County evicts sexual predators

Hillsborough County orders eight men to leave a mobile home park within 24 hours.

By S.I. Rosenbaum, Times Staff Writer
Published March 7, 2008

Hillsborough County gave eight men 24 hours to leave Julie's Mobile Home Park for sex offenders in Palm River. The park is run by Florida Justice Transitions, a Pinellas County-based nonprofit that provides counseling and housing for sex offenders.
	[Kathleen Flynn | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Chris Zuppa | Times] Palm River resident Michelle Williams expresses her anger to commissioners Thursday about the nearby mobile home park.

TAMPA - Citing a year-old "safety zone" ordinance, the county gave eight men 24 hours to leave a controversial mobile home park for sex offenders in Palm River on Thursday.

The move came hours after residents demanded help from Hillsborough County commissioners.

"Take them somewhere where there's not children involved," resident Cindy Lamoureux, 37, told commissioners.

The commissioners asked the county attorney to look into ways to shut the park down.

Within hours, deputies were at the park, taking measurements to see if the county's safety zone ordinance applied.

The ordinance, adopted last March, applies to sex offenders who have been classified as "predators" for repeat offenses or particularly heinous crimes.

It prohibits them from being within 300 feet of a place frequented by children.

County Attorney Sheree Fish said deputies found a school bus stop within 300 feet of the park.

Initially, she said she read the ordinance as prohibiting predators from being within 300 feet of the bus stop - even if they were in bed asleep. She called law enforcement and told them to remove the men.

However, after a reporter pointed out that the ordinance specifically doesn't apply to a predator's place of residence, Fish conceded that the men were not in violation of the law when they were inside their homes.

But she said she still read the ordinance as preventing the men from loitering outside.

The mobile home park started housing sex offenders a few months ago. Ten men live there now; eight are predators.

The park is run by Florida Justice Transitions, a Pinellas County-based nonprofit that provides counseling and housing for sex offenders.

Founder Nancy Morais said the Palm River facility could eventually hold about 30 men.

Morais said she believes her program helps keep offenders from committing more crimes.

But neighboring residents didn't agree. Housing sex offenders together is asking for trouble, said Tony Spino, 39.

"They only have one thing in common," Spino told the commission Thursday. "They're comparing notes."

Palm River residents were alerted to their presence last week by Judy Cornett, a Lutz resident who runs a nonprofit organization that identifies sex offenders in communities.

The commission pledged its support. "We need to immediately jump on this," commissioner Jim Norman said.

By Thursday afternoon, Fish was calling the Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Corrections, saying the park was in violation of the ordinance.

She said later that she is also looking for a way to evict the two offenders who are not covered by the safety zone ordinance.

Morais said she heard the news from DOC officials a little before 5 p.m. She was upset.

"I have no place to put them," she said.

S.I. Rosenbaum can be reached at srosenbaum@sptimes.com or 661-2442.

[Last modified March 6, 2008, 23:31:45]