Brian Pepin, a father of three and former member of the Poway City Council in California, publicly called for stricter sex offender residency restrictions during Tuesday’s St. Johns County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Now a political consultant, Pepin recently moved to St. Augustine with his family and said that a registered sex offender moved directly across the street from their home.
He shared the emotional impact this has had on his family during the public comment period.
“Last week we learned that the guy that moved in across the street was arrested a few years ago for having child porn,” Pepin said. “He’s got a Ring doorbell trained on my house. I’ve got these three young kids.”
Pepin noted that his wife has been deeply affected, saying she has been “crying herself to sleep at night.”
He also expressed frustration with current laws, stating, “There’s nothing that we’ve been able to figure out how to address this.”
He praised deputies from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for responding to their concerns but acknowledged that within current legal boundaries, little could be done.
Pepin highlighted differences in sex offender residency restrictions across counties in Florida. In St. Johns County, offenders must live at least 1,000 feet from playgrounds and schools, whereas Duval and Miami-Dade counties have a 2,500-foot requirement.
“That won’t help us but it might be something to look at,” he said.
Federal court records indicate the man living across the street was initially arrested in 2007 for possession of child pornography, served 3.5 years in federal prison starting in 2010, and was released on supervised release in 2013.
Pepin did not name the neighbor during his comments.
