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Operation Nabs Unregistered Sex Offenders
March 23, 2013
At least 50 wanted people were locked up courtesy of a sweep led by U.S. Marshals and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office targeting the Sex Offenders who failed to keep up with their state mandated registration requirements as registered sex offenders. The week long operation known as Operation F.A.S.T.E.R. (Federally Assisting State Teams Enforcing Registration) also cleared over 50 warrants.
Escambia County was chosen because of the sheer number of people required to register as sex offenders reportedly living in the county.
“There are over 850 people who fit that requirement here in Escambia County,” said Inspector Dominic Guadagnoli of the Task Force. “When our investigators started delving into that list and saw that more and more of those people were not doing what they were supposed to; along with the Sheriff’s Office we decided it was time to make an effort to find some of these ‘missing’ offenders.”
Early Monday morning members of the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force (FRFTF), to also include task force officers from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton County Sheriff’s Offices and Fort Walton Beach Police Department met to kick off the round-up. During the course of the operation, the FRFTF also provided Deputy Marshals from Pensacola, Panama City, Tallahassee and Gainesville as well as equipment to support the apprehension efforts.
“As usual when governmental agencies partner in the spirit of cooperation, success is almost a given,” said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. “We are proud to have been a part of this effort led by the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force and the State Attorney’s Office in taking known sexual predators off the streets of Escambia County, thereby ensuring the safety of our children.”
Although unlike on numerous occasions in the past where the FRFTF, state and local law enforcement agencies have rallied together to arrest violent fugitives; Operation FASTER is the first effort led by the U.S. Marshals and the Escambia Sheriff’s Office, with the full support of the State Attorney’s Office that was completely coordinated and executed on placing emphasis on the capture of just sex offenders. The U.S. Marshals adopted such interagency teamwork in the early 1980s, when they combined their resources and expertise in fugitive apprehension with the local knowledge and unique insight of officers on the street level.
Commander Frank Chiumento who oversees the FRFTF added, “The officers that work these operations live in the communities they serve,” Professionally, they feel they have an obligation to the community, personally they want their neighbors and their families to feel safe and they are doing something about it,” said Chiumento.
Pictured top: State Attorney Bill Eddins, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan and U.S. Marshal Inspector Dominic Guadagnoli at a press conference Friday. Courtesy image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
15 Responses to “Operation Nabs Unregistered Sex Offenders”
Those of you calling for castration, it will not work. The problem is in the brain, not the groin. Lobotomy maybe a better solution, However I think a short rope an a long fall would be more efficent. Molesters do not deserve sympathy.
REGARDING:
“Maybe a lot of them were innocent and didn’t trust the system to do the right thing?”
Or maybe they weren’t.
By “a lot” do you mean more than thirty, 20%, 40% or 90% of the total?
And you really figure they were thinking they might get convicted if it went to a jury so the only safe thing was to confess and plead guilty even though innocent?
Wow.
They’d love to have you on a jury.
You think the police and attorneys just randomly accuse folks of heinous crimes and that other jurors will convict without evidence?
“There are more felons in the US, especially the South, than ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD…do we really want such an underclass of people who can’t work, can’t live w/n so many feet of a school or day care and who end up on the welfare rolls?”
No, we don’t want them.
We don’t want them to do such things even if they get away with such actions in other countries.
And, yes, we want them to stay away from our children even if you don’t.
We care for our children.
And, no, we don’t want them on our welfare rolls, nor is that our only option.
“What if the “offender” had a clean record for 5-10-15 years…do you feel the same about having him register?”
Notice how you put quotes around “offender;” that means he is just called an offender but really isn’t.
Sly.
And yes, we want people who have shown themselves dangerous to register and warn those around them.
David for safe citizens
There is something wrong, mentally and morally, with people that WANT to have sex with or molest CHILDREN! Castration is too good. Unless you have been molested as a child, you do not understand how it affects their life. The memories and nightmares do not go away. It is like a life sentence for the victim. CHILDREN are the innocent ones, yet they continue to pay for the violators crime. Why should they have any rights once they are found guilty of a crime of this magnitude?
How do you know that a lot of these people didn’t just plea out to avoid the uncertainty of a trial? Maybe a lot of them were innocent and didn’t trust the system to do the right thing?
There are more felons in the US, especially the South, than ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD…do we really want such an underclass of people who can’t work, can’t live w/n so many feet of a school or day care and who end up on the welfare rolls? Want to lock them up? You like taxes? Get ready, you have to pay for it somehow.
What if the “offender” had a clean record for 5-10-15 years…do you feel the same about having him register?
Use your brains people!
“Sex Offender laws are Draconian and no different than what Hitler did to the Jews during WWII or what whites did to Blacks in years past.”
Not quite.
Jews were killed for the crime of being Jewish — even infants. Blacks were discriminated against but officially left alone if they committed no crimes. (Lynchings were not official government actions even though they were sometimes tolerated by government officials.)
Sex offenders, on the other hand, HAVE committed sexual acts against people who either could not or did not give consent. There is a difference even if you can’t see it.
AND
“So either we lock them up for life that is one thing but if they hit the society again they should be left to live their lives just as any other former criminal would be upon their release.”
Not quite.
Other convicted felons lose rights such as the right to keep and bear arms even after released. They also are often released but under probation with restrictions. Sometimes they have to pay restitution. Drug abusers are often forbidden to handle drugs, embezzlers forbidden to handle money.
In the case of sexual predators, part of their sentence is that they don’t get unrestricted access to children even if you think they should. That is part of the reason they have to notify authorities regarding address changes.
“For equal protection under the law” does not mean the same sentence no matter what the crime, that the penalty for jaywalking is the same for mass murder.
It means everyone charged with and/or convicted of a given crime is treated equally.
David for understanding
A few years ago I read an article based on a report from the FBI..It stated that pedofiles were predators and would not stop their behavior….no matter how much therapy they were given…it seems that there is a lot of truth to this….look how many repeat offenders we have in society….I’m not saying that castration is the answer but locking them up for life seems appropiate to me…..Our kids do not need to be exposed to these heinous individuals.. a grown adult who engages in sex acts with children need to be locked up for life or given the option of castration…..
@puddin, the problem is that there is no differentiation in the Statute from the 18 year old with the 15 year old and the 40 year old with the 6 year old. The State Statute does NOT differentiate between the two. If you are convicted under the statute, then the jail and probation rules for a sex offender apply and one’s life is destroyed because a young man thinking with hormones got caught. There needs to be a letter writing campaign and lobby on congress to CLARIFY the statute dealing with sex offenders to make that differentiation between two teenagers, and someone who is an adult over the age of 21. I think it’s completely ridiculous that our Government wants to send 18 year olds off to war, try them as adults, yet won’t allow them to do adult activities such as drinking alcohol.
@puddin sex offenders make easy socially acceptable targets but you know what our freedoms and liberties are being eroded. Anyone can be arrested, tried, and convicted of do just about anything without actually having done anything. Some of those rounded up were kids who were with other kids and now we as a society have labeled them monsters for their entire lives.
Sex Offender laws are Draconian and no different then what Hitler did to the Jews during WWII or what whites did to Blacks in years past. So either we lock them up for life that is one thing but if they hit the society again they should be left to live their lives just as any other former criminal would be upon their release.
Just Saying
For equal protection under the law
& The Constitution
I am with puddin
There is a link through the FDLE website (http://www.fdle.state.fl.us) where you can sign up to receive free e-mail alerts when a registered sexual offender or predator moves into your neighborhood.
https://floridaoffenderalert.com/
@puddin, What the article didn’t cover was how many of the Sexual Offenders were Sexual Predators, which is what I think you are referring to.
CONCERNING:
“Adults and kids do lie…and without a good judicial system people are sent to prison in error.”
And because of that fact and juror’s fears they might err against the innocent defendant, many are released in error as well — or never charged in the first place rather than torture the victims again. Those unconvicted predators then continue to prey upon children and other helpless victims.
David for perfect justice
with mercy where possible
“Escambia County was chosen because of the sheer number of people required to register as sex offenders reportedly living in the county.”“There are over 850 people who fit that requirement here in Escambia County,” said Inspector Dominic Guadagnoli of the Task Force. “
GOOD job, but this was a surpringly high number to me. I guess I don’t like to think that there are that many “bad” people about our cities and towns.
Puddin…your view is quite extreme…even those that do wrong deserve equal treatment under the law. I’m all for citizens doing time for wrong behavior but we are not perfect people. Adults and kids do lie…and without a good judicial system people are sent to prison in error.
Hurray! Good work. Now lets keep them off the streets. I am still for surgical castration of anyone convicted of molesting a child (not the 18 year old dating the 15 year old. The 40 year old raping the 6 year old). Lets get these people away from our kids. Tatoo thier forheads with a big red X and put signs in thier yards and on thier cars. Forget thier rights. Lets make our kids the priority. Safety first.