Dateline: May 13

This week on Dateline, touches upon a contentious subject as reporter Aaron Thomas gains rare access to a village in southern Florida which is home to more than 130 convicted child sex offenders.

The so-called Miracle Village is a Christian mission said to be created as a sanctuary for paedophiles who’ve served time in prison for their crimes.

Child sex offender Pat Powers, who established the community, told Dateline’s Aaron Thomas that he wanted to prevent sex offenders from being treated like ‘modern day lepers’. He said paedophiles were only permitted to settle in the village after meeting strict guidelines.

“We want to know number one, are you guilty?” Powers said. “If you are not guilty, you don’t need us. If you can’t accept responsibility for what you did, you don’t need us. You are not going to be fitting in here at all. Everyone that comes here says I have messed my life up, I messed someone else’s life up, I hurt somebody.”

The labelling and listing of sex offenders in Florida covers a broad range of offences – from people who’ve had sex with children to those caught urinating in a public place. Some Seventy thousand people are now listed as sex offenders in Florida.

Those on “the list” are not permitted to venture within one thousand feet of anywhere children might gather, which includes schools, playgrounds, parks and bus stops.

Tuesday, May 13 at 9.30pm on SBS ONE