Child advocates, law makers and law enforcers are slated to converge on Cape Canaveral in May to participate in the Space Coast Conference On Child Protection. The event, which is themed the “Lunsford Act Workshop” (L.A.W.), will examine the dramatic new legislation designed to protect Florida’s children from sex predators.

State Representative Mitch Needleman, co-sponsor of the Jessica Lunsford Act, will be on hand to discuss the dynamic legislation in the works in Tallahassee.

Scheduled between the 2006 legislative sessions, the conference is an opportunity for law enforcement to present a laundry list for state law makers.

“Certainly, there will be some tweaking to do.” says Sheriff Jack Parker, “these laws have changed the landscape for local law enforcement.” Parker who is earning a reputation for his agressive posture toward policing sex criminals, will take his turn at the podium to outline his goal of creating a “Child Safe” community.

Parker will be joined by Chief Phillip Ludos of the Cocoa Police Department. The veteran cop is president of the Association of Chiefs of Police: “In some cases, these local ordinances are running ahead of existing state law.” Chief Ludos spoke to THE GUARDIAN by telephone March 14.

Melbourne-based attorney Michael Kahn, will discuss issues concerning civil liberties at the workshop. An expert in constitutional law, Kahn’s presentation will be aimed at anticipating challenges to this radical new legislation.

Activist and Author Claire Reeves (pictured), will keynote the event along with Mark Lunsford. Her organization Mothers Against Sexual Abuse (M.A.S.A) spearheaded some of the fundamental laws of the American child-protection movement. She was a prime mover behind the elimination of the statute of limitations for sexual assault on young children. The adoption of the law allows victims to file charges many years after their abuse. Reeves was instrumental in forcing adoption of California’s chemical castration law. She is the author of “Childhood: It Should Not Hurt”.

Host Mayor, Rocky Randells of Cape Canaveral will welcome the conferees at the Radisson-Resort at the Port. The one-day event begins at 9:00 AM, May 19th and registration can be made by calling Protect Our Children at 321-638-3711. To register on-line visit the website at www.uspoc,org. The cost of registration will increase after May 5th, and group discounts are available. Luncheon will be provided by the Radisson’s banquet staff.

Despite proposed ordinances designed to keep convicted sex offenders from residing near schools, registered offenders who have children attending Brevard schools are allowed entry to school grounds to visit their kids.

Nervous parents called THE GUARDIAN last week complaining that sex offender William Pratt (pictured) was frequenting Ralph Williams Jr. Elementary School in Rockledge. Pratt, was the subject of an article by FLORIDA TODAY staff writer John Torres, published September 13. The story focused on the offender’s opposition to a proposed Palm Bay ordinance which would effectively banish both predators and offenders from the city.

School resource officer John Hudgens says parents who come to the school to visit their children must enter their name and their child’s name in a computer at the front office. The computer prints out a bright yellow tag which is to be worn by visitors at all times.

“No parent is allowed to be off by themselves,” says Hudgens, “They are usually in a common area like the lunchroom, and are not outside the view of other adults.” He said any parent or visitor without a yellow tag is stopped and questioned.

Parents are allowed to come on campus to eat lunch with their children and attend functions in the group setting. Volunteers who work “one-on-one” with students are required to pass a background check. Tutors and Apple Corps volunteers are fingerprinted and screened before they may access school grounds.

Principal Cynthia Ford said she has received inquiries periodically from parents asking about Pratt’s access to the campus.

Viera resident Terry Ramey thinks the system is not adequate; “There are no real safety precautions, you put a name in the computer, get a sticker and walk. No one really checks you in.”

Ramey whose children attended Williams Elementary last year, was shocked when she noticed Pratt on campus; “I had seen him at the school at various functions…a science fair among other things.” she told THE GUARDIAN in a telephone interview. “In my opinion sex offenders should not be allowed on school grounds regardless of whether they have children attending the school. Common sense dictates that people who have hurt a child that way should not be there at all.”

Andrea E. Alford, Director of District and School Security says when her department receives an inquiry about a sex offender, the staff checks to see if the person has been released from any restrictions imposed by the state: “If they have completed their sanctions, there is no reason to take additional action.” she said.

Alford says people who are classified as predators are not allowed on school campuses. State law however, places no restrictions on adults who have been classified as sex offenders and have completed their sentences. “They have civil rights,” she said “and we can’t place sanctions on them that the state has not.”

Director Alford spoke to THE GUARDIAN in a telephone interview September 29th. She said the school system does not keep a list of parents who are released sex offenders.

The subject of child molesters visiting their children in schools was the topic of an article in the Summer 1997 issue of THE GUARDIAN. Convicted molester John W. Daniels was reported to be entering the campus of Atlantis Elementary School to eat lunch with his child. At the time Daniels was still on probation, after being convicted of committing a lewd act on a child in 1987. The article whose headline reads “Campus Molester Gets Detention” explained that Daniels was barred from being present on any school property by the conditions of his sentence. Atlantis Principal Vickie Mace reported Daniels to probation officers who arrested him for violating his probation. Daniels eventually completed his probation, and because his conviction occurred before 1995, he is not required to register with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Florida schools are just beginning to grapple with the problems of maintaining safety standards when convicted sex criminals are given access to school grounds. This month, Brevard schools began implementing state procedures requiring vendors who service schools to undergo a background check. Some school systems in Florida now have student sex offenders in the upper grade levels.

New technologies promise to improve on the “make your own label” system currently in place at Williams Elementary. Sophisticated scanners are coming on line which verify the identity of the visitor automatically. The new systems match the face of the visitor with the photo on the drivers license which is inserted in the device.

E. Allan Measom, President of Raptor Technologies says, “Seventy-three percent (73%) of all of the Registered Sex Offenders logged at our Texas school installations had previous convictions of sexual crimes against children—with the victim’s average age being eleven (11). The most disturbing part of this is that most of these (offenders) are parents or guardians with children at that school. And even worse than that, many of them visit the school on a regular basis.”

Meason’s company markets visitor I.D. systems to schools in Texas and Florida.

By Traci Fonte
Drowning in the hellish pit of Parental Survivorship of murdered and sexually abused children, Mr. Lunsford has managed to focus on the root of the evil that propelled him there. For him it is the miracle of his daughter that keeps the rage within from consuming every fiber of his being. As it is for many other parents of a victimized child, the proactive stance he has taken in honor of Jessie is the lifeline out of that hellish pit. This pain and anguish is all too familiar. In 1999 my daughter, then 11 yrs old, was a victim of a man who, to date, remains un-prosecuted therefore unrecognized as a sexual offender. This monster was arrested then released, only to be rearrested weeks later for the 1985 murder of a 15yr old Connecticut boy.

Founder and President of a local grassroots, non-profit organization Protect Our Children Inc. and editor of the Guardian Brevard Newspaper, Kevin Gillick offered me a medium in which I was able to vent my frustrations and affect change on a local level. It was on! I climbed out of that pit and jumped into the battle to protect and save our children. Over the past seven years I have served this small organization with the powerful voice as Secretary, Founder of the Internet Sting Team, Member of the organization’s Court Room Monitor Program and now as Executive Director. “The Guardian Brevard” is published by Protect Our Children and released quarterly. It identifies Brevard County Sex offenders by photo, mapped address and the crime they committed against somebody’s child. The victims are never identified. We drive infinite miles delivering countless copies of The Guardian to the driveways of residents in neighborhoods where these sex offenders live. This system works but it is not enough.

Current registration and tracking methods of these sex offenders are failing our children and their families. There are far too many offenders for our already taxed system to keep up with, and the numbers are growing. Legislation must be passed in which these individuals are tracked by Global Positioning Satellite Systems. Bracelets or Ankle Monitors are only effective if the offenders keep them on. Once removed, though an alarm would alert in the monitoring system, the offender would have ample time to disappear. A surgically implanted chip strategically placed beneath the skin of the offender would rectify this issue and would allow for consistent effective monitoring of these dangerous offenders. In addition to registration, if insertion of these devices were imposed as a condition prior to release, we would not have to rely upon sex offenders to notify law enforcement of a change of address or their movement through out our communities. This legislation should also allow for free public access to map and trace the offenders’ beacons via the Internet.

Protect Our Children’s Court Room Monitor Program boasts of diligent conspicuous adults who advocate for the greatest possible prosecution and sentencing of sex offenders of children. These advocates attend the bond hearings, trials and sentencing of the sex offenders who harm children of Brevard County. Their purpose is to ensure the offender is prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent allowed by law. Your participation is needed! Call 321-638-3711.