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City talks sex treatment ordinance again

The Gainesville Sun - 11/3/2018

Nov. 02--Gainesville city commissioners deliberated for almost two hours over an ordinance that would separately define sexual treatment facilities from other types of treatment centers, though none were interested in passing it.

Last year, commissioners denied a special-use permit that would allow a treatment center, Intensive Treatment Modalities (ITM), the ability to offer sexual treatment at one of its centers due to concerns of its proximity to a child care center and residential neighborhood.

Since those talks, opinions haven't changed much among the affected parties.

The ordinance presented Thursday would have separated treatment services and set a 1,000-foot buffer from sexual treatment facilities from parks, child care centers and schools. It would force facilities offering sexual-related therapy to do business only in certain locations in the city.

"This ordinance is more restrictive in terms of treatment locations than any ordinance I could find in the nation," said Alvin Butler, a program director at ITM. "This is Gainesville, the city that's known for tolerance ... The 1,000-foot rule, that was developed by the state for houses you could live in, not for treatment to take place."

Before the conversation began, City Attorney Nicolle Shalley told commissioners that the move wasn't recommended by city staff, was opposed by the neighborhood that brought up the initial concern and was also opposed by the ITM group. She said the ordinance would likely face legal issues, if passed.

Mayor Lauren Poe said he saw no satisfactory path on the subject and was inclined to take the attorney's advice of not taking action. The commission did just that, offering little opinions on the subject after public comment.

Bridgett Smart, a crime analyst with Gainesville Police Department, was asked last year by the commission to bring back statistics to see whether there is a correlation between sexual-related crimes and where treatment centers are located.

Based on the data she provided Thursday, she said there is no correlation between the two. She said less than 5 percent of sex crimes committed in Gainesville between 2014 through 2017 came from previous offenders and known predators.

Over the four year period, at least 711 sex offenses occurred in the city, though the crimes that were reported to University Police Department weren't included. The bulk of the crimes occurred around the West University Avenue and 13th Street region. The stats didn't include offenses for failure to register, needed address changes or computer sex crimes.

Of the 164 offenses that have occurred in the last year, just one was from a repeat offender or predator, Smart said.

Some who spoke Thursday defended businesses, specifically ITM, that offered sexual rehabilitation services.

"I'm here to present facts, not fear," said Peggy Vermont, a psychologist with ITM and Union County Schools. "Based on research and data, 95 percent of these abused children will be abused by somebody they know, 70 percent of these children who are abused happens in their home and 40 percent who are abused are abused by older children."

Vermont also said the fear of those getting treatment at a location re-offending in that specific neighborhood is "unrealistic."

Attorney Gary Edinger said, if passed, the ordinance would be a free speech violation and couldn't be done, constitutionally.

Others, however, said the ordinance didn't go far enough and that the city should designate areas on the edge of city limits for sexual treatment centers and other court services.

Gainesville resident Robert Mounts said he was skeptical whether pedophilia can be fixed. Sally Atkins, of Gainesville, said she moved homes due to the placement of the existing ITM building and that city should still work to fix its existing code to address concerns.

but the existing rule in place gave city residents the best protections, said Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos, who added it was the best the city could do for now. He said he saw no need to change the ordinance at this time.

"No one likes the proposed ordinance," he said.

Commissioner Helen Warren told the room that sexual offenders are already at various locations -- grocery stores or parks -- in the city and most people are unaware, while noting the low recidivism rate among sex offenders already in the court system.

She shared a personal story from her childhood where she said she was traumatized by someone when she was a teenager and said it took her awhile to get passed it.

"I understand how trauma affects us, and when we have that trauma, it really pisses us off when it happens more than once," Warren said. "I would much rather know where people are being treated than where they're not."

Commissioners did not give a timetable for if or when the subject would be brought back up.

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