Registered sex offender found squatting in Fort Myers home
FORT MYERS, Fla. — People who live on Tennessee Way in Fort Myers were concerned when they noticed people moving into an unoccupied home that still had hurricane shutters on all of the windows.
Then one neighbor received an alert from the FDLE.
“The first notification I got was from FDLE, a notification that someone was moving in there that someone was a sexual offender,” said the neighbor who did not want to share her name.
The FDLE confirmed that Felipe Acevedo, 46, registered the home as his main address on Sunday.
Acevedo was previously convicted of two lewd or lascivious charges involving minors in Lee County.
“I know the owner of the home, she lives in Clewiston, she knows it needs a lot of work inside for someone to live there,” said the neighbor.
According to the incident report from Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), the homeowner’s niece came to the home on Thursday to see about future renovations.
Inside she found four people who had taken up residence just days after her uncle checked on the home himself. A trailer filled with various items and more was found around the yard.
LCSO stated in the report parts of new furniture in boxes worth approximately $4,000 was found in the home as well.
“Just gotta be aware of your circumstances you know everybody’s lived, you live here two months or 27 years. You need to be cognizant of your neighborhood,” the neighbor said.
“I know that they weren’t supposed to be there. But where are they going to go,” said another neighbor.
Acevedo is now facing charges for burglary in an unoccupied dwelling, larceny grand theft and resisting an office charges.
The FLDE said that sex offenders are allowed to self report their newest address. The law then requires that the local governing sheriff or city police verify the offender is in a lawful home.
