The Books on the Julia Tuttle Causeway
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the following spin by the Book Ends is the new soft sell to Florida lawmakers in their continued joint push for an increase in statewide residency restrictions from the present 1000 to 1750 feet from where children congregate.
Read on.
(...)
Lauren Book walks among grimy tents, wooden shanties, cardboard boxes, rusty cars and piles of garbage. On this day, it's quiet under the Julia Tuttle Causeway, except for the deafening drone of cars and trucks barreling over the bridge above.
(...)
What is remarkable about Book's visits to this world of outcasts is that for six years, starting when she was 11, she was a victim of sexual abuse. She later embarked on a legislative crusade against sex offenders, lobbying the state Legislature with her father, Ron Book, one of Florida's most powerful lobbyists, to enact stricter laws against convicted molesters.
The legal frenzy prompted local communities to enact more restrictive laws, creating an international public embarrassment over the bridge's rodent-infested squalor in the shadow of Miami Beach. At one point it was home to almost 100 sex offenders.
Lauren Book, 24, now realizes that forcing predators to live in inhumane conditions will not protect children; in fact, she fears it may do the opposite.
"It's a terrible situation under there, it is awful," she admits. "I don't think them living under a bridge or absconding keeps children safe. I don't want them so desperate that they go out and find a child."
(...)
The traumatic experience left the Book family frustrated with the state's failure to protect children by better monitoring sex offenders.
The state already had banned sex offenders and predators from living within 1,000 feet of areas where children congregate, like schools and playgrounds. But the dynamic duo -- a heavyweight lobbyist and his petite young daughter with a harrowing story of abuse -- helped persuade politicians across South Florida to set stricter perimeters of 2,500 feet.
The Books now admit that the restrictive boundaries had unintended consequences: it banished many predators from living in almost every city and town.
'There are places'
Ron Book, however, is unapologetic, and still believes molesters should be prohibited from living 1,750 to 2,500 feet of where children play.
"Residency restrictions do work," says Ron Book, who, as executive director of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, has helped find homes for about half the people under the bridge. "If you look, there are places for them to live."
The first time Lauren Book visited the encampment under the bridge it was in a torrential downpour. She remembers driving away with her windows down and the rain falling.
"You can't really understand what it's like unless you go there. You can't capture it in words or pictures. Being there, hearing it, seeing it, smelling it -- it's all part of understanding the situation under the Julia Tuttle Causeway."
At the time, she was a member of a Broward County task force examining residency restrictions for sex offenders and she believed she needed to see the conditions to be more knowledgeable about the issue.
She concedes that the visit was difficult.
"I can tell them, 'I really don't condone anything you've done . . . but I don't think you should be living under a bridge.' ''
(...)
But make no mistake: Lauren Book has no sympathy for sexual predators and offenders, especially those who argue that they served their time, and therefore, they should not have to live a life sentence in exile.
"I say to them, 'Well, you're damn right you're serving a life sentence -- and so am I,' '' she said, her eyes blazing.
Read the entire story over at the Sun Sentinel (10/2/09).
Labels: Julia Tuttle Causeway, Lauren Book, residency restrictions, Ron Book
Explore Political Grind Network (a FeedBurner Network)
Links to this post:
Ron Book was on ARC radio and made it very clear that he still believes in RR but thinks that maybe 1700-2000 ft would be better, because the homelessness situation is intolerable.
Ron Book was on ARC radio and made it very clear that he still believes in RR but thinks that maybe 1700-2000 ft would be better, because the homelessness situation is intolerable. Mr. Book is ONE angry Father. The difference is, that he is ONE wealthy, politically powerful Father. It just makes me crazy that ONE MAN can have so much power in a State. RON says so, so it must be so! Ron wants this done, so politicians fall all over themselves to get it done, especially during election years when RON's deep pockets and many friends make a huge difference in the outcome of an election.
And he loves it. He knows about the power and subtly gloats in it.
Well, while he gloats in his ability to have his every whim catered to, I hope he IS remembering how he felt when that Psychiatrist told him about Laurens abuse. I hope he feels every helpless feeling over and over again. WHY? Because none of the laws he is passing (and YES he said in an interview HE WAS PASSING) would have made one bit of difference in what happened to Lauren. No residency restriction, public notification, drivers license notice, registry, prohibition against going to or near a park, playground, or other places that children congregate, would have changed a thing. You see, like 90% of child molesters Laurens offender was not on the registry. She was a trusted caregiver who lived in the home. Mr. Book cannot slam his fist or raise his voice, or manufacture a tear or quiver in his voice to stop that 90% of family and close trusted circle of friends who are actually committing new crimes and are NOT ON ANY REGISTRY! So he must go after those who have once committed a sex crime...no matter what that crime was, and see to it that each and every one of them are punished over and over and over again for what happened to his daughter.
continued.
The millions of dollars that are spent in registering, monitoring, and enforcing ineffective laws could be spent in education and other ways to PREVENT children from falling prey to the overwhelmingly vast majority of new offenders who will molest them. Mr. Book could have reacted to the terrible situation he was in with positive behavior such as an educational campaign for parents and children.
I have read of Laurens change of behavior during the year and more she was being molested. That is why she was being seen by a psychiatrist. Would Mr. or Mrs. Book have noticed early on the symptoms of Laurens behavior change as one of a child being molested if they had been educated? Would other parents who are sitting in front of their computers or waiting for the notice in the mail looking for those nasty registered sex offenders and telling their children to stay away from this guy, he is on the registry have one less child who is molested if they had been educated and taught their selves and their child the warning signs in the behavior of others to watch out for...and what situations to avoid?
Laurens situation was horrible and I am sure she has had a lot of suffering.
Her abuser is now in prison and will suffer also forever.
But every former sex offender in Florida did not molest Lauren. NO ONE MAN IN FLORIDA SHOULD HAVE AS MUCH POWER AS MR. BOOK HOLDS!
We are in desperate need of Legislators who are educated enough, courageous enough, and care enough about the safety of our children to tell the public the truth, tell RON BOOK that we tried his way and it DID NOT WORK, and to go sit down and shut up,
Then we need to listen to the experts.
We made some mistakes- it’s time to fix them. We didn't know some things, let’s learn and institute new policies and procedures.
Excellent commentary. After learning of Lauren's story, the very first thought that came to mind was how in the world any law that her father influenced could have had any effect in her protection or any child's protection, who is left in the care of others.
If he could get past his guilt, he could better serve his daughter's efforts.
Instead, he has tried to control rather than use his experience as a parental education tool.
Thanks for your thoughts.
First of all I don't even BELIEVE her story. IF the father of the year let this go on FIVE YEARS he should be in prison.
And, frankly, the little miss pants on fire didn't look TOO UPSET at her GAZILLION DOLLAR WEDDING.
These are photo ops. There are HUNDREDS of REAL sexual abuse victims. Why are THESE TWO getting the press?
I simply do NOT believe her story.
Where's the evidence?
She's ALL MOUTH NOW. Where was her mommy and daddy and all her many friends that she could have told this to?
I have no sympathy for her. I've never believed her story. AT ALL. I've known victims of REAL sexual abuse and they acted NOTHING like this.
They can't stand suffering of ANY KIND and will give their last dollar to a stranger and will save every stray dog that passes by.
So, there's two reasons that she is a liar.
I do not see a SHRED of honesty OR PAIN in her eyes. EVER.
And the whole family is scum. I'd rather live in a sexual offender CITY than have them for neighbors. Making up lies and fabricating sex offender stories.
Probably the REAL STORY is that the lady was an illegal immigrant employed by ron book and he wanted to run for office and didn't want that discovered as so 'conveniently' happeened to caroline kennedy so they dual-imposed lies on the woman to create this whole fantasy.
It's a back door plan and the longer we feed in to her LIES the longer it will propagate.
Someone needs to interview the nanny before she dies the same convenient death as john couey.