On January 22,nd of this year, my sister in law was to be married. So nearly three weeks prior to the wedding date, I requested a Travel Permit from my probation officer to allow me to travel to Tampa, for only that afternoon to attend the wedding that was being held at a rented pavilion that is located in my mother in laws development property association.
The room that was rented was located in the Country Club itself, typically it was a bar that displayed the notice on the front doors that anyone entering this establishment must be 21 years of age or older to enter.
Upon providing my Probation Officer with all this information including phone numbers to the association hall, its address and to assure him that no minors would be present, which there were none attending, He called the facility to make sure a wedding was being held that day. Upon verifying all that I had told him, the travel permit was confirmed and I got to attend the wedding on Jan. 22nd. With my wife and family.
When I went in to see my probation officer on Feb 17th of this past month, He told me that the lady who managed the pavilion called him back the following morning to let him know that children were and would be on the premises during the time of the wedding and, that there was a tennis court just across the street and a skate board area behind the pavilion.
She expressed concern about me being on their premises and inquired of my probation officer to know what was my name however, my probation officer assured her ihat was not needed to know and that the travel permit had already been provided to me and he was not going to terminate me being allowed to attend the wedding because that information should have been provided when He called her the first time. However, what my probation officer did tell me was that because of this person calling him and that they expressed concern regarding the matter, that any future travel permits requested to attend any events at this address would be denied. So if my mother in law decides to rent the pavilion ever again in the near future for what ever reason, I am now prohibited from being able to attend family events all because one concerned citizen made a mountain out of a mole hill.
She expressed concern about me being on their premises and inquired of my probation officer to know what was my name however, my probation officer assured her ihat was not needed to know and that the travel permit had already been provided to me and he was not going to terminate me being allowed to attend the wedding because that information should have been provided when He called her the first time. However, what my probation officer did tell me was that because of this person calling him and that they expressed concern regarding the matter, that any future travel permits requested to attend any events at this address would be denied. So if my mother in law decides to rent the pavilion ever again in the near future for what ever reason, I am now prohibited from being able to attend family events all because one concerned citizen made a mountain out of a mole hill.
Shortly before Christmas of 2010, I put In a request for a travel permit to go down to Tampa, on Christmas Eve, to spend the day with my wife’s family as I do every single year. We come home the same day because I avoid requesting any travel permit to stay overnight. Just four days before Christmas Eve, my probation officer stops by my residence around nine thirty at night to inform me that the supervisor is conducting a mandatory audit of anyone behind on their supervision or court payments and that if not paid up accordingly, He would not be able to give me a travel permit to attend the family gathering on Christmas Eve. So here it was I had to come up with nearly $400.00 to cover my costs they said I owed. My figures were not what they showed because I knew my money was paid up accordingly and I had all my receipts, but regardless, they were approaching the matter from the point that my money would be paid up for the year provided I paid the $400.00. So I had to go to the bank, remove the amount I needed, then go to the Post Office to obtain a money order, and get it in the mail, with the hope that the money would be posted in time when I went up to pick up my travel permit on Thursday. Fortunately for me, it was.
Every single year they do this to me. Every single time I request a travel permit to go to visit my family it is always a constant harassing ordeal so much to the point that I hate to eve deal with it anymore. But I do it for my wife and for the fact that once in awhile I need to get away and see some new things since I am now unable to drive anymore due to being legally blind and depending upon others to get me where I need to go. Ten years now, I have been dealing with this situation.
Then there was the incident involving my disability. You see, my probation officer indicated that when I started obtaining disability payments, that my cost of supervision would be waived. After nearly four months of deliberating He finally comes back and tells me that because my wife and I make too much money we are not entitled to being declared indigent. What people fail to understand is, that in March 2008 I was laid off from my job where I was employed nearly eight years, hired just weeks after being released from prison, I worked designing Custom Homes, and Commercial Buildings and doing Engineering work related to Civil Engineering. Shortly after that, my wife was laid off from her job where she worked as a manager for a resort in the Villages. My wife was also employed with Delta Airlines, nearly twenty seven years and retired from there shortly after we were married in 2004 and we built our home. Then, in September of 2009 was when I learned about my eye disease when I tried to renew my Drivers license. I could not pass the visual exam and subsequently they sent me to an eye doctor who confirmed this. I have what is called Retinitis Pigmentosa, or R.P. for short. Though rare, the doctors told me I had it all my life. Fortunately for me it had not manifested itself until later in years. I can no longer drive a motor vehicle. And must therefore, now depend on neighbors to drive me when needed. So now $110.00 per month of my disability money goes to probation.
Refusing to give in or give up to this ordeal, I soon started working out of my home as a Freelance Draftsman. I decided to enroll in college to continue my education and set my goals to becoming a Professional Engineer. However, I soon learned that because I am a Sex Offender/Sexual Predator, that I would not be allowed to attend a college campus and that any possible courses would have to be done Online. So I found a school in Scranton PA that offered Civil Engineering courses, online and would enable me to earn at least an Associates Degree, within four to six years because I am considered a part time student. I have now been working at that for nearly three years.
Having been slammed hard with the Recession which began back in 2007 and being laid off from my job, the past two months have began to show signs of recovery. But we still have a long ways to go. My wife now has a new and better job, my eyesight is stable with no progression in my visual disorder. But I am still in this situation with nearly eight more years to go. I have been under the wrath of the Department of corrections for nearly twenty- five years and I am tired. I want to see my mother and father, my brother and sister who all live in Key West
The probation office hates the fact that because I am a registered Sex Offender, I live in a $300,000 valued home. A home that I worked hard for, and that I earned and built myself, by doing the very same work that I learned how to do while I was Incarcerated and went to school to learn.
They hate the fact that I keep my money paid up month to month, and that I successfully completed my treatment programs on time and graduated from that course. They hate the fact that I passed every single polygraph ever given to me without a single infraction or reason to question it. They hate the fact that I am a Sex Offender, now on disability and that I work from home.
Despite my bias attitude towards they hating me for all these things, it is the truth. So much, that when I confronted the probation supervisor her very words to me concerning what my wife could or could not understand was no excuse for the fact that she married somebody like me in this situation and that whether she liked it or not, she had to deal with it! My wife has constantly been targeted with being harassed, having her personal items searched when the probation officers come into my house once a year to conduct such, and even had obnoxious remarks made to her inquiring where do we hide the guns or drugs we have in our house. Her vehicle is searched even though I do not drive it. My vehicle is searched, they go through our Garage, our shed, our movies, and specifically, they spend nearly a quarter of an hour rummaging through my computer looking for any pornography. They hate the fact that I am allowed to use a computer because my work demands it. So when I ask them for something, it is always the same thing over and over. Which is nothing but constant harassment, constant aggravation, and seldom being allowed to go anywhere.
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