MONROE, Fla. – Homeless men with secrets riding a bicycle around the Conch Republic and wondering around mangrove forests near U.S. Highway 1 are not uncommon. But very few make the news.
Convicted rapist and child molester Robert Childs' wears a state-provided ankle monitor, said aForeign Policy reporter who met with him on March 2015. The story's headline: "To Catch The Devil."
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Childs is the son of a U.S. Marine, according to the story. He is from Seattle and found refuge in Key West, after an experience as an FBI informant in a terrorism case. He had hoped the FBI would help him have his criminal record expunged. But they didn't.
Due to the nature of their crimes, The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps track of Childs and many other transient convicted sex offenders and sexual predators who have found refuge in the tropical oasis.
Use the map to track residential clusters of sex offenders
As Florida law restricts where sex offenders can live, FDLE data analysis shows the registered population that is not homeless is creating dangerous clusters in poverty-stricken neighborhoods.
