to society. How does this protect 'our children'? Does it instead call to mind Orwell's description of a 'boot stomping on a face forever'?

    The Swells are buying up Bahamian and other offshore paradises. Their buying frenzy has driven prices beyond the reach of even the merely rich. In addition to idyllic weather, lovely surroundings, and proximity to our shores, some say there's another reason which drives their buying frenzy.

    They see what's coming. Well they should. They created it.

    Paul Vincent Zecchino
    Manasota Key, Florida
    16 December, 2007

    Comment by paul vincent zecchino — December 16, 2007 @ 11:22AM

  14. I am having a hard time finding sympathy for the situation of these men. They assaulted the innocence of children, as far as I'm concerned, they forfeited their right to state funded support (I'm not particuarly sure I agree with paying for their prison stays either). I understand the information suggesting that support structure assists in preventing a repeat offense, however, the support structure (family, house, etc) should be located far from any possible temptation; a long commute doesn't exactly tug at my heart strings. It may be commendable that there are people and organizations willing to extend help and charity to men in this situation, however, I side with the 'panic driven government' in believing that these men finding a place to live and job to go to is their responsibility, however difficult it may be. If the intention is to break their spirits, as the young man in the article asserts, then I'm not terribly inclined to oppose the outcome as these offenders have surely broken the spirits of their victims...and no amount of jail time undoes or pays retribution for that.

    Comment by Kay Pilon — December 18, 2007 @ 12:40PM

  15. Kay, you're missing the point. It isn't that these men *chose* to live under a bridge, it's that they were *required* to do so by law. Parolees are mandatorily released into the county under which they were convincted, and are legally not allowed to live anywhere else. These men committed a crime in Miami-Dade Country, and have to live there while on parole. They have no other choice, legally. So if the entire county is legally off limits to them, then the state basically has condemned them to the life they have. Have whatever opinion you want to about the crime, but the ment that committed it are still human beings who have to live. Do they get a chance to ever get a chance to correct or try to make up for the wrongs they've done? I fail to see how living under a bridge will undo trauma to their victims. Better off to let them live in the community, hold a job, and pay for therapy for those they've wronged.
    It sounds nice and vengeful to say "lock them up and throw away the key and they deserve everything that comes to them", but it's just an ignorant knee-jerk emotional reaction that results in crap laws just like the ones this article highlights.

    Comment by Dylanspeak — December 18, 2007 @ 12:52PM

  16. Clearly not one of you commenters have ever experienced what it's like to be victimized by a molestor. Maybe then you would stop feeling sorry for them. The mental torment and anguish that these molestors put their victims through lasts a lifetime. Words cannot describe. Putting them under a bridge is a extreme, I agree. However, the article noted a repeat sexual offender received a year and a half sentence for molesting a relative when she was both 9 and 13. A year and a half!?! The girls life is ruined, but sure, lets give him a chance to live his life, only to repeat the offense. The real crime here is letting these disgusting human beings back on the streets so soon and claiming that they've served their time.

    Comment by allison — December 18, 2007 @ 12:54PM

  17. Why don't the government knuckleheads purchase a decommissioned houseboat/barge/boat and let them live decently?

    Comment by Frank — December 18, 2007 @ 12:55PM

  18. It's enough to strip people of their freedom and liberty (considering they broke the law, within reason) but now these people have been stripped of their dignity as humans. To have a judge order you to live under a bridge is pathetic. When is this ridiculousness going to end?

    Comment by Doc — December 18, 2007 @ 01:11PM

  19. Allison--maybe not, but I do know what it's like to be related to a sex offender. He engaged in consensual sex play (no actual intercourse; more like getting to second base) with a girl underage who had a crush on him and initiated the physical activity, and is now facing up to 10 years in prison for "molesting" her. The public perception of the dirty old 50 year old man who lures innocent 6 year olds and rapes and murders them is simply the exception, rather than the rule. Most people don't know what falls under the legal definition of "molestation". Consensual sex between a 17 year old and a 15 year old is legally considered molestation.

    There is this ridiculous notion in our society that anyone under 18 is unaware of sex and has no sexual feelings, and that therefore any sexual interaction between someone under 18 and someone over 18 *has* to be molestation, because the younger person cannot consent. Which is odd, given that we, as a society, are willing to try children of 14 and 15 of murder and drug dealing and sentence them to adult prison terms of life. Why are *those* children capable of being held accountable for their choices, and children who want to explore sex *always* victims? The number of my friends (I am 35) who have told me about how their first sexual experiences were voluntary, initiated by them, usually under the age of 14, and with someone well over 18 is staggering. And none of these women consider themselves "victims"--quite the opposite. They were proud to have "scored" someone so old and mature, even 20 years later when retelling the story. And yet if someone had called the police on these encounters, my friends' first lovers would have been thrown in jail and required to register for public websites for the rest of their lives because it would have been assumed that my friends were being molested.
    In addition, there have been numerous studies that indicate that the key factor in childhood sexual contact being traumatic into adulthood is whether there was force or assault involved, and whether or not the person commiting the contact was in a position of authority (teacher, parent, etc). These studies are controversial, surely, but there is science behind them that isn't making it into the mainstream simply because people don't want to believe what they already are sure of--namely, that anything that has to do with sexuality and children automatically points to lifetime trauma and years of therapy.
    This is a tricky subject, and my point is not to exonerate those who genuinely traumatize children sexually, or to belittle the suffering of anyone that was a victim by saying that their trauma isn't real or deserved. Just because I know a lot of people who had good sexual experiences while under 18 with someone not their age doesn't mean that everyone has had that. I'm just trying to point out that not all situations are alike, and we do society, and the genuine victims of childhood trauma, a disservice to insist otherwise.

    Comment by Dylanspeak — December 18, 2007 @ 01:18PM

  20. Boohoo for the sex offenders.... I mean really, convicted sexually violent deviants who cannot be reformed aren't allowed to live near children and you weep for them? What of the dead girls and boys or just the ones that were left dead inside; I'm sure they would prefer to live under a bridge then to suffer what has happened to them. What is wrong with society that you pity the criminal without concern for the victims of future victims.

    Comment by Baltimore — December 18, 2007 @ 01:19PM

  21. Let's send them to DC and have them work with the Congressional Page Program - seems like there's a need there for people with their special talents to help our elected officials interact with their young charges.

    Comment by politicus — December 18, 2007 @ 01:23PM

  22. Forcing Released Offenders to Live Under a Causeway: The Outrage Continues
    Readers may recall an angry anguished posting of mine from March, How Can We Tolerate This? recounting policies of Miami-Dade county which forced five released sex offenders to live under a bridge because there was no available housing they were allowed to live in due to rules prohibiting sex offenders to live within 2500 feet of a school — any school. This was followed up with Bridge to Nowhere, reporting that the County had swung into action — and moved the people to a different outdoor location under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Well, eight months later, not only are they still there, their numbers have grown. Now instead of five we have about twenty who are forced to live rough because they county won’t let them live (almost) anywhere else.
    The story was picked up by national media outlets, and for a few weeks the bridge was a source of widespread disbelief. Statements were made, resolutions were passed, letters were sent — but nothing changed. Since then, much to the relief of local politicians, no doubt, the situation seems to have quietly faded from public memory.
    But the numbers kept growing. More than 30 men have been sent to live here in the intervening months. A few have since left — the majority of them arrested for minor violations of probation, two or three were able to move out, and two have disappeared. But most — as of press time, at least 20 — remain under the bridge, even though many have families willing to house them. Everyone agrees the situation under the Julia Tuttle has become untenable, but so far neither local politicians, nor the courts, nor the state legislature have been willing to do anything about it. How much of Miami-Dade County, exactly, does the 2,500-foot ordinance cover? Pretty much all of it, according to a map produced by the county and distributed to police and newly released sex offenders. It shows schools in the county — private, charter, and public — each with a colored blob around it representing the 2,500-foot sex-offender no man’s land. The blobs cover the map; the only open patches are Miami International Airport, a few farm tracts in the Redland and near the Everglades, and, perhaps ironically, much of the well-to-do town of Pinecrest, which is protected from most sex offenders by property values instead of ordinances. (Sex offenders, like any other kind of felon, overwhelmingly tend to be poor.)
    State and local leaders have taken turns abdicating responsibility for the problem of homeless sex offenders — that is, sex offenders made homeless by local law. Politicians have dumped it, whenever possible, back and forth onto one other like a game of hot potato. There are other places sex offenders can live. On Krome Avenue in Northwest Miami-Dade — past the vacant lots, junkyards, and farms — sits a small, rundown trailer park, inhabited mostly by Mexican families, laborers, and agricultural workers. Three sex offenders are registered as living there. Far from any school, park, playground, or daycare center, the location might seem ideal. Except for one thing: Every day, around 3 p.m., a dozen women gather in front of the park to wait for a dusty yellow school bus to drop off their children. They scream and squirm their way to their mothers’ sides and walk away with them, hand in hand. Asked if the 2,500-foot ordinance is pushing sex offenders into poor communities, [Ron] Book [chair of a county task force that is supposed to be considering the issue] pauses. “I don’t have to like it,” he says. “Look, I don’t have all the solutions.”
    This is not just a Miami problem: In July, Fort Lauderdale probation officers came up with six different bridges to which they planned to assign sex offenders on a rotational basis. Let us be really clear on what is happening here: the state — in the form of probation officers — is ordering these released persons to live outdoors, in a squatters camp under the causeway, because there is no other place they can live. Failure to stay there is a probation violation which will have them returned to jail. This must, by any sense of the law, be cruel and unusual punishment: people are not even allowed to live in the homes they previously inhabited. In some cases the causeway-bound have spouses and own homes, but as a result of this rule they cannot live together. The county’s rule must be unconstitutional. But the wheels of justice grind slowly, At least two challenges to Miami-Dade’s ordinance are already brewing. On November 7, the Public Defender’s Office filed a memo in support of a motion to declare the county ordinance unconstitutional and pre-empted by state law. The ACLU is looking into challenging the law as well.

    Comment by John — December 18, 2007 @ 01:23PM

  23. Dear Florida: The rest of the country is laughing at you. I mean, we already were...but now...well, hopefully you get my point.

    Comment by RegW — December 18, 2007 @ 01:46PM

  24. Whatever your position is on this issue, give the reporter credit. Isiah Thompson does a very good job at staying away from the emotional language that others would inject. He gives his subjects a humanity (warts and all) that politicos often gloss over. I've read him cover victims and victimizers alike, and he has delivered compelling content on either side. I've been informed and enlightened with nearly every article he's written so far, and that's no small feat.

    Hats off to you, Mr. Thompson.

    Comment by Ken W. — December 18, 2007 @ 01:54PM

  25. It's not a matter of "feeling sorry" for the sex offenders.
    It's that fact that the Draconian laws these politicians enact are just feel-good fodder and DON'T WORK.
    How a sex offender living 2,500 feet away from a bus stop protects anyone, when they can drive to a park and molest your child there. When was the last time a sex offender raped a child on school grounds or at a bus stop or snatched a child off the street to molest them? As the article stated, most of these sex offenders molested someone in their family.
    Why not have a law for convicted murderers not to live within 2,500 feet of a human being? It makes as much sense.
    These people have to live somewhere. Wouldn't you rather see them trying to rehabilitate themselves and working to stay out of jail rather than seeking out new prey?

    Comment by Jessica — December 18, 2007 @ 03:36PM

  26. Jesus Christ people, this is the most inhumane thing I've ever heard, if you are going to sentence men to be unending pariahs, you had better get your butts down there and build them some real shelter. If you have the guts to have a 2500' ordinance, you have the responsibility to ensure they at least have the basic human dignities. Small Katrina cottages can be built for $15,000-20,000. You created this, get to doing something about it. Men in prison at least have a bed, and a toilet. And while you are at it, make them some kind of stair access to their de-facto prison. Shame on you.

    Comment by Perry Vale — December 18, 2007 @ 08:34PM

  27. The "interior designer" referenced in this article had intercourse with his 15 year old daughter and tried to say that he thought it was his wife. There was a 50 pound difference between the 2. There is evidence surfacing that he molested his 11 year old daughter too. These girls counted on him to be the grownup and trusted him in everything that he did. He taught them perversion and entrance to a world that has caused one of the victims to develop multiple personalities to manage the horror. Both children have post traumatic stress and most of their childhood has been blocked out. He can laugh and think of his childhood remembering good times, his girls cannot do that because he is so ill. He will re-offend given the first opportunity. Imagine what it was like to find out that your husband of 20 years destroyed your children. Then imagine that the world pities him. My children and I feel that it is just and fair that he stays right where he is under the bridge. The only thing better would be a tattoo on his forehead that says MOLESTOR, HIDE YOUR CHILDREN.

    Comment by SUSAN — December 20, 2007 @ 10:13PM

  28. To "JOHN" and I am sure that is not his real name, that lives under the bridge and wrote the long post to renew the sadness of his living situation, I wouldn't be proud of quoting that most sex offenders are poor. This means a million other things - they were basically useless before they molested and were probably poor before this happened - this is the very group of people that society, politicians, congressman and citizens do not care about because truth is that any person that has harmed a child, was never the guy who could a job, could support his family, paid taxes, contributed to society in a positive way, voted. Now that you are in trouble, you want help from the system? I pray that you are all left right where you belong. I think someone should do a study to see the collective IQ of the bridge residents, the percentage of people there that finished college, the percentage that ever made a difference. I am insulted that these unworthy people want any attention. Shame on the media for glorifying them as victims. They make victims out of good children that have every statistic against them and might be affected to the point that great people will never amount to anything because of the harm these men caused. Each of these men might have more than one victim that the system will end up supporting because the children they victimized will require long term mental health care and they might not be able to function or work because of it. Why do you think they don't show their face or give their real name? These men were low life bottom feeding idiots before they offended, or before they were caught rather. For the wife that brings her husband food and has intercourse with him, I pity her children and rest assured that she will raise the next generation of molestors by showing them her support for this man. How can you pick your marriage over the safety of your children? Mine was gone the day I found out. For the men that were falsely accused, I am so sorry. For the wives of these men and children that suffer, I am the sorriest of all. For the Romeo - Juliet love affairs, I am sorry. Sexual interaction with a child is unacceptable and I could care less what the system does with them as long as they are not in my neighborhood. Has anyone else noticed that there are no doctors, lawyers or brain surgeons under the bridge. Chances are these people would have been homeless if they hadn't molested. They all chip in for the generator, thats' a pathetic low rent group. These are the guys, that without that rule, would be taking advantage of helpless women or relatives willing to let them take advantage of them and live for free. I wonder how many of their relatives are glad that they don't have to have these idiots on their sofas. DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR THESE PREDATORS.

    Comment by SUSAN — December 20, 2007 @ 10:32PM

  29. Thank you Isaiah Thompson for a very enlightening story.Very well done.

    Comment by mom — December 20, 2007 @ 11:59PM

  30. Is Brittany Spear's Sister's boyfriend going to be charged with sexual assault? I don't think so. The law is not blind. Law has one eye open for the rich and famous and the other eye shut for the poor.
    It is a shame that this happens in this so called country who champions human rights and freedom. Shame on Florida. Shame on USA.

    Comment by Marcelo Garcia — December 21, 2007 @ 12:02PM

  31. A clarification for the record: the "Mom" who comments above is not this author's mother.

    Comment by Isaiah Thompson — December 21, 2007 @ 12:31PM

  32. This going to Susan... I think you should trying living under a bridge for a couple a week to see how it is before you open you big trap. It not nice to judge a book by it cover because so or later someone will judge you...

    Comment by Robert — December 21, 2007 @ 06:39PM

  33. This going out to Susan.... We don't live in a pretty world if you think we do.. We all do mistake in life but we learn for it.. I know you have done lot of mistake in your life.. Ohh I forget you don't do mistake you perfect.. ya right..

    Comment by Robert — December 21, 2007 @ 06:46PM

  34. This going out to Susan:.. Susan I think you got the PMS or you just a bitch that have no life but want to attack someone that is down on this lucky.. Susan you real need to see a psychologist as soon as possible before you hurt someone.

    Comment by Luis — December 22, 2007 @ 05:54PM

  35. I personally would like to kick the shit out of this supposed mayor Dermer. What a pitiful human with his more moral than thou attitude. You already have a f.g Governor and a former pedofile congressman, Mark Foley; I would bet this mayor is cut from the same cloth as them. I am so sick of this "if it saves one child" bullshit. How many lives have to be ruined to save this one child. This is a fact, whether you like it or not; More KIDS are MURDERED and ABUSED by their own MOTHERS than by ex-offenders. Where is the list and banishment for these monsters? Anyone who buys into this offender hysteria is a pure and total freaking moron. Plain and simple, in America, when you have served your time it is over.....period. Welcome to Nazi America, where you can never have a 2nd chance. You people make me want to puke. Please save your worthless rhetoric, "what if it was your child"; I have 4 kids and 6 grandchildren. Parents protect their kids, not passing laws by fat ass, self-promoting and grandstanding politicians who in reality are more likely to commit a crime than an ex-offender. I guess all you "victims" out there want to stay "victims" all your life. If you have any guts at all, why don't you try becoming survivors and being above stigmatizing 600,000 people because of what 1 person did to you. I guess being a victim will always give you an exuse in life.........

    Comment by matt — December 23, 2007 @ 12:54PM

  36. Susan, I noticed that you said a mouth full as far as insulting the intelligence of the offenders that reside under that bridge. Well I am “one” of those offenders! No, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Yes I am a poor man, and have endured hardship in my life … but only, because that is the hand that life has dealt me. I am and have always been a hard working, motivated and determined individual. Trying to make it in this life I lead. I also believe that I am highly intelligent maybe not with the highest IQ score. But enough to get me by. I will only assume that because you were born rich and maybe with a silver spoon in your mouth at birth. Gives you the exclusive right, to think that being charged as a sex offender, or a sexual predator is only something that can happen to the poor, mentally sick, and demented. “ Wrong” If I live under a bridge it is not by choice believe you me. But only because these laws are so strict, and severe, that It gives you a blow to the knees, and takes you down. Only to not allow you to ever submerge for a quick breath. Susan I had business, I was a tax payer, I was helping a family by giving my employees a steady job. I was putting into the system….Look at me now? I have nothing! You may say well you should of thought about it before you molested some child! I wish I could rewind time and take back my shameful actions against a 15 year old…but I can’t! The only reasonable, and responsible thing I could do was face my victim and the judiciary, and ask with much shame for hers and Gods forgiveness. My victim has forgiven me. And is very much a big part of my life today. She went to every court hearing with me, and fought my legal battles along side of me. She asked a judge why is it if she could find it in her heart to forgive me . That the judicial system refuses to do the same for me? I am not a victim Susan I was the victimizer, but what I am! Is a victim to these laws, and the requirements, I am mandated to abide by. I ask you this, is no human being worthy of a second chance in this this lifetime? Whom in their life has not made a terrible mistake through actions? I am sure if you dig deep in the realm of your memories, there are some mistakes you wish to God above you could erase and take back only to correct them, and be set free from the guilt. And maybe the pain. With that being said, I am trying once again to rebuild my life with what little resources I have at present time….only to show everyone who knows me personally, and about my Scarlet letter. That I am no leper, that I am, and will be the type of sex offender that no one ever hears about re offending again. Because you never hear about the ones who moved past their mistakes. We only hear about the small percentage of sick predators in the media because they were so “fucked” up in the head they had to resort to murdering an innocent little child. Oh, and before I forget… You mentioned why you don’t hear about professionals such as doctors, attorneys, police officers etc. being charged with sex offenses, and living under bridges. Well there are some known cases of such incidents even mayors, the reasons they don’t live under bridges as we all do. Is only because they owned a home prior to such offenses. Therefore they are grandfathered in. Not to mention, have a solid financial backing due to investments, stocks, bond , real-estate, and plenty of money backing them up. But with all do honesty with the resources they poses I am sure they will get the best attorney that money and some good connections can buy! And beat the rap.. no poor individual could. Enough said! I hope you could find it in your heart to look at thing from a different perspective. And maybe try and forgive the person what ever your reasons may be.

    Comment by Azurlite — December 23, 2007 @ 03:39PM

  37. There a good question for you all.. You think Goverment Charlie Crist is gay. At this moment we have no proof that he is but the ACLU define looking into this issue..

    Comment by Maria — December 23, 2007 @ 07:40PM

  38. I live in New Hampshire I think it is disgusting to make people live under a bridge. I would think that would be violating their rights. If you feel they should be in a certain place then your state should build a special housing area (building) with rooms in it for them. What right do you have to make them sleep outside under a bridge. Yes they made a mistake but by what i read some of the charges are ridiculous. I think if they are child molester than you need to protect little kids and i could see a place for them to live like a big rooming house. who ever came up with this idea for them to sleep under a bridge they ought to try it and see what it is like. That is so disgusting yes these people have problems but I don't think that is a way of resoving it.

    Comment by Janet Leeds — December 24, 2007 @ 03:22PM

  39. What about the neighborhoods that surround the causeway? We live across from Pallot Park, a place where children gather at least 4 days a week to play soccer, where families go to fish and play with their kids. Since this started my neighbors stopped taking their son to the park, at 6am they come and hang out in our parking lot and crime has increased substantially. In one weekend 5 cars in our community were broken into and many of the contents were recovered under the bridge.

    Sure, Miami Beach can get rid of sex offenders, just make them someone else's problem.

    Comment by Sam — January 5, 2008 @ 11:51PM

  40. Sam...It is insulting to see and read that people such as yourself can be so ignorant, and malicious. Let me ask you something???...How do you know for sure that any "one" of the said mentioned, 20 offenders hang in your parking lot. Are you holding up a flyer? With their pictures, on hand to know it's them for sure. And have you actually identified them as they congregate there. Did it ever cross your mind? That it could be a bunch of drunk's,and/or the crackheads in the area,hanging in the parking lot? You live near the park,you said....hello Biscayne Boulevard is know for the drug addicts and the prostitution that goes on in the area. Also who found your personal items under the bridge? Because the bridge has three lumps! Do you even know which lump we live under....I honestly doubt you are even saying the truth about the fact you got robbed. It just had to be the "fucken" sex-offender! And don't go saying parent's don't take them to the park thats near by. Because you know what? Every single Sunday there are families going into the lions den with their children running around all over the place. And a lot of them know exactly what and who there!

    Comment by az_urlite — January 7, 2008 @ 04:08AM

  41. umm am I the only one who realizes the goldmine the city of miami just poured into our laps!?!

    theres like a ton of single guys under that bridge, many of whom aren't even on drugs! if this article is right, tons of them sound like nice guys (except for the dirty old man... hes just a creep) AND since they are down on their luck they are super up for grabs.

    thanks!!!!!!!! xoxoxo

    Comment by No Strings Attached — January 7, 2008 @ 08:07PM

  42. The fact that not one politician is standing up is scary. This hysteria is driven by people like Nancy Grace who is making money off of people's misery. It is shameful, disgusting and the people of Florida need to stop turning their cheek. This is not justice but as someone said earlier, Nazism.

    Comment by steve — January 9, 2008 @ 06:36PM

  43. Couple of days ago there was a breaking news about a Miami Dade Corrections Office on a high speed chase with a 14 years old girl in the car. Later on I found out on the news that all charge against that Miami Dade Corrections Office have been dropped... Now if that was one of us doing was he did. They would through us in jail with no bond. It seen that it is ok for a Miami Dade Corrections Office to in danger people live and include that 14 year old girl. What a unjustice life we live in...

    Comment by bob — January 10, 2008 @ 05:51PM

  44. If a man is sentenced to however long for his crime and does the time day for day...then leave him alone when his debt is paid...if his crime is too hienous then never let him out....but once a term is served another can not be placed on him. On another note ...I think all the judges that sentence these types of crime to a few months should be fired or at least their decisions made public more so than in a record you have to hunt for in the court house. The public should know which judges it is doing this. And the judges should be held accountable as well as have their bank accounts examined.

    Comment by bob — January 10, 2008 @ 06:12PM

  45. IT TIME TO FIGHT BACK.. THE UNJUSTICE MUST STOP... POWER TO THE SEX OFFENSE.

    Comment by bob — January 10, 2008 @ 06:16PM

  46. TO ALL SEX OFFENSE IT TIME TO FIGHT BACK.. THE UNJUSTICE MUST STOP... POWER TO THE SEX OFFENSE.

    Comment by bob — January 10, 2008 @ 06:17PM

  47. To bob you may be right about fight back. Tell us what we need to do to fight back again this unfair justice.

    Comment by kim — January 14, 2008 @ 05:18PM

  48. There we go again.. Check this article out: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/search/tagResults.php?tag=Julia%20Tuttle%20Causeway
    Look at 3,4,5.. Went you read number 3 you see how Isaiah Thompson back staff the sex offense. He remeber me of my xboss... We need to stop the unjustice that is happen right now.. Power to the Sex Offense...

    Comment by Bob — January 17, 2008 @ 04:54PM

  49. ATLANTA (AP) -- The revamped sex offender law faces its first big test this morning at the Capitol. A key House committee is set to consider the latest effort to limit where sex offenders live and work after the state's top court declared strict residency requirements unconstitutional. The new bill still would ban sex offenders from living, working and loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, churches and other areas where children gather. But under the new bill introduced yesterday a sex offender who owns a home would no longer have to leave it if a center where children gather later opens nearby. The bill's sponsor -- State Representative David Ralston -- says it will help keep Georgia's children safe. But critics have challenged the bill, arguing it would render vast residential areas off-limits to sex offenders. I think State Representative David Ralston is trying to win vote for the election. There is another low life person that will do any think to win a vote. What is this life comming to.. We Need to Stop this Unjustice....Power To the Sex Offenese

    Comment by Bob — January 17, 2008 @ 05:24PM

  50. There is another one of the bigest bs there is... There is another one that you got to read.. You find it at: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/schaumburg-il/TKEVPS41GK7HLR7PK#comments

    Lawyer gets 30 days in jail for sex offense... What a bunch of bs there is.. This what happen when you have lot of money to payoff the court system. What made that lawyer any difference from us. We should be equal no matter what but we not. The justice system is real blind and the law is unjustice to the sex offense. If we did the same crime that the lawyer did we would get 25 year for it. The unjustice for sex offense must stop... Power To The Sex Offenese...

    Comment by bob — January 18, 2008 @ 07:38PM

  51. Veteran Officer Charged with Molesting 12 Year Old Girl
    January 28, 2008 10:43 AM

    ATLANTA (AP) -- A Fulton County grand jury has charged a veteran Atlanta police officer with molesting a 12-year-old girl. A press release says Wilson Cartaffin was charged Friday with two counts each of child molestation and sexual battery and one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes. The 42-year-old met the girl while working a part-time job as an investigator at Long Middle School. Police believe the incident happened Nov. 30 in Cartaffin's personal car away from school. Cartaffin, who has been with the police department 16 years, has been suspended with pay pending a hearing next week.

    What a bunch of BS... Power To The Sex Offense.. The unjustice most stop.

    Comment by Bob — January 28, 2008 @ 03:54PM

  52. Reading the comments of Bob who continues to promote "power to sex offenders", I feel bad for the people forced under the bridge that will be judged by those types of comments.

    Everyone hates a child molester. Statistics tell us that most children were molested by a parent, step parent or other relative. This accounts for 9 out of 10 of our child sex offenders. Residency restrictions have been placed in most states upon any designated sex offender. At first, we feel that is a good idea. Upon further review, we have to ask who is being served with the residency restriction if most children are molested by a parent, relative or family friend? There have been no drops in sex offenses since residency restrictions but what we have seen is that we no longer know where most of them are. A problem we did not have before residency restrictions. Florida uses the wording "can not live within 2500 feet of where children might gather", where in American would that place be? The answer is no where. Children gather everywhere, look around. We know the numbers of homeless people wearing the label of sex offenders are the new homeless class. Once you are labeled a sex offender, you may as well move off the planet. I believe in stiff punishment for these types of crime, they destroy children. However, I can't see where making them homeless keeps them from re-offending or keeps children safer. Florida courts now order sex offenders to live under bridges, Julia Tuttle Causeway is one. I know one of those guys. The few areas that do meet the requirement are in areas so expensive, that most people couldn't and don't afford to live there. Imagine that your employer is advised that you are a sex offender each time you are employed. After that notification it is simply a question of time before your employer dismisses you, you are a liability. Once an employer has been notified, they could be liable for the actions of the employee on company time. In essence, you have to be 100% certain that your employee will not use your company truck or van to kidnap and harm children. An employer is liable for the safety of their employees and hiring a sex offender threatens the safety of other employees. Period. With no steady employment and no place to live, we can expect many more registered sex offenders to be off the radar of Department of Probation. Some people are unjustly accused and who are just not capable of affording an attorney when charges of this type of filed against them. In truth, the ones that have lots of money and great attorneys are hardly ever labeled sex offenders. Mostly regular people who live paycheck to paycheck are labeled sex offenders. If you have $15,000 to throw at an attorney, you’re more likely to get a lesser charge or even have the charges dismissed. Court Appointed attorneys push the Defendant to accept any charge that keeps them out of jail but labels them for life. Given the gratitude for staying out of jail, the label seems a better option than jail. They are not advised at the time of the plea that they just signed a deal that will make them basically unemployable, homeless and possibly living under a bridge. The label guarantees that you are alone in no time. What if this label could happen to anyone? It happened at my church many years ago and after the girls who made the allegations recanted their story, he had already pled guilty at the urging of his attorney. I wonder what the real numbers looking at the sex offender list of who should not be on there. In cases where the offender is the type of molester we all dread out trolling for children, maybe there should be a better system in place than we have. If there is ever a second offense, I believe the person should be in jail the rest of their life. Leaving a true molester out of jail with all these residency restrictions only causes them to flee giving them the freedom to get access to our children as a neighbor, bus driver or God forbid in a school system somewhere as I am not confident in checks that are done on school employees. What kind of society are we when our legal system forces innocent people to plead guilty as an alternative to jail. What does it say about us that unless you have lots of money to hire the best attorney, you will be labeled a sex offender if any such allegations are made against you? I find the whole issue very scary as a parent. I would like to see the residency restrictions removed entirely so that the department of corrections can keep track of all of them. I would like to see an independent review board determine if someone should be labeled a sex offender, if that label is justified before we take away someone's ability to work, live, family or to function. Some of the people labeled a sex offender would have been better off in jail than on the streets, just ask some of the guys living under the bridge at Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami that were put there by their justice system because they can't find good addresses. Not to minimize or play down the despicable act of a sexual act of any kind with a child but statistics show that more Mothers harm and kill their children than sex offenders.

    Comment by Denise — January 29, 2008 @ 07:02AM

  53. As of today Tuesday January 28th, 2008 at about 5:00 p.m. 6 probation officers came by the camp site to advised all the sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. That they have until 8:00p.m. Friday night to leave the causeway which they themselves forced the offenders to live under. They were advised that should they fail to provide a valid address they would be placed under arrest, and their probations violated. When one offender asked where could we go??? He simply replied... there is no place for you guys to live. (Two) weeks ago the same thing happened under a similar causeway in Davie, Fl. The offenders there were forced to leave a bridge they lived under just to comply with the ordinace..but were threatened with arrest. So they are currently living at the edge of the Florida Everglades far away from busses, medical emergency, work, food, and so on.

    Comment by az_urlite — January 30, 2008 @ 01:18AM

  54. Posted on Sun, Feb. 03, 2008
    Sex offenders living under bridge told to get out
    By DAVID QUINONES AND JOSE PAGLIERY
    Convicted sex offenders who have called the area under the Julia Tuttle Causeway bridge home got a rude awakening early Saturday morning.
    They were visited by state Department of Correction parole officers at 5 a.m. The message, delivered in writing, was clear: The residents have until 9 a.m. Monday to vacate the bridge, which spans Biscayne Bay, linking Miami to Miami Beach.

    The move to rid the bridge of the men marks yet another strange chapter in a long-running saga that has drawn national media attention and began in 2006 when a handful of convicted sex offenders began sleeping under the bridge because a city of Miami residency ordinance left them unable to find housing.

    The ordinance does not allow convicted sex offenders to live within 2,500 feet of a school. The state requirement is only 1,000 feet.

    The state Department of Corrections, charged with supervising offenders after their release, said no offenders were ever assigned to sleep under the Julia Tuttle bridge. The department simply OK'd the location because offenders said it was just about impossible to find a place to live within the ordinance's restrictions.

    On Saturday, the causeway residents said state officials had been ordering them to leave through the week.

    ''What are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?'' asked Juan Carlos Martín, a causeway bridge resident first assigned to the bridge by the state Corrections Department in January 2007.

    ''We had a nice place going here. We had it set up. It's not a perfect situation. We have no running water, but we had it set up like home, like a community,'' he said. State officials said offenders had received the first eviction notice on Tuesday and that four of the 19 residents already had found other places to stay by Friday night.

    Gretl Plessinger, a corrections department spokeswoman, said the agency decided to give residents notice after the owner of land under the Oakland Park Boulevard Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale last month evicted residents living there.

    ''We have every indication this is going to happen statewide. We're being proactive by giving them more time to move,'' she said, noting they may stay only if the causeway owner agrees.

    Unlike the land under the Oakland Park Boulevard Bridge, which is privately owned, the western portion of the Julia Tuttle Causeway is owned by the city of Miami.

    Plessinger stopped short of saying that those without living arrangements would be arrested on Monday.

    However, those living under the causeway bridge fear they may end up back in prison.

    ''We are doing what we're supposed to do,'' said one resident who did not want to be identified. ``I take orders, I do what I'm supposed to do, and they said I'm supposed to be here. Now I'm supposed to move somewhere I don't even know how to get to?''

    Parole officers have handed out packets to the residents detailing other accommodations in the state. Most are hundreds of miles away from Miami.

    The closest is a Motel 6 in Fort Lauderdale, but the $79.99-a-day rate is too steep for most of the residents.

    When reached by phone, the manager of the Fort Lauderdale Motel 6 said he knew nothing about the arrangement.

    Ray Taseff of the American Civil Liberties Union in Miami said the move to evict the residents will ''ultimately boomerang on the city'' of Miami, causing offenders to go underground.

    ''This is the government that created homelessness, and now the government is effectively trying to banish them from the community,'' he said.

    ''If these people are homeless and engaging in life-functioning behavior, it seems to me that violating their parole is a violation of their Eighth Amendmentrights,'' said Taseff, who said the ACLU will help the residents.





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    © 2008 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
    http://www.miamiherald.com

    Comment by John Doe — February 3, 2008 @ 05:55PM

  55. Lastest News--NBC6.NET
    State Orders Sex Offenders Living Under Miami Bridge To Leave

    The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge -- complete with a makeshift gym, kitchen and living room. It is more than a year after the men starting staying there.

    The men who call a steep slope beneath Julia Tuttle Causeway home do so because it's nearly impossible for sex offenders with limited finances to find a home here in compliance with strict local ordinances. But state officials are now telling the residents to leave.

    Spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department Gretl Plessinger says the department wants them to reintegrate into society.

    The 19 men who live beneath the Tuttle Causeway vow to fight the state, but if authorities succeed it would disintegrate a community like no other.

    Story posted 2008.02.06 at 09:48 AM EST

    Comment by bob — February 6, 2008 @ 10:03AM

  56. Offenders Living Under Miami Bridge To Leave
    POSTED: 8:11 pm EST February 5, 2008

    MIAMI -- The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge -- complete with a makeshift gym, kitchen and living room. It is more than a year after the men starting staying there. The men who call a steep slope beneath Julia Tuttle Causeway home do so because it's nearly impossible for sex offenders with limited finances to find a home here in compliance with strict local ordinances. But state officials are now telling the residents to leave. Spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department Gretl Plessinger says the department wants them to reintegrate into society. The 19 men who live beneath the Tuttle Causeway vow to fight the state, but if authorities succeed it would disintegrate a community like no other.

    Comment by bob — February 6, 2008 @ 10:12AM

  57. Florida Orders Sex Offenders Living Under Miami Bridge to Find Permanent Housing
    Wednesday, February 06, 2008

    MIAMI —

    The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge that includes a gym, kitchen, living room and two dogs. The men have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for a year. They say limited money and strict local ordinances make it nearly impossible for them to live anywhere else. But state officials are telling them to leave. "We're urging them to find a residence. We want them to be able to reintegrate into society," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department. "We are hopeful that if we push them, they will be able to find a residence that's better."
    The state first advised the 19 registered Tuttle dwellers last week that they must move. Since then, five of the men have found homes. A sixth has gone missing, a reflection of the angst over the order. Plessinger said probation officers have given the men lists of possible locations to look for housing. The offenders were initially given 72 hours to find housing, but Plessinger said it was simply to motivate the men to get started. There is no firm deadline. All told, corrections officials count fewer than 50 homeless sex offenders statewide. About nine lived under the Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale until authorities abruptly evicted them last month, an incident Plessinger said prompted the wider demand for relocation. "We're trying to be proactive, give the offenders time to find a place," she said. Three of those evicted from beneath the Oakland Park bridge are now camping out in the Everglades, Plessinger said. Carlene Sawyer, president of the Greater Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the under-bridge housing "cruel and unusual punishment" that gives the community a "false sense of security."
    The situation is garnering the attention of state lawmakers. Democratic State Rep. Jack Seiler said that while restrictions to keep sex offenders away from children are good, communities are trying to "one-up" each other with tougher and tougher restrictions. He said the state may have to adopt uniform standards. "There has to be some place in a greater metropolitan area where these individuals can reside and we can monitor them," Seiler said. "If we push them all underground or out of areas where they can be monitored, that is not in the best interest of public safety."
    The offenders' community is like no other. Just beneath where motorists pass, in the angled area where the bridge meets a concrete slope, there are domed tents, a cream-colored sofa beside a large generator-powered television and XBox, and stacks of canned food and drinks. The air is tinged with sea salt, and the sound of cars passing overhead is relentless. Yet perfect Atlantic waters make it strangely serene.
    At the bottom of the slope, there is a makeshift kitchen with a table, grill and jugs of water that residents fill more than a mile away. The community has a canoe for fishing, a weight bench, and a spot favored by a pit bull named Tigger and a German shepherd named Blackie. On pillars supporting the bridge, and on the slope, residents have spray-painted their thoughts: "We 'R' Not Monsters." "They Treat Animals Better!!!" "Why?"
    Juan Carlos Martin, a 29-year-old on the sex offender list for lewd or lascivious exhibition to a victim under the age of 16 -- a crime he says he didn't commit -- said it's been impossible for him to leave the bridge. He has been rejected from 15 jobs because of his record and can't find a place he can afford that's in compliance with the law. Martin sits on his couch and sucks on a cigarette as a tiny white kitten peaks out from behind a stereo that no longer works. A gold crucifix hangs from his neck. He is off probation now, but he says he feels no freedom. "What the law's doing to us is totally wrong," said Martin, who has lived here about six months. "Society will see that we aren't animals."

    Comment by bob — February 6, 2008 @ 10:21AM

  58. Florida orders sex offenders living under Miami bridge to find permanent housing
    By MATT SEDENSKY , Associated Press
    February 6, 2008

    MIAMI - The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge that includes a gym, kitchen, living room and two dogs. The men have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for a year. They say limited money and strict local ordinances make it nearly impossible for them to live anywhere else. But state officials are telling them to leave. "We're urging them to find a residence. We want them to be able to reintegrate into society," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department. "We are hopeful that if we push them, they will be able to find a residence that's better."
    The state first advised the 19 registered Tuttle dwellers last week that they must move. Since then, five of the men have found homes. A sixth has gone missing, a reflection of the angst over the order. Plessinger said probation officers have given the men lists of possible locations to look for housing. The offenders were initially given 72 hours to find housing, but Plessinger said it was simply to motivate the men to get started. There is no firm deadline. All told, corrections officials count fewer than 50 homeless sex offenders statewide. About nine lived under the Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale until authorities abruptly evicted them last month, an incident Plessinger said prompted the wider demand for relocation. "We're trying to be proactive, give the offenders time to find a place," she said. Three of those evicted from beneath the Oakland Park bridge are now camping out in the Everglades, Plessinger said. Carlene Sawyer, president of the Greater Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the under-bridge housing "cruel and unusual punishment" that gives the community a "false sense of security."
    The situation is garnering the attention of state lawmakers. Democratic State Rep. Jack Seiler said that while restrictions to keep sex offenders away from children are good, communities are trying to "one-up" each other with tougher and tougher restrictions. He said the state may have to adopt uniform standards. "There has to be some place in a greater metropolitan area where these individuals can reside and we can monitor them," Seiler said. "If we push them all underground or out of areas where they can be monitored, that is not in the best interest of public safety."
    The offenders' community is like no other. Just beneath where motorists pass, in the angled area where the bridge meets a concrete slope, there are domed tents, a cream-colored sofa beside a large generator-powered television and XBox, and stacks of canned food and drinks. The air is tinged with sea salt, and the sound of cars passing overhead is relentless. Yet perfect Atlantic waters make it strangely serene. At the bottom of the slope, there is a makeshift kitchen with a table, grill and jugs of water that residents fill more than a mile away. The community has a canoe for fishing, a weight bench, and a spot favored by a pit bull named Tigger and a German shepherd named Blackie. On pillars supporting the bridge, and on the slope, residents have spray-painted their thoughts: "We 'R' Not Monsters." "They Treat Animals Better!!!" "Why?"
    Juan Carlos Martin, a 29-year-old on the sex offender list for lewd or lascivious exhibition to a victim under the age of 16 — a crime he says he didn't commit — said it's been impossible for him to leave the bridge. He has been rejected from 15 jobs because of his record and can't find a place he can afford that's in compliance with the law. Martin sits on his couch and sucks on a cigarette as a tiny white kitten peaks out from behind a stereo that no longer works. A gold crucifix hangs from his neck. He is off probation now, but he says he feels no freedom. "What the law's doing to us is totally wrong," said Martin, who has lived here about six months. "Society will see that we aren't animals."

    Associated Press writer David Fischer in Tallahassee contributed to this report.
    © 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

    Comment by bob — February 6, 2008 @ 10:27AM

  59. MSNBC.COM ---
    Florida orders sex offenders living under Miami bridge to find permanent housing
    By MATT SEDENSKY
    Associated Press Writer
    The Associated Press
    updated 8:48 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 6, 2008

    MIAMI - The state is trying to dissolve a community of sex offenders living under a bridge that includes a gym, kitchen, living room and two dogs. The men have lived under the Julia Tuttle Causeway for a year. They say limited money and strict local ordinances make it nearly impossible for them to live anywhere else. But state officials are telling them to leave. "We're urging them to find a residence. We want them to be able to reintegrate into society," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Corrections Department. "We are hopeful that if we push them, they will be able to find a residence that's better."
    The state first advised the 19 registered Tuttle dwellers last week that they must move. Since then, five of the men have found homes. A sixth has gone missing, a reflection of the angst over the order. Plessinger said probation officers have given the men lists of possible locations to look for housing. The offenders were initially given 72 hours to find housing, but Plessinger said it was simply to motivate the men to get started. There is no firm deadline. All told, corrections officials count fewer than 50 homeless sex offenders statewide. About nine lived under the Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale until authorities abruptly evicted them last month, an incident Plessinger said prompted the wider demand for relocation. "We're trying to be proactive, give the offenders time to find a place," she said. Three of those evic