FDC Fails Child Protection Duty Harold Hempstead Testifies

Harold Hempstead speaks out from a Florida jail cell to inform the authorities – and the public – of the malpractice of the Florida Department of Corrections.  

The neglect, failings and crimes of this department are innumerable and profoundly serious and, so far, Harold Hempstead, the ‘Caged Crusader’ has exposed murder, torture, starvation, brutality, corruption and failure to protect from harm.  

His tireless efforts, including writing over 80 letters of complaint to the Florida authorities, initiated an investigation into the slaughter of Darren Rainey – but only after Hempstead finally managed to contact the Miami Herald newspaper who broke the story.  Darren Rainey was killed in a 183° shower, in which he was locked for nearly two hours by a guard named Roland Clark on 23^rd June 2012.  This specially adapted shower-stall had an extra water-inlet that was fed from a hot-tank in an adjoining closet.  This improvised torture-chamber was first tested on a convict named Daniel Geiger, who died in custody on 7^th November 2016.  (See my previous blog)  On 5^th May 2016 Harold Hempstead gave a highly detailed report of the extra-judicial killing of Darren Rainey to the U.S. Department of Justice, amongst other recipients.  On 15^th March 2016 he submitted an affidavit describing FDC’s policy of deliberately mixing the categories of prisoners who are required by law to be separated.  The most vulnerable inmates are being preyed upon by the most dangerous and violent.  Once again, FDC is flagrantly failing to carry out its duties in a proper and lawful manner.  Links to these affidavits appear below. 

The affidavit of 4^th November, 2016 describes FDC’s failure to protect children, women and men in the prison visitation parks, where sexual predators are free to abuse their victims.  The document contains material of a disturbing nature and is not suitable for young people – it is, however, highly suitable reading for the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Children and Families, Chief Inspector General for the Governor,  etc.. 

"SWORN AFFIDAVIT

To:  U.S. Department of Justice, Attn:  Vanita Gupta, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington D.C., 2053o.

Department of Children and Families, Attn:  Mike Carroll, Secretary, 2383 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Attn: Richard Swearingen, Commissioner, P.O.Box 1489, Tallahassee, Florida 32302.

Florida Department of Corrections {FDC} staff have been permitting sex offenders and predators to congregate with children at parks on a weekly basis at every close custody institution in Florida where sex offenders and predators are incarcerated.  These sex offenders and predators are committing lewd and lascivious acts and sexual battery on children and adults at the parks FDC is permitting them to visit.  FDC staff are aware of the foregoing and they haven’t done anything to stop the incarcerated sex offenders and predators from doing the foregoing.

Florida Statute :  775.21 is “The Florida Sexual Predators Act”.   Florida Statute : 775.21 (3) (A) and (B) reads:

“(A) Repeat sexual offenders who use physical violence, and sexual offenders who prey on children are sexual predators who present an extreme threat to the public safety.  Sexual offenders are extremely likely to use physical violence and to repeat their offenses, and most sexual offenders commit many offenses, have many more victims than are ever reported, and are prosecuted for only a fraction of their crimes.  This makes the cost of sexual offender victimisation to society at large, while incalculable, clearly exorbitant.”

“(B) The high level of threat that a sexual predator presents to the public safety, and the long term effects suffered by victims of sex offenses, provide the state with sufficient justification to implement a strategy…”

Florida Statute 775.21 (4) list the criteria that sex offenders must meet in order to be deemed a sexual predator. 

Florida Statute 775.21 (10) (B) explains how a sexual predator commits a felony, if he visits a business, school, child care facility, park, playground or other place where children regularly congregate even if their job requires them to do such.

The legislature deems protecting adults and children from sex offenders and predators so serious that they passed Florida Statute 775.215 (Residency Restriction For Persons Convicted Of Sex Offenses) making it a crime as high as a first degree felony for sex offenders to even have a residence within  1,000 feet of a school, child care facility, park, or playground.

If a judge issues an order preventing a sex offender or predator from having visitation with children while in FDC, FDC has a rule that says they will honor the foregoing type of court order (FAC 33-601.720).

 However, if a court doesn’t issue an order preventing a sex offender or predator from visiting with children, FDC staff won’t comply with the Florida statutes herein and other Florida statutes and limit them from visiting with children in FDC.

Also, FDC staff are allowing sex offenders and predators to receive visits from adults at the visitation parks in FDC on the same days, and at the same time, that inmates who aren’t sex offenders are receiving visits from children. 

 In other words FDC has been allowing convicted sex offenders and predators to attend the visitation park every Saturday and Sunday where the children of non-sex offenders are.  FDC has even been allowing sex offenders and predators who the court issued orders restricting their visitation with their kids and other kids to attend the visitation park every weekend where kids are visiting with inmates not convicted of sex offenses.  FDC’s reasoning behind the foregoing is that according to the paperwork the children are visiting with non-sex offenders.

Additionally, FDC staff are obviously aware of all the laws (statutes) mentioned herein and that they under any circumstance are not supposed to allow sex offenders or predators to attend visitation parks when children are congregating at them.  To permit the foregoing is to permit sex offenders and predators to violate the Florida statutes mentioned herein.

Also, sex offenders and predators are committing lewd and lascivious acts and sexual batteries on children in the visitation parks FDC staff are permitting them to visit.

Sex offenders and predators are known for looking at children very lustfully in visitation parks.  They are also known for looking up the dresses of ladies and juvenile girls and up the shorts of ladies and children.

Sex offenders and predators are known for showing the shape of their private area with their hands through their pants to ladies and children in visitation parks.

Sex offenders and predators place their children and children they know on other inmates visitation lists so the sex offenders and predators can visit with their children and children (i.e. their children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and friends children) in FDC visitation parks.

Sex offenders and predators touch the children of other visitors improperly in FDC visitation parks.  They hug children, tap kids on their buttocks, touch and grab their legs, and touch the private areas of children.

Sex offenders and predators use their fingers to penetrate the rectums and vaginas of juvenile females and the rectums of juvenile boys in FDC visitation parks.

FDC records show the visitation parks are insecure.  Records show cellular phones, narcotics, and tobacco are smuggled into FDC visitation parks on a weekly basis, and that inmates are having sexual relations in them with other adults.  These facts prove the insecure status of FDC visitation parks.

FDC is aware that the violations of the Florida statutes mentioned herein have been going on for a long time.  They have elected to not do anything about the foregoing because of the inconvenience it would cause them and because of how much it’d cost FDC to fix the foregoing problems.

During affiants’ close to 18 years of incarceration he’s witnessed the matters herein, has been told by other inmates who witnessed the foregoing, and has spoken with sex offenders that have done the foregoing.

Florida statute : 20.315 reads in part:  “…The Secretary is responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing the corrections system of the State.  The Secretary shall ensure that the programs and services of the Department are administered in accordance with State and Federal laws, rules, and regulations, with established program standards and consistent with legislative intent.”  The Secretary has failed to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations mentioned herein.

Florida statute : 944.31 reads in part:  “… The office of the Inspector General shall see that all the rules and regulations issued by the Department are strictly observed and followed by all persons connected with the correctional systems of the State…”  and “… The Inspector General and Inspectors shall be responsible for criminal and administrate investigation of matters relating to the Department of Corrections…”  The FDC Inspector General’s Office has failed to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations mentioned herein.

Florida Statute : 944.14 reads:  “Subject to the orders, policies, and regulations establish by the Department, it shall be the duties of the Wardens to supervise the government, discipline, and policy of the State correctional institutions, and to enforce all orders, rules and regulations.”  The Wardens at each institution have failed to comply with this statute as it concerns the violations mentioned herein.

Over the close to 18 years that affiant has been incarcerated in FDC other inmates have attempted to get FDC to correct the matters herein.  All of these inmates have been subjected to some type of retaliation.  History shows FDC would rather subject inmates to retaliation for trying to get this serious matter corrected then stop sex offenders and predators from committing the violations of state law mentioned herein. 

It is reasonable to say that thousands (if not tens of thousands) of sex offenders and predators in FDC are allowed to visit FDC visitation parks (FAC 33-601.721) where children congregate on a weekly basis.  Also, it’s fair to say that hundreds if not thousands of adults and children are being victimized on a weekly basis by the sex offenders and predators that are allowed to be in the visitation parks with them.   

Based on the foregoing affiant respectfully requests that the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Department of Children and Families, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigate the matters stated herein, and that the Florida Department of Children and Families issue protective orders protecting the children of visitors to FDC from any further victimization by sexual offenders and predators.

UNNOTARIZED OATH

Under penalty of perjury, I swear that everything stated herein is true and correct.

Date 11-4-16  Affiant : (signature appears here on original handwritten document)

Harold Hempstead, D.C.# 268866, Okeechobee Correctional Institution,  3420 Northeast 168^th Street, Okeechobee, Florida 34972.

C.C.  Julie K.Brown (Miami Herald)

Michele Gillen (CBS 4 Miami)

Eyal Press (New Yorker Magazine)

Craig Patrick (WTVT Fox 13 Tampa)

Clair McNeill (Tampa Bay Times)

Pat Beall (Palm Beach Post)

Howard Simon (ACLU Florida)

Steven Wetstein (Stop Prison Abuse Now)

Randall Berg (Florida Justice Institute)

Peter Sleasman (Florida Legal Service)

Lance T. Weber (Human Rights Defense Center)

Greg Evers (Florida Senator)

Melinda Miguel (Chief Inspector General for the Governor)

Windy Hempstead

Susan Chandler

George Mallinckrodt

Jeremy Schanche

Second Chance Effort Project

Forgotten Majority"

Follow this link for the affidavits on the shower-murder and torture and the illegal mixing of Close-Management prisoners with Protective Management prisoners:
https://savetheholyheadland.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/harold-hempstead-evidence-darren-rainey.html

Here's the interview I did with Harold Hempstead in June 2016:
https://savetheholyheadland.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/harold-hempstead-murder-witness-talks.html

And here's a piece on Daniel Geiger, who was starved and tortured before dying in FDC custody:
https://savetheholyheadland.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/daniel-geiger-starved-tortured-dead-fdc.html