“I did not want to lose sight of the fact that for every criminal I have to deal with, no matter how big or small the crime, there is a victim involved. Those victims are the ones that I will strive to serve as an [police] officer.” ― Victims and Survivors
There is an evangelical connection, as you will see.
Last evening, my husband called attention to this video describing Miracle Village. I was surprised that this community had never crossed my radar in the previous 14 years. After viewing the video, I had many questions, and I bet most of you do. It is so well known that Wikipedia has a page on the unusual nature of this town..
Miracle Village (officially City of Refuge since 2014)[1] is a community on Muck City Road, about three miles (4.8 km) east of Pahokee, Florida, that serves as a haven for registered sex offenders. It is located within one of the most isolated and poorest parts of Palm Beach County.[2][3] The site was chosen because of its isolation; given that, the sex offender residence restrictions do not apply.
…The complex of 54 duplexes and six family homes[4] is operated by Matthew 25 Ministries, an organization with the stated goal of providing prison aftercare. The Executive Director in 2017 was Ted Rodarm, himself an ex-offender.[5] In October 2010, the community included 66 registered sex offenders;[6] by July 2013, there were 100;[7] and by 2017, it held 120.[5] The total population as of 2018, including family members, was 200.[8] It is the largest community of registered sex offenders in the United States.[6] There are an additional 300 who have resided there but since moved on.[9]
An affiliated organization, Miracle Village Ministries, provides services including transportation to newly released prisoners. It describes itself on its website as “a faith-based prison aftercare ministry”.[10]
The following two videos examine the town that some call a “Leper Colony.”
Time Magazine posted many images in Life Inside a Community of Sex Offenders.
Take time to scroll through the many photos taken by Sofia Valiente, an award-winning photographer.
Cities and counties oftentimes have their own laws, some more stringent than others. Curfew for some in Miracle Village is 7 p.m. Many residents have to wear GPS-monitored ankle bracelets that keep tabs on them at all times. They can’t interact with minors, even if they’re family. They’re subject to random drug tests. Some can’t use the Internet. Others can’t own a smartphone.
…In 2009, Dick Witherow, a local evangelical pastor, founded Miracle Village as a sort of haven for area sex offenders struggling to find housing. The village is not only physically removed from populated areas—it’s surrounded by hundreds of acres of sugar cane and is located several miles from nearby Pahokee—but Witherow’s ministry, Matthew 25, also provides support for those living there and interviews other sex offenders looking to relocate to determine if they’d be a good fit for the community.
Valiente’s photos of the village’s members are subtle and are oftentimes straight-on portraits, an aesthetic that takes on the look of traditional documentary photographs. She also had many of the community’s residents write letters describing their past crimes.
“I had sex with my younger brother,” writes Matt, one Miracle Village resident.
“My crime was being in a relationship with my 16 yr old girlfriend. That I care a lot about,” writes David. “I was 18 turning 19 at the time. Parents were involved & I was charged with 2nd degree sexually battery (injury not likely).”
I found the following photo with the caption intriguing.
Some thoughts after looking at all of this.
- According to one of the videos, the folks are not likely to re-offend. If they do, it is for other offenses, not sex offenses. However, I’m not sure this is accurate. According to one source:
“Overall, follow-up studies typically find sexual recidivism rates of 10%-15% after five years, 20% after ten years, and 30%-40% after 20 years (see Hanson, Morton, & Harris, 2003). However, these numbers are conservative because not all offenses are detected.” - There was little discussion that certain sexual offenders have profound psychiatric disorders and suffer urges to recommit throughout their lives. With treatment, one can hope for strength not to re-offend, but they may well suffer from the urge to do so for a lifetime.
- These folks can be incredibly charismatic, with the ability to get people to trust them. Only a fool would truly trust a sex offender.
- I am glad these people have found a place to live that is acceptable to their parole officers. However, there are children in that village, and a school is being built. I wonder how safe that village will be as more children move into the area.
- I don’t necessarily trust the narrative that some of them offered that their crime was a simple boyfriend/girlfriend situation. “He was 19, and she was 16,” and he is on the sex offender registry for life? I’m sure it is possible, but I would love to see the court records.
- I would not raise my kids near that town.
- I am glad they have churches in the community so that they can deal with their issues.
- Several folks in the articles I read talked about forgiveness. I hope people realize that only the victim and God can forgive the abuser.
- What did you think about this village? Have you heard of it?
I hope this provokes some good discussion.
Hello Dee, like you, I have seen the stats re sex offenders. You are right in your concerns regarding the presence of minors anywhere near these individuals. Still, I deeply appreciate Matthew 25 being willing to at least attempt to help these individuals. Yet I agree, “Only a fool would trust a sex offender.”
In a way, I can see the reasoning behind the creation of this village, but I have some doubts, and some questions:
1.) Are there any professional counselors there, or is it strictly a “Christian ministry”. Is professional counseling required?
( IMHO, it should be a requirement to live there.)
For all Wartburgers:
2.) If your spouse was a convicted offender who chose to live in this place, would you live there, too? If you had minor children still living with you, would you bring them there to live?
( My personal answer is, “NO! NO!”)
3.) If you had extended family members living there, would you go there for Thanksgiving dinner with children/grandchildren in tow, if invited?
(Me? Hmmmmmm……. I don’t think so.)
I served as a chaplain at a prison in Indian, that primarily housed sex offenders. Over 3000 of them. Many were charming and claim to be “Christian”. There does need to be places where these offenders can live and work. We cannot just turn them loose and then restrict their ability to survive. I wouldn’t trust most of them with my grandchildren, wife or daughters. There are no easy answers, but this village is a good attempt.
“I just want to move on with my life,” according to one of the sex offenders. “I just made a mistake,” said another.
Yes, everyone makes mistakes. But not all of us make mistakes that hurt innocent people in life-altering ways.
I know people of both genders who are victims of childhood sexual abuse or rape. One committed suicide. Another, to those who knew them well, was clearly a much different person (not in a good way) after the assault. The others still spoke of it with tears in their eyes, years later.
I imagine they all wanted to “just move on with their lives,” too.
I’ve also known two registered sex offenders, a man and a woman. One told me they were on the registry; the other my husband discovered on the registry by chance. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but both of them had pushed boundaries in ways that made me uncomfortable. Finding out they were on the registry was not incredibly surprising.
On the one hand, I think even sex offenders should be able to have shelter and a means to support themselves (if only so that they’re not a drain on society). And yes, I imagine even they can repent and experience God’s grace. So I’m glad there is a community and even a church for them.
But on the other hand, I don’t think they should be allowed near children. Nor, as a woman on the small side, would I want to be alone in a room with one.
And I’m with you, Dee, on the issue of forgiveness. That is for the victims and God to offer, not the friends and neighbors of the sex offenders. Even though I’ve forgiven him, if I found out that one of Pastor Andy’s friends told him “I forgive you for berating Sarah and calling her a wedge for the devil,” I’d think that friend was off their rocker.
Glad they have found a community of like minded people. The real upside to this is that they are in one place instead of scattered around everywhere in the general population.
Lots of potential issues.
Minors should not be allowed to live there and parents should be warned against visiting there.
If parents visit there with their kids in tow anyway, perhaps the parents should be investigated.
It goes without saying that there should be no need for a school if minors aren’t allowed to live there.
Anyone visiting should have to go through a short, honest (not rose colored glasses), briefing about the community before being allowed in so they are completely informed of the nature of many of the people living there.
Yes it probably does suck to be a modern day leper and be so ostracized – oh well.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yes, I know that sounds harsh, but tough luck.
What about violent or repeat offenders? Are they allowed? How violent? How many repeats?
Every once in a while, a journalist does a story on Miracle Village, broadcast nationally.
Sex offenders need to be dealt with by trained professionals, specializing in dealing with sex offenders. Bring research to bear.
The less opportunity a sex offender has to reoffend, the less reoffending there will be. A community of nonoffenders does not rehabilitate a sex offender; if there are vulnerable people, that is opportunity for reoffending to occur.
There is nothing casual or cavalier about sex offenders. These are very serious offenses.
Some of the statements from the journalists doing the videos do not line up with facts. Research does not lie (although it can be twisted).
Sex offenders are con artists, right from the jump.
> Only a fool would truly trust a sex offender.
Without meaning to distract from the focus of the OP, I think that this principle of “it is not wise to trust those who have shown a willingness to exploit the vulnerable and/or betray trust” also applies more broadly to other kinds of exploitation and betrayals.
I have heard of such a thing from an epiode of ‘Criminal Minds’ – wasn’t sure if it existed in real life. But my thoughts? Well, not all sex offenses are the same degree (and no, I’m not sin-leveling here so be nice). Some will get you on the registry for life, some for a specified period of years. And the laws are not consistent state by state. For instance, it could be that in some states, and certainly in some countries, the legal age for marriage may be 16. So the teenage individuals, aged 16 and 18 could possibly get married and nobody would fuss (if it were my child, I would have already put up a huge fuss). But in the example given in the post of the 16 yo and 18 yo – – well, if they had sex one day before the 18 yo birthday it would ‘just’ be teenage sex, but one day after, it’s now a crime putting the individual on the SOR. So, many laws are inconsistent.
That said (1)I think the person who started this ministry had some compassion – not sure how much wisdom or discernment accompanied that compassion. But, the offenders definitely need ongoing therapy, NOT Biblical counseling. The statistics on the re-offending rate are high.
(2) I would not be comfortable living there or anywhere close by or visiting. And I certainly don’t think children should live there.
(3) Only a fool would trust a sex offender – – – absolutely!
Old Timer,
You are like me. You see the benefit but also the potential evil.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
I read that thy do some intake evaluation for all potential residents. One of the videos i watched had a man discussing his personal counseling. I would have divorced my husband and asked for full custody of the kids. If I ever had to visit with kids, I would lock, load and carry and make sure everyone knew about it. I would ask that nice woman pastor to be present for the meeting as well.
I feel the same way as you.
I agree with you.
“Harsh” is necessary with this crowd. I know they do some sort of intake with potential residents. Given that it is reported that there have been no further sex abuse issues with these folks makes me think they do not take the violent sort but I could be wrong.
They can always get a mail-order Doctorate and plant a Church; according to this and other blogs, that’s a common ChoMo career path.
Ava Aaronson,
Good for you for picking up on this. I had not seen anything.
Well said, as usual! 🙂
In my state you can get on the Registry for taking a “bush wee”.
As someone with a prostate problem that can make me have to pee without warning, I get very concerned about that.
FreshGrace,
Good comment. The guy who mentioned that all he did was have sec with his underage girlfriend gave me pause. Was he telling the truth? Was he really on the sex offender registry for life. Of course that would be unfair but I wonder if it was true.I wish I could get more info on his situation to verify its veracity.
How often is that prosecuted? Do you know what sort of sentence is imposed? Are there other peripheral issues of interest?
I wonder whether the name “City of Refuge” is inspired by the OT legislation that set aside some of the Levitical towns as places to which people guilty of what would today be called “involuntary manslaughter” could flee to live in peace without fear of blood retribution by kin of the deceased.
If the language is intentional, it seems to me to be an inappropriate evocation of the OT mercy agenda — the crimes of the present-day convicts are decidedly not ‘involuntary’.
I only watched a small amount of the first video….I don’t know about anyone else, but I found the bit I watched incredibly manipulative. And the part I watched appeared to be intentionally edited to put a positive spin on things. In other words, whoever(s) put together the video appears to be a professional spin doctor (even if they aren’t paid or known as one).
And I agree, there aren’t any easy answers….
Headless Unicorn Guy,
Sex offender registration should be intended to deter predatory behavior. It is hard to believe there is not much more to the story of the 19 year old/16 year old. Likewise, the prostate issue is totally lacking in predatory intent. I’d be sure it was in my medical record. A little off the subject: I use to do week long bike tours across the prairies of North Dakota with a few hundred other ridiculously like-minded cyclists. Trees and bushes were very few and far between. The tour sponsor organization had a couple of port-a-potties on wheels they would tow behind a vehicle and leave at the side of the road every 10 to 20 miles. The riders stayed well hydrated and also had their morning coffee. Every once in a while one of the guys could be seen standing in front of a large round hay bale. Nothing could be seen from the road, but everybody could tell what he was doing. I always wondered why the guys a) couldn’t wait until they got to the next john, and b) had to stand with their feet apart with both hands together in front of them. Seems like a guy could act a little less obvious and vary his technique. Just sayin’.
dee,
Yep. Divorce, full custody, supervised visits, lock/load/carry!!!
Headless Unicorn Guy,
Dickens was right, sometimes the law is an a$$.
What’s different about your post is that your priority is NOT “news” about sex offenders.
Your post is about the effect this community initiative has on the community at large, with a focus on those vulnerable: victims and potential victims.
You are ever the advocate, Dee, and we are grateful.
You are not a journo with a scoop. You are a fellow follower of Jesus with a heart of love. God bless.
In my state of California, an 18 year-old sleeping with an under-age teen can be charged with statutory rape and end up on the sex offender registry. There are public ad campaigns on our local buses warning young men to make sure they know the age of who they are sleeping with. Judges do have discretion, especially if the younger partner lies about their age.
Sodom and Gomorrah must have been refuges for sex offenders. It didn’t work out well for them.
If you haven’t watched In The Valley of Sin, I highly recommend it.
Follow that up by researching what happened with Wayside Cross Ministries in Aurora, IL.
Short version: Wayside allowed a man who had served almost 40 years in prison for murder to join their residential program (he had become a Christian in prison.) The city of Aurora and the Democratic mayor protested. When Wayside wouldn’t relent the mayor had a park a block away designated a playground a few months later. So the 19 men who were also in their residential program had to be immediately removed with no where to go. They became homeless in Illinois in mid- December. People serve time in prison and have no where to go if they are facing release. Literally no where. No programs, no homes, no nothing.
I think of the verse in James 2 about the judgement without mercy shown to those who show no mercy.
Even Christians trying to model mercy and rehabilitation can be cut down by other Christians NIMBY-ism.
What an area to need God’s wisdom and discernment!
There is something off putting about both videos, maybe a lack of situational accuracy? We have all heard the stories of a 18yo with a 16yo gf but I assume those, like the extreme violent sexual offenders, are on the ends id the spectrum. And in the middle are the “racquetball coach” who said in the first video he “started messing around with some of his students”, then in the second, it said convicted of sexual contact of eleven minors.
And the man who grew up homosexual in a strict church and thought it was a sin and ended up with a 16 yo boy that he was the teacher of.
Both of those are not just “18 with a 16gf”. Both of those have enormous power dynamics and predatory behavior and most likely had other victims OR boundary pushing just to the limit.
But both men are highlighted here. One is good looking. The other appears friendly and grandfather like, and iirc, in the first video he isn’t identified as a resident in the first half. I thought he was a pastor or board member until the last part.
Of course there needs to be a place for people to live. But I can see a lot of minimizing and sin leveling, as well.
Sarah,
Good comment.
The art of the con. Normalizing the offenses, while grooming the audience. “Seems like a nice normal guy. We can all live together and get along.”
In looking at their website, Wayside appears to have good intentions.
A caveat: they group addicted and abused together. Addicted is what a person does to themselves, maybe under difficult circumstances, but nevertheless they do it to themselves. Abused, OTOH, is the target of a bully, what someone more powerful does to a vulnerable person.
Big difference. When social services lump these two groups together, it’s a disservice to both groups. It’s flawed social services right from the jump.
Zacchaeus was a bully who repented.
In John 9, Jesus healed a man born blind through no fault of his own. The disciples wanted to fault the blind man or his parents but Jesus would have none of that.
Yes: wisdom and discernment.
Parents should not have pedophiles in their backyard (so yes to NIMBYism) nor in their church communities circulating among minors.
Pedophiles bring a life sentence upon themselves of being denied access to their targets. Yes, for life. On this Earth. No access. No mercy.
Mercy? Mercy is first and foremost for the intended targets of the pedophile. Mercifully provide the opportunity for children to grow up without violation in their own backyard.
The Valley of Sin: “Wenatchee, Wash., is rocked by a 1994 police probe into a pedophile ring called ‘The Circle’ resulting in 43 parents being jailed and dozens of children being put in foster care, but none of it actually happened.”
LE (CPS) and DOJ are flawed, yes, but that doesn’t mean, for example, that The Golden State” guy should have been given a pass.
Where can pedophiles live post incarceration? Far away from targets, with whatever appropriate measures it takes to make that happen. Plenty of room on the planet; far away from a multigenerational community. There ARE places away from targets. Pedophiles don’t want to go to remote adults-only places. They want to be normalized back into a target rich community.
Social services that both:
1. House pedophiles and DV predators
2. Shelter abused women and children
… had better be sure they know what they are doing. These two groups in NO WAY should be intersecting. Lumping together the “needy” of society, as in needs protection and needs reform, is not good works. It is dangerous and highly ignorant.
For SOME predatory sex offenders, in the known categories of very high recidivism, some HIGH degree of supervision ought to be legally imposed for the protection of the innocent.
Where DOES the responsibility lie?
Obviously, in the case of extremely high categories of recidivism, the internal locus of control over impulse-control quickly gives way to temptation, so allowing the perpetrator to be around potential prey is in itself complicit with the resulting tragedy of further harm to the innocent. . . . that is a GIVEN in the case of any criminal paedophilia conviction.
Why ‘risk’ it?
What is being ‘trusted’, that the felon will not re-offend? You can’t trust to that, no.
With so many ‘judges’ being politically-appointed these days, one wonders, as in the case of Paul Pressler, how many paedophiles (are allowed to) ‘slip through the cracks’ to re-offend?
Where does the responsibility to protect the innocent lie? Certainly, once there is re-offending, should not prison then be mandatory for the protection of the public?
Common sense?
Or just ‘humane’ imprisonment out of respect also for the weakness and lack of impulse control of a predator whose crime also must be ‘treated’ seriously by mental health professionals in a lock-up setting (there are prisons where there are mental health services, yes) – lock-up with mental health services protects all concerned
second ‘chances’ equals second ‘victims’
I had a convicted sex offender living next door to me for 10 years. There had been some issues with party noise in the middle of the night and his friends seemed “off.” I finally googled him and up came the mug shot. I would have never complained to management if it hadn’t been for all the party noise, but I wasn’t the only one who complained. It turned out that the previous management hadn’t done a thorough background check on him, and he was immediately evicted as we are too close to a school and playground for him to be in the complex.
If he had some common sense, he would have kept a low profile and been a model citizen, but that was apparently too hard (and he did do a few years in state prison). I had moved into a nice complex and didn’t enjoy finding condoms and needles in my side yard. I want people who have truly served their time and changed to have a place to live, but they also have to be willing to change their lifestyle.
Linn,
Thx for sharing and sorry you had to experience this.
The laws regarding where certain types of offenders can live are based on research regarding those particular types of offenders.
Parents who have lost their children work for legislation on behalf of the children of others.
God bless those parents who have suffered great loss.
Offenders were created in the image of God, like everyone else. However, unlike everyone else, they have misused their agency with devastating evil. They are to be respected as fellow human beings while highly restricted regarding access to targets. Respected means boundaries and no vengeance. Society does not do to them what they have done to others. Society prohibits their access to future targets; that is not punishment. It stops predation. No vengeance and no access.
We were watching a documentary where, in another time and place, criminals were immediately executed. We don’t do that. There is due process. There are also lifelong restrictions for certain types, the few that can do enormous damage, in our civil society.
Thank God for the behavioral scientists. Roy Hazelwood was one such hero.
Ava,
I totally agree that sex offenders are created in the image of God and at the same time need guardrails-for their safety and ours. I’ve already met a few in teaching in both schools and churches for the past 40+ years. Many of them appear to be very nice people, which is why organizations need to do fingerprinting and background checks. My church just made fingerprinting mandatory this past year, and I was relieved. They were lax in several areas, but they finally got a clue (I’m thinking a mandate from the insurance company).
The big problem I had with my neighbor was that he had family members that knew both the management AND attended my church! Family and friends circle the wagons to try and protect these people. I even had the sister approach me and ask me to keep an eye on her brother and inform her if he was using drugs again. I told her no. He needed consequences, not coddling.
Thankfully, everyone moved out of state as of last year. I am thankful, although I am sorry that another community may now have a problem.
Couple of red flags. It’s run by a “ministry” and the director is also a convicted offender.
The idea itself is not bad. In the absence of any other solution, society has to balance protection with control.
But it’s a failure of the government to provide this protection. This program should be administered by the department of corrections in combination with social services. Professional guidance is needed. This is not a cure but a long term monitoring program.
Jesus might have been a great help to the lepers in antiquity but he’s a bit useless in this situation.
Linn,
Your story is enormously telling!
For example: Predators have groomed supporting networks of complicit adults. These co-conspirators drive the getaway car which is a charge-able offense in a Court of law following a bank heist.
IAC, highly skilled behavioral scientists are needed to contend with highly skilled predators. Roy Hazelwood, God rest his soul, was a highly skilled behavioral scientist.
I agree.
Does the Court ordered label of Sexual Predator carry with it LE surveillance?
I don’t know about all jurisdictions but where I live once the sentence is done, they may be on a registry but there’s no monitoring.
You can go to jail longer for not paying your taxes.
Two enormous red flags.
Especially “complicit adults” in positions of Power and Authority.
Pillars of the Church/Community and Authority who would normally oversee the Predators.
In the original The Godfather, the big mafia war (“To the mattresses!”) was because Don Corleone had the cops, courts, DAs, and even a couple Congressmen in his pocket and refused the other Dons access to that arrangement.
“the Largest Community of Registered Sex Offenders in the United States”
Might not be a bad idea to put them all in one place … and easier target for God on Judgment Day.
Max,
I feel convicted about posting my last comment (Aug. 3, 12:10 PM)
Wartburgers, please disregard. Max shouldn’t have said that.
Dee or GBTC, please remove.
Lord, forgive me.
Complete community grooming. Like in the film, “Spotlight”: LE, legal community, governance, church, media, church goers. What about the children? Who cares for them, as all parties collude to cover for the predators?