INVERNESS - David Leroy Spangler lives three miles from a hurricane shelter at Inverness Primary School.
But Spangler, a registered sexual predator convicted of a child sex crime, is on probation that bars him from public shelters because he cannot have contact with children. The same applies to Kathryn Elizabeth Ferrier, of Holiday, former Hillsborough County resident Robert Max Schultz and thousands of other predators and offenders who assaulted or abused minors.
In the past, they had to ride storms out at their homes or those of family members or friends. Now they have a new option: go to prison.
In fact, they have to move into a state lockup if their residences are in a mandatory evacuation zone, state Department of Corrections spokesman Robby Cunningham said Monday. Those who don't will be violating probation.
``They're not going to be put in general population. They're not really in prison,'' Cunningham said. ``They may be in a visitors area, but the door may be locked. It's for their safety and the public's.''
Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica's slaying in February helped prompt the policy, praised it.
``It takes away the temptation these maggots get when they get around kids,'' he said. ``They might use a storm to find their next victim.''
Mike Snure, a Winter Park lawyer and president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the policy is overkill.
Recent events, including the slayings of Jessica, Sarah Michelle Lunde and Carlie Brucia, ``Thave heightened our awareness, and it's typical to overreact because of the understandable outrage,'' Snure said. ``But it's a bit abusive to single these people out, saying they can't go to a friend's or relative's. It's the same way with seeing some communities saying they can't live there.''
The Department of Corrections policy is not the first to invite predators and offenders back inside.
Kevin Doll, public information director for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, said that with last year's rash of hurricanes, his department developed its own policy.
``We have been telling sex offenders under supervision they can come here and we'll find a place for them, even if it's our [county] detention facility,'' he said.
Corrections records show 7,428 people were on probation for sex crimes Monday, but Cunningham did not know how many are barred from being around children.
He also did not know how many have received letters telling them where to report and conditions of their stay: no pets, no family, no visitors and no smoking or telephone privileges, except collect calls made from a pay phone.
``It's not gone out en masse,'' he said. ``It's triggered by [an approaching] storm.''