Ahead of Hurricane Milton, a Florida sheriff said sexual predators are prohibited from entering hurricane shelters.
“The sheriff’s office will ensure that there is a safe environment for anyone that comes there, anyone that comes in, will be checked to make sure that they are not a fugitive and not wanted, not a sex offender,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.
“If you are a predator, you are not allowed at the Rymfire Shelter. If you are designated under Florida Law as a sex predator and you need shelter, you need to go to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. That’s the county jail,” he continued.
“Welcome to Florida If you’re a convicted sex offender, you aren’t allowed in our hurricane shelters You can spend the night in the county jail,” DC Draino commented.
WATCH:
Welcome to Florida
If you’re a convicted sex offender, you aren’t allowed in our hurricane shelters
You can spend the night in the county jail pic.twitter.com/JkJhE1SY7X
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 9, 2024
Florida’s Voice reports:
Another user, @xoxomrslucky, said “You gotta love Florida for this!! Protecting their people from BAD CHARACTERS No one should feel unsafe when seeking protection from a storm Thank you, Florida!!”
The Sheriff also announced a curfew for the county effective Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. to Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 a.m. The curfew will be nightly until rescinded.
Florida sheriff: Sexual predators aren’t allowed at hurricane shelter, should go to the county jailhttps://t.co/6yK3rPlCF0
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 9, 2024
Staly provided an update for Flagler County in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton:
𝙃𝙐𝙍𝙍𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙉𝙀 𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙏𝙊𝙉 𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙃 𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀: 𝙏𝙃𝙐𝙍𝙎𝘿𝘼𝙔
IMPORTANT INFO: Sheriff Rick Staly provides an update on the impacts of Hurricane #Milton across Flagler County. pic.twitter.com/tJOcyNpNoP
— Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (@FlaglerSheriff) October 10, 2024
Per NewsNation:
Not all counties are taking the same approach, however. In Marion County, a separate shelter was announced for those on the registry.
Sex offenders risk felony charges if they try to stay at a regular shelter where children are staying, giving them fewer options for evacuation during a storm.
A 2018 law also adds an additional hurdle for those who might evacuate instead of heading to a shelter by requiring sex offenders to register temporary addresses within three days and update their driver’s license or ID with that address within 48 hours of departing.
Those who aren’t able to do that receive a mandatory sentence of six months of GPS monitoring and a maximum of up to five years in prison.