Parents protest sexual offenders housed near elementary school

After an hour-long dispute with Woodville residents about the housing of sexual offenders near an elementary school, the director of the homeless transition ministry declared that he would be re-locating the program.

Parents blasted Glenn Burns, executive director of Good Samaritan Network, for his decision to use Good Samaritan Thrift Store, located less than a quarter-mile from Woodville Elementary, as the site of a ministry that serves inmates who would otherwise be homeless. Sixteen men, 11 are registered sexual offenders, live there.

A cease and desist order, barring it from continuing as a residential facility, was issued Wednesday from the county. Department of Corrections officials confirmed that the sexual offenders did not violate their supervision terms.

“Wherever we try to go, no one is going to approve it,” Burns said. “The problem of sexual offenders is still there, even if we close. This is something the community will have to deal with... Now they have no place to go. They’ll live in the woods somewhere."

As many as 43 sexual offenders live within a 3-mile radius of the church. They are not under the same type of supervision as those staying at Good Samaritan.

The meeting, held at Woodville Elementary, began civilly, with introductions from Superintendent Jackie Pons, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor and Sheriff Mike Wood, who all aimed to “present the facts” to parents. But shortly the floor was turned over to the parents, the discourse devolved, at times into an almost shouting match.

Parents questioned how a permit for the store to operate as a residential facility was approved. But Proctor did not have answers to questions about zoning, and the county staffer who approved Good Samaritan’s application did not attend the meeting.

Most parents were not assured that ministry administrators could guarantee their children’s safety, despite talks of restricted curfews, chaperoning procedures and real-time monitoring from cameras and GPS.

“When I found out about this, it hit close to home,” said Tracy Strickland, a mother of a Woodville student. “Our kids deserve to be safe.”

Strickland learned about the facility through social media posts. A Facebook group encouraged parents to protest Good Samaritan hours before the meeting.

Strickland stood in a line beside other parents along Woodville Highway. They waved signs that bore messages like, “Kids matter!” or “Move the group of trash.” Horns from the cars and trucks driving by honked.

But down the road stood a handful of teenagers from Wakulla County, gripping signs that shared messages about forgiveness and God’s love.

They had driven by the parents and were unsettled by the protest. They turned around the car and bought poster board and a marker from the nearby Dollar General to make signs of their own.

“This is a spontaneous act,” said Hannah Smith. “Seeing them, well, it disappointed me a lot. The men — yes, they made wrong choices — but they are trying to better themselves… I believe in forgiveness. God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips who he calls.”

Contact Amanda Claire Curcio by email at acurcio@tallahassee.com or follow @MandaCurcio on Twitter.