Brevard County sticks by tough ordinance restricting sex offenders
Brevard County commissioners reaffirmed their tough stance toward registered sex offenders by making only making minor changes to a regulation limiting where they can go — even as the measure is being challenged in court.
The commission updated section 74 of the county code on Tuesday to allow businesses to register as a park so long as the business is used for recreation and is a place that children regularly visit. That will enable the owner to create a 1,000-foot buffer zone prohibiting any individual on the sex offender registry from visiting the site or transacting business.
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“I think I have spoken pretty passionately on this item,” Commission Chair Kristine Zonka said. “I just wish people would stop calling themselves registered citizens and call themselves registered sex offenders or registered predators, which is really what they are. They are so proud to be here and demand rights.”
The sex offender measures have been controversial since first introduced by Commissioner John Tobia back in the fall of 2020, triggering a lawsuit from individuals the rule targets.
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Updates approved Tuesday include the following:
Parks is redefined to include any recreation area, be it public or private, that children visit regularly.
It also allows the parks and recreation department to collect any data related to the ordinance.
The ordinance that was codified back in 2020 extended the restrictions on registered sex offenders from an ordinance passed back in 2006, barring people on the registry from entering within 1,000 feet of a school or recreation area, such as a park or gymnasium where children may be present.
That 2020 update extended the prohibition to businesses, applying the rule to businesses that register with the county to be included in the definition of a park. The measure was marred by controversy even then, with advocates, along with friends and family of registered sex offenders, attending the meetings and urging commissioners to reconsider.
The commission passed it anyway with former commissioner Bryan Lober voting against.
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“Laws like this make no sense and solve no problem,” said Charles Munsey Jr. during public comment.
“What is going on with this board is very disturbing to me,” said James Martin who also spoke during public comment. “It is capricious. It is out of control, not constitutional. Somebody has a vendetta, and it needs to stop because you are going to cost us, the county taxpayer, money. You are already getting sued, and it is going to happen again.”
Many of the same individuals spoke in May, repeating the same arguments they had during Tuesday’s meeting.
The fact that registered sex offenders may even attend the meeting highlights the concessions that registered sex offenders have been able to extract from the commission. Prior to March, they were banned from even attending a commission meeting to address the commission with their grievances because the Viera government center is within the 1,000 feet of Brevard Public Schools and a high school.
Commissioners approved a change in March offering an exception to the ban so that registered offenders may attend public meetings and conduct business.
“It’s disappointing that it took a lawsuit before the Brevard County Commissioners would honor our clients’ right to free speech and to address their elected representatives,” said Jessica Travis, a local attorney helping registered offenders with their case. “You don’t have to like our clients’ history to appreciate that all United States citizens have constitutional rights.”
However, the registered sex offenders must first register with the sheriff’s office and there is language in the measure indicating they should leave the premises as soon as possible.
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“As far as being unconstitutional, it is constitutional,” Commissioner Rita Pritchett said. “You have register to go to schools. It that unconstitutional? It is unconstitutional that you have to register to go to daycare? That is not unconstitutional.”
Some in the crowd questioned whether the ordinance was needed at all. As of that meeting, no business had yet to register itself as a park.
This put the onus on Tobia to make sure this option is available to business owners.
“I dropped the ball, businesses are very busy and are not sitting around and watching the county commission,” Tobia said addressing one of the speakers during public comment. “That should have fallen to may office, and tomorrow I will get a list of those offices and let them know they now have the opportunity to register because you are right, no one had, and that is my fault.”
Emotions ran high on this issue. At one point Martin was forced to leave the meeting after interrupting proceedings. He could be heard yelling words such as “unconstitutional” and “capricious” as he was escorted out of the room by sheriff’s deputies.
Ralph Chapoco is government and politics watchdog reporter. You can reach Chapoco at rchapoco@floridatoday.com and follow him on Twitter @rchapoco.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sex offender restrictions reaffirmed by Brevard County Commission
