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SHUT DOWN
‘I DON'T WANT TO BE A PEDOPHILE'
There were more than 300 men on the waiting list when the state shut down
its prison treatment program in 1989. One was John Archer.
"I am a pedophile," Archer told The Miami Herald during an interview at the
civil commitment center. "I'm not going to lie about it. But I don't want to be
a pedophile. I want to get away from it."
After serving seven years without treatment for his first offense, Archer
was released from prison in June 1992.
He says he lasted two weeks before he was picked up by Hillsborough County
Sheriff's deputies in November 1992 after luring two boys into the bedroom of
his trailer, pulling them on top of him, grabbing them by the buttocks and kissing
them on the mouth.
"When I was arrested the second time, I begged the officer to get me treatment,"
Archer said.
For the families of the victims, there was little sympathy for Archer.
"He violated my kids, and they're afraid to go to sleep at night because they're
afraid he's coming after them," said the mother of the two boys. "I don't care
about his mental problems right now because my kids have to seek counseling because
of him. If he gets any type of treatment, he should get it in prison."
Archer pleaded guilty to the charges and received another 15-year prison sentence
along with 15 years probation. Before being sentencing, he asked again for treatment,
court records show. But there was no program.
"The reality, Mr. Archer, is at this time ... there isn't anything anybody
is going to do for you, unfortunately," said Hillsborough County Circuit Court
Judge Barbara Fleischer. "The hope is there will be a program developed for you,
and people who do the same kind of thing."
Three years into his sentence, Arhcer wrote Judge Fleischer from prison and
asked for treatment a third time: "I would appreciate a chance to enroll into
a rehabilitation class/course for my criminal behavior ... which would be beneficial
not only to myself but also to society."
But again, no one could help.
Judge Fleischer took the time to respond: "I have been in contact with the
Department of Corrections in Tallahassee," she wrote, "and they informed me that
there are are no longer any programs ... from which you can benefit."
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