Pervert Park

Florida Justice Transitions is home to 120 convicted sex offenders. Like in many other U.S. states, sex offenders are not allowed to live within 1000 feet of places frequented by children. Because of this, many sex offenders live under bridges or in woods – or in the trailer park Florida Justice Transitions – also known as “Pervert Park.” The crimes committed by the residents range from simple misdemeanors to horrendous acts unbearable to contemplate. The characters in Pervert Park are all fighting their own very different battles and demons. In this film they tell us their stories as they have never told them before. We meet Bill, Jamie, Tracy and Patrick, all residents in the park. And we meet Don, the therapist who started out working with the victims of sex offenders, but because many of the victims asked him to treat their abusers – often a parent or a family member – he did. Florida Justice Transitions is a private institution, founded by a mother of a convicted sex offender who couldn’t find a place to live after his release. The name is meant to signal a hope for justice and the belief that people can change. But can we talk about justice when we’re dealing with the sexual abuse of children and minors? Or have the offenders forfeited this right forever by doing what they did? Pervert Park is a film about the people no one wants as a neighbor. It follows the every day life of the sex offenders in the park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and gives us a chance to understand who they are and how the destructive cycle of sexual abuse and the silence can be broken.