By Larry Hannan
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
TALLAHASSEE — A registered sex offender from Jacksonville may soon be getting released from civil commitment after the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear his case.
The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee previously ordered Victor V. Reed released, but that decision was put on hold while the Supreme Court decided whether to take up the case. On Thursday the justices unanimously said they would not consider it, which means the lower appellate court ruling is binding.
Reed, 49, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual battery in May 2013 and got sentenced to the 481 days he had already served in jail. Usually that would mean Reed was free, but he remained in custody overnight to be “processed out.”
The next day the Department of Corrections notified the Department of Children and Families that Reed was a potential Jimmy Ryce Act inmate. The act allows for the psychiatric review or civil commitment of sexually violent offenders even after they finish their prison sentences.
Children and Families responded with a “detainer” letter asking for Reed to be transported to the Florida Civil Commitment Center, which is where sexual offenders and predators are kept under the Jimmy Ryce Act.
Prosecutors asked that Reed be detained there because he had “a lengthy history of sexual battery and rape, spanning at least a decade or more” and that he “suffers from a mental abnormality and/or personality disorder that makes him likely to engage in acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility for long-term control, care and treatment.”
Circuit Judge Virginia Norton found probable cause that Reed was sexually violent and ordered him held indefinitely.
His attorneys appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal and won. Florida law provides that when a person is scheduled to be released from prison, the agency with jurisdiction must transfer the prisoner immediately to the custody of the Department of Children and Families. In this case the appellate court found that the Department of Corrections didn’t do that, instead releasing him into the custody of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“Here, Reed’s transfer to the FCCC [Florida Civil Commitment Center] did not occur until the day after his sentence expired at which point he was no longer in ‘lawful custody’ for the purposes of the Jimmy Ryce Act,” the appellate court said. “Accordingly, the trial court was without jurisdiction to adjudicate the commitment petition.”
The appellate court agreed to delay, or stay, its ruling while the case went to the Florida Supreme Court. Reed has remained at the Florida Civil Commitment Center while the Supreme Court considered the issue.
But attorney Michael Williams, who represents Reed, said there is no reason why his client should remain now.
“He should be released yesterday,” Williams said.
Prosecutors previously said the “loophole” that might let Reed get out has already been closed as part of a modification of the Jimmy Ryce Act that occurred in April 2014.
For more information check back with jacksonville.com or pick up Friday’s edition of the Florida Times-Union.