Phone +1 863-801-0828 | ||
Address 2820 E Main St, Pahokee, FL 33476, USA | ||
Miracle Village is a community outside of Pahokee, Florida that serves as a home for registered sex offenders. It was created by Richard Witherow, a minister working in prisons for 30 years, as an answer to sex offender registration laws that strictly limit where offenders may live. Such laws prohibit offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gather, such as schools, parks, and places of worship. Within the limits of these rules, offenders may be unable to find available housing in populated areas, in some cases ending up homeless.
The complex is operated by Witherow's Matthew 25 Ministries, an organization with the stated goal of providing prison aftercare. According to the organization's own website, they do not minister to pedophiles, though some of the residents have been convicted of molesting minors and/or possession of child pornography. In October 2010, the community included 66 registered sex offenders; by July 2013 there were 100.
Controversy
The mayor of nearby Pahokee, Wayne Whitaker, stated that he was unaware that offenders were being recruited to live there and that he believed having so many live together would be "very, very risky."
Previously, the complex was known as Pelican Lake, and was primarily inhabited by sugar cane-cutters and their families. After working out a deal with Matthew 25 Ministries to lease the property, the owner, Alston Management Inc., informed residents with school age children that they would have to leave or be evicted. Federal law prohibits discrimination against families with children, except in certain cases such as communities for the elderly. Witherow is being sued by the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and the Florida Equal Justice Center on behalf of some residents.
An aide to U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings was quoted as saying in regard to the creation of Miracle Park, "I'll be damned if I'm going to let this go down without a fight."