HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- They are the faces you don't want to see at the local park where your kids play. They are the reason Hillsborough County's commissioners created a supposedly tough ordinance that would ban sex offenders and predators from parks and playgrounds.
But in the 12 months since the county's sex offender ordinance has gone into affect, how many arrests has the Sheriff's Department been able to make?
What do you think? Click here to share your thoughts."We've made one," says Captain Alan Hill of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
That was 57-year-old Miguel Gomez, a convicted sex offender, arrested September 9th in a local park.
On the other hand, the ordinance couldn't be applied to convicted sex offender Holvin Rivera even though, according to a probation report, Rivera was hanging out for hours in Lettuce Lake Park earlier this month not far from where children can be found every day at the playground.
Because Rivera said he was with someone else, the ordinance may not have applied.
In fact, the only reason Rivera was later arrested was because his probation officer had verbally told him to stay away from parks.
"If that wasn't said then that sex offender would not have done anything wrong by being present in the park. That's exactly right," says State Representative Richard Glorioso.
Glorioso has been trying for years to get a statewide sex offender law passed that would, as he says "keep a circle of safety around our children and keep predators and offenders from loitering near our kids."
Glorioso says the problem with Hillsborough County's ordinance is that it contains so many exceptions, it is operationally ineffective.
For instance, while it bans sex offenders and predators from parks and playgrounds, there are exceptions for dropping off their own child, or a friend or relatives child. Or while traveling to and from religious services, and to and from official business.
Enough exceptions to leave the ordinance open to interpretation.
Captain Alan Hill of the Sheriff's Department's Criminal Investigation Division says sex offenders and predators know exactly what the law says and doesn't say.
"Criminals are criminals. They are not all stupid and when their crime is acts like this, I'm sure they are going to study up on it and try their best to get around the law," says Hill.
"Right now that person can be in that park sitting on a bench next to your kids and the officer has no authority to tell them to leave." says Glorioso.
Which is why Representative Glorioso is now introducing a bill that would create a new, tougher statewide law which would close many of the loopholes in the Hillsborough County ordinance.
"We do two things. First of all if you a sexual offender or predator on conditional release or probation you will not be allowed in a park, period. If you're in the registry we create a circle of safety of 300 feet around the children where you cannot loiter," says Glorioso.
However, even under Glorioso's bill those in the sex offender registry could still visit parks if they stay more than 300 feet away from children.
