Florida Sex Offenders Using Social Media
Published May 11th, 2012
By: Yaremi Farinas
Just who are those people you are friends with on Facebook? Most are regular people, but is everyone really who they say they are?
A convicted rapist from New York was caught using a fake identity on Facebook, by a 12- year- old boy who identified him as the offender chatted online with his mother.
In some states sex offenders have been banned from using social media websites, but not in Florida.
"I've always made them give me their passwords," said Lisa Labbe.
Labbe is a mother of two.
Like most kids now a days, both of her children use the popular social network we all know as Facebook.
"With my younger one I have any incoming messages from her Facebook come to my e-mail," said Labee.
She monitors her 14-year-old daughters page to make sure she is just adding her friends and not strangers.
"I always ask her, hey do you know this person because I don't know this name," said Labee.
In today's society almost anyone can have a Facebook or twitter account, including sex offenders.
Florida is one state that lets most registered sex offenders decide if they want a social media page.
"For the most part of alachua county and through the state of Florida, most of the offenders are not on probation. Therefore they would be eligible for those types official media accounts," said Brandon Kutner who is the supervisor of the Community Oriented Policing unit at the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.
All sex offenders in Florida who are using social media accounts need to register all their e-mail addresses, screen names and any other accounts.
They do not have to indicate that they are a sex offender on their page.
Some worry they may create another account with a different name.
"There is no requirement that would make it illegal for them to use a Facebook name under a different surname or an aka. They would still be required to register that Facebook account or any other account," said Kutner.
If they don't and get caught, it's considered a felony in the state of Florida.
We checked to see if some sex offenders in the area have a Facebook page, but nothing popped up.
Kutner told us the internet crime against children task force monitors all the account, but he said it's important for parents to do the same.
"I understand there's people that do that out there and they do do those things, but I have tried to educate both of my kids on how to spot problems," said Labee.
There haven't been any documented cases of sexual offenders mis-using social media accounts in Alachua County.
