Putnam County Sheriff’s Office: ‘Cesspool of sex offenders’ cleared out of local trailer park
February 28, 2025 at 9:38 p.m. UTC
By ActionNewsJax.com News Staff
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A “cesspool of sex offenders” was cleared out of a Palatka trailer park on Friday afternoon, according to Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach.
On a Facebook Live, DeLoach said more than 22 convicted predators and sex offenders living in the area were cleared out.
The trailer park, located at 3600 Balsam Street, was turned into what DeLoach referred to as a “predator’s paradise.”
23 registered offenders and predators have this location listed as their address, according to Florida’s Sexual Offenders and Predators Search.
According to the sheriff, the trailer park is located in an area where there are often children. There is a volunteer fire department with a youth program and bus stop close by.
“We heard your cries. We heard your screams on social media,” DeLoach said in the Live.
DeLoach said the sheriff’s office believes the trailer park was acquired in December by an “unscrupulous person” who lives outside Putnam County jurisdiction.
There were 14 homes. However, all but three have now been condemned, according to the sheriff.
The sheriff’s office is taking a “holistic approach” to shutting down the park.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office has enlisted the help of the PCSO Criminal Investigation Bureau, patrol deputies, sex offender compliance specialists, probation and parole officers, Putnam County Code Enforcement, and the Putnam County Health Department, according to DeLoach.
DeLoach said they will continue to “aggressively” pursue condemning the final three trailers.
The sheriff said no one is allowed inside the homes unless they are doing licensed work.
“Not in Putnam County and over my dead body are we ever going to let Putnam County become a sanctuary for these kinds of individuals,” DeLoach said.
